Plant Sources and the Ticky Tacky nursery

AJ Drew

AJ Drew

Down the way there were a series of green houses with a great story behind them.  Owners, husband and wife, closed the business because it was a sideline run by decreasingly available family members: kids went to school, got lives, moved on.  So very sad.  I absolutely loved them and am kind of following in their foot steps only with produce rather than just plants.  Honor farm kind of thing, run by the kids.  Not there yet, but want the type of place you go and dink free mint tea from the season before and just sort of chat with other folk.

So curious if this is what folk are looking for.  Not that anyone is going to travel from out of state when I get it going.  Already doing it with produce, have my customer base.  Just looking for opinions on shopping live plants.

In this area, just about everyone sells Bonny Plants.  Lowes, Tractor Supply, Rural King, hell I think Walmart and Krogers.  Huge ass nursery with factory produced plants, same variety everywhere you go.  The hippie in me hates it.  Kind of wondering if my love for the mom and pop is universal in gardening or if folk have gone all Walmart.

 
 
i see several green houses out in the country where i fish that have been falling apart for years now. im talking about commercial size green houses. hell, even my sons schools green house hasn't been used in the last 8-10 years.
shame that they spend a lot of money on a nice heated green house and just let it go to waste. if they would just unlock the door on it, maybe i could slip in some plants. :rolleyes:
 
Totally agree with you, AJ. The prevailing consensus seems to be to take whatever the big guys are willing to dish out to us. But I am sure there is a niche in there for people who are willing to give what the big guys won't... quality and the exotic.
 
I've been thinking about a pepper plant ordering business, tho it could be easily stretched to all facets of the garden. People pay you in the fall, to grow them some plants for next year's garden. They pay a fair bit more than at Walmart or Home Depot, but they would get very large and healthy plants, and the exact kind they want. Do you think something like that could expand into the socializing greenhouse you're talking about?
 
I've got Lowes, Home Depot, and Ace Hardware near me. No matter what I go to get I always end up walking through the garden department just to see what they have. Everybody got the same generic plants. Their customer base seems to be the wanna-be gardeners who inevitably keep killing their plants and so come back to buy more.
We also have a few large nurseries who sell mostly to landscape contractors who are only interested in generic landscape trees and shrubs picked by landscape architects.
 
But then, we also have a few farmers markets and roadside honor farms where you can go and talk to the owners and if they aren't displaying what you're looking for, they will go back to the farm and get it for you or point you to someone who might have it. There is a market for what you want to do but the challenge is getting the word out.
Easier on an island, 1 road going all the way around so if your farm is on that road, you will be seen by the population eventually.
 
Myx, I tend to think almost anything can be social.  Way back in the day, I spent Saturday mornings at the local gun shop drinking coffee and lying about the fish I caught.  We are moving towards an honor stand / farm store, make your own change sort of thing but with designated hours for social / tea.  Thinking adding gardening supplies / plants to that might work, not sure.

Being online is fairly new to us, used to be more farmers market type venues, miss the social aspect so hoping to bring it here cause loading and unloading is more than I can do.  Not sure if it will work or not but moving that way.  At a minimum, will have neighbors as customers.  Already do when we put a table out front in the summer.

 
 
I like the idea of a live plant place. There are alot of amish green house's here. They have good stock from seed's harvested the year before. The plant's are alway's healthy and green. I do alot of business in that area because you get a good product. As well as someone you can talk too about it. Eventually I would like to be able to grow and sell live plant's. Having a cup of tea while doing it, would make my day.
 
Primal, thanks for shopping Amish.  Every bit helps in the war against ticky tacky.  Seriously, I keep hearing that line from Demolition man in my head: Now all Restaurants are Taco Bell.

 
 
ajdrew said:
Primal, thanks for shopping Amish.  Every bit helps in the war against ticky tacky.  Seriously, I keep hearing that line from Demolition man in my head: Now all Restaurants are Taco Bell.

 
Click to expand...
 
That's funny, cause I'm eating a taco supreme as I read this.
 
Myx, I like Taco Bell and hope they sell their tacos for ever.  Its when a business gets so large that there is no longer any variety that bugs me.  In the movie Demolition Man, Taco Bell owns all restaurants.  I really dig that the huge grocery like Krogers are now offering more and more local products.  I can visit Ohio and buy a salsa that I have never seen before.  Think maybe they have figured out that some of their customers want something different now and then.
 
I know all about Demolition Man. I just thought it was ironic. :clap:
 
Meijers is doing the same thing... going to local farmers. I don't/won't shop Kroger. You can't get a good deal without their "We know where you've been, and we're going to tell the police" card. Seriously... someone was convicted of something, because the police checked his Kroger card, and found out where he was at at the time the crime happened.
 
I'll be going thru Waddy tomorrow. I'll let loose on the airhorn for ya. :halo:
 
Myx - Have noticed a lot of the grocery are not only depending on local produce more and more but they seem to have less stock off season.  At first I thought fuel prices, but that doesnt make any sense anymore.  I wonder if the food problems south of the boarder are starting to cause less export as prices rise.  Not sure it is a bad thing.  Think global, shop local and all.
 
I buy local whenever I have the opportunity.
 
I also buy from the smaller markets and Amish markets when I have the chance.
 
I do not however buy from one of my local "Farmers Market" I actually took time off work to visit it last year thinking I could get some great local veggies. I walked in to find apples from Main, fruits from Mexico and 0 local anything.After talking with the owner, he will not even buy veggies from a local farmer.
What was even worse, the stuff he had was neither organic or small farm grown and the price was about twice the grocery store price for the same things!
 
I have found another Farmers Market near me that only sells local grown. But what a disappointment last year.
 
AJ, I will be up your way in April. If you happen to have plants to sell, I am sure I can find room for a few more here lol.
 
Farmers markets that are local to me suck balls. They'll get veggies from publix or win Dixie and re sell them.
 
Sirex, there is a lot of that.  Kind of why I want to do my own thing even though no way it would be wildly profitable out in the middle of no where.  That and want to have the prices set: Take what you need.  Leave what you can.  Can not do that at our farmers market because other merchants get pissed.

Cheri, with respect to my wife and kids I don't know about doing plants this year.  Plant room in basement, cant climb stairs.  It has been almost a month since I have been down there.  They tell me that everything is great, but then they ask me dumb questions about things like the leaves touching the lights drying out.  My solution, raise the lights.  Their solution, mist the things and make it worse.

The other thing is farm is screwed enough that I am mondo embarrassed.  Pile of lumber from where I did not finish high tunnel walls.  Trash from where coyote n other critters ripped open bags and wind distributed.  Oh, then the duck and other shit.  Fence line broke when I was away cause my billy comes looking for me.  All ducks, pig, and goats lived on car port for two weeks.


 
 
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