How to Make Money on Your Plants

Your daylilies are multiplying like rabbits. You have an overabundance of ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum. You have more angel trumpets than your garden can hold. Before you start ripping stuff up out of your garden and disposing any of it into the compost pile, think about making some extra money by selling the “extras” out of your garden. In this economy, many of us could use some extra cash. Your own garden is great way to earn some additional dollars. You might even find that you can start your own sideline business once you learn how to make money on your plants.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Participate in your local farmers markets. Most towns have farmers markets that are held at least twice a week from the spring through the fall. Pot up some of the extra plants from your garden. You can use the pots that you have saved from all the times you have bought plants for your garden. Be sure to label what is in each pot.

2. Have a yard sale. When you are clearing out your closets and basement and getting ready for a yard sale, clean out your garden some, too. If you run a classified ad in your local newspaper, be sure to mention that there will be plants for sale along with everything else. You may be surprised how many gardeners will show up at your yard sale.

3. Participate in garden fairs. Many areas have annual garden fairs and do not always charge a large amount for booth spaces. These fairs are great places to sell your plants, since many gardeners come to these fairs specifically to buy plants.

4. Participate in annual local festivals. Local festivals generally attract large crowds, and many people come specifically to check out the vendors. You can take advantage of any local festivals and the large crowds ready to buy by selling many of the extra plants from your garden.

5. Sell cut flowers. You do not have to just sell plants at any of the aforementioned venues. Many people are eager to buy cut flowers in season, such as gladiolus and hydrangeas.

6. Finally, harvest seeds to sell during the colder months and advertise them online. You may find that you have more love-in-the-mist seeds, for example, than you can possibly find room for in your garden. Many gardeners go to online sites, especially during the colder months, to find seeds to order for spring planting. You can advertise on craigslist.com or check out some of the gardening sites, such as Dave’s Garden and Folia.com.

Tips & Warnings

• Try to make your booth at the farmers market/and or garden fairs as attractive as possible. Use a cheap but brightly-colored tablecloth, for instance, that you can purchase from the dollar store to cover tables on which you will set your plants.
• If you run out of pots for extra plants, ask friends if they have any they would like to give you. Most will be glad to get rid of all of those pots they have accumulated.
• For larger plants, fill the pots halfway with crumpled newspaper. This will make the pots lighter – therefore easier to carry – and also mean that you will not have to use as much potting soil.
• Check other vendors who are selling plants to get a better idea of what to charge for your plants. Vendors at farmers markets especially are very willing to give you tips about pricing.
• Be sure to check the sales tax laws for your area. Most farmers markets do not require that you charge sales tax if you grow at least half of what you sale; however, sales tax laws do vary from state-to-state.
• Check if you need a business license for participation in garden fairs and local festivals. If so, you might want to team up with another business and take advantage of their license. Of course, if you find that you can make a tidy amount selling plants on a regular basis, you might decide to turn it into a business and obtain your own business license.

Resources

• Johnson City Farmers Market launches web site, announces 2010 plans
• Nashville Lawn & Garden named Top 20 Event by South East Tourism Society of USA
• Dave's Garden
• Folia

[isatoy]

on 9/21/2009 Good article and tips.

[Elizabethknows]

on 8/26/2009 this sounds like a lot of fun thanks.

[anarticle]

on 8/23/2009 Great tips. Thanks for the information about making money from plants.

[Greatfunmoms]

on 8/22/2009 Great idea!

[ampersand]

on 8/17/2009 Great tips on making money from an abundance of plants!