Being your own nursery
rosaprimula
10 months ago
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gawdinfever Z6
10 months agozen_man
10 months agolast modified: 10 months agoRelated Discussions
Starting my Own Retail Nursery
Comments (24)I started my nursery business off in 2010 while I was still working a full time job. Slow, slow start, but having the acreage I do (see prior post) it was easy to just plant plants and take cuttings to sell. Really love doing this; still doing this, but not making a lot of money and could not do this if I was the only one working. I retired a few years ago, with the hopes of this taking off. A lot of work later, and I saw things slowly starting to work. I am state inspected yearly, grow only organically (not certified), and use no pesticides. So there is that yearly fee for the inspection. Remember there are pots to purchase, tags, signs, advertising, etc. etc. etc. etc........ However, life happens. My granddaughter happened. Babysitting happened and two to three days a week was taken up with this precious baby. I still have a home to keep up, supper to make, yard to care for etc....while my husband works 6 days a week at his job. I change plants that I sell periodically, if things are not selling. I sell daylily and hostas (easiest to raise and sell), perennials and shrubs. I love my gardens, but don't get enough time to do what I want to do. I'm actually thinking of cutting back and doing more online selling. It's really what you make of it, but really, the big box stores still get you, no matter what. Their prices are competitive (I had to raise my prices finally as I was actually LOSING money one year. I love the concept. I love the plants. But I'm already getting tired. All the work put into the greenhouses, area for the nursery, walkways, shelving etc. I don't want to go to waste. I do grow 99% of what I sell. That really helps. No overhead. Our property is paid for. Just note: nurseries are suffering the last few years. We've had three major nurseries close in our area alone. It's not easy. But please note. I might sound negative, but I'm still doing this! I love it but I'm only really open the warm months of the year here. I really wish anyone starting this all the luck and self fullfillment you can get. Good luck!...See MoreStarting my own nursery and need advice
Comments (3)How do you operate? Do you just resell what you've purchased wholesale or do you buy plugs/liners and grow them on? And what kinds of plants? Perennials, annuals, veggies? Unless you are a grower yourself, buying locally may be your only option, as shipping fully grown, "retail ready" plants to a distance is an expensive undertaking and is usually reserved for large quantities or for specialty plants. Growing on is a bit different, as liners or plugs are far more easily shipped at a distance and generally are available in smaller quantities. If you are a reseller, it may make sense to develop a relationship with a single local supplier that offers a variety of the plants you sell. If you can commit to a specific quantity on a seasonal basis, most wholesale growers will oblige. It's when you come in on a very occasional basis and buy a flat or two of this and that that the good stuff will already be promised or committed to longstanding customers and you'll be left with the leftovers. Wholesale growers base their stock on previous sales history - they try not to grow much more than they know they can sell from week to week and month to month with perhaps just a small cushion. Obviously they will accommodate longstanding, volume customers before drop-ins. Don't take it personally :-)...See MoreBeing Your Own Huckleberry
Comments (6)Soil Analysis Labs Accredited by the North American Proficiency Testing (NAPT) Program The following are accredited labs (they all meet minimum standards for accuracy and precision as required by the NRCS for soil analysis laboratories analyzing soils for federal government programs involved with the development of nutrient management plans) A&L Western Agricultural Labs 1311 Woodland Ave. Ste. 1 Modesto, CA 95351 209-529-4080 http://www.al-labs-west.com AgroLab, Inc. 101 Cluckey Dr Harrington, DE 19952 302-566-6094 http://www.agrolab.us AgSource - Bonduel 106 N. Cecil St., PO Box 7 Bonduel, WI 54107 715-758-2178 http://www.agsource.com AgSource - Harris 300 Speedway Circle Ste 2 Lincoln, NE 68502 402-476-0300 http://www.agsource.com AgSource Laboratories - Umatilla 323 6th Street, PO Box 1350 Umatilla, OR 97882 541-922-4894 http://www.agsource.com AGVISE Laboratories - Benson 902 13th St N PO Box 187 Benson, MN 56215 320-843-4109 http://www.agvise.com AGVISE Laboratories - Northwood 604 Hwy 15 PO Box 510 Northwood, ND 58267 701-587-6010 http://www.agvise.com American Agricultural Lab - Olsen's Agricultural Lab 210 East First St PO Box 370 McCook, NE 69001-0370 308-345-3670 http://www.amaglab.com Brookside Labs Inc. 200 White Mountain Dr New Bremen, OH 45869 419-977-2766 http://www.blinc.com Cascade Analytical 3019 GS Center Rd Wenatchee, WA 98801 509-662-1888 http://www.cascadeanalytical.com CSU Soil Water & Plant Testing Laboratory 200 W Lake St Campus Delivery 1120, NESB A-319 Fort Collins, CO 80523-1120 970-491-5061 http://www.soiltestinglab.colostate.edu Dairy One Soil Testing Laboratory 730 Warren Rd Ithaca, NY 14850 607-257-1272 http://www.dairyone.com Dellavalle Laboratory Inc. 1910 W McKinley #110 Fresno, CA 93728-1221 559-233-6129 http://www.dellavallelab.com Metro Wastewater Lab 6450 York St. Denver, CO 80229-7499 303-286-3223 http://www.metrowastewater.com Midwest Laboratories 13611 B St Omaha, NE 68144-3617 402-334-7770 http://www.midwestlabs.com Northwest Agricultural Consultants 2545 W Falls Ave Kennewick, WA 99336 509-783-7450 http://www.nwag.com SoilTest Farm Consultants 2925 Driggs Dr Moses Lake, WA 98837 509-765-1622 http://www.soiltestlab.com Stukenholtz Laboratory, Inc. 2924 Addison Ave E PO Box 353 Twin Falls, ID 83301 208-734-3050 http://stukenholtz.com The Farm Clinic, Inc. 2574 S State Rd 39 Frankfort, IN 46041 765-659-1783 http://thefarmclinic.com Twiss Analytical Lab 26276 Twelve Trees Lane C Poulsbo, WA 98370 360-779-5141 http://www.twisslabs.com University of Idaho Analytical Sciences Laboratory Holm Research Center 2222 West Sixth Street Moscow, ID 83844-2201 208-885-7900 http://www.uidaho.edu/asl USU Analytical Lab 1541 N 800 E 9400 Old Main Hill Logan, UT 84322-9400 435-797-2217 http://www.usual.usu.edu Ward Laboratories, Inc. 4007 Cherry Ave PO Box 788 Kearney, NE 68847 308-234-2418 http://www.wardlab.com West Virginina Dept of Ag 60B Industrial Park Road Moorefield, WV 26836 304-538-2397 http://www.agriculture.wv.gov Non-Accredited These labs are non-accredited but they have very good reputations: Logan Labs http://loganlabs.com/ University of Delaware http://ag.udel.edu/dstp/index.html University of Massachusetts http://soiltest.umass.edu/ Clemson University http://www.clemson.edu/agsrvlb/interest.htm...See MoreFor those who have accesed my "Being your own Huckleberry" post
Comments (0)Please see my recent update post at end this date....See Moregawdinfever Z6
10 months agogawdinfever Z6
10 months agoerasmus_gw
10 months agodbarron
10 months agogawdinfever Z6
10 months agolast modified: 10 months agoHeruga (7a Northern NJ)
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10 months agosocalgal_gw Zone USDA 10b Sunset 24
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9 months agokatob Z6ish, NE Pa
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8 months agoSharon z8b Texas
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8 months agoSharon z8b Texas
8 months agoHeruga (7a Northern NJ)
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Heruga (7a Northern NJ)