My sales thread

W

wordwiz

I'll probably end up with egg on my face for starting this, but if I'm going to put in 10 hours a week (with more to come) taking care of my 1,000 plants, I might as well share my experiences - good or bad.

Last week in my paper I advertised some tomato plants for sale. Remember, this is southern OH and frost free is two months away. But I took the angle that these are cool weather plants that mature in less than 70 days and can be grown in a container, meaning it can be brought inside if the weather gets frigid (averages are High: 58°F, Low: 37°F) or covered if only a killing frost is forecast. I call them (Siletz is their real name) Flag Day tomatoes as they should be ripe by then.

I had 18 plants that are nice size (a foot or so tall, four or more sets of leaves) that I wanted to sell this week. As of today, only 12 have been taken which is a little disappointing, except: the dodo birds at the post office didn't deliver my paper until at least today. I really believe had everyone received the paper Wednesday or Thursday, I would have sold out this week. I have another 50 or so in the pipeline - should have about 17 per week.

Mike
 
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I am very glad I live here. I have A/C, but barely use it. No heating -- dont need it.

So, anyways, this Vasili guy shows toms that gotta be more than a season old (not poss. where you are sadly)...

Back to your thread, good work with the sales, and I hope they pick up w/ planting time approaching!

RS
 
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Some (many, most) of my toms have grown too large. I don't know why - last year I started them a week or two earlier than I did this year and they were barely ready to plant by the first week of June. This is the first week of April!

240 of them will be repotted into 5.5" containers but that still leaves me with at least 250 plants. So I decided to try an experiment taking cuttings. I cut the heart of each plant, trimmed off all the leaves except for the heart and stuck them in a very wet potting soil, then set them in a place where they will get minimal light.

If it works, all my plants will be the right size to sell, if it doesn't I wasted two hours. I should know the results in about 10 days.

A 90 or even an 80 percent success rate will be great.

Mike
 
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This week I only sold $32 worth of plants, though had I delivered a couple now instead of waiting until Tuesday it would have been $37. Nothing fantastic, but then again it is a good five weeks until anyone will start putting plants in a garden.

Mike
 
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I'm up to 33 plants sold so far. I've only got 22 plants left for the time being and 18 of those have never been outside. What's surprising is we have had temps in the 20s and 30s the last couple of days and even a bit of accumulating snow yesterday.

My decapitation/replant operation appears successful so far. I moved them all back under lights last night and 95 percent of the transplants are green and standing up. Keeping my fingers crossed as that is $1,000+ in plants.

Mike
 
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I'm enthused, simply because I really haven't promoted sales - yet! I have no doubt I could have sold 200 early toms had I dropped off a flyer at every business I see or put them up in stores. And that's just in a little six sq. mi. swath of the county.

Today, I delivered a paper to the business that bought the first two plants - they are over a foot tall and have little buds on them. He has some real nice, south-facing windows in the hallway and has the plants setting there. He and his partner are thrilled with them, they check them a few times a day and have found them to be an excellent conversation piece when customers stop in.

I don't know if he was kidding or not, but he said he wants a couple of basil plants, a cucumber, Chinese Red Noodle green bean and cantaloupe plant so he can fill the rest of the windows.

He's already looking forward to buying several other plants for outside - peppers and tomatoes mostly!

Mike
 
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I'm running out of room and need to get rid of some plants, so here's an ad I am running in this week's paper. Besides the Trumpets I have 16 basil plants ready but can have another 50 in a couple of days - I just need to pot them up give them a good soaking.

Mike
 
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Dave,

Thanks. It looks like a lot of tomato plants are not going to survive the decapitation/replant operation. I'm probably at 50 percent (220 plants or so) so far but I won't know for sure for another few days. Some varieties seemed to average above 90 percent survival, but others like Green Sausage and Red Zebra are at maybe 15 percent. In a way, that isn't real bad as these are types most people have never heard of. If I had to choose, I would prefer the beefsteak, Roma, Red Delicious and Cherry toms do the best.

Only $513 in sales to go to meet my very bottom goal!

Mike
 
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Today is looking like the best day in terms of money so far. Got orders for two Genovese Basil plants ($3.50 ea.), a tomato plant ($2.50) and - my biggest surprise... three Pink Angel Trumpets ($10 ea.). Plus yesterday, a guy ordered a Long Thin Cayenne ($3.50).

I should be over 19 percent of the way toward my Greenhouse now!

Mike
 
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cool beans Mike...keep it up bro...got a girl coming by the house today after work for 12 peppers and what ever else she picks and an order for 10 to take to work tomorrow...(two people @ 5 plants each)
 
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AJ,

You know I'm chasing you, but only because you get a 6-week head start on me! But I think we are both finding out that we can sell seedlings and make a bit of change doing it. I really have faith, that based on what I don for a living, the number of people I see each week and the groups I know, I can come close to selling out this year. And I know that next year, all the plants will be grown in a GH so I won't have to spend hardly anything on lighting. If I can't sell enough tomatoes I grow in the GH to make it sustainable, I'll use it just for seedlings. If I do sell enough that I cannot afford to shut it down and replace the hydro with seed trays, then I can build another one!

Dave,

I'm in, up to my eyeballs! I have my sights set on my GH and I won't really start marketing my plants - big scale - for another three weeks.

Mike
 
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AJ,

One always chases the Master! Not that it is competition - far from it. We are each doing our thing. But when I read that you sold 100 plants, it encourages me. Actually, the only thing I'm chasing is my storage shed which will enable me to tear down the barn and use the lumber to help build my GH. You probably cannot imagine how much I want to talk about the ripe toms I am harvesting come this January!

But I disagree with word of mouth being the best, at least in the first year or two. Yep, your rep for having great plants will spread this summers as growers tell people where they got the plants, but face it - you had not been at the First Monday before.

I'm more into tomatoes and basil than you are, but that's based on my market. Hot peppers are not that hot in Cincinnati, but bell and banana peppers - people will buy those.

BTW, I haven't seen any pics of Linda's flower garden yet. I'm hoping, if the weather co-operates, to get my Linda's frame built tomorrow. I wanted to use rocks - historic rocks from a foundation laid back in 1845 or so, but trying to hook up with the demo group and others is a PITA. Plan B is to use them to build the fountain. I've sorta become the village historian, or at least the one who chronicles it.

Sell more plants, AJ! Sell so many that you wish you had started more plants. That's the key to starting a "Grow Your Own Way" store or a "From Seed To Powder - Everything You Need" one.

Mike
 
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Chicago,

It's still a month until it is safe to plant outside here but the interest is growing. Got another order for an Angel Trumpet today, plus a guy wants to buy a Chinese Red Noodle green bean once I have them ready.

My first Big Day, if I can equate it to AJ's First Monday, will be May 14. Or rather that entire week. I plan on having a full page, full color ad in my paper, detailing every type of plant. Then being at the Opening Day of a Farmers Market - I don't know if I can sell 100 plants there but even 50 would be great. I also plan on sending order forms to a few Senior Citizen groups and offering free delivery.

I haven't done a head count, but I think there are about or will be 800 plants I can sell at an average of $3 each. Give or take - 300 toms, 300 peppers, 100 basil, 80 flowers, 50 each of cukes and melons, 30 green beans.

Still keeping my fingers crossed - I can't rest until my greenhouse is built. Wait, then I won't be able to rest as I will have to tend to the plants in it.

Mike
 
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Sold another Angel Trumpet and two toms today - $54 for the week plus a couple of orders for next week and several more once Mother's Day gets here.

I'm only up to $141 so far - four Angel Trumpets, two basil plants and 38 toms. Twenty percent of the way to my goal.

Mike
 
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