Making money from Gardening

[Deleted]

I was thinking of propagating/growing plants to make a bit of pocket money as a side line.
Do you think its worth the time and effort if so what sells ?
and wheres best to sell it
Would i be better specalising on one type of plant
Any ideas
Just thinking small scale to start
Anybody else do this

[beanie]

I'm definately not organised enought to do that as it means planing in advance so I never bothered, what with work grandchildren and M.I L. I may think about it when I retire, and do it with some of the harder to find plants. You have to be careful what you sell though as you may find that some of the plants are protected by breeders rights, you can propogate for your own use , but not for resale.

[Barbara]

i've seen people selling all sorts of plants on car boot sales.

[Deleted]

I was thinking of the more popular Red robin , Fatsia ,Rosemary etc to start with maybe. surely there cant be any probs selling these

[Tig]

I would have thought you would be OK selling those, as to whether it would be profitable

Depends how much space you have available, then factor in the cost of pots and compost and determine how much you would expect to get for them. Then have a look at what is available locally and at what price? I doubt that I could grow enough to be commercially viable even on a small scale, especially as we have Wilkinsons and other stores with quite cheap plants.

You can always give it a try and see how it goes

Tig

[Biggles]

Bootsales in our area have quite a few stalls with Amateur Gardeners selling their plants. They seem to be very popular because the produce is not overpriced and hasn't been 'sitting' on the shelves of some Stores, dry as bones and neglected.

Quite a variety of small 'rooted' cuttings are sold so anyone who is enthusiastic and has the time would probally enjoy this outlet for their plants.

Good Luck Steve I hope you do well--Bigs

[Chuckles]

I agree with what Tig said To get something to a size that is worth selling is a long job, depending on what you grow obviously. You need time and space to do it to make it profitable. Something I would love to do if I had the space but then I'd probabaly want to keep everything ;D Have you thought about doing annuals/bedding/veg, you would still need lots of space though and maybe a GH. Maybe you could do hanging baskets or mixed pots of bedding. Buy the plants on the mkt or at a plant auction in bulk and get all your pots etc when they are half price at the end of the season and compo when it's on offer

Let us know what you decide Steve, best of luck.

[farmersboy]

How about salad stuff,for many years i had an allotment as well as my garden,i grew radish and lettuce all through the spring and summer months,makeing £30-£40 per week,they are quick turn around crops,as soon as i cleared a bed,i would sow again,i had 5 beds going,and as radish takes about 5 weeks to mature,i could clear a bed a week

[Weeterrier]

That's interesting FB, and I can imagine how you did well.
I've tried selling plants, and found it very disheartening, at car boot sales. The only time I did well was when I opened my garden for the Garden Scheme, but the money went to charity, so that is a different thing entirely.
I should point out Steve that I'm in Scotland, so things may not be the same where you are.
I found that people wanted the plants for pennies, they didn't take into account the cost of seeds, compost, pots, heating. I started my stuff off at £2.99 and eventually got rid of them at 50p.
If you had the time and energy, would you consider garden maintenance? I used to do that full time, and could easily earn £10 per hour. I could work every hour in the working week if I wanted to, so many people ask for my services.
If your heart is set on plant sales, I would stay clear of shrubs, they take so long to mature. Rather I'd go for bedding, or plants like Fuchsias or Penstemons. Or salad crops, which sounds good, especially if they were 'organic'.
And I'd try to find a Farmers Market rather than a car boot, you could charge a decent price then. If you had fruit, maybe you could sell jams?
Good luck to you, whatever you decide.
But, as I said, providing a service is the surest way to earn a bit of cash.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the help guys never thought of Salad veggies
Weeterrier I know what you mean about people wanting stuff for pennies My Dads from Glasgow and his Grandad came from Skye so theres a bit of tightness in me too ;D

[Weeterrier]

There is no doubt we like value for money. Just wish it extended to plant buying, I spend all that I can on plants, no matter the price sometimes.

[bagpuss]

Hi Steve

I help my Mum to grow plants to sell at car boot sales and they can sell very well. We don't tend to grow very many annuals, mostly perennials, grasses etc and a few tomato and pepper plants.

To get hold of plastic pots, apart from saving them from plants bought, we mention to friends etc about saving their pots for us. You can also sometimes find people selling them at boot fairs as well. We also tried for the first time this year, circulating a list of plants, including details etc to people where I work, which also proved worthwhile (and we got a large number of the plant pots back!).

My only advice if you do decide to try it, is try not to get too carried away, and if you can try to grow things that might be a bit different to the norm but also quite easy to look after (I have some cherry tomato plants grown from seed that originate from Russia)!! Hope that helps.

Good luck!

[4pygmies]

I don't think anyone gets rich trying to make money from gardening but hopefully they can make it worthwhile and get a lot of pleasure out of it too. I have grown plants to sell for the past 15 years and previously I had a little business designing gardens and maintaining them. Neither has made me much money.....but I love it! This is the first year I haven't done anything and I really miss it....
For what it's worth, I have found that it's a waste of time and money trying to compete with GC's and supermarkets growing summer bedding etc - you are never going to be able to sell those plants in a cost effective way. If you can get a regular place at car boots, fetes or small local shows it's worth selling plants you enjoy growing - perennials, excess vegetable plants, herbs, wild flowers etc - as people come to know what they can buy from you.
And if you have a spot in front of your house that is safe and secure then it is worth filling a table top regularly - I did that for several years selling herbs and would have people returning to buy pretty often. One memorable summer I actually made £400 in 3 months....but I had the time, then, to keep up a production line and take orders from people.
I hope you manage to make it a success, Stevemc. I should have a go - what have you got to lose really?

[Deleted]

Ok the story so far Ive been a Carpenter/Joiner for 26 yrs and the building industry here in Ireland has gone to manure. So ive got on to the local job centre and they have arrange an interview for me to go on a proper gardening course am i mad or what ;D
On sat i drive down to the west of clare to watch the Dolphins and get drunk for a few days and that will give me a chance to mull it over before i sign my life away
Talk about jumping in with 2 feet
Watcha think

[4pygmies]

Good idea - go and do it! The best of luck to you too Stevemc! (And say hello to the dolphins from me ;D)

[Biggles]

Good Luck Steve in your 'new' venture---Bigs

[bagpuss]

Sounds like a great opportunity to me - and if it's something you would like to do definitely give it a go.

Very best of luck and keep us posted as to how you get on.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the replys and encouragement peeps I know i wont make the same money but i could always combine the 2
Cheers

[Spruance]

You never know, if you can throw in a building course as well, you have the makings of a landscape gardener's business. I would say that it was well worth it if you have the opportunity. It certainly hasn't done Tommy Walsh any harm.

[Deleted]

"...they have arrange an interview for me to go on a proper gardening course am i mad or what.?"

If that is what you like to do, go for it. Best to do what you enjoy doing.

[Barbara]

yay go for it steve what have you got to lose ;D

[oldmoleskins]

Steve, it's a tremendous advantage to make a living from something you actually like doing rather than something you have to do, and enthusiasm sometimes isn't rewarded by cash too.

If gardening 'beckons', go for it and do the course. If in the meantime a specialism or interest emerges in particular plants and you think there's a gap in the market, go for it instead. But - and WT identified it earlier - there's a lot of difference between supplying a service for an hourly rate and raising (and don't forget selling) plants at a margin. I wouldn't know what the Tiger Economy offers in the way of an hourly rate, but I can tell you that if your true margin on a plant is say £1 or 1e you have to raise and sell 20,000 of them to make 20 grand a year. Have you got the time to sell 20,000 plants? Lower volume/higher margin helps - but it's still simple arithmetic: 2000 hanging baskets @ £10? Can you sell 2000 hanging baskets?
Like 4p (did you spot the mild irony in her post?) I've had purple patches in my current 'passion' - herbs - and last year I worked my nuts off and lost 700 quid. That's a triple loss, then.

If you're looking to replace a carpenter's wages, I'd go for the 'service'. If you're looking for an uncertain but pleasurable occupation, try plants.

And my sincere best wishes for whatever you choose. Exciting times...

OM.

[Weeterrier]

Steve, a man in his forties starting doing the garden in a neighbour's house. I couldn't do it because I was working a full week then. He had just started a course like you mention, because he wanted a change of career, In a year, he has gone on to great things, working the full week.
If you can, there is a huge market for gardening, because so many people don't have the time.
As I said, I charge £10, but the chap I mention charges £12.50, and I believe some people charge £15.
There is another little niche too. Sometimes Estate Agents employ gardeners to spruce up properties before a sale.
If you do a service, I believe you will have to turn down jobs because you will be so much in demand.
Are you doing the right thing? YES!!!!! ;D

[Biggles]

Good gardeners are hard to find so are always in demand.
People go by 'word of mouth' and also by "seeing" the end result
So go for it Steve and all the best in your knew venture.

[Deleted]

Hi Steve - re. selling plants/rooted cuttings, what about taking a stall at a farmer's market. Don't know which part of Dublin you're in, but there are a fair few to choose from ... cheers ...

[Tig]

Good luck with it Steve, what have you got to lose by giving it a go, and you could make some garden furniture and accessories (there is a lovely wheelbarrow that Karl made for Karlslass on her garden thread, we were all envious ) in the quieter times.

Tig

[Deleted]

Im in Kinsealy Canarycreeper 5 mins from Swords I will be looking into reselling among other things .
Tig if i can get hold of some cedar or something similar cheap enough the furniture making might not be a bad idea thanks

[Weeterrier]

Karl made her spectacular greenhouse too. Have a look.
Och, we'll be making you a millionaire soon ;D

[Deleted]

Kinsealy - you must have a nice big garden then <greenwithenvysmiley>. I would have though a stall selling affordable rooted cuttings and divisions would be very popular at your local farmer's market (Howth?). Some plants are just sooooo easy to propagate, but a lot of people have neither the time, nor the inclination, nor the knowledge to do it themselves. My partner's small son is mad into taking cuttings, and we have around 25/30 small healthy plants littering the garden table, for nothing more than the price of a bag of compost ;D ;D ;D ... cheers ...

[Deleted]

No the garden i have is fairly small as i live on a new estate. I lived in Glasnevin for 10 yrs and that garden was about 80ft long and i wish i could have brought that with me when i sold that house. Thank god for containers