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Other profitable indoor crops?

hush

Señor Member
Veteran
I apologize if this has been discussed before, but I didn't find a thread about it.

I understand that things are ALWAYS cheaper when sunlight can be used, so please don't state the obvious. I am curious to know if it would be profitable at all to operate an indoor hydroponic farm under artificial lighting, with plants other than cannabis. This does not necessarily have to be a way to retire young, either, lol. I'm just talking about whether or not a profit could feasibly be achieved doing this.

One example that comes to mind, to me, is lettuce. Many people who live in hot environments just WISH they could grow lettuce outside in their gardens, but it cannot be done. Where I live, it can't even be successfully done in the winter, lol. So, that was what got me thinking about this... it seems that cold weather crops grown locally in hot weather climates would probably be easily marketed and sold. The fact that air conditioning and banks of T5 lights would need to be used could possibly be offset by the fact that everyone who lives in hot climates grumbles about not being able to find good lettuce, especially the flavorful varieties that just don't get sold in stores. So maybe that might work.

But it just got me wondering... are there other scenarios where indoor farms under artificial lighting is profitable? :tiphat:
 

Biosynthesis

Member
Veteran
Wondered the same myself. Spoke with the organic store locally and they would definitely but them but never tried as I didnt think that it would pay for the light bill. Good question. Anyone else have any ideas?
 

captain planet

Active member
Veteran
Interesting question. With out big lights I know that fungi can be done well indoors and have a pretty high demand, and not just the "magic" ones, shitake, chanterelle, oyster etc. I happen to be close to what is known as the mushroom capital of the US, maybe world.

As far as fruit / veggies I think selling starts in the spring to people could be profitable but not sure. As far as selling a profitable crop of fruit /veggie from indoor idk ....but I'd like to know too! :)
 

STUNKY

Member
yes mushrooms are a good one.. not sure about chantrelles inside, but right now they are fruiting wild and abundantly where I live.. tomatoes is a good one in winter when the dollar per pound price is high..
there is another thread on this many pages just not sure of the name..
 

foomar

Luddite
ICMag Donor
Veteran
This thread has some good suggestions and much is relevant to indoors.

Next most profitable cash crop in greenhouse . .

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=248467

Have tried many fruit and veg over the years , filling in odd gaps or just to see how they do indoors , not all take a 12/12 cycle well and some bolt.

Raising plants like fancy toms and peppers or unusual herbs for growing on covers costs but not much profit to be made , some of the indoor pests are a worse problem with lettuce than in canna.

One that is definately viable is salvia divinorum , but not much interest in it now.
 

lost in a sea

Lifer
Veteran
yes mushrooms are a good one.. not sure about chantrelles inside, but right now they are fruiting wild and abundantly where I live.. tomatoes is a good one in winter when the dollar per pound price is high..
there is another thread on this many pages just not sure of the name..

chantrelles are as yet undomesticated and only grow wild..

enjoy them :D

shitake are easy enough and with some skills later on mushrooms like agaricus blazai can be grown indoors and they are worth alot of money because of the health food market these days and people will pay alot to get them dried or powdered,, and they are one of the most potent anti cancer sources known, largely through novel polysaccharides and other chemicals, along with many other mushrooms.. but you won't be able to compete with button/potabello growers and other common super market sold species..

cubensis aren't easy enough to sell which is a great shame they are good for society imo..

as for plants,, the answer is basically no, no other plant is profitable enough to grow the full life cycle soley under just artificial lighting.. alot of plants grown in greenhouses are supplemented with light in the higher latitudes though obviously and many companies make money off being specialists in various plant families like cacti or orchids or banana plants etc..

growing lettuce in hot places with ac and t5s indoor would not be profitable tbh..

maybe corals but that's not something to take lightly and best avoided really as a business idea in this climate..
 
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FirstTracks

natural medicator
Veteran
High end flowers (the legal kind) if you do it right. You want to be the grower AND retailer or else you lose half the profit. Tough but not impossible to find hard-to-get/rare/high end stock, but if you can take time to build up the business, its very possible to make some money.

You might be able to supply some local restaurants with locally grown, organic cooking herbs. They might grow fast enough and take up a small enough amount of space to cover your bills.
 

lost in a sea

Lifer
Veteran
High end flowers (the legal kind) if you do it right. You want to be the grower AND retailer or else you lose half the profit. Tough but not impossible to find hard-to-get/rare/high end stock, but if you can take time to build up the business, its very possible to make some money.

You might be able to supply some local restaurants with locally grown, organic cooking herbs. They might grow fast enough and take up a small enough amount of space to cover your bills.

high end flowers possibly, you can get good prices per stem for some flowers.. i can't imagine unless you are just supplementing light in greenhouses that you could make herbs or salad veg like lettuce & rocket etc pay.. maybe just about if you were selling rarer varieties to high end restaurants in town that they basically can't get any any other way..
 

hush

Señor Member
Veteran
This is good info, guys, thank you very much. :)

Okay, so then, let's say we forget about AC. Let's say that a greenhouse type structure is setup under some shade, where the temps only creep up to the upper 80s ever... and there is one big fan passing fresh air through... would that open possibilities?

I really like the idea of indoor gardening for the ability to control everything. No pests. Everything is clean. I just like it. So it made me wonder if it's ever feasible to operate an indoor farm of sorts, and be profitable.

All this talk about flowers made me think about African Violets... Those grow very well under minimal light, and they take up little space, especially the mini and semi-mini varieties. I wonder if those could be profitable enough enough to offset the extremely low amount of T8 lighting that would be required? I'm talking about actual potted plants. Or other little niche plants, like miniature succulents or something like that? But I wouldn't know how to market that, lol.

I don't know, any other suggestions? You guys are great thanks! :biggrin:
 

captain planet

Active member
Veteran
Sincere apology from me to Hush and Ic... Sorry I knew there is more than a few good mushroom s for indoor cultivation and than just listed some mushrooms off the top of my head. Thank you guys for clearing that up for me and all other readers. :)
 
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