Make Money from Backyard Garden

Dear Business Guy, I have a lot of great produce growing in my backyard garden.  Would it be a good idea to set up a fresh garden stand in my front yard?  I feel bad about letting all of my tomatoes, squash, zucchini … go to waste.  I also have an orange tree.

Thanks for reaching out to us.  I don’t know a lot about this topic, but it is possible for you to profit from your green thumb.  We found some interesting articles on our sister site ocBusinessStartUp.com.  If you can get your produce into a Certified Farmers Market, you can legally sell it to a lot of people who are into organic foods.  From what I understand, setting up a stand in your front yard or along the side of the road is not legal in of Orange County.

• Check out this article about how you can become a certified “farmer” with the county’s agriculture department.  You do not need to have a “farm” to be a certified grower.  City zoning laws may apply, but if your not growing that much they might just let it go.  You said you already have a lot of stuff growing!

• And this article gives you information on getting into farmers markets in Orange County.

• You might also be interested in making goods for sale at farmers markets.  This article goes over how to get certified by the OCHealth department.

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If you just feel bad about filling up your trash can with eatable stuff, consider donating to a good cause.  The Harvest Club of Orange County collects stuff grown in OC backyards and helps distribute it to those in need.  And they can also help harvest your backyard fruit.  Check with your accountant, but if you are in a high tax bracket you might be better off donating the food to this non-profit and taking a write off on your Schedule A.  But we have been wrong before and we’re not tax experts so you really need to run this buy your CPA.

The Overgiving Tree — Shortened from Felixx Cho on Vimeo.

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