I'm curious about your vision about turning the trailer into a greenhouse.

Thanks for your response also John,
I would be able to take to the market fairly easy..... So that would be a definite option.

Hi Rhizo,
I am open to what I would like to sell, thought about specializing in certain things, and then also would like to have a really good variety as well. There is a really nice nursery that I went and looked at I loved their whole set up. Really beautiful plants, all very lush and healthy, when I asked if they grew everything themselves they said no that they used a couple different suppliers. How does that work? Does anyone use wholesale nurseries to supply your plants/trees etc?
Thank you!!!

Yes, and it is far more common than you might think, specially for retail nurseries/garden centers located in urban areas. Space is small, real estate is at a premium and to be able to offer a full range of plant selection, we rely entirely on wholesale growers.

This may be an option worth pursuing yourself. I buy plants for a large retail nursery in my area and I am constantly on the lookout for new vendors offering selections I can't locate elsewhere. You might want to survey other retail nurseries and garden centers in your area and see where their "holes" are and develop some specific niche plant growing plans. Currently, ferns, woodland plants and organic vegetable starts are hot properties in my area, as are any kind of exotic annual (NOT your basic petunias, geraniums and lobelia) and tropical plants. Wholesale vendors offering these selections are in big demand.

Or as herblady mentioned, try your hand at some custom growing - it's a good way to get your feet wet in the business without a huge financial commitment.

The problem is that you are competing against those who know both. They are at a further advantage because they are already in. Unless there are real holes in production that you as an outsider can identify better than the existing industry, you will have to not only find potential buyers, but you'll have to displace an existing supplier. How likely is that when you don't even yet know what types of plants to produce?

Wholesale suppliers grow in volume and make their money on thin margins. You won't be able to produce great volumes, but you will have to sell at the same price level. At the same time, you are not set up to do any of this yet so you have about a year before you can et your first sales. So, you have to invest in a lot of equipment on top of the work you have to put in physically setting this up while the competition have already spread their investment over a longer period of time.

Making contact with potential buyers and marketing to them won't be free either. And how are you going to market plants that you have not produced before? Who is going to buy for next year when you can not show photos and examples of your product? Can you imagine Gardengal needing 3,000 man eating ferns and having the choice of three companies she knows and someone who is planning on producing great plants, but has not done it before. She won't be able to make an order in the spring, if your crop does not turn out well. She and everyone else is going to go with who they know can produce. That means that you have to wait until your second growing season to have any hope at all to supply anyone.

First year to get it ready, Second year to show a product, third year to sell your first marketed crop. Three years of work and overhead to pay for with that first marketed crop.

Ask yourself what annual salary/profit you need to be functional after all the overhead is paid. Do you need $30k to be comfortable in your area? Divide that by the selling price of your six packs or trays or pots. That is how many you need to sell after all the overhead has been paid. That is 10,000 plants @ $3 each .... after you sold enough to cover the overhead.

I'm not in the nursery business, but I am close enough to it to know it is not a "build it and they will come" proposition.

I had a similar dream, started small from my house and tried selling at the local farmer's market. I quickly discovered that people wouldn't pay more than they would at Walmart or Lowe's, even if my plants were better quality, and I couldn't make ANY profit at those prices. I could sell the really unusual plants, but not very many of them - most customers wanted something familiar. I was glad I started small - lost about $500 on the venture. I ended up going to work for a nursery for a couple of years, then I moved into interior landscaping. The money there is better, the hours are more regular, and you don't have to deal with outdoor weather very much.

Is your dream still alive? Did you buy the 5 acres across the street? What are you growing/selling?

I'm starting out real slow too: 100% financed by my "day job" for as long as it takes while I build up the skill, the products and the market (and lurking on the Professional Gardener Forum) :-)

Good luck to all of you,
Ron

I'm not sure if I'm ready for a store-front on the farm, but this year will be the deciding factor. We are going to offer produce and plants from the farm. Wish me luck.

Marla