Yes, 5 bucks is rather out of line for a "friendly" gathering.
Friend and wife who come close to being master gardeners took a look at tomato prices this spring, lowes and HD, and went to starting his own. I'm glad, cause that let me give him some seed for what i consider the good ones.
While we are at it, whats with all these new names that mean nothing to most people? Are people just grabbing off the shelf without knowing what they are buying?

It might be informative to calculate the amount of time and cost of materials that goes into producing an 8-week old transplant ... on a small, at-home operation basis ... before casting dispersions.

Our master gardeners group has a plant sale first weekend each May. A group of five of us produced nearly 2,000 tomato plants in 4-inch pots for the sale. We all did it at home, individually, under lights, in basements, garages, yard barns, etc.

About half the plants were heirloom types. We charged 3.00 per plant and sold out quickly ... I mean like in two hours on Saturday morning. The same size plants in local big box stores selling Bonnie Plants are 3.99 this year. I imagine we could've sold ours for 4.00 too. They were all superior quality transplants 8 to 12 inches tall and deep green.

I've been selling the same stuff out of my driveway for the past two weeks for 2.00 per and had very little demand for anything other than "large, round, red" and some specifically by name such as Big Boy, Big Beef, Beefmaster, Jet Star, etc. Personally, I think I'm giving them away at 2.00 per.

Maybe if I had a greenhouse and planted en masse and dedicated complete days to nothing but potting up, watering, plant care, etc. on an intensive basis, and then sold thousands of plants, I could justify 2.00 - 3.00 per. Again, I think before anyone who does not take the time and makes the equipment investment to start seed and nurture a couple dozen tomato plants for his or her own home garden, it would be educational to put together a detailed time and material estimate ... or go ahead and plop down the asking price for ready-to-plants and say thanks.

I grew mine from seed but my mom said all veggie prices are really high this year - all over.

I sold/am selling extras at 3.50 per plant but mine are closer to 18" tall, and rare varieties that HD/Lowes don't carry.

I was at a local nursery yesterday. They normally have only hybrids but now have 5 heirloom varieties- $1.69 in four inch pots. Even though I have dozens of seedlings of many vaieties I could not help myself and bought a German Pink and a San Marzano. The German Pink is a large (8 inch), thick stemmed, healthy plant, wide with excellent foliage and blossoms already. The San Marzano is not as big but is also a very healthy plant, not spindly, not small. Also got a three-pack of Black Beauty eggplants for $1.79. They're a good size and very healthy. So for less than $6 I got five good plants. Nothing will go out for a couple of days - temp tonight 34-38.

It really depends on the size of the plant. If they're three weeks old, I wouldn't want to pay $3. If they're big and healthy and would mean I get tomatoes several weeks earlier, I'd happily pay it. If they have little green tomatoes, absolutely.

Seems to me a lot of people advertising tomato plants on Craigslist think heirloom tomato plants should cost twice as much as a run of the mill plant varieties for which you can buy seeds in any big box store. But based on cost how much extra should they cost? My guess is except for some really rare, expensive, hard to get seeds maybe 15 cents per a plant extra, due to the higher cost of seed. Whereas for some common variety you could probably get 40 seeds for $2.00, or 5 cents a seed, with heirlooms you might get only 20 seeds for $4.00, which would be 20 cents a seed. But if you saved seed after the first year seed costs could actually be zero since they are open pollinated.

Well, if you're shopping ebay for "heirloom" tomato plants, I'd say supply and demand is very operative there.

So then the saved seeds are grown in - ummm - air??? They would have to be for the cost to the grower be zero??

Not sure how the economics works in that post. But WOW if it works out...

You cut up the tomatoes and take the seeds out, and eat the rest. So you miss out on a few ounces of pulp. Most gardeners would probably have more tomatoes than they can eat anyway.

I agree, then, seeds are "free".

It is not at all free to create a plant. People like to buy plants in March and April and generating/tending to seedlings in the winter, in most areas, requires effort and materials.

Seems to me a lot of people advertising tomato plants on Craigslist think heirloom tomato plants should cost twice as much as a run of the mill plant varieties for which you can buy seeds in any big box store. But based on cost how much extra should they cost? My guess is except for some really rare, expensive, hard to get seeds maybe 15 cents per a plant extra, due to the higher cost of seed. Whereas for some common variety you could probably get 40 seeds for $2.00, or 5 cents a seed, with heirlooms you might get only 20 seeds for $4.00, which would be 20 cents a seed. But if you saved seed after the first year seed costs could actually be zero since they are open pollinated.

They're selling plants to make money...right now "heirloom" is a trendy phrase in restaurants and garden magazines.

It's supply and demand and/or a sucker is born every minute.

People will get what they can. That's the reality.

The local country store was selling a big variety of nice 12 inch heirlooms, OP and hybrids in four inch pots for $2.99. I stopped in yesterday and they were half price so I picked up six so I could try some new varieties.

I generally start my own. I stopped buying at Home Depot because the prices are too high. They have switched to selling single tomato plants. The local nursery still sells a good variety @ $2.69 per six pack which I find reasonable.

If I were planting one or two tomato plants I wouldn't mind spending $5 each. If I grew six plants I would spend $3 each. A dozen or more and I'll spend 50 cents each. I have three hundred in the ground and 3 bucks a piece would be $900 which is a bit over the top for me.

Zeuspaul

Here is my estimate of the cost of raising tomato plants to be sold in four inch square pots. I use some high quality green plastic pots I bought a case of many years ago for if I remember correctly about ten cents a pot, but prices are higher now so they might cost 15 to 30 cents each depending upon the quantity bought and where you buy them. I also have 140 flimsy used white plastic four inch pots that some nursery was throwing out and I got for free.
I am now using Pro-Mix BX for my potting soil, and one compressed bale costs about $27 plus tax and I can fill my seed starting containers and about 100 pots with that amount, so potting soil comes to about 30 cents per plant.
Seeds cost anywhere from 3 cents each to 25 cents each depending upon variety and where I buy them. Electricity for running my light during February or March when I start the seed probably comes to 20 cents per plant, but some of that light I would be using anyway, plus it heats the house a little. I live in southern California so by mid March I can put the plants out on my patio during the day so don't need any more artificial lighting.
So not including my labor, it probably cost me around 75 cents a plant. I reuse the pots from the plants I keep for myself year after year, so that reduces that part of the expense. So I figure if I sold 15 or 20 plants at $2.00 each it would pay for all the cost of my tomato seedlings, not including labor. BTW, my plants are much better than anything you can buy in a big box store, dark green, stocky, and really healthy looking, and completely hardened off.

All great heirlooms are late season and need to be started early with efficient equipment. For me the only way to go is growing them under HID Metal Halide lights 10 weeks before planting, producing stocky healthy transplants that take off right after being put into the soil. Good MH lights are expensive, my Hortilux Blue Eye now costs approx. $130 and only lasts 3 seasons. If I take everything into consideration including schlepping them around to harden them off $5/plant is not enough. What you get for that is 2 weeks earlier and much higher yield and healthier plants. Compare that to some of the leggy transplants you can buy from hobby gardeners and $5/plant sounds like a lot of money. As always you get what you pay for. Good mail ordered plants should cost even more. You should see how well Darrel's Selected Plants are shipped.

I have been a volunteer at Thieneman's Nursery here in Louisville, KY for the last nine years helping with heirloom tomato varieties. It is a family owned nursery and has a very good reputation in the surrounding area. This year we are offering 150 varieties of heirlooms and a few hybrids which were requested by several individuals. Compared to box stores, I think $1.49 per plant was/is a good price.
There is still a good selection of varieties available for those in the Louisville area.
Gary

Thienemans Herbs and Perennials

9120 Blowing Tree Rd, Louisville, KY 40220

http://www.thienemans.com/CCorner/

Here in Marietta,GA (metro Atlanta)I have raised from seed about one thousand plants (about 50 varieties) this spring and I am having no trouble selling them at $4 each. Not sold out yet, but I am headed in that direction. They are for charity--my Church's building fund. I get FAR MORE people OVER PAYING than questioning the price.
If I were selling for my profit, I don't think $3.50 would be out of line here. I had to develop my market last year--Gave away free tomatoes to all comers last summer...this year they are buying plants and many are begging me to have some fruit ready to buy.