How To Make Rooted Cuttings To Growing Plants To Sell For A Living

The rooted cuttings to start growing your own plants and selling them to make a good living, is the most economical way to start, and it makes more sense.

Of course for a faster start, if you don't have the time and the means to root the cuttings yourself, or you don't have the stock to harvest your cuttings from, you can purchase rooted cuttings readily available from Wholesale Nurseries locally or on the internet.

That would be a faster process to achieve a finish product for sale to the public. The rooted cuttings usually are grown in cell trays of 36, 50, 72, or other sizes, that are also called plugs.

The prices per tray or per plug varies as there are so many sources available where you have a chance to shop around and compare prices.

This alternative is preferable if you want to save time, because the rooting process could take 6 to 8 weeks or even longer for some varieties of plants.

Another alternative for plant propagation is by seeds, and the little plants obtained by sowing seeds are called seedlings.

If you love blooming bedding plants, you might want to wait until late winter, very close to the spring season, to start them by seeds and have them readily available as a finished product for sale just in time for planting season.

Since a lot of gardeners and nature loving people have been cooped up indoors in a long winter, they are itching to get out in the garden and plant those vibrant color spring bedding plants. Therefore, the bedding plants operations are very profitable and fun.

I will tell you about it in a separate article about how to grow and sell bedding plants. It is going to be awesome!

In any situation you've got to have the right environment to achieve the starter plants in order to have a reasonable number of plants to make any income. But no mater what you choose to do, to start the plant plugs or seedlings, you'll need a greenhouse.

Nevertheless, if you are living in a warm climate, you probably don't even need a greenhouse, and you can start your rooting and sowing process in a shady location under some trees, as long as you have the water source close by.

In other situations where the region you are living in has cold weather and freezing temperatures, the plants will need protection. You will need a good greenhouse to grow them and protect the young plants from the elements.

But the rooting and sowing process should be started in the spring and early summer. You can root the cuttings even in the winter if you heat the greenhouse and create the proper temperature for the plants to catch roots.

That is for the larger professional operations that can afford it and are aiming for large production of plant material. You can achieve that too, if you'll stick with this business long enough and grow as you go.

Once you start it, you will expand, if you want to or not. If you want to increase your income you will have to expand.

I've started with a small humble 10x30 greenhouse, and in about 3 years I've ended up with a 10 Acres vibrant Nursery operation with lots of greenhouses, irrigation systems, two deep commercial submersible pumps, plenty ground covers for the finished plant material, and then after another 3 years I expanded with a nice profitable Landscaping Division.

With hard work and dedication you can become successful in this plant growing business in a relatively short period of time.

As the time will permit I will continue to write these articles relevant to the plants growing and selling for profit business, I will suggest different methods of selling your finished plant material both, wholesale to Garden Centers, Landscapers, and retail to the general public.

In a special article I will try to tell you my story, how I started, what kind of resources I've used, the obstacles I've encountered and how can you avoid them by learning from my mistakes.

But for now lets talk about the subject of how to start with the rooted cuttings: to grow them yourself or to buy them from other sources.

This depends on your possibilities and the time that you have available or if you want to wait until the little cuttings will grow roots.

Once you have build your little greenhouse, and purchased a few cell trays, fine potting soil to fill the cell trays with, then you are ready to harvest some cuttings to start propagating by roots.

For a greater success and a faster rooting process you will need some root hormone to deep the cuttings in, before you stick them in the cell trays. However, you can root the cuttings without the root hormones, so it's not really strictly necessary. Who knows, you might already have a "green thumb".

We joke around here when we talk about my wife that if she sticks a dry stick in the ground it will catch roots. I tell you, does she have a "green thumb" or what!

Before you do that you have to decide what kind of plants you want to propagate and sell. As I've suggested in the previous article, it would be a good idea to start with the woody evergreen shrubs that don't need heating in the winter.

Just have everything ready and in the next article I'll talk about how and where to collect the cuttings from, and how to cut and make them ready to stick them in the rooting cells.

In the meantime just make sure you are working on building your first greenhouse and have it ready. If you do it right, this thing will grow wings and there's no telling where and how far can it take you!

Just stick with me and get your hands dirty for a profit, and a good one, too!

Until the next article,

Mike Borlovan

             

How to Grow Plants In A Small Space To Make A Good Living?

This article is about how to grow plants in a small space and make a good living. Even if you have a larger place it is still wise to start small and grow as you go.

If you have fallen on some hard times, like we all do once in a while, loosing your job, trying hard to make ends meet and pay your bills that never seem to go away, then this could be your way out! You never know.

In other words if you feel like you are in a crises, and you've exhausted all attempts to find a job to get on your feet, but no success, then you might want to consider this rather easy to start business, that require very little investment.

That is if you look at the situation and conclude that it is hopeless, and you just ran out of ideas.

But remember, there is always hope and opportunity even in crises, and in hard times. Sometimes we have no idea what resources we have inside of us, if we would just stop for a moment and look around in search for some way of getting ahead, we'll be surprised of what we could be capable of achieving, just by trying and not seating idle.

Getting back to our article subject about how to grow plants for a profit in a small space, it could be easier than you've ever thought. With a strong will and determination you can do it!

And believe me, I'm talking about my own experience, it is not something I've just read about. I have done it myself. So I know pretty much what it takes and I also know for a fact that it can be done!

It is almost impossible to write everything about this vast subject in a single article, but if you stick with me for a while, I will explain the best I can in a series of articles related to this very subject.

Please notice that I'm not trying to sell you anything! This article is simply to help you get some ideas of how to start this plants growing business, and where to begin. Growing and selling garden and landscaping plants for a profit, even from your own backyard, is easy.

And let me tell you a little secret of mine. I've been involved in the sales business most of my life. And at times when nothing else seemed to sell, plant material always were selling!

There is something about gardening, that many people find pleasurable and enjoyable just to get away in the tranquility of their little paradise!

And another thing about growing plants is that they never talk back! He, he, he! They just grow while you sleep. Isn't that nice!

But let's get to it orderly and in a step by step fashion to achieve this simple start up business of growing plants to make a good living, as much as the size of this article will permit.

First you need some space, be it a small space or a larger one if you have available. If you have a back yard and a front yard, you'll need to start your growing operation in the back, and a small sales space in the front if you can.

Or you can sell the shrubs and seedlings from the back yard as long as you let your friends and neighbors know that you have plants for sale. There are many other ways to sell plant material, that I'm going to explain in another article.

Now let's get started by choosing a nice sunny spot in the back yard, where you want to place a small greenhouse.

When you choose the spot, there are a few considerations to keep account of:

1) A close source of water. That's a must. You can not grow anything without water.

2) A plot that is level and not too sloppy.

3) The plot should be clear of rocks, tree roots protruding from the ground, and free of grass and weeds.

If you can get some gravel for the ground base that would be perfect. If not, a roll of ground cover from your hardware store would be great, to keep the weeds from growing in your greenhouse.

4) Build a small greenhouse. This is not as hard as you might think. You can build it on the cheap, with very little investment.

A) Mark the spot that you prepared for the greenhouse in the 4 corners with stakes. Let's say you have a small space of about 40 x 20, or 20 x 50, or 30 x 10. It doesn't matter.

B) Measure from the extreme stakes in diagonal from one corner to the other: adjust the stake in the ground accordingly, to make sure the whole layout is a perfect rectangular shape. This will make it easier for you when you'll cover your greenhouse.

C) Drive in the ground some treated 2 x 4's pieces of about 3' long, on the sides, front, and back of the greenhouse in a straight line, leaving 1 foot above the ground. The distance between the 2 x 4's depends on the size of your greenhouse. I would drive them in the ground at about 4 feet apart.

D) Get some 1x4x10 and nail them against the 2x4 driven in the ground at the base level, all around the frame of the greenhouse, to have something to staple the plastic film cover. (After you covered the greenhouse, nail a strip of 1x2 alongside and on top of plastic film and the 1x4, to keep the plastic cover from being snapped up by the wind.)

E) Get some 20' long PVC water pipes 1.5" or 2" diameter, with a schedule 20 or 30. They are more flexible and easier to work with to create several bows. Doesn't have to be schedule 40.

F) Fasten the ends of the pipes to the 2 x 4 that you've driven in the ground, using nails or brackets from the hardware store. Make sure the end of the pipe bows are well fastened to the 2x4 that' driven in the ground.

G) Get some scrap wood of 2x4 and 1x4 to build some kind of frame in the front and back of your greenhouse to enable you to fasten the plastic cover. Make sure you have doors in the back and front for access and air circulation.

The doors can be made of light frames with 1x2's or 2x4's and covered with plastic film. And have a pair of hinges on each door.

Once you've fastened the end of the pipes across on each pair of 2x4's making a bow, you are ready to cover your greenhouse.

G) Buy a roll of clear plastic film, 3 or 4 mil is preferable, about the size of your greenhouse. Now you are ready to cover your new project to house your rooted cuttings and seedlings.

Before you start rooting your own starter plants, it would be a good idea to just buy a few from an online or local Nursery source, just to get you started.    

You are going to need this Greenhouse to grow and protect your rooted cuttings and/or seedlings during the winter time. You want to buy and grow the kind of woody shrubs and tree plants that do not require heating in the winter, only some protection from the elements while they are still young.

We'll talk about the rooted cuttings and the seedlings a little later. For now we are working on a little greenhouse made of cheap materials, many times available around the yard. The PVC water pipe system is inexpensive, is pretty flexible and it will withstand the wind.

You need to put them to good use. It's so easy, and very achievable and profitable, too.

If you really need to get to some money faster, you can locate some reasonable wholesalers of plant materials in your area, and start buying and selling for a profit.

In the autumn and winter people buy shrubs and dormant trees to give the plants time to get established in the ground for the next growing season. So plants are selling anytime.

Another thing you want to look for, is to find some source of used plastic pots and trays from some Nurseries around your area, or from some large department stores that have a Garden Center section. Many times they give them for free or very cheap. Just ask around.

Get a feel of it, and in the meantime you can start to google all you can, to learn about plants and the Nursery business, as much as possible. Or just read our nursery related articles.

In the following articles we'll be talking about how to collect and root your own starter plants, how to water and fertilize, and a lot more related to this growing plants business in a small space for profit.

Until next time, keep your hands dirty, and profit from it!

Mike Borlovan  

    

How To Compost With Red Worms For Organic Gardening

Composting with Red Wrigglers Worms or European Night-crawlers, is the most effective way to obtain the most fertile nutrient naturally available for ages on earth for a truly fertile and highly productive garden soil.

I was always a believer in composting for a successful gardening regardless of its size. Especially if you are an organic gardening minded person and you want to take advantage of the health benefits that the fruits and vegetables you are eating are grown in an all natural organic garden.

In my past articles about composting I was writing mostly about composting with leaves, grass clippings and other vegetation available in abundance around the home. And I was also writing about the little invisible creatures that exist naturally and are making the composting possible.

The little microbes and the good bacteria that are feeding on decomposing mater, along with the oxygen in the air that create the right environment for the process of decomposing to take place.

But now is the time to write about a very essential part that the red wrigglers earthworms are playing in the composting of a lot of materials and food scraps that can be turned into a very rich and consistent organic fertilizer available of abundance, if done properly.

The Red Wrigglers are considered the most effective of all the rest of the worms for composting, because they are known to eat 24 hours a day, they eat most any vegetable scraps from the kitchen, that otherwise would be thrown into the garbage can. Each red worm can eat its body weight of food every day.

The Red Wrigglers reproduce fast, and in the right environment and a proper feeding they can double in number every 2 month.

In some future articles I will try to go in more details about Red wrigglers and other beneficial earth worms for the process of composting. How to prepare a worm bin for a red worm farm, that can be kept in your kitchen under the sink, or a utility room.

All this in an inexpensive and very affordable way with the Do It Yourself in mind, that can be accomplished rather easily by anyone interested in going green and composting for an organic gardening.

Just imagine feeding the red worms with the garbage that you would otherwise dispose of, and the little worms will transform it in "black gold" for you!

That "black gold" is called worm castings. It is a known fact that worm castings are one of natures finest plant nutrients: it is 7 times richer in phosphates, 5 times richer in nitrogen and 11 times richer in potash than the average lawn soil.

Besides the food scraps from the kitchen, these red worms will eat old shredded newspaper, any computer shredded paper, card-boards, egg cartons, egg shells, grass clippings, rotten leaves, coffee filters, coffee grinds, fruits and vegetable peelings, and more.

Now remember this; adding Red Wrigglers or European Night-crawlers to your garden, lawn, or compost pile is one of the smartest and most effective, environmentally friendly action you will ever take.

Each worm produces its own weight in castings per day.  The way they multiply it is not going to be long before you will have an abundance of the finest prime natural organic fertilizer you can get for your garden, your lawn, your ornamental plants, your herb garden or your house plants.

In future articles I will explain how you can use the castings, and how to make the highly nutrient 'castings tea', to be applied and fed to your plants. There is going to be a lot of good information.

Just make sure you come back often, and see how you can use these ideas for your gardening projects.

Until next time,

Happy Gardening (and composting of course), with Red Wrigglers.



Mike Borlovan