This spring's side hustle: plants

A side hustle is a little job on the side, to make some extra cash. I mentioned a few years ago, about a little side hustle I was doing, to do something completely different than my normal job, and to make a little cash. While benevolent company J treats me very well and gives me a paycheck to boot, it's nice to try out another 'career' on the side, on the evenings and weekends.

In my fantasy world I don't have to worry about renewing a UK work permit. In my non-fantasy world, I need to keep my eye on the UK legislation, and one of the conditions of renewing my UK work permit is a certain salary level--one which computer work readily supplies. Let's save that topic for my next 'UKversary', coming up shortly. Anyway, in my fantasy world, I'd be an organic gardener, with maybe a few chickens as well.

Some months back, I mentioned the 'accidental avocados'. I did end up putting one of the avocado plants up on ebay, and then watched in wonderment as it received multiple bids, and finally sold for 5 GBP, plus shipping. I boxed it up and it went north to its' new home, near the Scottish border...

Then I started to think a little further about this idea...

• My balkon in Essex is hotter than hot. In peak weather it's above 40.
• Certain veg and plants do very well up here, others not. In particular, because I'm so far up off the ground and because of the glass walls, it's a little more of a greenhouse effect.
• Except that I have a lot more space than the average greenhouse.
• I get a jump start on the UK growing season, and mine lasts longer as well, just due to the warmer temps up here.
• The UK plant market is a bit more 'closed' than some other EU markets due to government regulations.

For kicks and giggles, I listed extra strawberry plants in the fall, the runners that wouldn't stop coming. I still have over 60 runners in little pots, here are some of them, on the left:

Then I sold a set of strawberries on ebay as well, those were carefully boxed and went to live with Ben in West Yorkshire. As they were runners, they are essentially 'free' items to me. 5 down, 60 more to go...

While I cannot orcestrate a full salad to be produced off my my space (something I could easily do by late July in Germany, on 1/10th of the space), I am able to grow and sell warm weather items, so that I can them buy my salad. ;-)

So here is part of the back balkon. Last year I lined it with tomatoes. As you can see, it's a lot of spare space.

This year, I'm thinking to go after starting off a lot seedlings to sell small plants, and then those crops that do exceptionally well up here (and not so well in Essex or the UK). I usually do half decently on getting seeds started, due to that greenhouse effect.

I'm curious to see how much pocket change I can make from something I enjoy doing on the side...

Thoughts or ideas are welcome of what I should grow to sell, or how to do it...
Plants that have done well up here:

• avocados
• chilli peppers/any hot pepper variety, although they're not a big profit maker as peppers from Thailand and Jamaica are sold cheaply here.
• thai basil, from seed
• cat nip (cat mint) - last year's plants are already getting new growth for this season. I started with two small seedlings from the nursery and they mushroomed into 18 inches with pretty purple flowers on top. They over-wintered on the balkon and are now coming back with a vengence

Those who have failed up here, to various degrees:

• The cauliflowers - I attracted the white butterflies that created worms that demolished them.
• Lettuce - it gets too hot up here, so it goes quickly to seed
• Eggplant - couldn't get the seeds to sprout

Indifferent

• Potatoes - they do ok, but my winter ones flopped with our early freeze
• Tomatoes - they like the heat, but my plants get too hot and then get wilty. I actually had better tomatoes in Germany, by far