HelpfulGardener.com

Looking for a way to help self-fund my gardening passion as time goes on.

staghorn fern (has pups)
sago palm/funeral palm (has pups)


what other pants grow great in Orange County but are expensive to buy? plants with pups, and cactus/succulent/low water plants are a plus.

I have full sun, part sun and shade, sunset zones appear to be 20-23 (but can't find specific because I can't find Orange County mapped in the Sunset maps)

Maybe this map will be better for finding your zone.

https://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-ca ... ss-map.php

imafan26 wrote:Maybe this map will be better for finding your zone.

https://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-ca ... ss-map.php

mahalo.
that system my grow locations are 10A and 10B

If I were thinking about growing plants for profit, I would think about herbs, which sell for high prices.

For a hot dry climate all the mediterranean herbs do well - lavender, rosemary, sage, oregano, thyme.

With some shade you could grow tea herbs like chamomile, and regular tea (camellia).

If you can provide enough moisture/ humidity, you could grow ginger, turmeric, lemon grass, hot peppers, chives, bay laurel, vanilla beans (one of the most expensive ingredients in the world).

But of course to get in to making money off it, you have to have a market and get involved in doing marketing and selling, maybe developing a little internet business, maybe get in to a farmer's market, make connections with restaurants. So do some research, talk to people in your area who are doing market gardening and find out what works for them.

I think you profit more by doing something with your herbs and selling the value added product. Here's an example of people selling nicely boxed herbal tea blends for $9 for 4 oz.

https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/tea_bev/tea_bev.php

1 oz of rosemary for $3.79: https://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson- ... grams-pwdr

Now that you know your zone. It is the USDA zone system and the one most people can relate to. It would be a good idea to add it to your profile. Go to profiles at the top of the page, select profile and edit location. or you can add it to your comment line. It helps when you ask or give advice in future posts.

You can probably find expensive plants growing everywhere but expensive can be because they are rare or very hard to propagate and grow or because they are patented.

Also if you are looking for future income, you have to know what the market wants. That is not easy to do because fads come and go.

Because of the rising costs of food and because people don't necessarily want to have a lot of chemicals sprayed on their food, things that are edible are almost always in demand.

Scout local restaurants in your area and talk to chefs. Ask them what kind of local produce they want to see more of. Thai and Asian restaurants here will buy Thai basil, culantro, mango and lychee. Mexican restaurants may buy specialty items like roselle. You could plant a lot of nectar flowers and fruit trees and sell the fruit and if allowed have an apiary and sell honey. Unless you want to spend time at an open market and to get a stall you will need to pay a fee and have enough to sell on a weekly basis, you will have to grow quite a bit. Otherwise, it would not be good to have anything perishable.

Landscape plants are not that easy to sell. You need a large variety and tastes change. With water getting scarce and more costly people are opting not to water so what goes in yards needs to be fairly drought tolerant and people more and more do not have yards at all.


Potted herbs, fruit trees (dwarfs) keep the longest. Annual vegetables will not get you high $ but are in demand. You would have to have a regular customer base or a lot of traffic since annuals will quickly become to old to sell. If you want to do fruit trees. You will need to learn how to graft. That is an art that takes a lot of practice to master.

Oh, so many variables! I can hopefully shed some light on selling, and some restrictions in TN. You need to check your own state and county regulations. I sell fresh cut herbs (ready for cooking/tea) at a farmers market. I have been adding more plant starts (herbs, interesting plants, eclectic mix). I also have my fiber side that kicks in better Nov-Dec (woven tea towels, cotton knit wash cloths, knit scarves etc).

As for plant starts, I can have a flat or 2 out to sell, but more or whole booth need a growers license. You probably need a growers license to sell to a garden center or other outlet.

On the fresh cut, have 15+ varieties. This is not a money maker! Keeping that many going, then the harvest/preparation plus market, ....well, you do the math! Restaurants are always mentioned. I suggest a few varieties, and lots of it. For example just basil for 1 - 2 restaurants is measured in pounds, not ounces. You also need to be able to deal with the restaurant which involves the manager/owner, chef, then delivery etc.

Just simple drying or making up tea blends requires an approved kitchen. After that, and having plenty enough, need to have outlet be it farmers market, upscale grocery etc.

Some have gotten into on-line plant selling. You do need to check regulations and logistics. Even more important know your product!

FWIW, I am trying to up the plant starts, keep fresh cut steady. By next year I may need to get that growers license! BTW, I am doing this in my back yard, in town.

These comments meant as just that, from experience, and hopefully helpful.