10-04-2008, 04:50 AM
Hi Kathy,
Caution, lengthy response!
There is a long tradition in most places of sharing plants or propagating them to sell at a swap meet or farmer's market. I'd hate to see that go away completely, and i can tell from your posts that you are a caring gardener and general plant person.
That said, I feel it's important to give some cautionary advice. The biggest risk you are taking is that your plants are not subject to inspection like commercial nurseries are. One of the ways that so many of our really serious pests (nettle caterpillar, Little Fire Ant, coquis) have been spread is by the movement of plant material around the island. This does not mean that commercial nurseries are perfect -- far from it, but most of take our responsibility to not spread problems very seriously. It would not be fun to have a customer really angry at you for selling them an infected plant.
As a certified nursery, we are subject to inspections (including soil samples) twice a year, and are also inspected for nearly everything that comes around -- Light Brown Apple Moth, Nettle Caterpillars, Fire ants, phytopthera rumora (Sudden Oak Death), and whatever's new around the corner. So, if you are going to go on with plans to propagate for sale, then do careful observation of your plants, use clean containers, and keep them in a clean environment (off the ground). Before anything goes off your place, inspect it carefully for pests and disease. Keep yourself informed about new pests and about the nurserymen's code of conduct about not selling invasive species. The end result of that is also that you'll be a better grower/gardener for it in the long run. I know that getting serious about our nursery business has improved my skills very much!
A point about the costs of plants in retail nurseries... those costs must cover any labor, the wholesale price of the plants or the expense of growing plants out from seed or cuttings, insurance, shrinkage and other loss, energy, taxes and the costs of land and buildings, and last but not least, a small wage for the owner. No one's in the small nursery business to get rich -- there are certainly easier ways to do so!
Caution, lengthy response!
There is a long tradition in most places of sharing plants or propagating them to sell at a swap meet or farmer's market. I'd hate to see that go away completely, and i can tell from your posts that you are a caring gardener and general plant person.
That said, I feel it's important to give some cautionary advice. The biggest risk you are taking is that your plants are not subject to inspection like commercial nurseries are. One of the ways that so many of our really serious pests (nettle caterpillar, Little Fire Ant, coquis) have been spread is by the movement of plant material around the island. This does not mean that commercial nurseries are perfect -- far from it, but most of take our responsibility to not spread problems very seriously. It would not be fun to have a customer really angry at you for selling them an infected plant.
As a certified nursery, we are subject to inspections (including soil samples) twice a year, and are also inspected for nearly everything that comes around -- Light Brown Apple Moth, Nettle Caterpillars, Fire ants, phytopthera rumora (Sudden Oak Death), and whatever's new around the corner. So, if you are going to go on with plans to propagate for sale, then do careful observation of your plants, use clean containers, and keep them in a clean environment (off the ground). Before anything goes off your place, inspect it carefully for pests and disease. Keep yourself informed about new pests and about the nurserymen's code of conduct about not selling invasive species. The end result of that is also that you'll be a better grower/gardener for it in the long run. I know that getting serious about our nursery business has improved my skills very much!
A point about the costs of plants in retail nurseries... those costs must cover any labor, the wholesale price of the plants or the expense of growing plants out from seed or cuttings, insurance, shrinkage and other loss, energy, taxes and the costs of land and buildings, and last but not least, a small wage for the owner. No one's in the small nursery business to get rich -- there are certainly easier ways to do so!