[pbs] Bulbs for microcredit business - reinventing the wheel
Diane Whitehead
voltaire at islandnet.com
Sun Dec 3 16:41:13 EST 2006
I don't consider the bubble has been burst by the knowledge that
there are large wholesale bulb nurseries in India already. There have
been for a long time. (I remember buying from Darjeeling about 50
years ago).
Just think about some of the plants here in North America that are
not available commercially at all, or perhaps only from one specialty
nursery. I have an alphabetized book of wanted plants, and some have
been on the list for many decades.
I remember visiting a gardener in the U.S. who had a plant of
Peony Joseph Rock. That was a plant that had a wait-list, and cost
almost $200 (half a month's takehome pay for me at the time.)
Some plants don't propagate easily, but a careful grower can make a
modest living growing one of them. Often those of us buying plants
don't realize the source is only one person. When that grower dies,
those plants are not available any more. I can think of a number
here in my city that used to be available and are no longer - things
like double bloodroot, Shortia, Cassiope.
Plants that take a long time from seed and don't make offsets are
difficult to buy - think of Erythroniums. A slow-growing bulb might
fit into a small vegetable garden, with food coming off the top while
the bulbs increased in size below. I think slow-growing bulbs are
more suited - fast-growing bulbs are probably grown in large fields
already.
So - find some wonderful plants that the big companies won't grow
because they won't fit into their growing schedule, figure out how
they can be grown on a smallholding, and set up your plan. There
will need to be research and training as the plants will be tricky to
grow.
Diane Whitehead
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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