Growing Plants for Fun and Profit

About This Course

Turn your love of plants into an enjoyable and profitable home business. Learn how to grow and market plants on a small scale without major capital investment. In an area as small as 1000 sq. ft., you can generate thousands of dollars worth of plant material in a single growing season. This course is your practical guide to licensing, site preparation, equipment, how and where to find supplies, how to select and produce plants appropriate to your climate zone, how to produce quality material and, most importantly, how to market your product.

About The Instructor

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Michael and Linda Harlan.

Michael and Linda Harlan have been involved in the nursery industry since 1968. In 1985, they began a backyard nursery on a half-acre that grew into a successful 12-year business venture. The Harlans then shared their experience by publishing a self-help book entitled Growing profits: How to Start and Operate a Backyard Nursery. Michael has been teaching a course on this subject matter through the extension services of local community colleges for the past four years.

Syllabus

A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

Week 1

Wednesday - Lesson 01

In our first lesson, you'll meet other gardeners who've successfully made the transition to nurserymen. You may be surprised to discover that, within the small space of a backyard, you can produce significant income by growing plants. You'll also learn what permits and licenses you may need as you get started.

Friday - Lesson 02

Today, we'll take a close look at climate zone maps to help you figure out what plants will grow best in your region. Then we'll teach you easy ways to prepare your growing grounds. Finally, we'll show you ways to create inexpensive microclimates that will help you start your plants and expand the varieties you can grow.

Week 2

Wednesday - Lesson 03

In this lesson, you'll learn what production supplies you'll need and how to find wholesale sources for them. We'll discuss cover containers, soil, fertilizer, and labels. Then we'll talk about why it's important to keep track of your expenses for tax purposes.

Friday - Lesson 04

Starting new plants is one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences for gardeners and nurseryman alike. The process of starting new plants is called propagation. In this lesson, we'll focus on the three major methods used in nursery production: propagation by seed, cuttings, and division.

Week 3

Wednesday - Lesson 05

In this lesson, we'll teach you the most valuable lesson we've learned in this business: How to reduce the waiting time involved in growing plant material. You'll learn what types of starter plants are available and how to find wholesale sources. We'll also offer some valuable guidelines to help you decide what to grow. Then we'll talk about how to find additional sources of information and business networking opportunities through nurserymen associations and trade shows.

Friday - Lesson 06

In this lesson, we'll focus on growing annual flowers and bulbs, paying special attention to market timing. You'll learn how to create high-value items such as color bowls and hanging baskets. Then we'll discuss vegetable starter plants and herbs. Specializing in organic growing will help you tap into a lucrative area of the nursery trade, so we'll fill you in on all you need to know about organic growing and certification.

Week 4

Wednesday - Lesson 07

In this lesson, we'll focus on one of the hottest topics in gardening: The particular group of non-woody plants that nurseries call “perennials.” You'll become familiar not only with the favorites, but with the wide variety of perennials available. Then we'll go over some detailed information about specific perennials, including how to grow them and how to time them for market.

Friday - Lesson 08

Today we'll talk about woody plants--such as shrubs and vines--that form the more permanent plantings in a landscape. We'll pay particular attention to roses because they're among the most beautiful and profitable shrubs. In addition, you'll learn how to grow small fruiting shrubs and vines for specialty markets.

Week 5

Wednesday - Lesson 09

Trees may be the largest members of the plant kingdom, but they're also among the easiest and most profitable to grow. In this lesson, you'll not only learn how to propagate landscape trees, but how to greatly shorten their growing time by buying bare-root seedlings and finished bare-roots. We'll complete the lesson with a discussion on fruiting and flowering trees.

Friday - Lesson 10

Whether you're growing plants for fun or profit, you'll want to produce quality plant material. In this lesson, we'll provide guidelines for quality standards. You'll learn about pruning, staking, and training plants into special shapes and forms. We'll also talk about methods you can use to ward off diseases and pests.

Week 6

Wednesday - Lesson 11

If you're like most gardeners, growing plants is the easy part—marketing is the real challenge! In this lesson, we'll begin with a discussion on wholesale marketing. You'll learn all you need to know to do business with discount chain stores, local retailers, and landscapers. Then we'll explore consignment selling, contract growing, and business-to-business Internet options.

Friday - Lesson 12

In our final lesson, we'll discuss retail marketing, or taking your product directly to the public. You'll learn how to advertise inexpensively and effectively so you're not just growing plants, you're growing your business! We'll explain what you'll need to know to sell your plants from your home or garage sales, certified farmers markets, and flea markets. Then we'll discuss selling your plants to government or public agencies.

Requirements

Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins (two free and simple downloads you obtain at http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and Get Adobe Reader).