How to Start a Plant Nursery on a Super Low Budget PT 1

[@joanotto9984]

I do a plant sale out of my yard every spring. I have not had to buy pots in all the years (22) that I have been selling. I put up a sign that I will take pots back, also when I advertise my sale I put in that will take their used pots. I get 3-400 back each year.

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

What an excellent idea! Great job with 22 years of sales 🌲🌲🌲

[@Taboloncawonthemasters]

What do you grow?!

[@temujinkhan6326]

@@Taboloncawonthemasters marijuna

[@stixglass8442]

I grow my own "rooting gel". Aloe Vera. I use it to propagate all my herbaceous plants (no experience yet with hardwood cutting). I get the same success rate as CloneX or Olivia's. It seals, is anti-fungal/microbial and is full of Salicylic Acid (rooting hormone) which is also found in Willow.

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Wow, amazing. We have never heard of this but it makes perfect sense. Have to give it a try and share the results with everyone. Thanks for the tip 🌲🌲🌲

[@gogr2409]

Sir, I appreciate your relaxed, not forced, low key presentation. Good video.

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Thank you! More to come 🌲🌲🌲

[@jennaleigh6049]

I use sanitized milk jugs for my propagation. The same ones I use for winter sowing.

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Yes, that’s an excellent idea! We show what we do but there are many other ways that work well. Thank you 🌲🌲🌲

[@LBlack5281]

I use plastic Mason jars that I bought a case for something else and had laying around and not using.

[@sueness644]

Thanks for all of this amazing information, you are very thorough. One thing we do is mulch our yard leaves with the lawn mower and use it as top dressing/mulch or soil additive. It's FREE, except for your time.

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Yes, an excellent tip! For years we have blown all our leaves out of the beds, off the driveway, etc and mulched them back into the lawn. Some too get blown back into the woods. A couple years ago we started collecting some of these and topping of pots of the trees and shrubs we are growing. Helps hold moisture and slows the weeds down. As you mentioned it’s time consuming but 100% agree we should do more of this!

[@mlissgay5054]

Thank you for sharing the ❤ beginnings a nurdery today in Hawaii ❤ aloha from big island 🏝️

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

That is fantastic! Hope you can subscribe so we can share even more. Lots of videos to come!

[@grizoswald210]

Larry and Martha, excellent video. Thanks for taking the time to explain what a person needs to start a micro nursery, and that the process can be a "slow burn" for the first few years. Also glad you took the time to link everything to Amazon. Very well done.

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Hi Again, Thanks! We just filmed part 7 which is the 0ne year mark for the start of the Low Cost Plant Nursery start up. Coming out soon! A lot has happened in a year. Thanks, Larry

[@MrTinFoilHat]

great video! Thanks for sharing

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Thanks for watching 🌲🌲🌲

[@subasevana7842]

thank you both of too nice even honestly explain for new comers who is going to be nursery beginners I'm janaka from sri lanka

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Thanks and glad to have you as a viewer. Best to you!

[@budgetgardeningvita]

Thank you for these great tips. This is my first year with a backyard nursery so I'm always looking for helpful tips. Many of my returning customers have donated pots to me. Also, a local nursery has a leave it / take it pot area and I'm able to get a lot of pots from there. Buying pots can definitely add up!

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Thanks, we love sharing tips and hope some are helpful. Good for you starting a nursery! It can be so rewarding! Wish you the best! Good job on the pots! You can save a lot by just getting some for free. Takes a little effort but saves lots of $’s which is so helpful when you are getting started. 🌲🌲🌲

[@Mariefrancegrsce]

Thank you. 😊

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Thank you for stopping by 🌲🌲🌲

[@temujinkhan6326]

Ive purchased plants from this stay-at-home indian mother... She has almost 400 reviews in her facebook page. I imagine she likely have sold at least 2,000 plants in the last 2-3 years that she has been selling. Last time i went to her home there was another buyer there and looks like she bought 6 plants. I have bought 5 plants from her for just over $200 in the last two month.

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Yes! That’s great. A backyard nursery is an excellent way for a stay at home parent to make some extra money. In some cases a lot of extra money. The work flow is flexible, start with a small investment, as the children grow, they can even help. Love it 🌲🌲🌲

[@plantylvjourney]

You are both so kind to share this knowledge! Thank u and may u have continued abundance and joy

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Thank you very much! We enjoy sharing and also believe there is plenty of room for many more plant growers in the world. We can’t let just the big box stores have all the fun and profit.

[@chadolson6889]

Thank you for this info. I am trying to start my own nursery as a side hustle for now but would like to grow it over time. I bought a yard of double shredded oak bark mulch, and have been mixing this with a soil conditioner. It does seem to drain well, but I do notice some larger chunks in the mulch. I like you live in an area where getting pine bark mulch is expensive. I saw one place by me selling it for $100 per yard. I took a look at your website and saw the info on making your own potting soil. I will have to give that a try. Even if I start with bags.

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Bags can work and that is how we started. It’s so different from location to location. Also depends on what ability you have to haul material. We can get free humus but would have to haul it. Getting it delivered is about $20.00 per yard but you need to take 10 yard loads. We can get double ground hardwood mulch but it’s suspect as it’s unknown as to what is really in it. Often it has dye in it. Another option for smaller amounts is find someone who will bring you a mix of materials in the same small truck. For example humus and sand. A couple yards of each in the same truck. One of the supply yards here was willing to do mixed loads. One more option. Find a sawmill. Some will let you take away the bark they produce for free. If it’s too chunky let it sit 6-12 months. Trying to get a load like this delivered for planting next spring. Thanks for watching. Hope we can share some good tips that you can use. Always something new to learn! 🌲🌲🌲

[@dorianrodriguez40]

Loved your video. Thank you guys.

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Thank you for watching, more to come 🌲🌲🌲

[@PaulDzielinski]

Two questions: 1. What is the difference bet what you are doing and someone selling plants on FB marketplace? 2. When selling say shrubs, how specific to you have to get about what variety it is? I have numerous hydrangea etc that have been here 20+ years, I have no idea which particular variety they are. Like your videos. Thanks

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Hi Paul, This series is about getting started. Once you have plants to sell Marketplace is a good way to sell some of them. Depending on how far you want to go there are many other ways to find customers and make sales. Some are start a website, build a mailing list, advertise in your local area, attract some landscaper type customers, sell wholesale etc. We are working on some video for selling, increasing sales, and growing your business. Hydrangeas are great sellers. You can use the Internet to try and identify what you have. There is some good information available on this topic. If you have had the plants for 20+ years they are not likely patented but there are many patented plants and trade marked names. We grow the older traditional Snowball and the now off patent Lime Light. If you want to add some Hydrangea varieties by buying some plants to propagate from that is a good strategy. Just be sure they are not patented and don’t use any trademarked names. Hope that helps.

[@PaulDzielinski]

@@Growing-Our-Retirement thx

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

⁠Best to you! Go for it!

[@DanaWalling]

Hi! I'm a new subscriber who just started growing hardwoods from seed last spring. I would love some advice or a video about how to successfully overwinter potted stock. Thanks for all the great information I've already learned from your videos and website.

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Hi that’s a great activity. We don’t grow much from seed but the same ideas should be the same. If hardy for your area, seedlings should be mostly OK over winter. The stronger they can be before winter the better. Your big enemy is dehydration from the winds. We use the plastic totes mostly to protect from the wind in the winter. If you have everything in pots, a low tunnel using pipes or wire fencing covered with white plastic is a good option. Or putting up some burlap perimeters and or rows will really help reduce the effects of the wind. If the plants have dropped their leaves and you don’t have too many, an unheated garage or shed can work. Mostly we just leave things out and do just fine. Thanks 🌲🌲🌲

[@agentbarron9768]

Im planning on doing online only sales and im already seeing differences , spending on pots wouldn't be helpful simply because i have to keep my plants super small and ship bare root or extremely minimal soil so getting the roots large/ healthy imo is detrimental, im just using solo cups , anything that is too big to grow in a 16oz cup is probably almost too big to ship for a reasonable cost and im competing as lowest price for baby trees/ fruit plants , so far its working well im selling fast than i can propagate which is a good problem to have , the only issues ive had so far is trying to ship plants much larger than i advertised and they are difficult to fit in a box that dont hurt me weighr wise , definitely a challenge , but one of passion

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Great for you, sounds like you doing well with lots of growth ahead! Wondered if you have tried growing in some type of bed instead of the Solo cups. Will save you some money and probably easier. When you ship, you might ship just bare root. That is how we receive most of our small plants. Wish you great success 🌲🌲🌲

[@agentbarron9768]

@Growing-Our-Retirement I haven't tried that yet but certainly will , some plants I have just been digging out of my yard when I get a sale , but I had issues with the root systems being too big already and the heavy root pruning required for shipping made the plant go into shock and had some not soo happy customers and may even need to replace alot of those orders, SOME people were understanding that the plants will eventually recover, but the average customer wants a big heslthy plant for a bargin lol am thats what im trying to do ,thing was I hadn't sold any of those particular plants and then suddenly sold a dozen in 1 day so I didn't have the bugs worked out or even a system yet i just knew its a popularplant and i have hundreds of them growing wild, I've since rooted some cuttings so I can still offer the same size plant but with a MUCH smaller root system

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

@@agentbarron9768 Yes, understand and it really does take some time to get a system down. One way to reduce the shock from digging up the plants is to root prune the plants in advance. Just go around the plant and use a spade to prune the roots. Then just leave the plants in the ground. Or it may also make sense to transplant the plants into a bed in advance. Whatever you can do to deliver really healthy plants is of course always good. 🌲🌲🌲

[@agentbarron9768]

@Growing-Our-Retirement Thanks for the great advice I'll definitely subscribe

[@dashermike3207]

Looks like you’ve done well with your nursery. I would like your advice. I will be 80 my next birthday. I am extremely healthy and very active. I’ve always enjoyed gardening and raising plants for the yard and to give away to friends. I enjoy propagation, seedlings, etc. I would like to consider starting a very small, very specialized nursery , and I’m having a problem trying to figure out which plants to concentrate on. Given my age, I realistically need to concentrate on small varieties that I can either propagate or start from seeds and grow over a season or two and resell for a small profit. I’ve considered simply buying wholesale plants and reselling them, but on a limited budget that doesn’t seem to fit my situation. I live in Texas near Galveston and zone 9B. I have a 12 x 16 hoop house that I can cover with shade and I have about a half acre of usable land at my home. Just wondering if you have any ideas or any suggestions about what plants to use to not use as the case may be. Thank you for your help and congratulations again on your nursery..

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Hi DasherMike, Good stuff! Side benefit to having a plant nursery is the built in exercise. Good at any age. As to plants, I would visit some local garden centers and see what they are stocking. Generally if they are stocking plants, they then are typically selling well. Plants like hydrangea grow fairly quickly and have a good market even when small. It looks like there are many plants that are popular in TX and also up here in NJ. So, maybe just select a few of the woodier plants that you like and can find a place to take cuttings. We buy 50% off plants in October and sometimes cut them up completely for cutting material. Very fast way to get started is with perennials. Find some plants for cuttings and you could have hundreds of small plants in just a year. Sell some and hold some back for cutting stock. We started with taking cuttings from just what we had on our property. We then asked friends, family and at Church if we could take some cuttings. We also as mentioned bought and permanently planted some larger 50% off plants. In addition we do buy a lot of rooted transplants. So, it’s mix of this and that the first few years. It also may become a matter of what sells best. We have a hard time growing enough Norway Spruces and Green Giant Arborvitae’s. People show up and buy 10-20 at a time. Best to you, keep us posted. Larry

[@AClark-bq6oc]

Thanks for a great video😁

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Thanks for watching 🌲🌲🌲

[@harriettpavonrosado5175]

We have "free" garden libraries in our community - North Carolina (Wake, Granville, Franklin, Vance Counties). Gardeners freely share pots at no charge. #Freegafrdenandseedlibraries.

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Thank you! Yes, so many resources, people can look around their area to see what is available. We use our County Agricultural Extension services as week as the State Dept of Agricultural. We have found both to be very helpful. Sharing pots is great! Thank you again 🌲🌲🌲

[@LBlack5281]

Love the video and advise! When you cut back Azelia's to probigate. Are you cutting them back in the fall (September) or after they bloom in late spring, but no later then July 15th, when your suppose to prune Azelia's. Same with other plants, confederate jasmine, gardenias, camelias, viburnums, magnolia tree, crape myrtle, and wisteria? I have all of these plants on my property. They are from 15 yrs old to 50 yrs old. Don't want to hurt them, but I would love to propigate them to start a small nursery.

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Hi, thanks for the question. We have a lot on taking softwood and hardwood cuttings on our website. Also the next video coming is more about this very topic. What we do is take current year growth cuttings after the growth hardens up a little. In most zones this is that late June to mid July time frame. You can and we do take cuttings after that time but you will also be taking off the start of any flower buds. So, if you take cuttings too late you might forgo some or all flowering. We also take cuttings of older growth in the Fall, late winter and even very early spring. These are more substantial cuttings but do take longer to root. For some plants like Rhododendrons, it can take a year. Ideally you take a lot of newer growth cuttings by late June, get them rooted, and then get them in pots by about September or even August. If you take the cuttings by that late June time frame the plant may branch still, give you some new growth and still produce some flower buds. Since we are mostly focused on propagating lots of new plants we also take older growth cuttings again in the Fall or late winter. This does take its toll on the parent plant and you won’t see much in the way of flowers. Once you have taken a lot of cuttings you can always let the plant rest for a year. Hope that helps!

[@PaulDzielinski]

For the plastic totes, do the tops have to be clear or can they be colored/opaque?

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Hi Paul, thanks for asking. We prefer that the lids be clear or opaque. We have also used ones with a white top, they work just fine. Can’t recommend totes with a darker color, might absorb heat and cook the plants. That should not happen if you are keeping the totes in a mostly shaded spot but clear or white is best. Thank you! Larry 🌲🌲🌲

[@foreversettled9144]

Thank you so much.

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Hope we have been of some help, we enjoy doing and showing what we do 🌲🌲🌲

[@jojomacdowall5276]

How do you protect all the plants over winter?

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

The plants in the totes are just fine left out all winter. They are dormant so we just check that they stay moist. The same with small plants in pots. They are mostly just fine left uncovered all winter. If you wanted, cover them with some white plastic using some cider blocks and 2”x4”s. Plants that are hardy for your area will go dormant for the winter and be just fine. Thanks 🌲🌲🌲

[@czerniana]

I've always wondered. What do people like you who have started out and grown a business like this, do with plants that don't sell? Do you simply adjust the price as they get bigger? Do you dump them for other types that seem to sell better? Do you plant them in your own yards or give them away? Or have you never had that problem because everything sells if it looks healthy?

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

That’s a great question. We are able to use almost everything. Plants that die, we reuse the pots and soil. Overgrown plants are up-potted, pruned and grown out to sell. Some plants are heavily pruned so we can propagate from them. The biggest category is small plants that don’t sell as say a one gallon size. We then up pot them to a 3 or 5 gallon size, grow them out and sell them. We always say if a plant doesn’t sell, it just becomes more valuable. Thanks for the question 🌲🌲🌲

[@czerniana]

@@Growing-Our-Retirement thanks for the answer! I will have to keep it in mind if I can ever get my own little thing going.

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

One thing we have found is to just try things. There isn’t much to lose. You can start small and take your time but the sooner the better because as we know, plants take time to grow. Another tip, we have a growing area and a selling area. Customers don’t need to see things like tiny plants in huge pots or plants trimmed way back for the cuttings.

[@Cowandhenvintage]

Based on that amount of plants when you start what income do you estimate per year? Thank you in advance 😊

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

We go into this in some of the other videos. Depends on so many factors, location, plant type, quantity, size, etc. In general it’s pretty achievable to sell $5-10,000 per year. It’s also very possible to do 10 times that. In our larger nursery where we grow primarily rooted cuttings and transplants we plant about 3,000 plants per year with an average target sale price of $30. So, the answer is you can plan ahead to generate an income you want to reach.

[@user-ps6un5jk4x]

How do you stop root flies?

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Hi Thanks for the question. Have not had root flies so went to Google. Best answer looks like this: These silvery gray mobile larvae and flying adults are most likely to be fungus gnats. As you have found successful control can be accomplished with: Drying out the top of the soil Yellow sticky traps An application of one liter of water and 5 ml of 5 bleach or chlorine, wait a few minutes, followed by more water to wash the chlorine out also works but is hazardous to newly rooted plants or if you add too much chlorine Systemic pesticides also work but are massive overkill for a problem that can be solved with good cultural practices A soil mix using less peat moss will also help Edit: Any chlorine left after pouring more water though the plant pot will be in same or less quantities than what is in chlorinated tap water With the mention of too much Peat Moss and drying the pot out it sounds like a repotting with better draining soil mix would help. Using perlite or some pea stone in the bottom would help. Good luck!

[@bluelagoonacres]

Can you show how you make your soil ?

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Yes, absolutely. We will make a video about what we do and what we know about what others do. People use many ingredients and substances around the country. We mostly use a mix of humus, course sand and perlite. We see others who use all or mostly fine pine bark shavings. Saw mills have this material. Some people mix in some hardwood bark shavings. But never wood chips. Here is our article about soil mixes. growingourretirement.com/potting-soil/

[@bluelagoonacres]

Awesome would love to watch you mix the ingredients to make soil

[@ryanmaxwell8195]

what kind of sand do you get?

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

When we buy sand we can get it bulk delivered. We buy course mason sand. You can also buy it in bags. You want to avoid beach or play sand. Thanks for watching 🌲🌲🌲

[@ryanmaxwell8195]

@@Growing-Our-Retirement ok and where did you get humus from?

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Thanks again, Depending on your needs you can buy bagged humus, try to find it in bulk or even make your own. Our County collects leaves and grass clippings from some residents and makes humus. You can pick it up for free if you have a way to do that. They also deliver it either screened or unscreened. We pay about $200 for a 12 yard load. Some nurseries and people make their own humus or compost. That is a possibility for many but it takes time. Ground hardwood or fir bark is another thing you can generally buy bagged or in bulk. Bulk is of course always the most economical and you are way ahead if you can have it delivered. 🌲🌲🌲

[@ryanmaxwell8195]

@@Growing-Our-Retirement and k I will Google humus

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Try your city or county if you can handle humus in bulk. Bags can also work, garden centers and the big box stores should have humus in bags. Good luck!

[@Martin_Hermann]

Why is the female constantly interrupting?

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

Thanks! Well it’s 100% ok as we each forget to mention certain points. It takes two of us to stay on point. Appreciate you stopping by and hope you enjoy our channel. Much more to come. 🌲🌲🌲

[@Negrodomaus]

Wow, you showed a lot of restraint there...

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

👍 It’s a give and take, team work 🌲🌲🌲

[@ohreally1997]

Martin, you need Jesus.

[@abolitionistsofalabama261]

@@ohreally1997EVERYONE needs JESUS!!!