Rural Success Stories
Home | View all Success Stories

Eat your vegetables is advice of Phelps County entrepreneur

Andrew Erickson grew up on a 1400-acre farm in Phelps County. While his dad planted corn and soybeans and raised pigs, Andrew’s mother planted vegetables and flowers. Andrew says, “From my earliest memories, I liked planting, caring for and harvesting vegetables.”

Now in his mid-20s, the idea of growing and marketing fresh vegetables as a career choice took form when he was a freshman in Holdrege High School.

“Our farm wasn’t large enough to support two families, but I wanted to stay on the farm,” said Andrew. “I thought about different ways to do it, and starting my own business seemed like a good idea.”

He enrolled in agriculture coursework at the high school, and he developed his business plan as a Supervised Agriculture Experience project (S.A.E.). Andrew says, “As a freshman, I thought up the idea of growing and selling vegetables, and then in my sophomore year, I developed a business plan and started the north garden. By my junior year, I realized I needed a growing shed to start seedlings, so I wrote a proposal to the USDA for a youth experience loan for $2,500 to build the first greenhouse.

Andrew’s Gardens first year of production was 1999 with a crop of tomatoes, cabbage and beans sold at the Holdrege Farmer’s Market.

A viable business

Andrew is the first to admit that his career path means a lot of hard work for him, but after more than ten years he’s developed a thriving business. Then as now, he sells the produce he grows at farmer’s markets in Kearney, Holdrege and North Platte.

Andrew’s Gardens comprises six greenhouses on 14 acres north and east of Holdrege. He plants melons and vegetables on eight of the acres. A refrigerated building holds the harvested vegetables at 53 degrees until they go to market. Andrew built his own greenhouses and the storage building. He said, “That $2,500 U.S.D.A. loan got me started, and took me from there to here.”

Tomatoes bring the most profit and are the main crop. They are grown both inside for early maturing and outside for late summer and fall sales. Andrew also grows green beans, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. He additionally grows watermelon and cantaloupe on a large scale.

“Melons are more difficult to grow due to disease, and the difficulty getting them started in the strong Nebraska winds,” says Andrew. But they’re profitable – if you get them in early enough.

“The challenge is always to start the vegetables early because profits increase when a grower beats the competition and is the first to offer vegetables at the market.”

Overcoming the challenges

When problems such as insect pests and fungal diseases arise, Andrew researches the problem via the Internet. He looks at Web site from Iowa State, Clemson, and the Universities of Kentucky, South Carolina, and Florida, among others. “I do all my own research,” he says.

In Nebraska, plants need protection from strong winds, so Erickson plants his vegetables under black plastic, in between rows of winter rye, a grain that grows to about three feet high and protects the vegetable rows from wind damage. The winter rye also suppresses weed growth between the rows. He buys vegetable seeds from a seed company in Ohio.

Honey bees pollinate the vegetables growing outside, and bumble bees purchased from a bee supplier in Canada pollinate the green house vegetables. Andrew says, “Bees make big a difference in quality and fruit set.”

The work involved in managing Andrew’s Gardens is practically year-round. Andrew plants seeds in February, manages the gardens and harvests vegetables through the summer beginning in May, and in December he finishes cleaning and organizing equipment and the green houses. In December, Andrew also plans for the next year and orders his seeds.

Facing the future

Rising gasoline and propane prices concern Andrew.

“I heat the greenhouses with propane,” said Andrew. “My biggest concern is for the tomato plants. Below 50 degrees, a tomato plant chills, and for every day a tomato is below 50 degrees, it takes three days to recover.” Andrew needs to heat the green house from March to May.

For those who may want to follow in his footsteps, Andrew says, “If you like gardening and working hard, I recommend growing and selling vegetables. Very few people in Nebraska, compared to other states, produce vegetables, and Nebraska is an excellent growing climate for greenhouse vegetables because we have plenty of sun.”

He also recommends buying vegetables from growers at farmer’s markets.

“When you buy from a vegetable grower at a farmer’s market, you know the grower, you know where the vegetables came from, you know it is fresh, and, at least in our case, you also know that no dangerous chemicals are applied.”

For the future, Andrew says he’s doing all the business he can handle and doubts if he will increase production since :”’m doing all I can handle.”

Like many of us, Erickson says, “All I can do is try to get more efficient.”

Farmer's Market Gazpacho

There’s no better way to use the fresh produce you at farmer’s markets than in a fresh-vegetable medley like this one.

Ingredients:

3 oz. of a red onion
Medium carrot
½ large red bell pepper
2 cucumbers
3 large ripe tomatoes – halved, juiced, and seeded
½ cup loosely packed basil
Kernels from 1 large ear of sweet corn (cooked or raw)
2 cups seasoned tomato juice such as Clamato
½ tsp. sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Hot sauce to taste

Instructions

Process the onion, carrot, bell pepper, and cucumbers in a food processor and transfer to a two quart container. Puree the tomatoes and basil leaves until smooth. Add salt, pepper, sugar, and hot sauce to taste. Mix all ingredients together and add the corn kernels last. Serve chilled in a bowl with croutons or as a refreshing drink.

Who To Contact...

Andrew's Gardens
Andrew Erickson
velie@atmc.net
(308) 263-4321

back to top | more Success Stories