Aloe Plants Going On Sale

I am finally ready to sell some of my stock aloe plants. I just need to do some advertising. I also need to take some pictures, put some in pots, separate the pups out, or charge more for those maybe. There is a little work to be done but all fairly simple tasks. I need to learn how to pack it for the mail. I may stay away from the mail if it ends up being a huge hassle.

I need to find a place to set up shop. I will probably use my grandparents vacant field. I can plant out there and I can sell out there. I just need to set up near a faucet, and start putting some plants out. I can do some weekend specials. I can put an event together on facebook, and maybe put up a few craigslist ads. The point is that it is time to get moving on making things happen.

I am starting small. I am using what I have already purchased for personal use and donating it to my nursery. There are enough resources here to make a living selling plants. Time to jump in and get wet! My aloes are growing well. They may need a small dose of fertilizer or worm castings but they are strong and growing.

I also need to begin a fertilizing routine. My plants may be a little malnourished. I will put them out and see what the market thinks. I am excited to finally be making things happen. 

Done With Microgreens (For Now)

I learned that microgreens require more care than I care to give. Right now I am not prepared to do the necessary work required for success. They need to be monitored. They are very unforgiving. I am now in the process of building some cinder block raised bed gardens.

I have more block than I know what to do with so I am trying to spread it around some and organize it into raised beds. My whole property needs some organization and a whole lot of action. By the time I get all of my raised beds built the first ones should be generating income for me.

If I start with cuttings in each bed I will have a huge stock of rooted cuttings by spring. The climate here is fairly mild. It does get pretty hot quite often. It's Oct. 13th today and the temperature is in the nineties. There is not much rain so I must irrigate. My aim is to eliminate the need to irrigate or at least reduce it greatly. That is a future project that will come with improved soil and mature plants.

For now I am going to build some quick block beds and fill them with soil and compost. The first one is going to house some cuttings of the plants I have around here. I will use some plastic containers like used milk jugs for humidity domes.

I am going to have to make something bigger and more durable if I am going to grow anything substantial. The next bed I will load with Aloe Vera plants. Since they tend to multiply so easily I am going to work on a system of cycling through them. I have quite a few of these already. I need to get the rest of them processed, either potted up or put in the ground. That's why I am going to dedicate a whole bed to the Aloes.

Another easy to propagate plant is jade. I may dedicate a bed to them too. I may be able to sell fresh cuttings of the jade. It seems to grow that easy. I have to take a cut and leave it for a few days then plant it and see if it still takes. If I have a high success rate with the waiting method then I can start selling cuttings right away. For now, I need to work on my stock plants. I need to figure out what sells and how much I can make.

I also need to figure out what I am going to have to buy to be able to prepare my plants for sale. I may need soil, aeration, compost and I will need more plants and plastic or biodegradable pots. I have a few pots that I can scrounge up around the house here to get things started, but I will need to invest in more soon. There is a way to avoid pots if I sell rooted cuttings. I may need to use paper or something to ship them in but I could avoid pots! Time to get to some experimenting!