Business starting up, Ideas needed please!!

Hello everyone hope your all doing ok!

Short story: I'm Chris,19 and my apprenticeship finishes in March and I want to start my own business getting people back into growing fruit & veg.

I am going for my first business meeting tomorrow with someone from the council to help me on setting this up, Nervous! haha.

What I have been concentrating on recently is schools, As kids these days don't know the slightest about gardening and I want to change this.
So I am trying to find out idea's of entertaining things kids can do in the garden, Their isn't a lot on the internet so I need help guys!

I have researched into making a greenhouse out of plastic bottles! Seems pretty easy to do and I think it would be enjoyable for the kids (getting them to bring in plastic bottles from home and then building something out of them) I also thought that once this is done I could help them to grow tomatoes, As I researched into 'Square tomatoes' which would be something good for them to do once the greenhouse is set up.

But please if anyone else has any entertaining idea's what kids can take part in then please let me know!

Thank You in advice!
Chris.

 

Very commendable, but I think that's already changing. Check out CBeebies, in particular 'Mr Bloom's nursery' for some idea.

Nothing entertains kids in the garden, or everything does. It depends entirely on the person trying to engage the kids. If you be excited, they might. If you don't, they most certainly wont.

The key point I think is that kids are impatient. That's a fact you can't escape. It means they want to see maximum results for minimum effort in minimum time. Give them a seed and tell them it needs 6 weeks cold stratification, then sowing in exactly the right compost mix, wait for 2 months, prick it out, pot it on.... well you'll have lost them from the start. Give them a sunflower seed, or a pea, or a nasturtium seed and tell them to shove in a tiny pot of compost and hide it for a week, and you might get them to actually grow something.

Remember the standard rule of being kid. If it isn't fun, there's no point doing it.

 

Thanks for the quick reply clueless, What you said is true as the thing that inspired me into wanting to help kids was remembering growing a pea in a bottle, and then a sunflower which me and the mother planted every year from then on!

This has confused me on what to do now! I will take a look on the cbeebies website but do you think growing the tomatoes first (to a small size) and then letting the kids plant them and put their plastic box around it, Which they could label with their names would still interest them? (plastic box for square tomatoes).

 

First off, nice 1 for having the ambition and drive to start out on your own!

Like clueless says, you need to make it interesting for the kids otherwise its a non starter.

How's about getting the children to plant in shapes or pictures, like animals or teachers faces?
Also, changing the planting or the theme will go down well, it saves the kids from being bored and losing interest. Also, teach the kids yourself about the goodness veg has in an interesting way, ie by giving the veg names?

Good luck, the hardest part you've already done by taking the step!

 

Thanks Aln! Great ideas

I still hope to continue with the square tomato idea, But was thinking maybe at the same time have something faster growing such as the sunflower to keep their minds entertained on something else whilst the tomatoes grow?
I was also thinking get the kids to draw a face or something on the plastic box which the tomato will go in, or make a paper body to go with?

As for the different planting plans I think a teachers face would be a good idea! A smile would be easy to plant out but don't know how i'd go about planting out an animal! :P


I have also had a look at the cbeebies website as clueless said, And noticed that it has a game section. My laptop won't run the games for some reason but I'm hoping that maybe they're related to planting, Then the kids could play the games before/after the planting activity to keep them more entertained?

Seriously thanks for the help guys, It means a lot!

 

All the games on cbeebies are just Flash moves. Do you have the Flash plugin installed?

I'm confused about the square tomato idea. What's that?

 

No, That will be why they aren't running. I will check them on my comp tomorrow, All it is is a square box made from plastic sheeting which the kids could then draw on in marker. The box then only allows the tomato to grow inside it, causing the tomato to grow square :P

 

What kids? Where? In schools?

The level of existing expertise and enthusiasm varies tremendously from school to school but you can guarantee that activities of growing and testing conditions for beans is already thoroughly covered by the National Curriculum science programme. Minibeasts are also an integral part of the science work.
So is nutritional content of food in the Healthy Eating programs. If you are hoping to offer something to schools and be paid you would need close knowledge of the curriculum and be able to offer very well-planned and thought out activities which enrich the existing experience.

Also, most schools will have staff with expertise which can be called upon in planning general gardening activities if they are needed as a supplement to the educational ones.

So, I don't quite understand what your niche or your product is going to be.

As a teacher, it would be great to have an extra - strong & willing - pair of hands to dig, lift, carry, prepare, tidy up etc when organising gardening work, but I'm not sure that's what you are offering. Some schools might want specific expertise but you don't seem to be offering that either. Some schools might want someone who could go in and build a raised bed, for example, and organise and supervise the planting up with groups of children. If staff are not capable or willing I could see that might be a useful service, and you could offer follow-up maintenance sessions, and replanting next year.

I guess you are hoping to be paid to go in and do some nice activities with the kids, so my most basic line of advice is to volunteer as a helper in a primary school and get some idea of the scope, practicability and difficulties of what you are hoping to do.

As to specific ideas, most schools would welcome someone offering to build a recycled greenhouse for them, hits a few design and technology targets as well. You would need to have all the practical skills for construction and siting of the greenhouse as teachers would be looking to you for guidance on that, although they would probably deal with the collection of materials and management of the children. You would need to think of how different age groups could practically contribute to the construction and how to organise them. Have you made such a building yourself? If not, time you did.

The square tomato idea - gimmicky but fun. This is a very long term project if you hope to start the tomatoes yourself with children. If you don't, I'm not sure what educational value would be in it. Then you have to spend several months raising and caring for the plants on a daily basis (or rather, the staff and children will). If all goes well, and someone will carry on caring throughout the summer break when schools may shut for a while, you might have suitable tomatoes in September for applying the square moulds. Then you'd have to monitor them again until you got a result. It's not exactly impossible but it needs a lot of thought and organisation.

Sorry not to be more immediately encouraging, but gardening is never a quick fix and this applies to schools just as much as elsewhere. It needs a lot of persistent effort and expertise. My recommendation is to proceed cautiously and know exactly what you are doing before you seek to market yourself, and acquire as much experience as you can.

 

I pretty much go along with Madahhillia.

But having said that I would suggest you become a teaching assistant at a number of schools in an area where you could perhaps do a full or half day every week.

This would probably fit into the curriculum, and would be of minimal cost to each school particularly in these difficult financial times.

Subject to how interesting you make your visits the kids might get round to looking forward to your visit each week.

It would also help with your subject matter considering that many gardening tasks happen at the same time in the year e.g. Seed sowing in spring, planting out early summer,collecting seed in autumn to name but a few ideas!

I don't think you will be able to keep kids interested all day,everyday,every week but you might be able to do say a day or a half day per week!

What ever you decide in the end let me wish you the best of luck!

 

Generally aimed at schools yes, but also have some interest from child minders of which something could be done on a smaller basis. I understand that this won't be easy and is exactly why I have come here, To get an opinion from people who know what they are doing more so than me! So thanks everyone!

My idea for schools was basically this: Go in and set something up E.g. the bottle green house, raised beds etc. And try get the kids involved as much as possible, After this (maybe the same day or next time i'm their) have the kids plant something, Baring in mind I want to keep it as interesting as possible and this is why I thought of the square tomatoes.

I was only planning on going back to the schools every week or fortnight like tee gee said, So I want something set up for the kids to make it as fun as possible. I was thinking with the greenhouse each child could paint a picture on the bottle, which then could be a feature wall, Or like a decorative border at the bottom so it doesn't stop the light getting through.

What I didn't think about however is what shiney said, Schools brake up in July! So I will definitely need something what will grow in the space of March-July, I wanted it to be fruit & veg though, Not plants.

My knowledge is still limited but I am researching and learning alot as days/weeks go by, I am only hoping to set up the business this year so if not i'd happily wait until next.

What fruit/veg does anyone know of what will grow fast? As I was thinking maybe June bearing strawberries then? As the kids would then have these to take home or the school could sell them to parents or put them to use in dinners?

Also if the school does want to sell them to the parents, I could then bring in the idea of hanging baskets for people who want to continue this and do it with their kids at home?

If I sound far fetched please tell me, I am trying to think of as many different possibilities as I am still in the market research stages and need to widen my knowledge into what I know I can and cannot do.

 

You say this is a business start up ?
I do not know how or what you expect to be paid/make money

Schools are short of teachers simply because they can not afford another
qualified teacher
Your ideas would be worthy on a voluntary basis but it is income you need

Quite a few schools up here already do the bottle greenhouse, and have put on
the internet, how to do it, which children of what age can do what during the build
ie only the older children get to drill the holes or saw the wood, younger ones take the labels off the 2ltr coke bottles
So the plan is already out there, those that are interested are already doing it, the others are not interested in the first place

Then you have to get your CIB checks done,

Good luck in your venture, though I would look elsewhere for your business plans

Jack McHammocklashing

 

A work college I work with used to be part of a business that set up garden projects for schools and communities and was paid to do it. She was made redundant a year back.

Agree with the others, you can't make money from this, unless you set up your own patch of land that you owned and charged schools to come and visit. Which a lot of them can't afford to do anyway. I'm in a similar position but am doing this on a voluntary level and don't really want to make any money from it.

If you do want to make some money get in contact with your local council and say that you want to give lectures on composting. That's something councils are desperate to get people into as it will save them a lot of money in the long run. This would be for adults and businesses though, not children. I doubt you would make a killing from it though and you must know your subject as you will have people asking you questions like "why won't my peelings compost?" etc. I've been offered a chance to do this and will be doing it for free as I don't believe in charging for knowledge.

 

Forgive me, but aren't we going round in circles here?

http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/help-with-growing-fruit-veg-needed.49400/
http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/help-ideas-needed.49405/

 

Maybe up here in Yorkshire we are a few years behind in the 'green revolution' :P
The closest thing to anything like this around me is a local school janitor who grows his own on school premises.

I went for my business meeting yesterday and things went well and have received a few contacts.
Maybe this will not work, and maybe the funding just isn't their. And i'm kind of getting the feeling that I shouldn't go through with this :( But still want to at least try as hard as I can, And if all fails then at least I tried.

I am also not in this for massive profits, As long as it covers costs and I can get some kind of funding to live then i'd happily do it.

And clueless sorry for posting almost the same post, But this was more aimed at working with schools, I wasn't aware that all this had already been done and probably let excitement get the best of me. I will remove the post if you want?

Thank you again for the comments everyone.
Hope every ones ok, Chris.