Starting a plant business is much easier than you think. It requires a lot less of a commitment than you think. Getting started growing and selling small plants from home is as simple as this;
Start propagating some plants from cuttings, get some pots and potting soil, start selling some plants. Not a lot, but some plants in your local area. Selling plants is the easy part because unlike most other things that people sell, plants don’t have to be sold. All you have to do is let people know that you have them and that they are for sale.
Mike McGroarty
When it comes to plants, people act in completely irrational ways! And they do it all the time! I don’t even know if I understand the psychology of people and plants well enough to explain it. But it is an interesting thing to watch. We constantly see people traveling 25 or 40 miles if not farther to buy small plants.
Plant lovers have an insatiable appetite for plants. There’s no other way to explain it.
Check Out Small Plants, Big Profits from Home Here.
When you grow and sell small plants people have a very high regard for you and what you do. They are in awe of what you do in your backyard. They want to be you! Not because of the money, but because of what you have the ability to do with your hands.
Crazy? I don’t think so. I’ve been a witness to this for too long to thing other wise. I like to say that; “I grow small plants that make others happy.” Because . . . that’s what I do!
So what about you?
Are you sorta, kinda thinking about starting a plant business?
I get comments from people all the time that start out like this;
“I’d like to start my own plant business but . . .”
There it is! The great big but!
These are just some of the reason that people play the “but” card on me;
“I don’t know if anybody will buy my plants.”
“I have other large nurseries in my town.”
“We have a big box store right down the road from my house.”
“How can a little person like me possibly compete with the big box stores?”
“I can’t right now because my life is so busy.”
“Mike, I’d love to buy your system but I just don’t have the money right now.”
“I’m going to retire in 3 years and I’d like to do it then.”
Allow me to answer these concerns for you.
Will people buy your plants if you grow them?
The answer is yes. If you grow a nice looking plant that people want, they will buy your plants. Why? Because they love to buy plants. That’s what they do. Landscapers and garden centers buy plants for a living. They must buy plants on a regular basis just to stay in business. They have to buy and sell plants in order to provide for their family.
Landscapers and garden centers do not grow plants. Some garden centers grow hanging baskets and annual flowers, but all of the other plants on the lot they buy from a wholesale grower. Why would they buy from you? Because you can sell really nice plants at a lower price than a wholesale grower. Your over head expenses are almost nothing compared to any wholesale grower they are currently buying from. In my book;
“Small Plants, Big Profits from Home” I tell you exactly how to get landscapers and garden centers to buy from you. They’d love to do busienss with you because the big growers make it really hard for them.
“I have other nurseries in my town.
How can I compete with these established businesses?”
The answer to that is easy. I live in a really small town. We have two traffic lights because a main highway passes through here. Yet, we have no downtown business area at all, we have no fast food restaurants, no doctor in our town, but we have three garden centers and 85 large wholesale nurseries. Read that again! 85 large wholesale nurseries that report a combined sales of 85 million dollars! 85 million bucks!
And what did I do? I started my little plant business two years ago, sandwiched right between two other nurseries. Really. My property goes really deep, but it’s only 114 feet wide. My neighbor to the west has a nursery. The only thing that separates my nursery from Richard’s is a one lane dirt lane that we share. Our plants can talk to one another they are so close! My neighbor to the east is, you guessed it, a nursery. A really large nursery! They farm just a tad over 1,000 acres, all packed full of nursery stock. The only thing that divides my nursery from their’s is, you guessed it, a dirt lane that we share. My plants and their plants are less than 30′ apart.
It’s funny really. You know how you wave to your neighbor when you see him or her driving down the road? All my neighbors pass by on tractors! Really. One Saturday I was out working in the nursery and I hear a tractor coming so I look up. It was my friend Kenny Brown just putzing along on a tractor. Kenny was taking a short cut on our dirt lane from his dad’s nursery down to his house about a mile north of my nursery. His dad’s nursery actually butts up to the back of my property.
So there you have it. My little plant business is surrounded on three sides by other nurseries. Mr. Brown’s nursery is also very large. We toured it this summer when I had a bunch of my customers at my place for our annual
“Shindig at Mike’s Plant Farm”. It took us almost an hour to take the tour riding on wagons pulled by tractors.
Right next to Mr. Brown’s nursery to the west is my friend Craig’s nursery. Not as big, but man oh man does he have an impressive collection of Japanese maples. To the east of Mr. Brown’s nursery is another super large wholesale nursery. They have over 2,000 huge hoop houses and their own electricity generating windmill.
To give you an idea of how big their operation is I’ll share this with you. During the winter on warm days they open up the doors on each end of the hoop houses to keep the plants from getting too hot. Then when it gets back down into the thirties they close the doors. It takes a crew of ten men about a half a day just to open the doors! That’s a lot of doors to open and close. Each one of those hoop houses contains thousands and thousands of plants. On the tour this summer we watched their potting team pot up 60 plants a minute and they do that everyday, all summer long. 60 plants a minute!
I don’t have any hoop houses and probably never will have. I keep things really simple.
So obviously, my little tiny plant growing business is surrounded by giant nurseries. Doesn’t faze me a bit. I will sell my plants to a different group of customer than they serve. That’s how big the market for plants is.
“We have a big box store right down the road from my house.”
Yeah, me too. Walmart, right down the road. I’ve also got three full service garden centers, a Home Depot, a Lowes Store and another Walmart. Not to mention a Sears Garden Center. Here’s the deal. They cannot compete with me! I have something they don’t have and no matter how deep their pockets are or how badly they want it, they just can’t have it. I have me. I’m the guy with the little nursery that grows his own plants. I’m the one who answers their questions, helps them select their plants, puts the plants in their car. I am me. All of those so called competitors of mine don’t have a me. They have employees who care, who try hard to help the people, but at the end of the day they are not me. People know that this is what I do. They quickly figure out that I am extremely passionate about the plants that I grow and sell. A big box store or garden center can never have that, and people see it. They sense it. They like buying from people like you and I.
“I can’t right now because my life is so busy.”
Few people are busier than I am. For 25 years I worked a full time job and built multiple businesses while working full time. Today I’m crazy busy with my Internet business, my family, Duston and I travel many times a year to learn more about our business, we constantly create and invent new products to sell, and I started a plant nursery right in the middle of all of that craziness.
The nursery is the glue that makes it all make sense. I love the solitude of working in the nursery by myself. Just me and the plants. My advice to you is to get started. Start small. You’ll enjoy it more than you can imagine.
“Mike, I’d love to buy your system but I just don’t have the money right now.”
My system is about the same price as a meal in a nice restaurant. If you really, really want it, you’ll find the money. People always find the money for the things that they really want. If you think about it you only have to grow and sell 10 small plants to pay for my system. And having my system will save you a ton of mistakes and mis-steps. And there is a great deal of information in my system that I don’t share here and I never can share here. Selling my system is how I get compensated for all of the time I spend giving out free information here and in my newsletter.
“I’m going to retire in 3 years and I’d like to do it then.”
Don’t wait. Start your plant business now. In three years when you retire you will be so far ahead and you will already be selling plants. Don’t let procrastination steal your dream of extra retirement income doing something that you will love and enjoy.
Check Out Small Plants, Big Profits from Home Here.
the video that’s included in this… does it have captions for the deaf or is there an alternative to the video so I can read it?
Shannon,
Best thing to do is subscribe to the mailing list because Duston sends out links to a written page that explains it all in detail. Or you can watch our youtube videos and I think you can turn on captions there. Mikesbackyardnursery on youtube.
Hello Mike! After years of daydreaming about owing a plant farm I’ve decided to stop daydreaming and just do it already! One question that I have is this: we live in an area where owning a house is beyond our reach. We are renting a large apartment and enjoy patio gardening and our plants spill over onto the common areas of our community. Any advice how to begin now while we are renters? Thanks and we love your advice and inspiration!
Karen,
Starting out you do not have to go really big. All you need is a small area to get started and start selling things as soon as possible. There are all kinds of commercial property around that have room behind the building that nobody is using, just mowing. Find a property owner that will allow you to use some of that space in exchange for mowing or other chores. Don’t call it a nursery, just grow some small plants.
Did you have to get a nursery license to grow and sell? Not sure if this is required if I want to start as a hobby to grow and sell native plants and trees.
Jill,
It’s state by state but you have to be licensed in all states as a means of controlling nursery pests.
Thank you for your tips and encouragement. I recently started a plant delivery business and sometimes it can be overwhelming trying to figure out how to run the business.
Lucianna,
That’s why we have a members area, http://backyardgrowers.com/join, so you can get daily advice on the issues that you struggle with the most. At the very least take the test drive, membership should be opening soon.
It makes sense how you said that people can be kind of irrational when it comes to buying plants and will travel long distances to be sure to get what they want. Having access to wholesale plants would probably be really great if you were planning on starting a business and selling them to people. That way they can travel that great distance and find exactly what it is that they are looking for.
I was potting up some aloe this afternoon when it struck me- I’ve always wanted to own a plant shop! Duh! After a few google searches I came across this article and it makes me smile – and even gave me a boost of motivation.
Thanks! 😀
Samantha,
Make sure you join the email list at https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/ and follow along with all that we have going on with the plant business.
I have always wanted to own my own Houseplant business. I have always dreamed about it. I turned 50 years old this year and this Morning I woke up really ready to do this. Right now I’m working two jobs in the medical field but I’m ready to do something I love. Word gets around at work how I love dealing with houseplants and I make houseplant arrangements for co workers. I constantly order plants from different states for myself.. I want to order and sell plants and exotic plants from all over. Any advice will be appreciated.
Trolyn,
You can test drive our members area, http://backyardgrowers.com/join, for $7 in just a few weeks. I highly recommend it, you can bounce your ideas off the members. House plants are a little different than most of us do but I’m sure you could sell them on facebook. Many of us sell tens of thousands of dollars worth of plants on facebook right now. We discuss that all the time.
How do you find Growers or nursery for Air Plants? The only thing I find is online.
I am looking into having a side business.
Lupe,
Air plants? You want to grow just one kind of plant? Not being familiar with them this would be a better question for our members. http://backyardgrowers.com/join
I just wanted to say thanks Mike for all the inspiration and hope you deliver to those of us willing to listen. I just decided to dive in last year. A few, short years ago, I purchased a small 6 acre plot of farmland to retire on. We’ve decided to work it now and move onto it as soon as we can. We’re almost done building a little house and I’ve already started growing starters in my basement where I currently live. My starters are doing splendid. I’ll be setting up shop at a couple of farmers markets this year to jump start my networking and the next step is contacting local retail businesses about selling my plants wholesale to them as well as Craigslist, eBay, ETSY, and eventually Amazon. Where there is a will, there is a way. We want this soooo baaaad! Folks, you just have to want it bad enough and you can achieve this, but you have to get started somewhere…just start. Once you start, you’ll probably kill a few plants and make quite a few mistakes, but you will learn from them in a way that reading can never teach. Sure, I buy books and download purchased instruction all the time, but you still need to just do it. What I buy to read often times just ends up being information I already learned with mistakes, but it’s nice to re-inforce your confidence by reading that you ARE doing it right after all…it really helps to boost your confidence and morale which is really important when you’re starting on an entrepreneurial path.
Thanks Marilyn, I appreciate that.
I am farely new in indoor modern plant bussines, and I love it, but it s not easy or I don t know how to find the market to sell them? Any advice would be very appreciated! Thank You!
Danijela,
Learning where and how to sell the plants that you grow is something that we discuss on a nearly daily basis in the members area, http://backyardgrowers.com/join, the 30 day test drive is only $7.00 and we’ll begin accepting new members soon.
I like that you are looking at selling your plants online, but what about the regulations from each state.? Are you going to certify your stock for just your state, or others? Curious, because I would like to do this, too. The USDA keeps a lot of invasive pests out of our farmlands, so I am not against them on this one!
Hey I am all for making money. If you are making good money why not offer your knowledge for free.
I do it all the time. I have a nursery in Maryland. Here is some free advice. In Maryland the nursery license is 110 dollars a year. Buy seeds {vegetable,, herb and flower} in bulk cheap. Sell plants a foot tall for 2 bucks. Make money. Far better prices than garden centers or box stores. Buy 1000 seeds for 10 bucks. Grow 700 plants and sell them 2 bucks. 1400 bucks.. Get the idea.
Mike,
Apparently I don’t offer free information? And here I thought the one thousand posts on this site and the 85 youtube videos and all of the content on http://japanesemaplelovers.com/ and http://freeplants.com was free for the reading and watching. Apparently I need to do a better job. Thanks for pointing that out.
Question. For a small home business like this what are the laws and how to with getting a licence and selling across state line through mail?
MB,
Getting licensed to grow and sell plants is quite easy. Selling across state lines is also pretty easy unless you want to ship from the east coast to the west. That’s challenging and most just don’t do it, the market in your surrounding states is plenty large enough.
You forgot to mention that EVERY state and also the federal government require licensing and permits, fines are steep. It is illegal to send, mail, deliver, and transport plants and soil in many states and its illegal on a federal level to cross state lines with plants, soil without permits.
Hi there!
Was wondering if you knew anything about selling air plants. I am planning on selling homemade air plant holders with the air plant. Do you know if I need a nursery license for this? Any advice is appreciated, thanks!
Melanie,
Everybody who grows or sells live plants has to be licensed by the state. It’s a means of pest control.
I dug up a couple of crepe myrtle trees last week, I planted the biggest, but I had a lot of roots I didn’t do anything to the roots until today, my question is will the roots survive even after I planted them
Freda,
Roots? I don’t think Crape Myrtle will grow from just a root. Most do them as softwood cuttings. https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2015/01/easy-summertime-plant-propagation-techniques-can-home/
I’m very interested in making a plant business here in this small town and goldsmith Everyone is always eating jalapenos and onions and produce cabbage all of it Tomatoes carrots anything you can think of there’s nothing but dry there’s no produce here
Is this website still running? The latest post is from Nov 2014.
Jordan,
This website is alive and well and updated on a regular basis, https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/, as a matter of fact I’m doing a new post this morning, we shoot new video on a regular basis and I interact with the members for at least an hour a day answering questions in the private members area.
Hi Mike, I love growing trumpet plants and they are so beautiful , I grow tons and give them to friends and family. I really don’t have land I just grow on my patio and any empty spot I can find. I am obsessed with these plants and would love to do this for a living but doubt I can without property, any suggestions. Never thought I would love anything as much as fishing but I love this new hobby.
I have plants I want to sell. Do I need any kind of license, certification or what not? If I do how do I get legal, so I can properly sell them? Thanks, Julia
Julia,
All of these questions are answered in the many products that we offer, but the short answer is, yes, you need a license, much like any business. If you order the little booklet offered on this site that will allow you access to other products not openly advertised here.
Where do you live I’m very interested in buying plants with their affordable price
Hello Mike. I have been recieving your emails for a few years now and very soon I will be sending you the money for your system. Thank you for all the hope and helpful e mails.
Trisha, that’s great news! I can’t wait to have you on board growing small plants that make other people happy. -Mike McGroarty http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
Hi mike thanks for the info.im very intrrested in your program but right now im out of town. I currently have a small worm bussiness and i want to grow plants for profit talk doon. .
Steve, details about most of our product can be found here. https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2015/10/backyard-nursery-tools-of-the-trade-things-to-turn-you-into-a-successful-grower/
I probably have evey bit of your information that has been advertised- maybe, not completely sure about. I am an old lady and totally love to read about gardening. I grow roses. I have had 78 beautiful roses but down to about thirty now. The last two summers really messed them up. Hopefully we will get a well dug by springtime- then I plan on gardening all I want. Till then I am thinking of all kinds of possibiliies.
exp. Is the worst teacher. Yes i would spend 47 bucks to learn from mikes mistakes and success
sold! ! ! Im diggen thru my couch right now
Ben, I really hope you find the money in the couch! And I hope doing so changes your life for the better! Thanks, Mike
One correction, people can’t always find money fir what they really want. Sometimes, we can’t even find money for what we really need. I’ve got cuttings started, no clue where to sell them this time of year, and can’t afford your book. Medical condition + no help= needs unmet and “wants” unfulfilled. Sometimes, it really is that bad so don’t minimize it, please.
Jules, all you have to do is sell the cuttings you have and you’ll have some income. If you root cuttings of really nice flowering shrubs, people will buy them. It’s as simple as that. I understand the financial issues that people face. I hope you can find a way to make this work. I’m not trying to minimize your situation. That’s why I work so hard to give away information and techniques that people can use to earn some extra money.
I don’t get paid for making a video or writing a 700 word blog post and I’ve been doing them for 14 years. Often times it takes me hours to take photos, edit the photos, get them posted on the blog then write an article, then send a newsletter. All of those things I do for free. Nobody pays me for that. I wish they did, but they don’t.
So in some ways you and I are in a similar situation. We have to find a way to get compensated for the time we devote to our craft.
Take good care of your cuttings so they are prized specimens. Place a FREE AD on Craigslist and either let people come to your home on an as-needed basis or hold a plant yard sale once a month or so during the warmer seasons. Post great pictures on Craigslist to make people drool over your plants. Also, grow your little plants into large, blooming (if they are the flowering type), bushy plants. If you can’t afford containers, recycle anything that will hold a plant. If you are connected with your neighbors, ask them to bring you their empty, plastic, food containers. The large, plastic, coffee containers are great for this. Price your plants accordingly…not too high (especially if you are using recycled containers in lieu of actual plant containers) but not too low either – you want to make the sale and your work worthwhile. Be knowledgeable about the plants you grew, be friendly and answer questions willingly and graciously. You will do fine.
I have been receiving emails from you for a long time I have decided to get more info from you on how to get started. What do I need to do on my end….I will need to know the how to’s, prices & so on! It sounds like I would be able to get started pretty cheaply I hope. Thank you for all the tips & knowledge you’ve shared. Hope to hear from you soon….Mary
Mary,
Yes, you can get started with a really small amount of money. In the book that comes with my system, “Small Plants, Big Profits from Home” I share with you all kinds of strategies on pricing and how to sell the plants that you grow.
mike i have been reading all the mail you send i take your advice have engouraged my daughter who has a horse farm to start a nursery she already has her green house up-she will be starting some sales soon- can we order plants and trees from you?
how is the fall busines on trees and shubery?
thanks for all the advice.
Edna, at this time I am not shipping any plants. But during the growing season I invite members to my nursery for a day of learning and meeting the other members and many people buy small plants from me on those visit. Fall is a great time to sell plants. Most of our members sell all spring, summer and fall. Make sure you get the system so you get started on the right foot. http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
Mike
I joined your backyardnursery a long time ago.I want to get started growing plants for a business,but i was trying to be careful not to get a plant that i could not take cuttings from.I don’t have the message board,so how can i find cuttings to buy to get started off,and what would be the best to grow and sell.I am in lower zone 7 in Marion Al. I need to get started off with either some different types of cuttings or a few plants that i can take cuttings from and not get into trouble for selling them.I don’t know what would be best to grow here.I could use your help.
Thank You
Ronnie
Ronnie, get the new book that recently came out, Small Plants, Big Profits from Home. Lots of good stuff in that book and answers to all of your questions. When it came out I offered it to all of my existing customers at a discount. In the book I explain in detail what you can and cannot propagate.
I have loved growing for years and you have inspired me to start my little business. I just ordered your growing system. Thanks you mike. I am getting started now. It is October 28th, and I have already taken some cutting from you flowering tree. Wish me luck. Question Mike, can I put them outside? I don’t have a cold house yet but working on it. Let me know. Also why do you use sand? Looking forward to your answer.
Cindy, all of my cuttings are outside and will be all winter. We use sand because it drains well and the cuttings don’t rot. It makes for a great rooting medium. Thanks for buying my system, you will enjoy it I’m sure.
Hi Mike, about a week ago I recieved your Small Plants,Big Profits from Home dvds and book. Well, I finished watching the dvds and finished reading your book also. Guess what going to start watching the dvds and reading the book again to catch anything that I might of missed. Your system is well worth the money. It is a great system that covers every angle of the business. Thanks so much, hard earned money very well spent!!! 🙂
Frank, thank you so much for your kind words. I really try hard to make sure people get great value. I want to see your succeed at this!
thanks Mike
Mike,
About how much physical space is required to start a backyard plant business? Our backyard is wide, but not deep, and has a good amount of shade. Sunlight would seem to be an essential factor.
Thanks for all the great info and encouragement!
Laura, honestly? You can start a small backyard nursery in an area 5′ by 10′ and easily produce hundreds of plants. My first backyard nursery was only 1/20 of an acre. Two areas, one was 30′ by 40′ and the other was about 20′ by 70′. I grew and sold tens of thousands of plants in those small areas. If I lived in a mobile home park and I would still grow and sell plants. A cutting only needs about one square inch while it is rooting and if you want to grow it another year or two it really only needs about 16″ square inches. That’s 4″ by 4″.
More space is not always a good thing. I now have lots of room and I am making all kinds of mistakes because I spread out too much. I am now in the process of trying to get my operation back to what I had when I had less room to work with. You can grow a lot of plants in a small space and once a cutting has roots you can sell it. My system comes with an report that explains that in detail.
Get started right now and join the fun! http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
Hi Mike, I just watched your arborvitae plantings video and loved the wooden box you made for all your new plantings. My question is, I have a few trees in the back of my yard and this year hundreds of little ones came up around them by themselves. I replanted a few but not sure what to do with the rest. I live in Wisconsin so I am afraid that the snow will kill all of them. Do you have any ideas?
Love what you do.
Thanks
Charlotte
Charlotte, chances are the snow and cold will not harm the seedlings. If the trees are hardy to your area they should over winter just fine. Plants are a lot more durable and cold hardy than we think.
Charlotte – I am a South Dakota native now living in PA. The on thing that will NOT kill your little plants is snow. Snow is a perfect insulater – underneath snow the temperature is always a perfect 32 degrees. Try it yourself some time when it’s really cold. Take a bottle (plastic, please!) of soda, toss it into a snowbank so it’s completely covered, and leave it outside all night. The soda will still be liquid in the morning because the snow has insulated it right at 32 degrees. Even cold weather should not be a problem for these plants if they are native to your area, but if you have lots of leaves, you could rake them up and cover your little plants to give them some protection if it does not snow.
I know MIke will have lots of other ideas, too, but I hope what I wrote will also help out. Try the snow thing. It really works! 😉
Lynn McMillen
Mike.
What kind of sand should I get? Here in Florida there are many varieties.
Janet, almost any sand will work, but the more coarse the better. Water should run through it, not sit on top of the sand.
Being 200 yards from Lake Eufaula in SE Oklahoma, soil here is about 90% sand, and as it’s in the Old Black Oak forest, is shaded much of the time, so space for planting is limited. I have a 60 foot by 20 foot natural compost pile where leaves, grass clippings, and other compostable material is used that I’ve been maintaining for 6 years now, which is generating some good humus with plenty of redworms.
My plan is to use an area adjacent to our home that is a clearing about 150 feet by 200 feet to grow cuttings and seedlings after propagating in my 8′ by 16′ greenhouse.
Much of what I plan to use is an abundance of seeds available naturally from white and pink dogwood trees, Walnut trees, Oak trees, Hickory trees, as well as numerous Scabiosa, Coreopsis, Mum, Iris, Daffodil, and Forsythia cuttings that are so prolific in propagating themselves. As there are no nurseries anywhere within a 20 mile radius, once sufficiently growing, I expect that sales should come easily and plan on offering very special prices for neighbors and customers to bring their own containers and dig them up themselves with my guidance. I’ve also got an over-abundance of bright blue Spider Wort, Morning Glory in three colors, and ‘Butterfly’ vines, which I’m trying to get out of my gardens as they will essentially take over and strangle other plants, but would be great for those just wanting some color with hardly any maintenance!
My biggest problems are all of the local ‘critters’, especially this years over-abundance of grass hoppers and snakes, 3 of which are venomous and sometimes get very aggressive. Aside from that, the deer don’t seem to bother any of those plants but do a great job of keeping the indigenous grass under control. Now, if I could just get the squirrels to co-operate…………..
Mike
I have been following you for a while now. I live in Australia and was wondering if your system would be good here?
Thank you
Kind Regards
Susanne
Susanne, Over the years I’ve had a number of people use my system in Austraila and New Zealand with great results. Right now we have a gal in Australia that we here from quite often and she is having a blast growing and selling small plants from home. http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
Dear Mike and Duston at Backyard Growers-
Please share about the definitions of the differnces between natural non-patented plants and those plants that are patented by corporations.
I believe early on in my readings of your online materials… way over a year ago, I read some about the world of plants …about
how backyard nursery growers are engaged with
our natural non-patented plants that we ARE free to grow for profit, versus those plants
patented and owned by corporations, that we are NOT permitted to grow for profit.?
Will you please explain because maybe others also may find this of interest to fully understand what I think is true, that we are learning to propagate our natural plants help them flourish and maintain our rights to do so.
I have no idea how many starts at the average plant nursery outlet are patented but our local big center told me alot of them are.
Mgr alos told me I could propagate for myself but not for sales profit.
I have no idea how much of the plant world is illegal off-limits, but Monsanto keeps buying up companies that made organic heirloom non- patented self-pollinating seeds and taking them off the market to destroy the competition for their hybridized seed that do not produce plants that produce fertile seeds. The hybrids are not able to, so gardeners and farmers have to go buy new seeds stock everytime they want to plant their crops.
This unnatural monopoly also obliterates plant’s natural abilities to adapt their DNA to the micro-climate and soils and conditions of your custom site specific criteria. Many of the old self- pollinating non-patented seed companies would tell you that it was better to get seeds from a similar AG zone as your garden/nursery or farm rather than from an AG zone drastically different. Also that to improve further you let some of your best plants go fully to seed every year as the seeds with good care of course will continue to adapt and improve to your site location.
I do not know if Monsanto is claiming patents now for the real seeds companies they bought up… or if they may use the real seeds as part of their Genetically Modified Organisms “Frankenfoods”. GMOs or Bio-Engineered is where multi-national corporations are gene splicing stuff so an ear of corn may be part chicken genes or whatever. We have demanded GMO on labelling and ingredients lists at least and indeed here in CA we have a ballot measure demanding this which we are working hard to see win. GMO crops are not proven to be safe. Indeed the studies with mice (poor mice!) show huge tumors on mice fed GMO foods and much shorter lives. These corps are now into GMO Salmon that is way bigger than natural river Salmon. If nothing else we do not want our natural real native Salmon varieties crossing with the GMOs. Many countries do not allow GMOs due to no industry studies whatsoever and all scientific independent studies show horrors of deadly side effects. USDA DOES NOT CARE AND BIG AG-BIZ spends $40 million or more to fight labelling with Super-PAC ads that lie.
I am an ardent advocate for citizens of USA to reclaim our natural fertile organic self-pollinating un-patented seeds and protect, preserve and propagate, propagate, propagate!
Please help me develope the definitions of the seeds/plants world here, because I am suffering from all the war on real so I am fumbling and mumbling as I research this as the foundation information as I see it for the family nursery plants propagation and learning center. We are ripe and ready for a complete up-to-date over-view that we can begin with and teach to ourselves and our youth education projects. Our schools are eager to engage and being an old retired school teacher that went to school with organic gardening classes in the school yards, I am eager to develope education programs that get in depth and not confusing
for sure.
Can we please talk about this or maybe everything I am trying to get very clear wording and understanding about is in Mike’s book? Please let us meet in unity to share
the best of the best education for the kids in perpetuity in harmony with Mother Nature
So glad you sent the email now!
INSPIRED!
Meaghan Simpson
Megan, I will write something about patented plants on my blog. I thought I did that. I know I address it in my book Easy Plant Propagation and I address it in detail in the new book that comes with my system. http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm There are a lot of things that I share with customers that I cannot share here publicly. I’m sure you understand.
Mike,
Just purchased your program and looking forward to starting in the nursery business. I was reading the propagation download and I’m ready to get started.
Eric
Eric, Thank you and stay tuned. I’m working on a grafting class for our members and we’ll have a great offering of Japanese Maples for sale in early January at rock bottom prices. I’ll Email you with more details. http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
Hi Mike and Duston!
Thanks for being on planet Earth and I love this latest email newsletter taking me to your blog? How can I get back here and read and join in? do I have to purchase your system before I can regularly read and reply?
I adopted Mike and his family as my own and have been on a mission to co-create a small plants propagation business and learning center here with my large family.
I am going to be 68 come November and I want to do this for the rest of my life researching, learning, teaching plants propagations protocols peaceful paradise premises dedicated for perpetuity so the kids and their kid’s kids can carry on and on and on! I am building bridges back to the garden where we belong so we can carry on and on.
I am not ready to retire and working with plants will keep me healing and grounding and I will be blessed to help others who are eager to join me.
We are having a business plan meeting on Wed and have a book-keeper lined up. I have family members that are very business savvy both for-profit & non-profit.
I don’t have a yard but my family has an organic farm and enough acres … so I don’t exactly fit in to the “just jump in and start starting starts small and little baby steps no. I have to have a real good business plan so I am calling upon our local horticultural knowledge and wisedom aplenty because we will adapt Mike’s PlantGrowersSystem to/for/with
organic/no toxic chemicals protocols and products. My very first e-mail to Mike after reading everything on-line was about coming up with a companion organic all the way alternative option program. My mom was an organic gardener since 1930 something and alot of people we knew were too. By the 60’s we started an organic food-co-op in Laguna Beach, CA and became very familiar with CCOF- California Certified Organic Farms standards which are the original and best standards in USA, even today. USDA Organic is not the real clean strict standards and USDA is always pushing to cheat, lie and worse.
My mission is to co-create healthy jobs for family of all ages and that includes some like myself that have health challenges due to injuries from poison synthetic petro-chemicals. Even cancers are chemical injuries diseases so I want to offer everyone the gift of healthy, easy, affordable options to toxics for working in nursery gardening.
Mike wrote that he sees great interest from others for this information and you will be surprised how much fun and easy it is. We have the finest organic backyard or homestead gardeners, nursery businesses, permaculturists and farmers here in my family. We also have many very gifted artists and musicians and healing artists. We are always learning about “the secret life of plants and the benefits of music for plants and other subtle energies that are beyond a doubt beneficial. Plants are magical and they do respond to you!
Grandma Meaghan Simpson wants to give you the gift of non-toxic gardening so your work is part of your health insurance plan. Reclaim your lives from BIG CHEM and mother nature will LOVE you back aplenty!
Well I got really carried away dreaming of inviting others to join me at the farm to play live acoustic music for our nursery plants and already have lots of very gifted volunteers and our family radio music-show hosts will donate recordings that we can play in the nursery. We are gonna have alot of fun and we want to share it with you because YOU are already part of my family and I want you to have the healthiest happy lives and contrary to some popular opinion, it is easy really easy and affordable. You will probably say, “now why didn’t I think of that!? It’s sooo simple!”
MIKE YOU ALWAYS SAY, STAY INSPIRED! WELL THANKS TO YOU AND YOURS, THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT I AM INSPIRED AND PLAN TO ATTEND A SHINDIG AT YOUR PLACE ONE DAY, SO IT IS MY JOY AGAIN TO OFFER YOU AN INVITATION TO OUR FARM AND FAMILY SHINDIG THAT WE WILL HAVE IN YOUR HONOR SOMEDAY… WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN
Maybe make it with a great update story in Mother Earth News… who knows?
How can I continue to read and write with this??? Please send me an email at my newsletter address: [email protected]
I am computer impaired low-tech HELP!
Blessings-
Meaghan Simpson
Mike,
I tried rooting azaleas in the spring and got maybe 4 plants out of 50. Itried again in august and got 0 out of 50. I dont know if the sand is too fine or if they got water logged. Any ideas?
Regards, Harry
Harry, if the stems rotted the sand is too wet. If the leaves dried out, the humidity wasn’t high enough. You should have great results doing them in late June, put the propagation box in a shaded area.
http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
Mike,I lovegardening and all that entails, my dream would be to have a self sufficient farm; I appreciate your emails and all the information you share. I grow my own herbs,, some vegetables and a couple of fruit trees and vines, however, all plants are in pots on a patioin the apartment complex that Ilive. Do you have any suggestions on propagating small plants for profit in my situtation. Catherine L Ross, San Antonio, TX
Mike, I just finished reading about making cuttings and was surprised that you can do evergreens. How would I do cedar, spruce and pine cuttings for rooting new shrubs for natural barriers or fences around my own gardens? I prefer using natural as opposed to manmade fencing but buying all those shrubs can be very costly. Katie
Oops! Sorry Duston; I just noticed I missplelled/typo’d your name . . .
Rob . . .
Hi Mike, We first found your info doing a search on the internet at a time when we were building a greenhouse for a start-up nursery and tree farm. I did purchase your growing system (CDs and lit.) at the time and we have been over it a time or two since then (back in Q4 2010 or Q1 2011).
We found much of your information you share so freely to be very valuable and have followed your lead and contacted a couple of your sources for plants and hard goods and I just wanted to thank you for all your hard work and dedication (and Dunston, etc.), which, as I said has been very welcome and valuable as we continue to try to grow our business.
I was employed as a telecommnications engineer, but left that job (and just turned down another of the same type) so my wife, Debbie, and I can work together to pursue our shared passion – plants!
We’re both nearing retirement age, but we’ve brought our two sons into the mix, so we’re hoping things will progress so they can take over what we started and keep it going for them and their families.
I’ll send you some pics one day soon, if you would like, of the greenhouse now filled to overflowing with plants we hope to sell both wholesale and retail in the coming spring and summer.
Thanks again for all the great info and good luck to you and yours as your business and efforts expand for the future.
Rob & Debbie . . .
PS Really like the ‘new’ website and videos, all of which I intend to watch and refer to often; keep up the great work . . .
Rob, thank you so much for your kind words. It sounds like you and your family are really digging into this business. I was just at a big box store today and I am amazed at how much they are charging for most of the plants in their garden area. $25.00 for a potted Burning Bush! All of that only means great opportunity for us who grow and at home and have very little overhead compared to larger nurseries.
You should do well. I wish you and your family the best life has to offer. -Mike McGroarty http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
I still have a few buts also as still trying to get the family farm livable. Not to mention water seems to be the bain in my life right now. We will hopefully be running new pipe from the water well this week to the house and mobile. Also the irrigation at the farm, first when they switched from ditches to under ground pipes they broke the pipe that came to us. They fixed that after it got figured out like a month or so later. Everyone else has pressure but not me as our water goes into a holding pond. Of course the old pump died this year too so water barely comes out of the sprinklers. GRRRRR!
Where I live in town the landlord and I have been fixing the water system we put in 2 seasons ago, pipes broke an other one slipped. At least in town I always have hoses to drag and water pressure. I had a plant sale this summer and everyone just wanted to buy my strawberry plants.
I’ll do it when I stop traveling and settle down in one place. lol I still propagate plants when I am around the home base and then I have to find homes for them. I’ve got some houseplants and herbs rooting right now.
Hans, that’s really cool!
I started propagating muscadine vines for the first time this year. I sell more than I can grow. My 8 weeks old rooted cutting sell for $4.99. I ship all over the South.
Hans
Hans, that’s what I like to hear. I’m sure some of our members would like to buy from you as well.
Well all your e-mails are encouraging and keep me inspired! I just collect a good batch of maple seeds that I am going to try to grow next spring. Thanks for the information that you send!
Hi Mike,
I purchased your Backyard Growing System last year (i believe)for $37.00. How is this information different/better? I’m asking out of curiosity, and in no way am I trying to imply anything. Due to health reasons, I never used the first system I purchased but I love plants, need money, and like the idea of having my own backyard nursery.
Carol, this summer, 2012 I spent three weeks writing the book that now comes with my system. Some of the information is new, one of the DVDs is also new. The previous system contained a great deal of information, but people wanted physical products, so that’s what we did. http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
The “Don’t have the money right now is my excuse”, but I’ve bought the Book and video, so I am reading and learning what to do. Right after getting the System, I have moved, got a mortgage, lost my job, then my new tenants abandoned their lease, so the income I expected to get dried up pretty fast. But I’m employed again, and trying to find my new budget so I’m hesitant to buy the materials and supplies I need to get started. But I can see why getting started sooner than later means that I could have another income producing source sooner than later, so I’ll keep reading and do what I can as I can. Thanks for the encouragement on all the different excuses people have.
I’m with you Mike, I do landscape maitnance and my customers are always needing replacement plants,something new to add to their landscape, and flea markets are great also!! thinking about a website but…yep there is the but!! I will keep website in mind, for now it’s word of mouth. thanks for all your info..it has helped and inspired me!!! life is a garden..dig it!!
I love plants, have for more years than I can count. You have certainly given me a lot to think about. I am pottin and rootin a few plants. Just to get the feel of it. Thinking seriously about it. Thanks so much.
Jackie, good luck with the things that you are rooting and potting now. You could be up to speed so much faster with all of the information that is in my system, and you won’t make a lot of mistakes by not having good information. http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
Between the economy and my health issues, I am not employed now. I will be losing my home. I will probably be living on property in the country that my son owns in a trailer home. If he keeps his end of the bargain I will be in definitely start by growing small plants with your system. I have been doing the same on a small scale here in town to grow my own perennials and ornamental plants. Plus I grow my annual flowers and veggie plants on a home made lighted plant stand starting in February so they are ready to plant in late May. IF you ever have another free offer of your planting system, please make sure I am in the contest. I have saved all your emails over the past decade and I have learned so much. Thank you for all the time you put into your emails and your books on how to set up starter system of growing plants at home. Looking forward to your next email, Rebecca J. Shumaker
Rebecca, I will from time to time be giving away gifts to those who post comments on this site. However, I really have to do it randomly and not select who I want to receive the gift.
We have a small nursery at our house. We grow and sell do some plantings. Check out out website.
http://www.tarweednativeplants.com