Nursery Supply Haul!! What are some common nursery business expenses?

[@emilyneal7888]

When I grew tomato plants for growers I used a slotted tray filled with potting mix. I sprinkled tomato seed in two rows and lightly covered them. When they got their second leaves or true leaves I would transplant them into six packs or whatever. The trick is to tickled the potting mix with your finger from underneath and pull the seedling out one by one being careful not to squeeze the stem. Just an option if you find seeding them singularity by hand too tedious. Happy growing! 😀

[@LBlack5281]

Finally someone else that recycles their mini blinds into plant labels. ❤

[@savvydirtfarmer]

Recycled, dumpster dive, remodel... whatever. Have bought many from Wal-mart for $6 each.... hundreds of labels per set.

[@adriancosio7068]

Good idea!!

[@emilyneal7888]

Be sure to use a grease pencil or a plant label pen to write on the labels as a permanent marker fades with the sun.

[@farmyourbackyard2023]

My nursery has a "recycle station" where you can bring your pots back for others to take for free. If you set this up by your parking area, people will bring back your pots, and bring extras from other places where they buy plants. You can also allow people to take pots other people have dropped off at the recycle station for free. That's what ours does and it works really well. For the recycle center, they set up two large shipping crate bins, and a simple sign explaining how the recycle center works. Making your seed starting simple and efficient will pay off in lower stress in the long run. Smart move.

[@savvydirtfarmer]

Basically doing that this coming season. A lot of people hate throwing those plastic pots in the trash and we're glad to re-use them

[@jkkelley7582]

I love your weed fabric! Used some myself and will put more down this year! Having to redo my back yard and moving the tomato buckets. Love the hoop houses! So many pots! ha ha They make me tired just seeing them!! Going to start my tomato seeds soon, this warm week has the Spring fever starting up! Prayers and the very best wished for this year of 2024!!

[@justsayin5609]

I've started toms & peppers from seed for a few years now. Don't buy seed starting mix. Make your own! Zone 6b so I start them inside. Equal parts vermiculite and peat moss. (Seeds don't need soil, but once germinated will be potted up into soil after 2 sets of true leaves.) For indoors, peat moss needs to be sterilized so you don't get fungus gnats. Never have. I put in a handled bucket (like from Home Depot) with a lid. Enough water so that it looks like brownie mix. (Moist, but not soaked.) Place foil on top to retain heat, then the lid. Let cool thoroughly before seeding. Good luck. PS Another upcyling tag source is cutting up any plastic containers & lids (shampoo bottles, margerine lids/big containers, etc.) Good off-season task in front of the tv!

[@cjminor6429]

I make labels from vinyl window blinds as well. I use an oil based marker that I buy on Amazon. I find that these labels, hand printed with the oil marker, work better than anything else I’ve ever tried! I get broken mini blinds from the local thrift stores for free, or I buy them at yard sales for a dollar or two! I’ve shared this label market idea with tons of people, and regularly they come back to say how impressed they are with how well these cheap labels hold up! As for pots, when I lived on the west coast I talked with landscaping companies and was given all the pots I could ever need for free! Having just moved across the country to the East coast I no longer have those connections, so I’m having to purchase my pots now- but I look on Facebook marketplace for the best deals. Best of luck to us all in our small nursery businesses!

[@ERICSELDERBERRYNURSERY]

That’s what I do bu win a standard pencil I don wipe off or fade much

[@marlenedimmitt1475]

Hi, just wondering where do you find an oil based marker. I have been using a permanent marker but they never last through the summer. Molly 😊

[@savvydirtfarmer]

I have labels I made with blinds and a pencil 6 years ago that are still legible.

[@danielfowler5940]

@@marlenedimmitt1475 a later printer is the way to go . Buy labels,pot stickers and tags on line in sheets to fit your laxer printer. Don’t worry about markers they will always fade. Later burns it into the plastic.

[@cjminor6429]

@@marlenedimmitt1475 I find a brand called zeyar oil based paint marker on Amazon. I started using the brand 3 or 4 years ago and noticed only recently that some of my very first plant markers using these look almost as good as the ones I made a couple of weeks ago! I get the fine point. The only problems I have found was getting them started takes a bit to get the paint to the tip of the marker, and, secondly, because I have a tendency to use them on everything from the vinyl to rocks to wood I smoosh the tips out of shape!

[@danradtke1663]

Pallets are a bit more stable as bench tops. Just a thought if you have access to them. A new venture that cost zero expense. Learning things yourself by trial and error gives you more hands on info and failure is not learned by not doing. It's better to try and fail then doing nothing. Keep doing what you're doing because life is a learning process. Supplies vary throughout the usa. So in one state you can get things cheaper and different temps call for different supplies. Keep up the great work. Snow and minus temps in chicago nice to see you in overalls. 👍🙋. Spring will be here in a blink of an eye.

[@savvydirtfarmer]

Indeed. I've been looking for free pallets just for that... haven't found any yet.

[@justsayin5609]

Too heavy for one person to move them around.

[@SoThatsGoot]

Welcome to team veggie!! I primarily grow vegetable starts for my backyard nursery. Because I live in zone 8B, I had to start my seeds much earlier than I did as a beginner last year, so they could reach selling size by March/April. Last year, I started at the beginning of March, which was way too late. So for this season, I started in late December. God bless grow lights and heat mats.

[@muddshuvel2714]

People will pay a premium for larger tomato plants. We sold all 70 that we had in trade gallon pots in a town of 1100 people last year for $10 each and people told us we were too cheap. Started them 10 weeks ahead of our last frost date and they were 2’ tall. A comparable sized plant was $20 at the big box store.

[@savvydirtfarmer]

Good to know - makes me want to try starting at least a few, early! Problem is, we don't have anywhere to put them for cold protection when it's getting close to frost date and the plants are getting big.

[@muddshuvel2714]

@@savvydirtfarmer we grew them mostly in the house on metal shelves with lighting. Can fit 70+ on a 4’ wide by 7’ tall wire shelving pretty easy. Need grow lights though

[@ractfhome]

Good video. Many of those supplies are used in my Christmas Tree business! Thanks for your insights.

[@budgetgardeningvita]

I'm excited to hear that you'll be selling vegetable starts this year. This will be my second year with my backyard plant nursery and I'm also planning to sell vegetable starts and annual flowers as there was a lot of interest last year. Great job and thank you for always sharing what you are up to. We truly appreciate it!

[@savvydirtfarmer]

Sure thing... hope you do very well this year!

[@PinewoodsHomestead]

Im glad you make videos. I am making a native plant nursery here in FL and I have been learning many things from your videos. Please keep them up!

[@justtinkering6054]

You said it yourself that everyone has their own way and no one way is the best. That said, you may want to consider 1203 inserts and 10x20 flats for your vegetable production. Putting inserts into the flats and filling is going to be way way way quicker than those little individual pots. You'll end up with about the same amount of soil used and about the same amount of plants per flat. I'm guessing cost may be cheaper too, but haven't priced it out. Keep up the good work. I enjoy your videos.

[@savvydirtfarmer]

You're probably right. I'm doing it as shown this year... may regret it. But... it's all part of the learning process. I'm concerned about potting the 72s into the 2.5 inch pots... very small pot up maybe time consuming. We'll see.

[@Newtown-Orchard]

Craig, I buy TerraSlate waterproof card stock, print on a laser printer, and then I cut them with a paper cutter. It saves SO much time not having to write out thousands of plant labels. I also include my nursery info on the label. A sheet of the cardstock is $1.00.

[@savvydirtfarmer]

That may be the best idea (to me) I've heard. Where do you get that paper for $1/sheet?

[@Growing-Our-Retirement]

That's a great price on #2 pots! Great video! Spring is coming!

[@maryboivinmcghee3349]

Love how practical you are in your videos! Will be interested to see how you price your individual vegetal plants. Have often wondered why nurseries tend to sell veggies in 6-cell packs. Frustrating when you only want one-three of the same variety of tomato. Thank you for sharing!

[@savvydirtfarmer]

We'll be selling them for $2.50 each, by the individual or by the flat (32). Most places will sell by the 6 pack. We're not interested in doing what everyone else is doing.

[@pamelamercado6902]

The right way is whatever is right for you. I use the 72 plugs for all my seedlings and I put them in 3"and 4" pots to sale Veggies sale like crazy here in spring I'm already planting peppers they take a while to come up. I use the bamboo sticks for fruit/citrus trees in pots I'll be looking forward to your videos coming up

[@savvydirtfarmer]

I'm concerned that the 72s are going to be hard to pot up into my 2.5" pots... need a little more room to up-pot into. I have a hunch that's going to be a lesson learned for this Spring... but, time will tell. I'm ready to go! We've got terribly cold (for us) weather the next few days and it's just not time to start things yet.

[@reginaneufeld1092]

Yay!! Supplies! That means growing season is coming around!! (Further away for us Albertans, Canada. Currently -35...ugh).

[@hudson8865]

Thank you very much.

[@amsohn1]

Totally tickled othera admit using our mini-blind discards as well 😂😂😂 Thanks for another wonderful video- we spent today ordering our supplies and will be seed starting this next week [if they get here through the ice thats coming] , we dont have anyone close enough to go to them, however we got free shipping on all our orders. Blessings ❤

[@denisebalog994]

I was wondering if you were going to make tables this year. I live several miles from a pallet place and I 'm thinking of starting out with those. Would need cider blocks so that adds up. I guess I will have to learn to use a skill saw abd a hammer like Chloe 👍🤗🌱😁

[@amandabottoms1]

There are LOTS of videos on youtube showing you how to properly use power tools. Please make sure you follow all safety precautions!

[@charlesmay8251]

I'm lucky , I drive 15 min. to get free trade 1 gallons and propagation trays.

[@danradtke1663]

Yes even the big box stores y You can get containers from their garden center trash area.

[@savvydirtfarmer]

Have gotten lots of free pots from box stores. Problem is you have to take what you have. If you need a whole lot of something specific, you're probably gonna have to buy them. But... free pots aren't hard to come by at all.

[@danielfowler5940]

Landscaping companies are always trying to get rid of pots.

[@amandabottoms1]

the window blinds are so creative!!! I love it! If I hadn't already ordered tags for this year, I might've considered that method! lol

[@savvydirtfarmer]

They work well, and cheap. I borrowed the idea from others

[@lindakay8171]

Good Morning from PA! When you mentioned tables I thought of Laura at Garden Answer and the homemade tables she uses in her greenhouse. She also just mentioned in a recent video how adding wheels is a must. Maybe you can get some ideas from her video called How We Build Our Greenhouse videos. This is only a suggestion since I know you are a handy man when it comes to building things. Have a great day!!

[@savvydirtfarmer]

My plan right now is to build them either 8 or 10 feet long so we can easily move them around as we need to. We'll see how they work. It's not a forever fix, but should be able to get at least a couple of years out of them this way.

[@bbfpfs]

For labels we use OL25LP - Weatherproof Polyester Laser - 1.75" x 0.5" Return Address Labels. They come 80 to a sheet and they last VERY well. Juts print them off on your laser printer. They run us around a penny per label.

[@amandabottoms1]

i like your style! Gonna have to check into that!

[@savvydirtfarmer]

Yes! Eventually, I'll be printing. For now, handwritten is fine.

[@anitahouse3600]

Y'all stay safe! Looks like you got a chance of some snow!!!!!

[@savvydirtfarmer]

Several inches coming overnight into tomorrow... unusual for here, for sure.

[@anitahouse3600]

@@savvydirtfarmer I was just South of y'all and momma was shooing me out, so I would get out before the snow hit. 🙂

[@johnt3728]

Thank you ❤

[@nel6211]

As your seed starts will need warmth and light to germinate, what will you use as your greenhouse? Build another "hoop house and cover in plastic, maybe? I have a few hundred of the plastic pot, all sizes, that I use to grow food in my small yard and I'm not a nursery.🙂

[@savvydirtfarmer]

They will be started in my kitchen

[@DachiaTheDogMom]

Curious (sorry if you've already talked about this and I missed it) if you guys offer a pot buyback from customers. Or if a customer is buying a bunch of a screen tree, several pots, if you say that X dollars is a deposit... if they bring those 10 pots back they can have X dollars back. And in that way, you get some pots back but they also come back and maybe buy something else.

[@savvydirtfarmer]

This year we're going to do a "we recycle pots" thing. Not buying them back, but even if we get back some, it will be worth it. Just a "if you happen to be in the area, toss em over the fence and we'll re-use them" kind of thing.

[@HoaGarden902]

I did this at a farmer’s market with a sign. A man unloaded hundreds of pots to me and I had to go back with a trailer to get a 10x12 portable greenhouse. Great score.

[@savvydirtfarmer]

Absolutely! You'll get all kinds of pots you can't use, but the pile you get that you can use is incredible!@@HoaGarden902

[@HoaGarden902]

@@savvydirtfarmer I see the bargain prices you get for your supplies. For me a gallon pot is $2 so every pot I get counts to my bottom line and I use them all.

[@Amandascottagelife]

Great info as always!! Taking notes and making plans! You have become my Nursery Mentor so thank you thank you! Only wish I lived closer so I could go visit and ask questions. For now I look forward to your videos! 😊

[@savvydirtfarmer]

You are welcome! Nice to have you on board.

[@amandabottoms1]

I built 4 greenhouse tables last year. I used leftover hardware cloth for mine, and I'm working on switching the tables out to fence picket tops. the wire is great for allowing water to pass through, but its not great for supporting plants. and I've found the hardware cloth tears up the bottom of my trays (of course, i'm using cheap ones from menards, that might be part of the problem). I coated the fence pickets with several layers of paint in an attempt to protect the wood from the water its going to be subjected to next spring. I chose a darker but vibrant green color, only b/c black in this arkansas heat will not end well for the plants. lol

[@savvydirtfarmer]

The best bench tops are hard plastic, but very expensive. Everybody has to build and make do with their ability, materials, and budgets... sounds like you're figuring it out!

[@amandabottoms1]

@@savvydirtfarmer I think my favorite part of all of this is the consistently needing to evolve your skill base. I learned a lot in building those tables, but I've learned even more in the mistakes i've found. I'm wondering if the wire for the greenhouse tables from a wholesaler is more sturdy than what I can get from the big box store. b/c I've noticed that the sagging I experience on my tables is not nearly as bad as in local nurseries.

[@juliesummerfield9784]

Do you find it a lot harder to control business expenses now that you have more space to expand on? How do you decide how much to invest into growth each year vs paying yourself a decent amount to live off of? Do you by chance use "Profit First" principles to run your business?

[@savvydirtfarmer]

It's a month by month thing. We have to grow the business first. Without that, we can't feed ourselves. But, we can't do it to fast, or we can't feed ourselves. Today, I have about 3 major projects (expenses) that need to get done before May (approx). I can't do them all now because there's no significant income until April. I see a time coming by the middle of the summer, that our main infrastructures are all finally in place and those expenses will be reduced by 80% or so. "Profit first?" Not familiar with that.

[@juliesummerfield9784]

@@savvydirtfarmer That is sorta where I am stuck a bit too. There won't be significant income from farm till summer (I grow cut flowers and pumpkins & gourds mainly, but I am working on building up a backyard nursery income stream too). Profit First is a book and business method that seems to line up with how you speak of finances etc. Building your business with low overhead & setting aside profit & savings and running the business on what's left to help reduce spending & low profits. There are much better ways to explain the idea of Profit First. Might be an enjoyable audiobook to listen to while you are working or driving for supplies. I pray for a prosperous year for your entire family. I have really been enjoying your daughter's KZbin channel also.

[@countrymanvideos6006]

sorry i didnt give you this advice earlier i watched this video 3 times not my usual 6 time rewatch

[@KazakhKea]

Can you make video about chemicals you use in your nursery? Fertilizers, insecticides. Thanks

[@cheezytaco1000]

The nursery up the road said I can take all the pots I want that are 5 gal and under, they have thousands.

[@savvydirtfarmer]

That's a great find! i need a nursery like that around me

[@cheezytaco1000]

@@savvydirtfarmer yeah, I was talking to them about maybe selling them plants they showed me all their wholesale prices in the computer, talked to me about the business, walked me around their place. Really cool guys.

[@savvydirtfarmer]

That's great! When you find folks like that who will be helpful to you, you've found a good thing. @@cheezytaco1000

[@teresaholland4790]

My cat’s ears went up when you said more than one way to skin a cat 🙀😸

[@savvydirtfarmer]

😄😄😄

[@teresaholland4790]

Great job on this project

[@lilyrosedaisyvioletsweetpe1207]

💚💚

[@amandabottoms1]

for the nursery ground cover you're using, does that not become unbearably hot in the summer? Feels like it would increase the heat in the area.

[@savvydirtfarmer]

Not at all. It's completely breathable and water passes right through. You can stand on it barefoot in the middle of the day and the temp isn't much different than the grass around it.

[@amandabottoms1]

@@savvydirtfarmer Thanks! I've only ever really used it in small areas, so the bigger area had me questioning. I'm glad it works!

[@danielfowler5940]

Just don’t leave plants on it with out moving them if you have covered the ground with only ground cover. I buy plastic from lows spread it out and poke several holes in it for drainage . Then put my Uber ground cover over it. Just poke enough hold water doesn’t stand. The roots from your pot grow straight through it if you don’t. I’m not trying to tell you what to do over Mr Odom at all I’ve just done this for a long time so please don’t think his information is not with your best interest in mind. Daniel

[@amandabottoms1]

@@danielfowler5940 I dont think Mr Odom has plants around long enough for that! lol his turnover rate this year has been quite impressive, but I know what you mean, I've seen it at a local (to me) nursery. They keep a lot of their stuff hilled in with mulch, ,and it looks great, but you have to be careful when you're pulling plants out. I picked out a filbert for my mothers day gift one year and I had to talk with the nursery manager before we purchased it to make sure they were aware that it was rooted outside of the pot and we didnt know, pulled it up and that root broke off, the tree is doing fine 2 years later, but I could definitely see how it could become a problem for more tender stock. I'm in the ant capital of the world. I live on an ant hill, so putting things directly on the ground isn't realistic, but, the ground cover would make for a more pleasant shopping experience for my customers, plus, i wont need to move tables for lawn care!

[@danielfowler5940]

I have ants as well. I spray one time a year with a product called Tempo. Amazon has it. When you get a Nusery Inspector out there the first thing he will look for is fire ants. They’re truly there to help you and will if you ask for their help with problems you may have. Tempo is for fleas and ticks and other things around horse barns and things like that you can even get tempo SC I think that’s correct. I wish I could post a pic. It’s for inside the house no smell child and pet friendly as well. Very residual lasts a lot longer inside as opposed to outside it’s supposed to last three months. But it absolutely annihilate ants.

[@IsRealBeing]

Do you mind saying what nursery supply store? I am in Alabama as well

[@savvydirtfarmer]

Deerfield Supply, Elkton, KY. Amish place - no internet presence. Call them and have them send you a catalog. You'll be shocked how low their prices are compared to others. If you're buying a lot of stuff, you'll easily save money, even paying for gas for several hundred miles drive.

[@Newtown-Orchard]

I think I'll try stopping there when I drive to Alabama next month. Might need to rent a minivan!

[@countrymanvideos6006]

tell your customers you recycle used nursery pots in 2 years you will have tens of thousands of free pots all sizes