Microfarming for Profit. Dave DeWitt

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      Poisonous plants like deadly nightshade (Datura wrightii) would be growing in the The Beautiful But Deadly Microfarm and Poison Museum.

      NPS Photo by Neal Herbert.

      Many people are unaware that some of the more beautiful ornamental landscaping plants are poisonous. Here are just a few examples of the plants in this microfarm.

      —Datura or jimsonweed, with its large and beautiful flowers, has a long history of use both in South America and Europe and is known for causing delirious states and poisonings in uninformed users. Most parts of the plant contain atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine.

      —Henbane is a biennial herb that grows up to one meter tall and produces spectacular veined yellow flowers and large quantities of seeds. It was historically used in combination with mandrake, deadly nightshade, and datura as an anesthetic potion, as well as for its psychoactive properties in “magic brews.”

      —Oleander, a common landscaping plant with beautiful flowers of many colors, is extremely poisonous. Every part of the plant affects the heart, produces severe digestive upset, and has caused death.

      —Deadly Nightshade, or belladonna, is a one- to two-meter tall perennial herb that produces small red to black berries from bright purple flowers. These berries contain atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine and have a long history of use as a medicinal, poisonous, and ceremonial herb.

      Others include castor bean, lantana, lily of the valley, lupine, mistletoe, philodendron, azalea, Boston and English ivy, clematis, holly, hydrangea, sago palm, Virginia creeper, and wisteria. The microfarm would sell seeds, bedding plants, large specimen plants, books like Mark Mills’ The Savage Garden, Albert Hofmann and Richard Evans Schultes’ Plants of the Gods, and Amy Stewart’s Wicked Plants. Special promotions could include seminars on protecting your pets and farm animals from poisonous houseplants, garden plants, and weeds, and talks on drug plants. I would imagine that Halloween with a witches’ brew of plants that cause spells would be a big hit. The possibilities for promotions on local, regional, and national media would generate a lot of traffic to this microfarm because people are fascinated by deadly things—and especially the ones that seem so innocent.

      The Gourdgeous Garden and Squash Courts. Gourds might seem an unlikely crop for a microfarm, but I think a cucurbit enthusiast could make go of it with gourds and squashes because they are so versatile. Gourds can be your dinner or the serving bowl for it, the dipping spoon for your squash soup, your vegetable sponge, your birdhouses, your works of art, your vases, your fishing bobber, your herb planter, your weird wall hangings, and even your banjo, rattle, flute, marimbas, or drums. And when I write “squash courts,” I’m not kidding: both gourds and squashes will grow vertically, so theoretically, with the right structure and some netting, you could give the illusion of a squash or racquetball court. Google around for “chayote” and note that to save ground space, they usually hang from netting and trellises.

      For promotions to attract customers, a gourd art show and competition would be a lot of fun. After all, some of the most gorgeous painted gourds are the jicaras from Mexico and Guatemala. And gourd carving is a celebrated art in Nigeria and New Zealand. What about a concert featuring the Berry Gourdy String Band, with all the musicians playing with gourd-only instruments? For value-added products, what about bottled winter squash pasta sauces? I’ve tried some splendid ones. You could even serve them over spaghetti squash. There are canned acorn or butternut squash soups, and squash flour is popular for baking in the Philippines.

      Worried about squash bugs? Hint: keep chickens or guinea fowl for eggs or meat and give them access to the squash garden for an hour each day and soon you won’t have any bugs—or grasshoppers for that matter.

      The Popcorn Crazy Farm and Family Fun Maze. This would fit into the category of agritainment. There are plenty of corn mazes around the country, but I’ve never heard of one tied into popcorn. There is some method to my madness because popcorn is a profitable value-added product, especially if you’re growing your own.

      Corn mazes usually have some value-added entertainment in addition to the maze. These include hay rides, zip lines, live zombie scarecrows СКАЧАТЬ