My first steps into the world of a self-employed gardener

1. Rake them into a massive pile
2. Dive into them.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until either you have to do something else, or another grown up comes out and sees what you're doing.

Its tremendous fun.

 

You could consider eBay. I've done that with my left-over Jerusalem Artichoke tubers in the Spring. Pick your "best price" (at which they will actually sell!!), list them on a Saturday morning as a multi-buy (i.e. you indicate how many batches you have available) and then on the 3rd day reduce the price to make the rest sell - lower it again on day 4 etc.

Make sure you've calculated the price postage correctly, and perhaps offer more for anyone buying 2 lots (as your postage will be less than double) - rather than offering discounted postage for the second lot.

Unlikely that gardeners are going to scam you ("My goods never arrived" which si going to make eBay force you to refund their money)... but they might, so there is some risk

 

Don`t forget as you take cuttings, bottom straight, top at a slant, so you know which way is up.
Pot of compost,rooting powder if you wish,I don`t. Push cutting into compost all around edge of pot, keep moist plastic bag secured with elastic band if you want,forget till you see growth,
You should get at least 50% strike rate.

 

Always get a free proof of postage slip at the P.O. - ask at the time of posting - as it will protect you against claims of non-arrival, whic I have found to be very rare.

For a large order, pay a little extra to have it registered post, as you will want to be protected in the event of having to refund a large sum.

The trickiest aspect of selling plants is knowing how to wrap them up, this could be a fiddly and time-consuming job. So sell the cuttings while still very small (explain this to buyers) and probably best to avoid very delicate items that bruise easily.

 

I was a part time gardener to a self made bloke in North London, later this included repairing the electrical motor that drove the air pump that kept the inflatable cover up over their pool. Repair their tumble dryer, when his stroopy daughter TOLD me to put her wet laundry into the dryer when I had fixed it. Later, when his (nice but dim) Son asked me to 'help him' find out why his car wouldn't start, I saw where this was going and left. Him and his wife were great - but those brats. . .

Cheers, Tony.

 

Sounds like where I just quit Tony How do dippy people end up landing on their feet?

 

Good for you Tina!! Hope you enjoy and are hugely successful in your new endeavor!!

 

really excited for you Tina, and hoping that things continue to go well.

I've done some part-time gardening, and found that generally people were happy to keep their mowings/cuttings/prunings.

Looking forward to your updates!

 

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

Thank you. Next blog is up