A Not-Business: your thoughts and suggestions, please.

17 years ago

Hello, again;

I'd like to borrow your formidable imaginations, if I may. Just for a little while, and I promise to keep it on a high shelf where the cats can't knock it over. ;-)

After over 50 requests from neighbors and friends re: the Heirloom Tomatoes I grow, I'm thinking of "semi-selling" them next year.

Usually I just give them away, and people often are kind enough to return the empty pots. Someone suggested that I figure out how much one costs (really it's mostly pot-cost and a little dirt....so it's a buck or two, I'd say), and officially "charge" for my tomatoes. So people don't have to pay $5-$7 a plant at a greenhouse, and I can afford to keep growing these nifty little treasures. It's sort of a way to support my habit.

I feel very wierd about even charging a dollar: to me, plants are something to give away and trade. On the one hand, I get a lot of pleasure sharing my plants, and get a huge kick out of introducing people to Heirlooms...but on the OTHER paw, they do end up costing me quite a bit. Hmmm....

Ok, a two-part question:

First, do you think it's against The Spirit of Fair Gardening to do a charge-for-materials "sale" of tomatoes? I use quotes because I refuse to greenhouse for profit. When gardening becomes a JOB, I quit. That's why I don't want to put up signs or anything: that would make me more of a commercial-grower type, and I DON'T want that. If word gets around that I'm a tomato-seller with very low prices, then I'm going to get people wanting a lot of stuff and it suddenly turns into a job. NO THANKS!

And second, IF SO, then what the heck would you CALL it? It's very cheap here to have little notes put in mailboxes at the P.O. (small town), so if I were to do any "advertising" that would be it (and word-of-mouth, of course). It would be nice to have a name, but all I can come up with is "The Hot Tomater" ("Merri's 'Maters?"). This is why I'd like to borrow your imaginations. I think I left mine in my other suit....

Your thoughts and input, please? I'm more confused than usual, and I'd like to hear what you think.

Love,

Merri

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

sydseeds
17 years ago
I bought 3 dixie cups with heirloom tomatoes at the "Worlds Largest Street Sale" last weekend from a young fellow for a buck a piece or 3 for $2.00. (The Worlds Larges Street Vendor Sale takes place over 2 miles of Yonge Street which is closed for foot traffic only in Aurora where every possible vendor was out with their wares). I felt that was a great price for heirloom varieties that I can't get at the market these days - the seedlings were small but sturdy little guys - 2 seedlings per cup. If the plants were bigger, I would have expected him to charge at least a toonie a cup for them.

Now - I'm off to gather my thoughts on helping to name your venture. Stay tuned!
cookie8
17 years ago
Why not have a garage sale and put a table full of your plants out at the same time? That's all I got. At least this way, I don't think, you are putting too much out there, it would have a very casual, light feel to it. You'd probably get regulars out of it also. Good luck.
Related Discussions
Second Draft Floor Plans - Thoughts/Suggestions on Changes Please
Q
Comments (13)
I made a couple more changes and updated SF. Total SF is a little under 3600. bpathome, I moved the sink to the front of the pantry. My wife uses the Keurig every morning so it probably makes more sense to have that at the front of the pantry adjacent to the sink. Does the pantry look good now? I also decreased the offset between the kitchen and the foyer by a foot (adding a foot to the south for the kitchen), which added a foot to the pantry and allowed me to move the island a little bit farther south so it doesn't block the walkway from the garage to the great room/master suite. I added a foot to the north for the great room and dining area, which decreased the depth of the covered patio to 11 feet. Is this deep enough? We want to have a sitting area on the covered patio, but also don't want it so deep that it severely limits natural light in the back of the house. I could add a foot to the north for the laundry room and sitting area if the patio needs to be at least 12'. Jackson, We appreciate the suggestion, but I don't think I want the laundry room directly behind the great room (in case the laundry is running while watching TV, etc) and would prefer the W/D to also be a little farther from our bed. We're not concerned about having to walk through the master suite to get to the laundry. Other than kids bringing dirty clothes in there, my wife and I should be the only ones using that room. We would love to have more suggestions for our floor plans. We have incorporated most of the suggestions from our first thread into the updated plans, but would love to hear more ideas! Thanks again! Updated floor plans:
...See More
Revised Layout - please take a look and let me know your thoughts
Q
Comments (28)
Duly noted re. the aisle widths. So, we shall see what feels right. Turns out the extra 12 inches of dead space behind the fridge and ovens I thought I would have to play with, is in my Dining Room, not the 1st bay of my garages :-( I plan to install a Sub Zero 42 inch built in side by side. It will NOT be fully integrated. So, a lot of my appliances, (food processor, juicer, etc.) are 14 inches high. If I make the counter between the fridge and ovens (baking counter) flush with the pantry doors I will have 12 inches (give or take) behind the countertop of dead space. Could I make that countertop 36 inches deep, and then hide those appliances behind an appliance garage, and keep the hutch countertop free for putting stuff down when removing or placing items on the shelves? Then I would still have 24 inches of available space to work on.
...See More
Please share your thoughts and suggestions on swimming pool tiles
Q
Comments (9)
We used a tan/cream/gold color quartzite on our natural-looking pool, and the masons laid it also on the vertical 6" or 8" inches under the coping. Our pool builder recommended, and did, soften the edges of the coping so they are a bit more uniform (not totally uniform) and smooth, so as not to catch a bathing suit if a kid slid into the pool. Just use your same stone, assuming it will do ok in the water.
...See More
Your thoughts/opinions, please
Q
Comments (19)
Bacterial wilt does poorly in an environment with a robust microbiome and lots of organic matter. So that makes compost an unlikely place for it to hang around. Just a guess, but I would think that properly finished compost would pose little risk. I vermicompost my banana peels (the worms love them), which is cold composting, but secretions in worm guts supposedly inhibit R. solanacearum (and many other olant pathogens). Last year, I had a bed where bacterial wilt took down my Cherokee Purples. Last year, the beds were new, and the soil is clay-heavy and had almost no organic matter in it (had had nothing but lawn growing on it for many decades). Last summer was also extremely hot for the region, so soil temps were high. So it provided a great environment for R. solanacearum. I planted cover crops last fall (winter peas, oats, tillage radish) which I cut down and worked in the spring. At plant-out, I amended the planting hole well with vermicompost and coffee grounds (coffee has been found to be a preferred food for Trichoderma species, which inhibit bacterial wilt) this year and drenched my plants in B. subtilis as well as drenching later in the season with B. amyloliquifaciens. So far so good. Worms were practically jumping out of the soil when I was planting out, whereas last year, the only worms I found were the occasional "hibernating" worms (curled up and dormant, trying to outlast poor conditions). The Pantano plants that are growing there this year are monsters and producing like crazy. I suspect R. solanacearum is way more common in Mid-Atlantic soil than is commonly understood by "conventional wisdom". Every year, I have a pepper plant or two go down with it, even in completely new beds. Actually, USUALLY in completely new beds. The older beds accumulate more organic matter, which I think is protective enough up here where conditions aren't ideal for the organism. I'm hoping that measures including biological tactics and organic amendment continue to be effective, as I can't rotate crops in my small garden. I can graft against the more common northern soilborne wilts, but, in the US, rootstocks that take care of BW but also V are basically totally unavailable to the home gardener (there are some that are resistant to BW and F). I think you have to buy around a million seeds if you want to access them. So retailers that sell grafting seeds to home gardeners don't carry the ones that also protect against BW. So far, I've had no problem with V or F--only BW. But I prefer to take measures against V or F colonizing the beds, so I'm going to start experimenting more with grafing (I have one home-grafted plant this year that survived my cats, and it's doing really well).
...See More
bonniepunch
17 years ago
Go for it! I had a plant sale last year - I would have had one this year, but the rainy weather stunted things and the squirrels destroyed a lot of other things, so I didn't bother. I made just under $100, which was enough for beer ans pizza for a couple of weekends :-). More valuable than the money to me though - I met a good many of my neighbours I had never seen before. We now regularly stop and chat or just say 'hi'. Some GWers have had sales for several years running now and make hundreds, but I wouldn't expect anything like that with a first sale.

One thing I did discover was that the avarage person didn't know a thing about heirlooms, or even about how to grow a common type. BUT... I live in downtown Montreal. I expect that in smaller towns, suburbs, or rural areas, you'll get more people with the space and interest in growing these.

If you put in some small print about why heirlooms are different from what they get in the stores (store tomatoes are bred for shippability and shelf life whereas heirlooms are bred for taste, etc...) you might generate more interest.

One sad thing to keep in mind, is that lots of people will accept your plants for free, but they won't pay for them. So you'll have to advertise to a fair number of people to get enough interest.

A garage sale at the same time is a good idea too. There are people that are religious about garage saleing and that might attract a wider crowd.

No matter what else you do - get at least one other person to help you during a sale!!!

BP
ianna
17 years ago
You probably know your neighbors who are keen on your heirloom tomatoes and why not simply do a word of mouth about having a weekend sale. I too am too hesitant to provide signs all over. Simply do one up in your garage and let people come. A price of a dollar may seem okay but in my opinion, get it lower if you can. Most corner stores/box stores etc, do sell their veggies around the price of a $1 and I'm almost certain these folks will like going to the stores more.

I've been toying with the same idea because I have many plants to give away and yet not enough soil. (Enough pots but not soil) - so if I have to buy soil for this I would like to earn money back to sustain my garden hobby.

Many people are frankly not that familiar with gardening and as much as I would like to educate them, I dare not lest people think I do nothing but stand vigil in the yard until people come asking (that's a funny picture) -- perhaps a plant sale might break the ice.

Ianna
sammyqc
17 years ago
Definately have a plant sale. I've done it a few times, and it is a great way to meet fellow gardeners in your neighborhood. And as someone else said, it is nice to at least be able to cover your cost for pots and soil. As for the price, depends I guess what else is around. If they are nice large plants, at least a couple of bucks. I see them at Loblaws and some of the green houses for much more, around $10-15 for two foot plants but that is my area. I didn't get around to it this year, and I've had so many people asking me about it. I almost feel like I've dissapointed my neighboors! A few people have told me they were depending on my tomatoes, so I've made sure I have enough to share with them at least. Another thought too, is any extra houseplants and perennials that need dividing you can try to sell. And people love to buy herbs too. I hope this doesn't sound to much like work, it is just nice to cover your own costs, and maybe a little extra.
triple_b
17 years ago
I know where you are at with this. I supply plants to my friends in the spring because I alway start lots of extras that way I get a greater number of big healthy ones. But they don't put in their 'orders'. I grow what I grow and offer the extras of whatever I have extras of.
I also bake bread on occasion to make a few extra bucks here and there. Not much when you consider it's an all-day thing. I call THEM on bread day and they say if they are interested or not. I have them understand that I make the bread when I have the time and inclination. I have two youngsters and another on the way so time and energy is often a rarity. Like you, I don't want to make a JOB out of it because I enjoy it and don't want it to become work.

A Not-Business: your thoughts and suggestions, please.

Comments (6)

sydseeds

cookie8

Related Discussions

bonniepunch

ianna

sammyqc

triple_b

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US