Hi friends. If you are here to find the ranking of crops
such as marijuana, opium etc. then you can skip this video. This is the list of top 10 legal and most
profitable crops for small farms to grow. Small farms are often diverse enterprises
run by small teams of people, so it’s important what you grow is well suited to your space,
market and time input. Deciding which crops are right for your situation
will depend on many different factors, besides the obvious ones of such as climate
and soil. Here we made this list of crops by considering
its price per kilogram, its growing cycle, yield per square metre, labour intensivity
and annual income per acre. On number 10, here comes Wasabi. Real wasabi costs about $50 for a 100 gram
stem. At wholesale prices, wasabi still sells for
about $160 per kilogram. Real fresh wasabi is only at it’s best for
about 15 minutes after the plant has been ground up into a paste. After that, it starts to lose flavor. So if you’ve ever had anything labeled wasabi
that wasn’t ground up right in front of you, it likely wasn’t the real thing. Real wasabi isn’t actually a root, but a
swollen stem. Two ingredients in the plant combine to give
it a signature spicy flavor, but the compound isn’t very stable and breaks down quickly. The leaves and leaf stems are also edible. Wasabi is hard to grow since it prefers freshwater
streams. It’s hard to grow in large quantities in
a greenhouse because it’s susceptible to disease. In fact, it’s considered one of the hardest
crops in the world to grow. It follows that with that reputation comes
a high price tag. On number 9, its flowers. You may have heard about Dutch tulip mania
in 1637 where a single tulip bulb was worth more than what the average person earned in
a year. While growing flowers today isn’t anywhere
near that profitable, it can still be a great high-value specialty crop for your small farm. Within the main category of flowers, the options
for what you can grow are almost limitless. You can grow a wide range of bulbs, cut flowers,
dried flowers, and more. Growing flowers outdoors you should be able
to gross about $50,000 per acre even when selling in bulk to wholesalers. On number 8, here comes bonsai plants. A bonsai is an ornamental shrub or tree that’s
grown in a pot. It has its roots restricted to artificially
prevent it from reaching its normal size. Bonsai plants can range in price from $20
for younger ones to $5,000+ or more for top specimens. Growing bonsai doesn’t require much space
since the plants are so compact. It only takes a few hundred dollars worth
of soil and seeds to get started. You can grow bonsai from regular seeds. The real value comes from having the skills
and knowledge to transform regular seedlings into beautiful bonsai plants. Number 7, here comes Bamboo. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing woody
plants in the world. You might think of bamboo as a tropical plant,
but there are actually several cold hardy varieties capable of surviving winters where
the temperature drops below zero. Bamboo is a versatile landscaping plant that
can be sold as stand-alone decorative plants or used to create hedges or screens. Homeowners and landscapers are willing to
pay as much as $150 for a potted bamboo plant. By growing in 5 gallon pots in a 40 foot by
30 foot space, you can grow over 600 bamboo plants at a time! Goji berries on number 6. Goji berries are very nutritious, packed full
of antioxidants, and may even have anti-aging and anti-cancer benefits. That makes them widely considered a superfood. Most goji berries are grown in China, but
the plant is also well adapted to grow in a North American climate. Organic dried goji berries sell for $40 or
more per kilogram, and fresh berries demand significantly higher prices, especially when
sold at farmer’s markets. You can grow up to 3000 kilograms of goji
berries per acre, which makes it the most valuable crop you can farm when it comes to
berries. Goji berry plants are deciduous and slightly
thorny woody shrubs. They grow to 3 to 6 feet tall when pruned
and cultivated, although in the wild they can grow to 12 feet tall. Goji berry plants are best started inside
a greenhouse for the first 6 weeks of their development, but then they can be transplanted
outdoors. They can withstand both cold winters and cold
summers. Here comes lavender on number 5. Lavender is an extremely versatile crop. Its flowers can be sold fresh or dried to
florists. The dried flowers can also be made into floral
arrangements or wreaths, or sold directly to crafters or craft supply shops. Of course it’s also used to make lavender
oil. It’s a common ingredient in aromatherapy
products, skin care products like soaps and lotions, and even used in herbal pillows and
sachets. I’ve also had the pleasure of trying a lavender
ice cream before, which had a wonderful floral flavor to it. One acre of lavender plants can produce about
12,000 bouquets each year, which will sell for $10 or more each. For an example of what’s possible with lavender,
check out Purple Haze Lavender Farm. They gross more than $1 million per year from
their various lavender products which are grown on just eight acres of land. Ginseng is on number 4. Ginseng is a crop grown for its slow-growing
medicinal root. There is no conclusive evidence to prove the
health benefits of ginseng, but in preliminary clinical studies it has been shown to have
some positive effects on memory, menopause symptoms, and fatigue. When it comes to growing plants for profit,
ginseng is more of a long-term investment. It takes six years after planting before you’ll
be able to harvest mature ginseng roots. Over a six year period, ginseng growers can
earn as much as $200,000 per acre when roots, rootlets, and seeds are all taken into consideration. Growing ginseng on a large scale is an intensive
process with high risk and requires use of polypropylene shade cloth. But on a small scale it can be grown under
forest cover for little to no cost. In fact, ginseng also grows wild throughout
much of the eastern and northern United States. Buyers much prefer wild grown ginseng compared
to crops grown in open fields. It’s believed that wild ginseng is much
more medicinally potent. On number 3, its saffron. Many of you thought that saffron will be on
the first position of this list. It come to third position because of low yield
per square metre. Saffron is made out of the stigmas from the
crocus plant. It takes approximately 1,50,000 flowers to
produce one kilogram of dried saffron which costs $4000. But to grow that many crocus flowers takes
half acre of land, so you get some idea of how lucrative this crop could be to grow. Saffron grows best in California and other
dry regions with mild winters. Planting them in polytunnels or greenhouses
can make them a viable crop in other regions though. The hard part of growing saffron is the harvesting
process, which is ridiculously labor intensive. You need to delicately pick the flowers as
they bloom, and then pull out the three blossoms per flower. The labor cost is the main reason why saffron
is typically grown in Iran and other countries with lower wages instead of in North America,
despite the crops’s high selling price. Microgreens on number 2. Microgreens gain this position because it
only take 2 or 3 weeks from seed to harvest and can often sell for more than $20 per kilogram. Using shelving, it’s possible to produce
$10,000 worth of microgreens per month in just an average basement or spare bedroom’s
worth of space. Microgreens are most commonly grown in 10″
x 20″ trays filled with soil, but they can also be grown hydroponically. Almost any regular vegetable or herb can be
grown as a microgreen, and there are a wide range of different types of microgreens commonly
grown these days. Taking both their high yield per square foot
and high selling price, microgreens are some of the most profitable vegetables to grow. Mushrooms is the first. When you think of small scale farm ideas,
mushrooms probably aren’t one of the first things that come to your mind as the best
cash crops you can grow. But growing mushrooms can be surprisingly
profitable. Especially oyster mushrooms which can be grown
in as little as just 5 weeks and sell for $20 to $30 per kilogram. Mushrooms are an excellent crop for urban
farmers or anyone who doesn’t have much extra space to work with. They are most often grown indoors and produce
an extremely high return per square foot. Oyster mushrooms can produce up to 40 kilogram
per square foot. And best of all, they can be grown vertically
in large hanging bags to maximize the space that you’ve got available. Mushrooms don’t last long after picked and
are difficult to ship across the country, so local growers have an advantage over larger
commercial operations. Please comment us below about your openion
about these crops and also please like this video and subscribe Eco snooki for more interesting
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