Having a garden is all about leisure. Gardening is an excellent hobby
that helps you relax. Seeing that well-maintained lawn and manicured
plants is a delight to the eyes.
Definitely, your family and you would spend considerable money, time and effort on maintaining the garden.
But have you ever considered actually making money from your garden? Possibly not yet.
There are excellent proven and legit ways to make money from your
garden that you can try. It will help make extra money for the household
and of course, for improving your garden too.
If this interests you, here are 12 proven and legit ways on how to make money from your garden.
Basic Requirements to Make Money
Before you think of making money from your garden, there are some important basic requirements.
- The garden should be fairly large.
- You should have an excellent collection of flowering herbs and plants.
- Weeds, dangerous reptiles, termites and other pests should be kept at bay.
- Your garden should not be cluttered with plants, herbs and trees.
- It should be safe for children to play.
Understandably, you would meet some of all of these basic
requirements. If so, read about how to start making money from your
garden almost immediately.
Garden to Make Money
Your garden offers ample opportunities to make money. Here we explore
some of them. These money making ways do not require any serious or
tiresome efforts.
1. Sell Seeds
If you have great flowering and fruit-bearing herbs, sell their
seeds. You will need some knowledge about how to select the right seeds
that will germinate and sprout. Also, it is important to package them
properly while ensuring there is no damage.
Make sure that the seeds you sell are allowed by law. You can inquire
at a nearby seed library for details. Some seeds cannot be sold outside
certain American states.
Also, selling seeds of foreign plants are not permitted since they can alter the ecosystem.
2. Sell Cut Flowers
Selling cut flowers directly from your garden or to a nearby florist is another great way of ensuring regular income.
Find out how much does a bunch of flowers of any particular variety
cost in the market. A florist will buy them at slightly lower prices.
You can also invite people to your garden to select and cut flowers
of their choice. This also adds a personal touch to the cut flower
business and ensures better profits. Additionally, it prevents the waste
of flowers since you not several in anticipation of buyers.
3. Grow Mushrooms
Edible mushrooms of all sorts command a high price in the retail
market. They are easy to grow. And they grow pretty fast too. To grow
edible mushrooms, it is necessary to buy their spores from a good store.
Depending on your location, you may have to set up an inexpensive greenhouse in your garden.
Rare edible mushrooms sell at very high rates. This is because of
their higher nutritional and medicinal properties. You can easily buy
their spores online.
But once again, it is necessary to find whether a particular variety
of edible mushrooms is permitted by law. Since mushrooms grow very fast,
uncontrolled breeding can play havoc with your garden.
4. Rent for Parties
If you have a larger garden, rent it out to families and companies
for picnics and parties. You can make extra money by renting out garden
furniture too. Or offer a full package that includes the space with
furniture, BBQ and other appliances where possible.
Lots of companies and business groups love to host outdoor parties,
especially in the evenings. They do not want that typical hotel or
resort ambience and look for something more homely.
You can advertise your garden as a party venue online on a website such as Craigslist.
5. Sell Pictures
Pictures of flowers, herbs, plants and nature are in great demand
among nature lovers, advertising companies and website owners. Take some
great pictures that speak volumes about nature.
For example, flowers with morning dew appear very attractive in
pictures. You can earn more money if you have rare flowers in your
garden.
Visit any online stock photo portal and browse pictures about flowers
they have. It will give you an excellent idea of what pictures to take
and how much money you can make through their sale.
Also, open an account on a stock photos website to sell these pictures.
6. Gardening Blog
For those adept at gardening, starting a blog
is a good way of making money from your garden. You can write about
your experiences with gardening, use of soil, irrigation techniques,
fertilizers and share loads of information about growing various plants,
herbs and trees.
Use excellent pictures of your gardening activities on the blog to highlight your writing. Blogging is the surest way to make money from your garden.
You can open a free blog or buy a domain name, website hosting and
other essentials to launch a very sophisticated and professional blog.
7. Grow Medicinal Herbs
Herbal medicine is nothing new. It has only shot into limelight in
recent years due to the onslaught of Ayurvedic medical companies from
India hammering the American and foreign markets.
With some online research, you can discover that herbs like Rosemary,
Thyme, Rhubarb and other common herbs have excellent medicinal
properties.
Grow medicinal herbs and plants. Varieties used in making herbal
cosmetics, beauty products and healthy beverages. You can also cut and
dry medicinal roots, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds for sale. They
fetch a good price depending on the variety and cultivar.
8. Test Seeds
Companies and laboratories that develop hybrid varieties of fruits,
vegetables and other plants want to test them in real life conditions
instead of controlled atmosphere.
They are willing to pay some money to anyone that offers the service. You can register with one or more product testing websites as seed tester. Grow their sample seeds in your garden to make money.
The process is slightly more complex than merely growing seeds: you may have to follow instructions provided by the company.
In any case, you will have to write a review of the methods you use
to grow the seeds. This information has to be precise and verifiable and
contain your personal experience.
9. Make Compost
The next time you mow a lawn or clear your garden of leaves, flowers
and fruits, dump it in a composter. You can also use fruit and vegetable
peelings, discarded food and other perishable stuff that decomposes
over time.
These can be converted into excellent compost fertilizer for gardens.
Make and sell compost from your garden. It saves neighbours and those looking for organic fertilizers a lot of hassle and money.
You might need some bags to package and sell fresh compost from your
garden. The only other investment is a composter, which can be rigged up
easily at home using discarded stuff.
10. Sell Potting Soil
Selling a bit of extra soil from your garden is an excellent way to
make money. People with gardens will readily buy potting soil from you
for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, since it comes from your own garden, it would contain the
right amount of fertilizer and moisture as it is used for your own
plants too. Secondly, they need not buy a sack load if you offer smaller
quantities.
You can make packets of potting soil for sale and advertise online.
Or you can simply spread the word around your neighbourhood that you are
selling potting soil.
This is another great way to make money from your garden provided you have tended to the soil personally and in the proper way.
11. Teach Gardening
Good at gardening? Start gardening classes to teach other people
about your tricks, tweaks and techniques. You will be surprised at the
number of people who own a garden but have no clue on how to develop or
maintain one.
These people will readily sign up for any good class. You can engage
them in gardening activities in your own garden and make money.
Alternatively, you can start a video blog or vlog by opening a free channel on YouTube. Take excellent Do-It-Yourself videos while you are gardening and give detailed commentaries about what you are doing.
A YouTube channel also helps you make money
from your garden. Google, the parent company of YouTube pays you for
displaying ads before, between and after your videos, when you subscribe
for the free Google AdSense.
You also make money if any viewer clicks on ads displayed alongside your videos.
12. Display Signboards
Small and large businesses look for garden owners who will rent them space to display signboards and advertisements.
At some locations, you may need permission from local authorities or
the community to display such signboards. However, renting space from
your garden to display signboards is another way to make money.
Generally, a business will hire space for limited periods only.
Advertising companies, however, reserve a spot for much longer and pay
in advance too.
Find if local laws allow you to display signboards in your garden.
Find prevailing market rates and make offers to advertising companies
and local businesses.
Wrap Up
There are several other ways to make money from your garden such as
conducting garden parties and picnics, renting out garden space to
people that do not own one and growing gourds and other vegetables.
However, these require some extra efforts and initial investments.
You can opt for these too if you are looking at making more money from
your garden. There is no dearth of ideas of money-spinning ideas by
using your garden.
Try these simple, tested and proven as well as legit methods to earn that extra money you always wanted.
https://www.veganfirst.com/article/carrots-a-day-well-spent-at-bengalurus-first-vegan-restaurant
Carrots - A Day Well Spent At Bengaluru’s First Vegan Restaurant
Shruti Sunderra
My
journey into veganism began with a lot of doubts. Most of those doubts
involved giving up the food I’ve always loved devouring and letting my
taste buds die a slow, resigned death. But mostly, I was terrified of
life without ice cream and cake. As time passed, I came to terms with my
own ignorance and was opened up to the multitude of alternatives to
dairy-produced ice cream. But nothing really came close to the joy of
eating vegan Tiramisu at Bengaluru’s first vegan restaurant, Carrots.
But more on that later.
I’d heard about Carrots through a vegan
friend and considering veganism is very nascent in this country, in my
head, I’d envisioned a tiny café with a take-away counter. I honestly
believed there wouldn’t be room for a full-fledged vegan restaurant. I
couldn’t have been more wrong.
Carrots is not only centrally
located in Bengaluru but is also a beautifully done up space for enough
to people to enjoy their evenings and mornings in conversation and
merry. When I walked in, I settled myself on comfortable, eco-friendly
furniture and waited for Susmitha Subbaraju, the co-owner of the
restaurant, although she prefers the title ‘Countess of Cuisine and
Jollification’. In the hour than I spent talking to her, I was totally
jollified. Her chosen title fit her well.
Team Carrots (L-R) : Raj Gurung (Head Chef), Sushmitha Subbaraju and Ram Khatiwada (Assistant Chef/Bakery Head/Store Manager)
Speaking
about the vision for Carrots, opened in 2013 by Krishna Shastry,
Subbaraju says, “All we want to do is to provide people with a means to
eat tasty food that’s cruelty-free. Many people are of the opinion that
vegan food isn’t tasty. We’re here to prove them wrong. When it’s more
than possible to eat food that’s made from cruelty-free ingredients, why
should we do otherwise?”
The lady has a point. I looked at the
sheer number of items on the menu card and was spoilt for choice. The
number of pages in the vegan menu went up to 16. Interestingly, Carrots
has divided their menu into 3 categories – H1, H2 and H3. H1 includes
food items for the completely health conscious, H3 comprises of comfort
food and H2 strikes a good balance between the two. Food items range
from salads, soups, sandwiches to pastas, burgers and pizzas (yep, vegan
pizza ladies and gentlemen – and it’s no less delicious), along with a
lot of Indian cuisine options.
(Pesto Paella by Carrots)
(Watermelon tofu platter by Carrots)
But
let me get into the important things in life. Desserts. German
Chocolate Cake, brownies, pannacotta, ice cream (all hail!) and that
jaw-dropping Tiramisu are a few of the items available – all veganised.
(Can we all just vote for this vegan ice cream platter from Carrots?)
When
I ask her about the challenges of running a vegan restaurant, Subbaraju
says, “I have the same challenges as any restaurant owner. People think
running a vegan restaurant is difficult because it’s vegan, whereas the
difficulty is the same as any restaurant. The fact that it’s a vegan
place is more motivating than challenging. When you look at it,
veganism is fairly easy to follow. There are plenty of alternatives to
dairy available in the market. Ingredients are of course very strictly
scrutinized, but we want to dispel the idea that it’s difficult to be a
vegan. Carrots is always open to those who want to find an alternative
way to be a foodie.”
Carrots also hosts various workshops on
vegan baking, cooking and conscious living. They play host to musicians
often too. I found the space to be collectively enthusiastic and
welcoming, the complete opposite of what popular opinion on vegan spaces
are believed to be.
(One of the workshops conducted at Carrots)
Carrots
is definitely worth a visit to all those seeking a place to munch on
some super yummy, healthy, vegan food. (Don’t forget the Tiramisu.)
(The devil himself A.K.A vegan tiramisu, courtesy of Carrots.)
Photo credits for all pictures: Carrots Restaurant, Bengaluru
Like This?
Read: INDIAN VEGAN RESTAURANTS: The Ultimate Guidebook!
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