Roger Higgins of Roger’s Backyard Nursery in Cranesville, Pa has really impressed me not only with how successful a plant propagator he has become after Joining Our Backyard Growers Group, but with how efficiently he uses the limited space in his yard. I think I like Roger’s place because it reminds me of My First Backyard Nursery.
Roger Higgins standing in container growing area.
Roger has a pretty impressive, space saving set up in his backyard. Roger’s entire yard, front and back is instrumental in what he does with his backyard nursery. In the spring he and is wife, Venice, put plants out front for sale, but he also has specimen “stock plants” planted all over his yard that he can show to interested customers. From those same plants, He Takes Thousands and Thousands of Cuttings.
Roger built these plant benches out of two by fours and fencing material. During the winter he stores all of the plants under the benches and Covers them with White Plastic. Come spring sale times Roger moves the plants to the top of the benches so customers can more easily see and handle them. Freshly potted plants go under the benches until they are ready to be sold.
Using drip irrigation to water container plants.
If you look closely, see the white PVC pipes sticking up all over the place? Those are tiny sprinklers, drip emitters really. What Roger has done is used the PVC not to run water through, but simple to hold the drip emitters in place. The drip emitters are connected and supplied water through small black tubing often refereed to as spaghetti tubing.
In other words, there is no water in the PVC lines. Inside the PVC is the spaghetti tubing. But Roger being all clever and handy like he is, he actually has an emitter on both the top and the bottom of each PVC pipe so all of the plants, those on the benches as well as those under the benches, get water. Pretty cool right?
I know you’re going to ask so here it is. Roger gets the drip emitters and tubing from a company called Drip Works. Google knows about them and will happily lead you right to them.
For more about what Roger does in this small area watch the movie . . .
Yea, it was raining that day. A lot! And it was only 37 degrees. So if you’ve never been soaking wet on a 37 degree day you should give it a whirl, it’s a hoot!
Duston was shooting the videos with an I-Pad and it was getting soaked so Roger got him this cute little umbrella. Me and Roger? We continued to get soaked!
Thank you Roger and Venice Higgins from Cranesville, Pa for allowing us into your backyard to make movies. We’re going to go back soon, hopefully on a warm dry day when all the plants look awesome!
Hi Mike….I have been reading your website with advice on how to ship plants. It’s quite informative and I so appreciate the information. I have been planting sapote seeds and have about 20 or so seedlings that I would like to sell on Ebay. I have to remove them from the common planting place that they are currently in. What advice would you offer me on how to prepare them for shipping? Wet paper towels around the roots? Put them in a plastic bag and seal them so that no air gets in them? That is what I have gathered from reading your advice to others. Thanks in advance for your response.
F. Maria
Moist roots, dry tops, tops should be open to the air so they don’t rot.
I am interested in growing and selling plants from my house in the Chicago area. But before I do I am researching all aspects of the business. Including growers, vendors and most importantly business practices. I have many business related question but will start with what I believe to be the most important. Do I need a business license to sell/grow plants. And what about Taxes? Maybe you have a most among the many to explain the business end of the business?
Mary,
You do need a license to grow and sell plants. And you have to collect sales tax in most states. On May 5th we are accepting new members, that’s the best place to get all of your questions answered, in detail. http://backyardgrowers.com/join
Mary, I’m starting the same venture. What I have found out through digging with Ohio’s regulations – is you only need to apply for the license when you get ready to sell the plants/tree’s. So if it takes you 1-2 years to get your crop to a harvestable state, then you don’t need to invest in the $100 (ohios annual rate) until you are ready to sell!
I tell people to apply 6 months prior to selling plants. This is what scares people off, investing in a license. Which is really crazy. We have members all over the country selling thousands of dollars worth of plants and having a blast doing so.
Just a note about my water set up. The sprayers are mini jets and spray about a 4 foot circle. They are not emitters. Yes, they do work upside down. The top ones spray just above pot level so they miss most of the folage and deliver more water to the pot itself. I also use an oscillating sprinkler for some overhead “rain” that helps keep the foliage moist also.