Opening A Backyard Nursery

[AnnaIkona]

Hi!

I want to open a "backyard" nursery business, and was wondering where to start, and wanted some ideas.

It doesn't matter what to do for me. I can sell seedlings, full grown plants, basicly anything!

If you've got any ideas about this, please share!

[HoneyBerry]

There may be zoning restrictions. Check with your city or county. That's where you should start so that you don't get into trouble. And you might need a business license. And liability insurance. It can be complicated. At least think about these things before you start.

A greenhouse would be nice. My friend grew nice tomato plant starts that way. Everybody likes tomatoes. Heirloom tomatoes are fun to grow. Brandywine tomatoes . . . mmm mmm good. I don't think that she opporated according to the rules. I don't know. I never asked her.

[imafan26]

You may also have to check with your state as you will probably need to have a license to sell. There may be other requirements if you sell at a farmer's market or to a store, like vendor's insurance and selling fees.

[!potatoes!]

there are lots of plants in the world - you need some kind of focus on what types of plants you want to deal with/sell.

i'd also recommend this book:
so you want to start a nursery by tony avent

[Susan W]

There are several ways to go about growing and selling plants. Before going into much discussion need to know where you are, and within that urban? rural? burbs?

I am active in 1, sometimes 2 farmers markets, and live in a metro area. I was selling fresh cut herbs, then added a few starts and that has been growing. Need more, need more variety! Licensing varies state to state, so check with your dept agriculture.

[imafan26]

When you start out on any business venture, it takes time to develop a customer base and a reputation. You will need to do some market research as well as look into things like start up costs. What kinds of plants are you thinking of selling and who is your target audience?

You should try to provide things that are in demand and that you can produce or grow well. It depends on your market. If you are selling from your house at a garage sale type of thing or at a craft or farmer's market where there will be more traffic. You need to know who your competition will be and set a fair price. It takes time to grow the plants and a lot of space. You will need an area to work on the plants as well as storage for materials. You need to transport the plants and possibly tables, chair and a tent, and keep records of the sales for taxes. You will also need to spend a few hours at the market. In the beginning don't expect to make that much profit since it will take time to build your customer base and once in a while you may have to try to bring in something different so there is variety. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't.

Alternatively you can also sell directly to stores either on consignment or direct buying. This is where you really need to estimate the costs well since stores will also want to make a profit so you need to cover your costs and take a smaller profit. But you will not have more time to spend on other things.

If you are going into a plant business, you want to get an account with local suppliers for pots, media, fertilizer, labels, etc. since you will get a better discount than buying retail. If you can get with other plant growers and form or join a coop, then you can get a bigger discount. You will maybe need to have a stock of mother plants that you also need to take care of.

Plants die, they get pests and diseases and some things don't sell so you cannot recoup your investment. Those losses need to be taken into account as well.

If you live in a zone with winter, you will need a place for seed starting and keeping the plants that are not hardy and you won't have much to sell out of season.

If you do it slowly and build it can be rewarding over time. But, in the meantime, I would keep the day job.

[ElizabethB]

Annalkona,

Warm welcome to the forum.

I admire your ambition. It is doable if you re willing to do the necessary research and prep work.

#1 Check with your city to determine the zoning classification of your property. Unless you are zone commercial or are unzoned you will not be able to sell from your home.

Do not be discourage. You can grow and sell products at your local farmer's market. You can also sell to local florist and nurseries. If you have an acre of property you may want to consider cut flower gardening.

#2 Another city check - are you required to have a business license to sell at farmer's market (probably not), to florist and nurseries (probably so).

#3 Check on state licensing requirements. You will need to contact your state department of agriculture. Some states require special licenses for the horticulture industry. The process usually involves passing a test.

I had a landscaping business for 10 years. The start up process can be a real pain.

Good luck

Looking forward to hearing more from you.

[rainbowgardener]

As well as farmers markets, there are lots of flea markets where people can have a booth for not too much money and basically sell whatever they want - items they just bought at a store cheap in volume and are selling a bit higher, stuff out of their houses, arts and crafts, plants, herbs, etc.

I don't think you need a vendor's license or anything to do that, just rent the booth and follow their rules about what's ok and what isn't:

Here's one e.g.: http://chattanoogafleamarket.com/market-rules/

Are you a pretty experienced gardener? Trying to make any money selling plants is hard enough; trying to do it when you are still just learning about gardening, sounds kind of unmanageable.

[imafan26]

Some markets will require you to have insurance and you still need to check with your state department or Agriculture or commerce or tax agency if you require any licenses and you have to register your business entity. Some states have tips on how to start a small business in their state so you can try to google that for your state.