Extension has a new set of tools to help you plan just how many plants or beds you need to achieve your yield or market goals. Let's say you have a contract for 300 lbs of tomatoes, or 150 lbs of carrots, or that you hope to sell 25 lbs of cucumbers each week in July at the farmers market. How do you plan backwards to figure out how many plants you'll need, and when to start growing? Our new webpage on crop and field planing for vegetable farmers has tables to help you estimate how many plants or beds you need to achieve a certain yield, recommended plant spacing, seed or transplant needs, as well as timing recommendations (how early to start seeds indoors, how long it takes to produce a crop, harvest window). We also have some guidelines on the webpage to help you choose which crops to grow. Many farmers grow a wide variety of crops for fresh markets (e.g. farmers markets), but when growing for a wholesale market, it becomes more important to choose crops that are lower risk,...
