Suggested price to charge for seedlings in 4 inch pots

[Cole_Robbie]

I will probably go to $2 from $1.50 this year, 3 plants for $5. I am the only one selling 4" pot tomatoes I think. The 6-pack price has been $1.50 for years. People still buy them even when the plants look bad. What you can get for yours may be determined by the other vendors' prices.

Herbs all seem to grow at a different rate. Basil, parsley, and cilantro all grow very quickly. I price them the same as the tomatoes.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by barbamWY

I am just wondering what you all are going to price at this year? This is our 10th year selling and I think we started at $1.50 and were $2.00 for years and then went up to $2.25 2 years ago. Our cashiers would like everything at $3.00. So what is your opinion of selling 4 and 6 packs, 4 inch veggies and 2-3" pots herbs, all at $3.00?
Barb

I would sell them for what the market will bear and what they are worth.
My opinion is you need to supply a superior product that people can see from the onset that it is.
Let the product speak for itself.

I for one dont believe people should undercut the big box store if anything they should be a little higher if there product is better.

The people I know that go to these places aren't there for a bargain they are there for a better product.
All of them I know dont mind paying a little more for it.
Charity plays a huge role in what you can charge.

I would also supply cheap fliers with the plants showing how to take care of them and what to expect in production.

Too many verities can be a down side, it confuses the customer.
They will walk off trying to make up their minds and end up buying from somebody else.

I wouldn't even speak the word organic unless I had a certification to prove it.
Environmentally friendly or naturally grown is a much better choice.

If I cant make money selling something then I simply wont do it.
Worth

[vintagepatch]

I purchased some small to medium tomato and pepper plants today from a local farm. They were in small pots (not 4") for $3 each. https://www.jbgorganic.com


I'm going to a plant sale in March. I think they charge $3. It's affiliated with the local blind school.
On the website the have PDF files to download prior to sale. It helps to have the shopping list ahead of time. I don't know if you have a email list to email everyone.
http://www.sunshinecommunitygarden.o...lantsale/index

The window of time to get mine started passed or I wouldn't be buying them

I agree with Worth. I pay more to independent and charitable businesses for a better product.

[Hermitian]

The $3 price point is a good choice. I sold zillions of annual and perennial starter plants in 4" pots at the Leucadia Farmer's market in years gone by.

[ginger2778]

Our plant sale for my garden club had about 500 tomato plants sold. We printed pictures in color of all the tomato varieties and put them on a large board. That helped sales quite a bit.we sold our tomato plants $3 each, or 10 For $25, and we also sold peppers in 4 inch pots, same price. We had peppers in 2 inch pots for $2 each. And we had expandable jiffy peat pellets with 3 basil seedlings each in them, those sold for a dollar. We told folks how all proceeds were going back into the community. People do like to help out charities.

[bobberman]

I have a greenhouse here in Pa. that has the 12 packs of over one foot tomatoes for $3 a dozen . The hybrids are 6 pack for $3. Why they sale so cheep I don't know but the plants are very nice. You could put them in 4 inch pots and get $2 a piece. The price you also sell at depends how nice the plants are. I would say $3 a 4 pack and 2 for $5.

Take pictures from the catalogs that are blown up to a bigger size to show what they are buying because most people have no Idea about the type of tomato! Off brands or heirlooms like green tomatoes sell great.

Even a mix of 4 different kind in one pack also sales! Start some small boxes of mixed tomatoes that are starters like 6 inches high maybe 3 dozen in a old box and sell them for $10! Sunflowers also sell great!

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by bobberman

I have a greenhouse here in Pa. that has the 12 packs of over one foot tomatoes for $3 a dozen . The hybrids are 6 pack for $3. Why they sale so cheep I don't know but the plants are very nice. You could put them in 4 inch pots and get $2 a piece. The price you also sell at depends how nice the plants are. I would say $3 a 4 pack and 2 for $5.

Take pictures from the catalogs that are blown up to a bigger size to show what they are buying because most people have no Idea about the type of tomato! Off brands or heirlooms like green tomatoes sell great.

Even a mix of 4 different kind in one pack also sales! Start some small boxes of mixed tomatoes that are starters like 6 inches high maybe 3 dozen in a old box and sell them for $10! Sunflowers also sell great!

I guess it depends where you are in the country. Here, Home Depot sells a single plant in 6" pot for $3.59. So our 4" pots that had a single plant were $3.we didn't have any group pots.
Our club made around $1200.00 that weekend.
It funded several school projects.

Marsha

[CarolynPhillips]

Well...I don't charge much for my plants. In the end...all I want is to double my money.
I charge $2 for a 6pack, $1.25 for a 3 pack.
$1 for a little 3 inch cup (1801 deep) or $1 for the little round green 4" cups which aren't really 4"....they are 3"
$3 for a 6" pot.
no employees and no extra overhead cost like the big stores (walmart etc..)

walmart , home depot, etc.... are selling their plants at high prices because they need to make a profit off the greenhouse/nurseries that they buy from. If you are growing the plants yourself from seed, your prices should not be as high as theirs. In the end, you will have more customers/buyers. I don't set my prices according to what walmart and places are selling for because my expenses are different. In the long run, I sell more. Think about it.

[BigVanVader]

Our Farmers Market started 2 weeks ago and the plants there in 3 1/2 and 4 inch pots were $3.00 at the low end and 4.50 on the high end (slightly larger plants)

So next year I plan to go 3$ a plant or 2 for 5$

[Axixic]

I charge $30 to $100 pesos depending on the type of plant. Very few heirloom tomatoes are available in Mexico and even rarer are most of the F1s.

They sell Bollos and Roma tomatoes. A Bollo is a round tomato. Most Mexicans have never ever seen black, yellow, pink, white, etc. tomatoes.

[casino]

Last year I sold my tomato plants for 3.00 each or 4 for 10 dollars. I had my plants priced like that for the past 2 years and sell out of my back yard. If I had a booth at a farmers market I am sure I could triple my sales but I work Saturdays so I sell from my back yard.

Pictures help a lot and on my flyer I sort my tomatoes by size and not by color. Of course everyone buys a red tomato and people are now testing the waters on the other colors.
Large tomatoes 12 oz or more
Medium size 8-12 oz
salad size 3 oz to 6 oz
Cherry size 1 oz on average
Paste tomatoes

This year I have 50 varieties for sale and priced at 4 dollars each during the month of May. After May 31st the price drops to 2 dollars each for my blow out sale. What's left after June 10th I donate to the Salvation Army and the people in the food line clean me out by 12 noon. Its easier to price high and go low. Anyone can buy a boy or girl for 2.50 but an Heirloom now that's where the flavor is. People are starting to wake up. Show them the value and they will pay the price.

[moon1234]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Hi to all, my first post in this forum, I think.
I have joined a garden club that does wonderful things all in our home community, with all funds we raise. So this year our club will be selling seedlings in 4 inch pots that are about 8 weeks from seed starting date. I am donating seeds and fertilizer for the 700 plants, our costs for the pro mix BX and the pots needed, and printing supplies will total about $200. About 300 of the pots were donated too.
Here's my thoughts, The big box stores here charge $3.50 and up for tomato plants, I will have lots more variety, mine will be organically grown, and hundreds of people show up for the annual plant sale since there are all types of plants to buy. It's a 2 day event. If we sell them for $ 2.50 each, our club will net over $1500.00.
So am I selling them for enough?
Our proceeds go to community gardens, high school club projects, etc.
Your thoughts are most welcome about this.

Marsha

Hi Marsha,

Pro Mix BX is not certified organic so plants grown in it could not be advertised as organic. Just an FYI. Premier does sell a certified organic version, but it is double the cost.

[moon1234]

Originally Posted by bobberman

I have a greenhouse here in Pa. that has the 12 packs of over one foot tomatoes for $3 a dozen . The hybrids are 6 pack for $3. Why they sale so cheep I don't know but the plants are very nice. You could put them in 4 inch pots and get $2 a piece. The price you also sell at depends how nice the plants are. I would say $3 a 4 pack and 2 for $5.

Take pictures from the catalogs that are blown up to a bigger size to show what they are buying because most people have no Idea about the type of tomato! Off brands or heirlooms like green tomatoes sell great.

Even a mix of 4 different kind in one pack also sales! Start some small boxes of mixed tomatoes that are starters like 6 inches high maybe 3 dozen in a old box and sell them for $10! Sunflowers also sell great!

My guess is the cheap ones are very old varieties where the seed is sold by the ounce and not by the seed. Most of the modern hybrids cost $.03 up to a .25/seed. With the cost of the insert, grow media, water and heat, they would not be making much if anything at 12/$3.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by moon1234

Hi Marsha,

Pro Mix BX is not certified organic so plants grown in it could not be advertised as organic. Just an FYI. Premier does sell a certified organic version, but it is double the cost.

Thank you, the sale actually took place last October, it was a great success. Yes, quite right about the BX not being organic, but close enough since this was a non professional sale of plants grown in a backyard, for a charitable end. I did tell people with questions that the potting mix was not considered organic, but my growing practices were, with no pesticides, and organic fertilizer used at 1/2 strength. Most if not all thought that was just fine.
We ended up selling them for $3 each, or 10 for $25, and you would be surprised how many bought 10 or 20!

Marsha