3 of 15

Write now Article Tools

The office isn't for everyone. If you crave a self-styled workplace, here are three things you can produce with little start-up cost and a wide-open market.

1. Compost - That's right. Dirt. But not just any dirt. We're talking Grade A, 100% organic, ph-neutral, earthworm-habituated black gold. This veggievitamin-rich soil can be produced from things that rot on the side of the road, namely grass clippings and mulch, a bit of graze-animal manure, etc. One 100'x2'x'3' trough produces 600 cubic feet of premium topsoil. That's 46800 lbs, or 2340 20-lb bags. Each bag can be sold for upwards of $2.00 in most markets. A few Google searches will show you what ingredients you will need to cook up a fine bath of compost. Make sure that your nitrogen-to-carbon ratios are in line, your temperatures maintained at 90-100 degrees Fahrenheit, and that the compost stays roughly as moist as a wet sponge. Sell to local gardeners and greenhouses.

2. Chickens - Have an acre or two? Put up a chicken house! Chickens make fine pets, and hens can produce tons of eggs. You will need lights in the henhouse, a good organic bedding such as hay, and if you want to expand your flock you'll need a rooster. Eggs should be harvested daily for maximum laying, checked for visible defects of any kind, and immediately refrigerated. These can be sold to local grocers, especially if they coincide with organic regulations. The manure, second perhaps only to bat guano in terms of quality, can be sold after it is composted to reduce its tendency to burn roots while fresh. Use the manure to add nitrogen in the form of ammonium to your compost bin. Chicken manure is considered "hot" both for its ability to burn roots, and to provide so much nitrogen to a compost pile that it may actually spontaneously combust. Sell eggs to local grocers, manure to local farmers.

3. Worms - Grow 'em in your compost troughs! Red Wigglers, Manure Worms, or Compost Worms are the preferred breed. Go ahead and plunk a few dollars down at your local bait shop and seed your compost trough. The worms are capable of doubling their population every 90 days or so... wait six months and start harvesting! Always leave quite a few worms and a few inches of compost in the trough after your harvest. This will provide the microbial activity and worms of breeding size to seed your next crop. Sell 'em to your local baitshop owners (the same one that sold you your seed crop, for starters!) and fishermen.

Learn more about this author, J.D. Wood.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Ideas for good businesses with little capital investment?
We want to hear your view. Write now!