Start a Garden Nursery to Become
Self Employed
by staff writer
Whether your goal is to become self employed or just to make a few extra
dollars, consider starting a garden nursery in your backyard. Regardless of your
skill level, climate, or acreage you can earn a respectable income and free
yourself from the 9 to 5 grind. Depending on your existing landscaping and
income goals, you may even be able to start this new business without spending a
dime. I hope this article gets the ‘gears turning’ so that you come up with the
perfect business opportunity for your interests and lifestyle.
Before you select types of plants to raise and sell you need to decide when and
how much you want to work. Do you want year round production and sales, or would
you prefer to focus on seasonal products? You could grow vegetables and bedding
plants from seed, market them in early spring, and be done for the season. Such
a burst of planting, raising, and rapid sales would require much time and
attention during the growing season -- but then you would have eight or nine
months off. If you are looking for a more leisurely endeavor, consider
purchasing whips (small bare root trees) and growing them for a few years to
greatly increase their value. In this scenario your stock would require very
little time and attention, but the income is further down the road and
proportionately smaller. There are many options, but you will be more satisfied
with your new business if you determine the pace, hours, and income potential
before your first sale.
 The choice of
plants should also be based on your marketing strategy, and there are numerous
ways to offer your plants for sale. Fresh cut flowers or potted herbs would be a
great addition to a garden stand setup at a farmers' market. Sell starter
tomatoes, peppers, or other garden plants at a weekend roadside sales stand. The
costs of these would be minimal but the returns could be huge.
Selling flats of
bedding plants in early spring is a surefire way to sell large groups of plants
very quickly. As your stock and experience grow, consider approaching
landscaping companies. They may appreciate the flexibility and price that a
small local vendor could provide, especially if you can provide the 1” trees
that every new cookie-cutter subdivision home gets!
Most businesses cost an arm and a leg to start, but with a backyard plant
nursery, you may be able to use your existing landscaping as stock. This won’t
work for all plants, but many varieties are very easy to propagate. Some
ornamental grasses, lilies, peonies, and many others can be divided with a spade
or knife; with one quick cut , one plant becomes two. Tulips, irises, daffodils,
and hyacinths propagate themselves after sufficient growth. Simply split the
root stock or bulbs and one plant becomes several. The speed with which you can
grow your business will be severely limited if you don’t purchase any stock, but
it is a possibility for the extremely thrifty. Save the cartons your plants come
in and reuse them; your neighbors probably won’t complain if you ask for their
cartons as well. You will be saving money and recycling at the same time. You
may not have the luxury of starting your business from plants on hand, but it is
an option worth considering.
While considering what to cover in an article about starting a backyard garden
nursery, I certainly expected there to be more talk of flowers, plants, and
shrubs. The reality is that this venture is almost a guaranteed success if you
have realistic goals and set yourself up for success. If you want to retire in
ten years, you won’t be able to start with a modest plan and begin with only the
stock in your
yard. The ten-year retirement plan also won’t
work if you only
want to work two hours a week. The good news is that you can work as much or as
little as you want, and you are in control of the whens, whats, and hows.
Perhaps a backyard garden nursery will provide the income that allows you to
start your modern sustainable homestead. |
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