Speaking of that untapped market we fell into... 2 separate considerations

I'm wondering what vegetables we could possibly grow that are not common and may be appreciated.

When I go to the chinese market I see lemongrass and stuff I don't know the names of. Our store isn't great. This is a small area. So anyone with knowledge of this stuff? We don't exactly have a lot of ethnic restaurants we can go to to research.

I wouldn't see growing a ton of veggies. I think I'd concentrate on a few of the main ones that aren't grown around these parts.

What we know is in the area are various people from various countries in asia and somalis. I have connections with the jewish temple so we will look there and we'll also look at the greek orthodox church. Luckily for us greek fest is this weekend so we'll check that out then.



I also have some reservations about this. I am trying to set up a U-Pick. It'll be years before it makes much money though. I have us at 10 years to be fully operational. So doing animals now will take away from the time and money I can put into that and push it off. However, we'd make money once set up with the livestock and that could be put into the U-Pick.

So right now we have 5 acres dedicated to animals and 35 to the U-Pick. We have the barn and all that, so animals can be done now. However, we have the possibility of adding 40 additional acres. It would need fenced and seeded but it also has a barn and could probably contain cattle now, though I just don't like the fencing there. (This property is right next door to us, connects and all that) So that's putting out a lot of money and energy but would allow us to expand operations without killing the 5 acres I've worked so hard to seed and nurture back to life. I see 5 acre paddocks rotated often. Goats, sheep, pigs and beef. The bird part is already handled, though I think we should add some meat breed ducks to our flock as the layers just aren't for eating. Been there, tried that. Anyhow, birds are all set up, so no additional input needed there, other than purchasing other breeds.

This is exciting for us and I'm a jump in head first kind of girl. I am trying to tell myself to grow slow though. Of course right now the demand is greater than our supply so how slow can I go before another supplier jumps in? Things to consider.

I wonder if fresh bamboo shoots would be welcome.  You might just ask at the Asian Market you do have to see what they'd be interested in buying direct.

I love the way you're thinking about this!

It always seems like herbs bring big bucks. Pretty, fresh basil costs a bundle and isn't hard to grow. Allium tuberosum (called jiucai / chiu-ts'ai in Chinese, and garlic chives, Chinese leek, etc. in English) is expensive at the Asian market here, and that's dead easy to grow.

On the other hand, there are tomatillos, which are productive and more disease etc. resistant than tomatoes but cost twice as much at the store here (and that's not even organic).

pak choi springs to mind( its a type of cabbage and you grow it the same way) also Lotus both the flowers and the roots( its a perennial ! woo hoo ) . there are types of onions too that I suspect would sell well
I would simply ask them also how about visiting the local chinese shop and having a word with them

Ghislaine de Lessines wrote:I wonder if fresh bamboo shoots would be welcome.  You might just ask at the Asian Market you do have to see what they'd be interested in buying direct.

Absolutely. I have plans to go talk to the owner of the shop. Also thinking about turning our un-used basement into a grow zone for stuff that doesn't grow in our zone.

chip sanft wrote:I love the way you're thinking about this!

It always seems like herbs bring big bucks. Pretty, fresh basil costs a bundle and isn't hard to grow. Allium tuberosum (called jiucai / chiu-ts'ai in Chinese, and garlic chives, Chinese leek, etc. in English) is expensive at the Asian market here, and that's dead easy to grow.

On the other hand, there are tomatillos, which are productive and more disease etc. resistant than tomatoes but cost twice as much at the store here (and that's not even organic).

Already growing tons of garlic chives and I didn't even remember planting them. lol So I think that I can do. Thanks!!!

David Livingston wrote:pak choi springs to mind( its a type of cabbage and you grow it the same way) also Lotus both the flowers and the roots( its a perennial ! woo hoo ) . there are types of onions too that I suspect would sell well
I would simply ask them also how about visiting the local chinese shop and having a word with them

Thank you!

My first thought was Mung beans.  I love sprouts but the seeds are expensive.  When I think of Chinese food, I think beans sprouts, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts.

What produce do you buy at the grocery store?  What are things you would like that your grocery doesn't carry or that the Chinese market doesn't have?

Anne Miller wrote:My first thought was Mung beans.  I love sprouts but the seeds are expensive.  When I think of Chinese food, I think beans sprouts, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts.

What produce do you buy at the grocery store?  What are things you would like that your grocery doesn't carry or that the Chinese market doesn't have?

I don't buy any of the produce at the chinese market except the lemongrass each spring and only because I grow it. The produce all looks gross. It's not exactly fresh. He gets it from a bigger market in Denver, CO and brings it here so who knows how old it is. Just looks gross to me when we go. The only real asian dish I make is Ramen so not an expert on produce other than that commonly found in good Miso ramen.

elle sagenev wrote:I'm wondering what vegetables we could possibly grow that are not common and may be appreciated.  

mungbeans/planting

One of our favorite dinner dishes is eggs and garlic chives.  This can be prepared various ways, but these two ingredients together is a very common and popular oriental dish.  So if you can provide both chives and eggs, there's probably a ready market if you have oriental folks in your area.

http://www.tastehongkong.com/recipes/featured/fried-eggs-with-chinese-chives-a-simple-savory-omelet/

http://www.justonecookbook.com/niratama-donburi/

The great thing about Garlic Chives is they seem to be unkillable even by me!  

My first thought was Mung beans.

Mung beans for sprouts is certainly a possibility (assuming that they do not sprout their own).

Mung beans for a mature crop may not work well in Wyoming.
Most of the ones I have seen are about a 90 day crop.
That would be pushing the limits in many northern regions.

elle sagenev wrote:I don't buy any of the produce at the chinese market except the lemongrass each spring and only because I grow it. The produce all looks gross. It's not exactly fresh. He gets it from a bigger market in Denver, CO and brings it here so who knows how old it is. Just looks gross to me when we go.

If you talked to the owner of the Chinese market maybe you could grow things for him so he doesn't need to drive to Denver.  And could have fresh produce to offer his customer.

Dry mung beans do not sprout on their own.  They have to be sprouted.  Mine are 2 or 3 years old as I only sprout them on special occasions.  I just can't see paying the prices for seeds to sprout.  I usually just use grocery store beans.

"Planted in early June, the crop will begin to flower in 50 to 60 days, and then continue flowering for a few weeks. The crop is usually ready to be harvested in early to mid-September. Leaves will dry down but may not drop off completely"

mungbeans

This is a vegetable guide for Wyoming that give you some suggestions.

http://www.wyomingextension.org/agpubs/pubs/B1115.pdf

Seconding herbs.  Shiso/ perilla and edible chrysanthemum spring to mind.  For vegetables, maybe bunching onions, radishes, and different squash/ gourd/ melon varieties, like shark fin squash and bitter gourd.  If you're not afraid of invasives, burdock would probably fetch a good price.  A variety of greens and microgreens could probably be grown indoors under lights out of season.  Fresh favas might interest Somali customers.  Grape leaves might be of interest to the Greek community.  Eggplants are pretty universal, but each region has their own traditional or preferred shape/ size/ color.  You might even want to try jujubes- they're only hardy to zone 6, but you might be able to create a favorable microclimate.  Kitazawa Seed Co. carries hard-to-find Asian vegetables; Baker Creek and Bountiful Gardens also carry some.

Plums might be good for Chinese markets as I know plum sauce  is popular . They also consider rhubarb as a medicinal .http://eatingrichly.com/traditional-chinese-plum-sauce-from-scratch/

David

So the asian store guy says goat is eaten the most. Guess we'll be looking at goats. Continue with pigs as well.

Have you thought of asking at your local mosque ? Depending of where your local muslims originate kids and lambs would sell well direct if you provide them at the "right " time of year