It is that time of year when the weather is warming up enough that you get the itch to be outside and growing things. I think it is a part of us to want to grow our food. This year I want you to think about what value added gardening can do for your bottom line.

Many of us start our own seeds and grow them to a seedling and plant in our gardens. What if you planted twice or three times what you need, and sell the rest at either a stand or online?  This would right away make you start out in the black on your gardening project.  The income off of these starter plants would perhaps pay for your water costs for the summer, or even some supplies to enlarge your own garden area.

Starter plants, or seedlings are traditionally grown in large greenhouse operations, then packed, and shipped to stores and taken care of by people who don’t really care if the live or thrive.  Your seedlings grown with care and sold locally are already hardened to your area, are not shocked and will be healthier and sturdier for your clients. The best thing that can happen is you get orders for the next year, and the worst is that you may have to find some extra space in your garden to put the extra plants you don’t sell.  No loss really as you will have more for the farmers market.

When you are planting your seedlings for your garden, don’t forget flowers. Annuals are a real seller. You can make some planters up and not only sell the plants but you may be able to sell baskets, or planters with the plants in them. This is an an opportunity that many miss. There is a small window in many areas for this to be valuable to a producer. You need to have things ready by Mothers day, and will have a few weeks to sell your plants after that but not long.

If you have a hoop house, greenhouse, or raised beds with hoops you will be able to put your cool season plants out much sooner, and get them going so you are first to market. Things like cabbage, lettuce, radishes, carrots and even tomatoes do well in raised beds with a hoop over them.  Wouldn’t it be nice to be selling some produce in June, not to mention eating some yummy food then.

There are many different ways to make your space more efficient, and productive. We will be discussing some of these in upcoming posts, but today I want to get back to seedlings.

Even if you don’t have a greenhouse, or money for small pots etc, you can still grow amazing seedlings.  You know those tray’s that have a black bottom and a clear top that you purchase your bakery goods in? Those are amazing little greenhouses, that fit right in a window.  You can broadcast seed in these little numbers and then transplant to small pots or six packs when you have seedlings. This will allow you to germinate seedlings in an efficient way that you can make the most of your space. When the seedlings are up and ready to transplant about 2 weeks you can then move them to a covered area outside.  This will allow you to start them in a controlled, and warm area in your home or garage, and be ready to cash in as the season progresses.

You can order some baskets, or other small containers online, and in small quantities that will allow you to make some money and not have to order thousands at a time.

Every step you do from seedlings, to six packs, to a 4 inch pot, to a gallon container you are value adding. Keep in mind that you must include your costs in your prices.  This includes your electricity, water and soil costs.

You could easily take 80 cents worth of seedlings plant in a $2.50 basket and in a few weeks sell for $8-$15.  This is a good investment in value added marketing.  When you have a consumer ready product, that is attractive, and good quality you will always make money. Baskets are not much more expensive than 4 inch pots and the sale is much bigger.