Growing seedlings to sell?

[seymour_man]

A lot of the discussion here has been on selling the harvest.

I have always started and bought the few plants I needed for home growing.

I have been a container grower and am moving to raised beds this year. Also I am planning to try out Ray's Earthtainers for me but mainly thinking about donating a few to some elderly and maybe some of the nursing/assistant living places. I am wanting to build CRW cages.

Of course these things cost money and like a lot of other folks with kid(s) in college, slower work, etc, I have less disposable income. I am not really trying to earn a living but would maybe like this hobby to become more self-financing.

I have been thinking about growing tomato plants (and some peppers) to sell at the local farmers market. I have purchased produce at the market but not plants but have seen a few sellers there in the spring with plants and stuff but not many.

Last year I started over 200 plants mainly to give away to friends, co-workers, etc. It was mainly a test to get my timing down, calculate shelf space, lighting needs, and supplies.

The competition is mainly the Big Box stores (Walmart and Home Depot) and their Bonnie supplied plants and few nurseries who sell wholesale supplied plants. Varieties include a few OP/heirlooms like Brandywine, Mortgage Lifter, Rutgers, Red Cherry and the infamous Yellow Pear. Along with the hybrids of Big Boys, Better Boys and Early Girls. My goal is to supply a better selection of OP/Heirlooms and also a different selection of some Hybrids like Sungold and Big Beef which are never sold here as plants and rarely has been offered locally as seeds. (of course with my luck everone will have those for sale this year...lol)

I figure I have a 3-4 week selling window (month of May) peaking at the May 15 last average frost date. I am basing my calculations on 600 tomato plants. Pepper plant quantities undecided. My goal is to offset as much as possible the cost of a couple rolls of CRW, soil and lumber for 10 raised beds (3x12) plus material to build a few Earthtainers.
Here are my questions to those of you who may have done this before.

1) Is 600 plants a reasonable number? I could do up to 1000 easy I think with some help of my Grandkid gardening students...lol.

2) I am guessing about 2-3 varieties per 100 plants. Meaning out of 600 plants I would offer 12-18 different varieties. I am planning a 75-25 % ratio of OP to Hybrid Varieties but probably closer to 60-40 % ratio of actual OP/Hybrid plant numbers. Actually if my plant numbers would increase to 1000 plants I would offer more OP varieties but keep the Hybrid varieties the same and just increase their plant count. Does this breakdown seem reasonable?

3) With a 3-4 week selling window do I stagger my seed starting so I have a number of plants in their prime each week (which sounds overly complicated) or do I start them all at once aiming at the May 15th peak day which seems simpler?

4) I am already starting some pepper seeds now and over the next month but dont really have a clue for best sellers, etc. I always raise a few for me to use and dry. So I could use some advice on varieties and numbers?

5) I think I have most of the OP seed I need except for Bradley which I plan to offer. However I will need to order some Hybrid seed soon. I know 2 of the Hybrids I want to offer are Sungold and Big Beef. I have several years of growing experince and they have both done well over time. I am wanting to buy these in larger than packet size quantity. I think TGS along with Johnny and Harris offer larger quantities. Are there other, better price vendors?

6) What I am forgetting or not thinking about?

Thanks in advance

Duane

[Wi-sunflower]

Well I have about 20+ years in this area, so here are a few of my observations.

3 - I would think your prime selling time would be earlier than that, but you should know. Anyway, figure your best weeks will be the week before, your prime time, that week and the week after still pretty good. You will sell some before and after but not all that much.You shouldn't need to stager plantings except maybe for a couple of the really good sellers.

1 - 600 sounds high for a first time seller unless you have almost no competition AND you have a market in a large population area. Most years I will sell in the 3-500 plant range / weekend for 2 or 3 weekends IF the weather co-operates. But I've been established for 20+ years where I am. This last year I had numerous problems with weather and other things and I only had 1 good weekend the whole season.

It will also depend a lot on what size plants you are selling too. I sell my plants in 18s or 24s. 1 to a pot. They are larger than the normal 6-pack plant and I get a premium price for them.People want to get a good start with tomatoes and having a large root ball is the best way, not having a big plant but tiny roots. I usually get $2/ or 3 - $5.

5 - Sungold and Big beef are definately 2 of my best varieties, especially the Sungold (tho I've switched to Sun Sugar) Sweet Million is another good seller. But heirlooms are definately a big item in general . More and more every year.

Depending on the market you intend to sell at, you will need to figure out how you will display your plants. Most markets will limit your display space so if you have more varieties than will fit on just a table. I have gotten so many that I'm even having to get creative with my plant racks. Last year we had about 120 varieties to sell. Here is a pic of our stand. I also make variety cards with a pic and seed catalog type info and laminate them so the people can see what the different varieties will be. Once I got over about 20 varieties I also made a spreadsheet list that I copy and hand out. A "cheat sheet" so to speak as the more varieties and the busier you get, the more likely you will be to just "freeze" at times when someone asks you something about a variety.

Good luck with your venture.

[seymour_man]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I have struggled with the number too. I know I didnt have any trouble giving away 200 plants just to folks at work most I didnt really know. They just saw me giving them to other folks and ask for some. I could have sold every one of them for $2-3. They were big healthy plants. I know there are not many vendors then. They usually are there at harvest time. You do have a couple in the spring with a few plants and spring veggies.

I am working on some advertising. Its pretty easy to get a blurb on the radio or in the newspaper. I made sure that some of these folks tasted my product last year. I am also going to make up an earthtainer plus just a simple Rubbermaid tote and with holes and potting mix (what is used in the beginning). I have 10 gallon grow bags leftover that have worked out and thought about buying a few more to sell. I am planning to guide the advertising more to the "let me show you how to grow tomatoes and you dont have to dig up your yard to do it" than just "i have plants for sale"

I had been planning to use 3" pots as my final pot size. I think you can get 28 square ones in a carrier. But I have been wavering since I can get 3.5" or 3.5" deep pots and carriers quite a bit cheaper. More shelf space though.

As I said not many folks there in the spring so I could easily put 3 tables in an U shape.

What about peppers? Any advice about those. And what are your other best selling tomato plants?

[Wi-sunflower]

With a pot as large as I think you are talking about you should be able to get $3 each. The problem at some markets is the fact that they can get 3, or 4, or 6 packs for dirt cheap. The plants will often be taller than mine too. But spindly and sometimes a bit yellow from lack of fertilizer. You will have to teach them that they will be getting a couple of weeks jump on those other plants because your plants have better roots and a thicker stem.

I was surprised that even at markets that were cheap and didn't want to buy my regular sized plants, I WAS able to sell gallon pot dwarf plants for $6 and larger 2 gallon dwarfs with tomatoes on them for $12-15.

The "hot" varieties seem to change a lot from year to year partly depending on if a variety got a write-up in some magazine that spring. Lots of people know the name Brandywine, but often i will stear them to something earlier and easier, more dependable like Caspian Pink or now Marianna's Peace or Gregori's Altai. Anything BIG is usually popular too. Early varieties do well too. Just have the varieties that you know are good and can talk up.

That reminds me. You will have to talk till your blue in the face because people will want to know about the varieties. That's why the signs. When you get busy, you could lose customers if they can't figure out what the varieties are all about.

With the Peppers I usually specialized in the HOT peppers. Anaheim, Jalapeno, Cayenne, Ancho, Thai, and of course Habanero. Any of the colorful ornamentals usually sell well too.

I was up stairs in my spare bedroom between these posts. I was seeding some of my dwarfs so hopefully I will have some BIG plants with some tomatoes on them by the beginning of May when my markets get going.

[rodger]

Good advice from Wi- Sunflower. I started growing 6 years ago with about 600 plants. I grow around 10,000 plants now and sell wholesale to 4 nurseries. On plants to grow even though some of my favorites are none red varieties None red varieties are hard to sell. People want a juicy red tomato to make a sandwhich with, So plant lots of good medium size and large red varieties . Black is a red and sells good but limit to one green and maybe two yellows with one a bi color and stay away from novalty (SP) plants like peach, silver fir tree, stick curl, whites and non red pastes until you have a good customer base. I personally would do a higher ratio of OP. People will buy a six pack of hybrids for $2 Those same people will also pay $3-4 for a good size Heirloom in a 3in pot to go with their six pack of cheap big box store plants. Pictures sell plants. Vatieties that have a good picture of a juicy sliced tomato always sellout before a plant with only a name and discription. People also like old standards Mortgage lifter, Cherokee Purple,Brandywine, German Johnson and varieties with familiy names. Keep up with the media and offer varieties that are in magazines and used by TV personalities. Plant lots of red cherries. I was overwhelmed by the request for cherry tomatoes. Be prepared to talk till your horse and Challenge people to make a sell. What I mean is everyone wants a red tomato. But my favorites are Blacks and some yellows so I challenge people to try a black or green or yellow and even give them away or at half price with the purchase of the red they wanted, next year they will be back and buy the Black tomato or the orange Sungold or Yellow Dr. Carolyn or the green aunt rubys. Another thought is to sponser a tomato tasting. I was amazed at the number of people who came out to my first tasting. I did the tasting to introduce peole to the array of flavors and colors available in tomatoes. Now people come and give me wish lists for next year after tasting.
ON other plants to grow people want Cayenne peppers Jalapeno, Habernero and Thai hots they also want good bell peppers and sweet banana type peppers and will pay $3-4 dollars for a large sturdy plant to go with their $2 six pack of the exact same plant. I also grow eggplant my favorites are the Italian varieties such as Listada ,Rosita or rosa bianco. My first year I grew several flats of these outstanding varieties and only 2 flats of Black Beauty. I sold out of Black beauty the first day and gave away most of the others just to get rid of them. Today I sell 10 to 1 Italian eggplants over the standard Black beauty and sell out of these each year. So my point is people have a standard of what they think vegetables should look like and taste like. My job is to show them there is a whole world of taste and colors and why settle for the everyday big box brands. Hope some of this helps I am already exited about this year and planted my peppers eggplant and herbs this past weekend along with some early tomatoes that will be sold in 2qt containers ready to bloom. Rodger

[Wi-sunflower]

Yes cherries and grapes are great sellers especially if the family has a kid or few. Often the kids will do the picking on the cherry plant and want something like they grew before. It doesn't HAVE to be the same variety tho if you can tell them how the variety YOU have looks similar but TASTES better.

Nearly 10 years ago, I was probably the first in my area to grow Amish Paste and would sell tons. It's still a good selling Roma, but since others also sell it now, I don't sell the totals of it I used to.

One tip about eggplant -- many people have tried it in the past with poor results if they get anything at all. The big reason for that is because most places sell eggplant plants in the same small rootball 3/6 pack size. If eggplants get "rootbound" they take forever to grow out of it and never do well the rest of the season. You need to put eggplant in bigger pots too. I put peppers and eggplant in 36s. The plants will be bigger than the store bought and will take off as soon as planted.

About the hot peppers, because they are much slower growing than tomatoes, I put them in a smaller pot than my tomatoes and charge less than the tomatoes, but more than the stores. I also start them about a month before I do my tomatoes.

I'm hoping to be able to do a tomato taste fair at my farm this summer if the weather co-operates. Last year because of the early rains, our tomatoes were in 3 different fields. I have a big field this year IF the weather works out. Often the plans you make at this time of the year get thrown out the window when planting time comes around. But if things work out, I will use flyers at my 3 markets to promote my tasting. I should have over 200 varieties for people to see and taste. This should help both plant and tomato sales as my best market doesn't allow sampling if something has to be cut.

If you live in an area where you can grow a few plants extra early in you greenhouse, having some of the actual tomatoes there during plant season should really sell the plants. For me it's a bit of a stretch to be able to do that. Too much cold and not enough decent greenhouse space.

[Nightshade]

Wi-Sunflower, are you still arouund?

You mentioned that you sell mature plants in 2 gallon pots, later in the season. I would imagine people would be thrilled to have an already fruiting plant, since it takes the uncertainty out of feeding and watering to get it to that point. What are the dwarf varieties you typically plant?

I was 'paging through" the back pages GW last night and I came across someone else who was doing it and getting $10 a pot.

[louise]

I have been selling plants for about 6 years or more. Each year I plant a few more because I run short and people still want plants. I start 1 tray of tomatoes of 120 each week for 2 weeks which I have already done. This next weekend and for 2-3 more weekends I will start around 300 plants each weekend. Then back down to 120 per week for 2-3 weeks. Last year I sold plants tomatoes from the 3rd weekend in February until the middle of April and people still wanted tomato plants and I had to tell them I ran out. I sold around 1000 tomato plants alone. I also start and sell bell peppers, hot peppers, eggplant, squash, cucumbers, watermelon, mushmelon, and some herbs. I sell quite a few bell peppers, hot peppers ,and eggplant also, probably 300 of each bell and hot peppers, and 100 eggplant. The other items 25-50 of each.

[rnewste]

Duane,

You are getting some great advice here on marketing your seedlings.

I don't know how big a display area you have, but something you may want to think about is to display an EarthTainer next to your plant racks. Something "different" to draw people into your booth can have a positive impact

The downside might be that you have to take time explaining to people what the darn thing does. Not a big problem if you have 2 people working your booth - - but again, something to keep in mind.

Also, I don't have an issue with individuals building EarthTainers for sale as they are somewhat complex to build and require good power tool hand - eye coordination which not everyone has. Again, in these tough economic times, any kind of revenue generating income is fair game. I just don't want some commercial operation to mass produce them for profit.

Let me know if you need any of the wicking baskets, wire rope clamps or other hard to find components. I have been buying these items in quantity and can help you out at my cost. Good luck with your venture!!

Ray

[Wi-sunflower]

Hi,

Actually I sell them as soon as I can get them decent sized and my market is open. They will be maybe a month or more ahead of the season for most people.You know some people always have to have the FIRST tomato in the neighborhood.

When they are just plants, they sell OK. When they have blooms on them, they sell better. When they have small fruit they really sell. I often get more than $10 for the pots and $10 for the baskets.

I've been using the Huskys, Stakeless, Super Bush, Orange Pixie and Pixie. I do baskets with Basket King, Tumbler and Pink Tumbler. Those sell well when they have fruit on them.

I ordered some of the OP dwarfs I found out about here at TV, so I will be trying several new varieties this year too. Like Czech Bush, New Big Dwarf, and Golden Dwarf Champion. I also have a few other dwarves I traded for seeds so those I will be growing myself so I will have more seed for next year.

I don't do a whole lot of those plants, but I did sell more of them last year than I thought I would. The trick seems to be to have options for people. The other thing is the big plants sitting there sell the smaller plants of the same variety as the customer can see what they will become.

I actually seeded some dwarves last weekend so hopefully I will have some big plants by May 1.

[seymour_man]

Ray,

I had already been thinking about displaying your earthtainer since I am building a few to try out. Also I am going to build a few to donate to some of the nursing/assistant living places here in town. Part of selling plants is to recoup some of the expense of this hobby. I wasn't planning to offer to sell the earthtainer, just demo it and let folks know there are instructions on the net. But thanks for saying it would be OK to make and sell. But really my whole intent was to show folks that you dont have to have a farm or dig up the back yard to grow a few tomato plants.

[seymour_man]

Thanks everyone for all the advice. Some of the items you mentioned I had thought about but a lot I had not.
Like I said my big reason to do this is to help offset some of the cost of this hobby. I pretty much have everything I need as far as lights, shelving, etc. I would have to decide about using foam cups or buy pots when I pot up. But I do have a local wholesale place to buy the professional items.

I really dont have any interest in selling produce etc. and thought selling a few plants would be a low cost alternative to offset the cost of me building a some raised beds.

[stormymater]

A la Sam Kinison (think of Contemporary American History class in Back to School) - "I like the way you think...." hoping to do a little of the same myself this spring.

[bigmeanmamma]

Hey Duane,

We're almost neighbors! (I'm in Indy) I'm excited to hear how your seedling sales go so please keep us posted. I've been selling heirloom seedlings for the past couple years here at a local market.

We start selling the last week of April and stop maybe the first week of June. I use Craig's dense planting method - its awesome. So that answers one of your questions: I start all the seeds at the same time - about Feb 15th or so. I charge $2 per plant and they're in 4 inch pots.

I've been able to sell about 500 without much marketing. I'm potting up double this year and hoping to sell them all! There is a local Health food store here that is willing to carry my plants too. You might try something like that. Its great for me because I don't have to be present the whole time. I'm soliciting some other stores too. We'll see how that goes.

Last year while we had a yard sale, I set up a table with my plants and sold a few in the driveway too!

As far as what sells best, we've found its whatever we're excited about. My children love Mexico Midgets and they were so enthusiastic we sold out of them after the first 2 markets. Also pictures make a big impact, even just cut out from your seed catalog. I made a "poster" with some of my varieties that were more unusual. (too late info for this year I know)

A handout is also very helpful as someone else pointed out. I found that people would take it home and come back the next week after reading about a tomato they had to have.

Best wishes on your plants.
Lesa

[BattleOfBennington]

Lesa -

Love to catch up with you and learn a little....

Cal

Originally Posted by bigmeanmamma

Hey Duane,

We're almost neighbors! (I'm in Indy) I'm excited to hear how your seedling sales go so please keep us posted. I've been selling heirloom seedlings for the past couple years here at a local market.

We start selling the last week of April and stop maybe the first week of June. I use Craig's dense planting method - its awesome. So that answers one of your questions: I start all the seeds at the same time - about Feb 15th or so. I charge $2 per plant and they're in 4 inch pots.

I've been able to sell about 500 without much marketing. I'm potting up double this year and hoping to sell them all! There is a local Health food store here that is willing to carry my plants too. You might try something like that. Its great for me because I don't have to be present the whole time. I'm soliciting some other stores too. We'll see how that goes.

Last year while we had a yard sale, I set up a table with my plants and sold a few in the driveway too!

As far as what sells best, we've found its whatever we're excited about. My children love Mexico Midgets and they were so enthusiastic we sold out of them after the first 2 markets. Also pictures make a big impact, even just cut out from your seed catalog. I made a "poster" with some of my varieties that were more unusual. (too late info for this year I know)

A handout is also very helpful as someone else pointed out. I found that people would take it home and come back the next week after reading about a tomato they had to have.

Best wishes on your plants.
Lesa