Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - [Market-farming] Value added and profitability

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Del Williams" <delannw AT dlogue.net>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Value added and profitability
  • Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2003 15:11:50 -0500

I know how tired a lot of you are. A lot of the planting is done unless you
are going to do Fall crops. It's endless maintenance, harvesting, dealing
with pest or fertilization issues, diseases, and working endless hours to
get that fresh stuff to market. Oh, and to try and look cheery with
customers when you are lacking sleep and your muscles are aching.

God, I miss it!

I have been thinking about value added because we are, in fact, not bringing
in more product and yet, we need to sell what is truly perishable.
Plants...annuals.

While we do all we can to maintain what we have, not too many more folks are
coming in to buy flats of anything. It's hanging baskets, container patio
plants, and, of course, perennials.

If you want some ideas about what does well in those planting situations,
I'd be happy to share what I have learned.

I was thinking of my basil a few years ago. I just hated to throw it to the
compost heap when it didn't completely sell out. That is how I started
doing herbal vinegars which sold very well.

Now, I think about some of the annuals we have. They are reaching the point
of no return even though the 4.5" pots still look pretty good. So, I have
started some container plantings. One that has sold very well are New
Guinea impatiens in those pots that people use for strawberries. I'd like
to do herbs but those don't sell very well. Bummer. Anyway, NG's do very
well and don't get leggy in the way other impatiens do.

We have several potting projects going on to extend the sales season. Until
the frost comes, it ain't over. Not by a long shot.

I've sold several of those NG impatien pots at $35.+ a pot. With the cost
of the planter marked up 100% and the impatiens... 6 plants... at regular
markup... we are selling plants that might sit in those 4.5" pots until they
rot or require so much water from root bounded plants that it almost doesn't
make sense to maintain them.

We also add in a small cost for potting mix and for the labor that it takes
to select and plant the pot.

I know, you market gardeners hardly ever think about the cost of your labor.
Well I do because payroll comes around every week.

I just thought I might share this for those of you who might be thinking
about how to profit from what doesn't sell on your booths.

I know, flowers are one thing.

But herbs... hmmm... there's another.

For what it's worth, I brought in a huge selection of herbs and scented
geraniums this year. Scented geraniums did very well sales wise.
Especially citronella. I have a list of what sold very well and what didn't
still looks very good. With herbs, the sages didn't do all that well. We
potted them up as perennials for our landscaper group. Some of their
customers want an ornamental perennial herb garden. How about that?

I designed one for one customer. What I realized is that many people don't
quite understand which herbs are perennial in our Zone 5 and which are
annual... you know, like basil and rosemary.

Speaking of rosemary, I bought several rosemary plants from one grower that
had long stems... about 3' long. We made several of those into topiaries
and they sold out so fast I tried to get more. Couldn't. If you are doing
herbs, rosemary seems to be a great seller no matter what. Topiaries did
very well. Especially the heart shaped ones. LOL. It's an herb of
remembrance afterall, isn't it?

I took all the leftover catnip and potted it for our cat owning customers.
It sold better that way and we ended up selling nice clay pots along with
the plants. At $5 a plant.

Those one gallon rosemaries when for $10.00. I think we could have gotten
more.

For those of you who don't remember, I used to be a market gardener.
Because I lost my day job and I needed positive cash flow, I now work for a
retail gardening business that does annuals, perennials and pond plants.
They used to be the Country Fruit Market that did a regular business selling
fruits and vegetables. We carry no veggies anymore. Only plants.

I'm just trying to share what I have learned and also brought to my job with
my experience as a market gardener.

Hope this offers something good for your profitability.

Del Williams
Country Fruit and Floral
Kankakee, IL







Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page