Is it really true?

[gardenstartup]

Checked your price and want to cry!
You can sell plants in pot 3$ each????????
In Estonia I can sell them between 0.60-0.80 eur each(ca 0.80-0.90$)
But costs are same. Or even more than in US
I can't even finish my new greenhouse because no money right now.
Started even a fundraising project on my blog, but of course haven't got anything yet

3$ each !!!! Is it really true?
Oh i would be rich...

Anybody growing flowers,too?
What costs an annual?
Perennials?

[Rockporter]

I wouldn't call selling potted plants at $3 a pop to be something that would make me rich. The costs to pot up those plants and the time and effort to sell them is a huge part of the cost. Business tax here in the US is not cheap. I don't know what it costs you to live in Estonia but the high cost of living in the US is not subsidized by selling plants at $3 a pop. Sorry if my post offends you but I think you need to take a look at the overall cost of living and doing business in the US.

[gardenstartup]

Hmm.
Some examples from Estonia
Fertilizers ca 500eur/ton if you buy at least 500kg
Chemicals 5-10 eur litre or 5ml 2-3 eur
petrol 1.30 eur litre
diesel 1.40
EVA film for greenhouse 1.30 eur m2
Supermarket prices(average):
meat: 7eur/kg
chicken 4eur/kg
bread 1eur(600gr)
banana 1.50/kg
grapes 3-4eur/kg

employee taxes: 59%
vat 20%
medicals 7%

[awsumth]

$3 per plant isn't a lot of money. I'd say 95% of the customers in a market will only buy one plant once or never buy one. Not too many people in my area can take care of plants and will often buy a plant with big expectations but later neglect it or not know how to take care of it. Many people who do know how to take care of plants might overlook a market and start plants directly from seed at a fraction of the cost (because they know they can).

It's also hard to compete when companies like Home Depot will sell their plants for over $3 and still be at a loss.

Minimum wage here is $7.67/hour, so not many people are going to be buying a plant anyway when they need to spend money on food and other basics.

Definitely not a scheme to get rich quick. Selling plants more or less supports a hobby until you have your own nursery.

[gardenstartup]

I know how hard it is, if you check my blog( look my signature) then you can see that I know exactly how hard it is. Just difference between prices makes me wonder.

[ScottinAtlanta]

gardenstartup, I understand you. Most Americans don't know how much cheaper life in the US is compared to Europe - I am sure your inputs cost more than we pay. I am not sure why there is such a difference in price of seedlings, though - is it because there is alot of competition, or because people are sowing their own?

[gardenstartup]

I guess americans are more convenient.
People in here will start to sow as soon as asked price is higher than costs.
However- people are changing here, too.
More and more are sitting behind computers and if you give them a seed, they don't know what to do or where to put it.

[Worth1]

We get off cheap in the USA and many people dont even know it.
Our standard of living is so much better here sometimes I feel it is a sin.

The people that are lucky enough to own a house in many parts of Europe live in one a little smaller than mine.

Some are around 800 square feet.

I spoke recently with a woman from Latvia that lost everything she had.
Her family had to leave their farm and move all over the world.

Another person I know at work came from Romania in the late 90's

He told me about how you had to bribe a prospective employer just to get a job.
Everything is ran by bribes and kickbacks.

All of the phones are tapped.
You even speak of something illegal there and the police will be at your home in minutes.
This is a very intelligent man, speaks fantastic English that I can tell is well educated.

He is as happy as a clam to have a job working in the kitchen where I work for less than half the pay I make.
He is Happy to be in the USA.

One Euro is worth 1.31 dollars today.

I can totally see where gardenstartup is coming from.

Worth

[gardenstartup]

Almost true. Only phones are not tapped. But they will find you quickly, if you make somekind of prank call about threat or something.
But getting a job is really a problem, if you don't know someone.
Our nature is wonderful - a lot of swamps, mosquito swarms and up to seven months long winter. Like this year. And it means electricity is more expensive, because we need to buy it from stock exchange.

[ScottinAtlanta]

But Tallinn is a beautiful old city, and your women are stunning.

[gardenstartup]

I agree.

[OldHondaNut]

We buy them in 4 packs for $1.75 where I get them in South Texas. In Dallas I can usually find a 9 pack for $3.50 or so. They are small, maybe 6 to 8 weeks, but they seem to catch up to the big ones.

I grow all of my plants until something happens or I see a variety that I might want to try but have no seeds. I didn't buy any transplants this year.

[TZ-OH6]

You can find vegetable starts at nurseries for a decent price, but the big stores like Wallmart and Home Depot sell the plants to people who don't know any better. They think that a bigger pot and a pretty label means a better plant. And it is more convenient for them to buy there than searching out a nursery.

[gardenstartup]

How about webshops? Usually it's cheaper option. In Estonia some nurseries are selling container plants so and they are using their own vans to deliver orders, in case they have many orders or it is a short trip and transportation companies for longer distance. And people are buying more and more over internet.

[clkeiper]

I can't sell a plant, tomato, pepper or flower for $3.00 each where I am at. I will end up tossing them at the end of the season. I MUST be less and have a better product than the local big box store. Word of mouth advertising is priceless. I do not spend any money on advertising. That makes the effort null at the end of the day. even a small add in a local paper is cost prohibitive. I belong to a small farmers market and we don't charge exorbitant fees...we have no advertising budget to speak of we depend on word of mouth and coverage from promotions of special events.
Tops: $1.50 per 4" plant or $1.50 for 3 in a cell pack. We also can't live on what the greenhouse and produce earn us. I work in the greenhouse or garden 6-12 hours a day for at least 6 months of the year. not a real return on my investment of time nor could I afford to hire help. I would have nothing left at the end of the season.
I also don't buy any of my greenhouse structures new. Everything we have we have purchased standing and used. We dismantle them, bring them home reassemble them and invest in new plastic, wiring and plumbing if we put water in the house. We do all the work ourselves.
I do have the good fortune of being near a very reasonable wholesaler for most of my products, so I am able to do more for less on a lot of my growing. Buying from a wholesaler makes a huge difference in whether you can make a growing operation even break even in our society. You are dependent on consumers to purchase your product. If you don't have them AND an excellent product there is no way to make a profit of any kind. Otherwise it is a hobby that is costing you money. We have the means to haul and equipment with which to excavate and utilize for the pads, saving us much money to get the structures put up. Adultish sized children are also helpful. ESPECIALLY the really TALL one to help with the plastic And the really mechanically inclined one that is incredibly strong and "I can do it" attitude....I wish I had two of each of them.

Good luck and I hope your greenhouse venture does well for you.

I started out with a tiny, built on the back of the house covered in cheap plastic, greenhouse. I didn't just start buying and putting up houses and expecting the customers to show up. Next I added a 16x20 leanto on the south side of the house (which we did buy new, but it was fabricated specifically for that spot) which came from the proceeds of the previous year , the next year we added a 12x20 high tunnel, the next year a 15x30 double layer poly tunnel greenhouse. A couple of 15x30 high tunnels to grow in, too. last year we purchased a 20x24 and put it up. this year...we take a break, I think. Unless we find a bargain big enough to grow raspberries in.... and there is money from the markets to provide the cash to do so. otherwise it will wait. Good thing my husband has two real jobs and can do quite a few other things for profit if need be. Me? I just grow plants, cook (sometimes) clean the house, run any parts Dh has forgotten or had to change the way to do something for the days job...I think I am more of a gofer, go for this and go for that....etc.