Living sustainably and growing your own produce takes us back to the days when our grandparents would go to the garden and pick dinner right out of the yard. With a little bit of dirt and planning, an entire year's worth of produce can be harvested and "put up" in jars for enjoyment through the winter. This is nothing new, but what is new is the number of families getting back to nature and back to the land for organics. Living sustainably through permaculture enterprises is generating cash crops of abundance.

Your grass turns to gold when the crop is substantial enough to meet the family's annual requirements with leftovers of fresh produce to sell at the local Farmers Market or from a portable, street-vending fruit stand. By planting an extra row of your favorite produce, income-producing cash crops are picked directly from your garden for community customers who are increasing in numbers.

Research into the financial opportunities for selling at Farmers Markets will identify what are the top sellers in your local area. Nationally, Farmers Markets are realizing double-digit growth each year as more and more customers shop their local Farmers Markets. The Producers are realizing nice profits cutting out the middle man and selling directly to their customers establishing relationships that strengthen year after year. The weekly Farmers Market becomes a ritual for those seeking wholesome, organic foods that promote health through harvest direct from local Producers.

As a Producer, picking the favorites for resale are usually the same favorites you enjoy each year from your own garden. The top sellers may be heavy in supply. Establishing a presence with specialty produce that are strong sellers is a must, and easily accomplished to fill demand. With specialty products like herbs, mushrooms, and flowers such as dahlias and lavender, these strong sellers are complements to a Producers primary product. A Producer increases profits, too, by eliminating packaging and staying with bulk presentations.

You can readily discover what is being sold in abundance by visiting the Farmers Markets in your local area and then plan to compliment the inventory with your own garden and farm products which are unique to you. Do you love artichokes, okra, rhubarb, sunflowers, figs, cantaloupe, grapes? Grow what you love and share what you grow. Grow what you know and share what you sow.

The planting of sunflowers and other "wow-produce" offset the traditional tomatoes, cucumbers and corn, and should not be overlooked as customer-appealing, eye-catching inventory. Exotic produce such as olives, figs and nutmeg often yield higher returns and seasonally offset the early summer crops. With later harvest into the fall, income is increased by additional months of revenue. For example, in the local grocery store a small jar of whole nutmegs can price between $6.95 and $12.95 depending upon which grocer and the boutique organic selection. With the yield from your own nutmeg trees, a fig tree, or flower varietals the Farmer's Market can become a nice secondary income where goods are fairly priced and relationships are personalized exchanges with your customer.

Establishing a portable fruit stand can quickly become a community destination where locals drop in, avoiding the rows of competition at a Farmers Market. The private fruit stand also presents alternatives to the busy grocery store for those fresh, sumptuous commodities that makes every meal memorable. The portable fruit stand can often be placed off-street in a vacant lot or a small, empty plot of land. Obtaining necessary permits to sell from a portable fruit stand is easily obtained from your local city or county offices.

Offering a variety of specialty produce alongside strong selling products establishes a foundation of success with any business and this includes a fruit-stand or Farmer's Market enterprise. A foundation of success is interlinked by a personalized touch, such as that perfect specialty recipe included with every purchase. It's the little things that will endear your customer's loyalty. Be creative, and enjoy turning grass into gold.

© 2011 Aralyn Rose ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

ARALYN ROSE | Spokesperson | HOW EASY CAN IT BE? Essay Contest | aralyn_rose@yahoo.com; winecountryranchgiveaway@gmail.com | http://www.olivesandviews.com/ | 404 N. Mt. Shasta Boulevard, Suite 11, Mount Shasta, CA 96067 Phone: 1.415.937.1159 |

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Every business needs business power to help save on energy costs. In the UK there are domestic rates for homes and business rates for businesses, the reason business have a different rate is they use bulk electricity and gas. Saving on these costs is important for any business. Despite deregulation in the 1990's many businesses have not considered comparing prices among the various energy suppliers.

No business can afford to not save on electricity and gas usage, and finding different ways is excellent strategy to reduce energy costs and also conserve the environment. Having an impact on your carbon footprint means that you are helping preserve the planet for future generations.

Reduction in the initial costs of fuels is one way to save money, but that is not the only option you have to save, there are other ways of saving energy:

. Consider lowering the thermostat of your central heating by one or two degrees it will not make a large different to the heat in the room but will make an impact on the electricity bill.

. Rooms that are not in use you can turn off the radiators, close the doors of rooms that are not in use to prevent loss of heat from other parts of the building

. Change to energy efficient light bulbs, this is an often overlooked aspect, a large business still using old energy guzzling light bulbs will have very high bills

. Turn off appliances at the wall rather than leave them on standby, many employees leave their computers and other appliances such as fax machines on standby mode, especially over night and weekend when these appliances are not in use.

. When you leave a room switch off the lights

. Ensure that all windows and doors are draft proof

. Install wall and loft insulation, this can reduce heat dissipation by quite a lot

. Install double glazing, this can make a big difference to keep drafts and heat in Cover your hot water tank with an insulating jacket to prevent heat loss, and also cover your pipes with lagging as well

. Replace energy guzzling appliances with energy efficient ones you will be amazed at the difference

. To make an impact on the environment switch to a green electricity tariff and supply

. Find out ways to generate your own electricity such as solar panels.

These are a few different ways to save on your electricity overall, you also need to look at your business power and find out if you are paying more than you should for your electricity and gas. Doing a price comparison between the many energy suppliers is one way of doing it but many businesses do not have the time to give to this task. This is where an energy broker such as PCM Switch who will do the comparison among the many trusted suppliers they deal with daily. PCM employs some of the best energy advisors who are very good at their job; they pride themselves in being able to find a quote that will suit a company's business needs as well as offer considerable savings on their electricity and gas bills. Why not contact them today and get a free quote.

For more information about Business Power, please visit Pcmswitch.co.uk

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