Gardening For Cash

Here in good ol' Taxachusetts you are allowed to sell what you grow from your property without setting up a business identity and paying taxes. Don't expect to make big money either. I'm happy to make enough to cover costs of gardening plus a few bucks.

I embarked on this avenue through requests from others. Because I don't use chemicals when gardening, I get alot of "volunteers." Volunteers are baby plants that sprout up from seeds or suckers from the previous year's blooms from the mother plants. Not wanting to destroy these, I offered them to friends and neighbors when space in my garden became unavailable. This was fine until others wanted them potted up until they decided where they were going to plant them.

Ok. Pots, soil, water, fertilizer and my time cost money that I don't have. Several people offered money for this service. This is how it got started.

When I moved in with my Dave 15 years ago, neighbors told me I couldn't grow things because we live on the water. Hehehe, salt water has it's challenges but things DO grow and flourish. Because of the prevailing southwest wind, different climate niches are created throughout the yard.

Blue Hydrangeas are a waterfront cottage staple. I propogate these from one plant I purchased 15 years ago. The experts say they won't bloom for a couple of years. Mine bloom the first year. Go figure. They are definately a cash crop and a beautiful addition to any property. They are easy to maintain and bloom all summer.

Another is Rose of Sharon. They pop up everywhere from seed. They are supposed to sucker too but I haven't found this to be the case. My original two bushes came from Dave's father's yard. I took them from under a rich pink variety. When they began bloomimg, I had one rich pink and one light pink with rich pink interior flowers. They compliment each other. However, when potting the seedlings up for sale, I don't know which are which until they are old enough to bloom. This takes about 4 years or so. Rose of Sharon likes marshland and attracts hummimgbirds.

Each year that you have a potted plant requires repotting into a larger pot with more rich organic soil and a higher price tag.

A word or two about customers...
Because this isn't really a business, I sell my plants out in front of my fence so that no one will have an opportunity to "get hurt." There is a No Trespassing sign on the gate. Our taxes and insurance are high enough here rivalling a mortgage payment.

Most times, sales are on the honor system. There is a cashbox on the fence. Each plant is priced and labeled. I've only had a couple of girls in a black truck think they shouldn't pay for a couple of $1 plants. What goes around, comes around. By doing this, traffic is at a minimum so as not to upset the neighborhood.

Customers like to ask questions. You need to know about your plants. Growing them yourself gives you more insight into their requirements than any tag or research. Most sun-loving plants don't need as much sun as you'd think. Same goes for soil requirements.

Customers also mistakenly think you have every plant known to man. I have 60'x20' that is my main garden. Here lives 5 trees, shrubs, flowers, fruit, herbs, bulbs, walkways, a swing for two, a pond, a place to park Dave's truck and a dining area. By mid june, it is a jungle. I like the ground covered in plants. No weeds. Plenty of flowers, fruit and wildlife.

Customers also like to request you grow things for them. I do for most of the common veggie plants because the latest practice of retailers is to sell these individually potted at no less than $3.25 each. Jees, it costs you over $100 in plants alone just to have a small veggie garden! 6-pack plants are hard to maintain so they require transplant after a few weeks. Retailers dump them. I usually do 3 plants per 4" pot as this is enough for most gardeners.

Customers also like the fruits of your labor. As my own produce outweighs my needs, I set up baskets with my prices/item with bags. There is an elderly population here on the island. They really enjoy being able to walk here to get a couple of tomatoes, cukes, peppers, pears for a total of a couple of bucks. At the grocery store it would cost them over $10. There is a very nice elderly gentleman that comes every few days for tomatoes and a cuke. He always leaves his $2 in the basket with the veggies. He doesn't like the cashbox. Nobody touches his money.

This is America!

Upside Down Tomato Gardening

Many sites are promoting using a 5-gallon bucket. DON'T!I tried a bucket 1/2 that size and it's just too heavy and an overuse of soil. Instead, recycle a 12-inch high by 6-8-inch diameter plastic pot. Decorate, paint (non-toxic) or wrap in decorative plastic before you proceed.

Turn planter upside down. Center a 1-1 1/2 inch hole. Drill at least 4 drainage holes along edge. Thread a 4' heavy cord or rope through each of the drainage holes so that one end comes up from inside the pot. the other end comes up from outside the pot. Tie the 2 ends together at rim edge. Now you have 4 double hangers. About 6-8 inches up from rim knot these all together.

Find a place to hang so you can work on planter. I used a short shepherd's hook. Take a 4" square of sponge or foam. Make a cut to center and then a > off center cut. >----- Take a small tomato plant and carefully coax leaves through the center hole in planter. If plant is larger, gently wash all soil off roots and coax roots up though bottom of the planter. Gently guide the tomato stem through the cut in sponge from inside the planter. The tomato plant is now anchored. Fill the pot with good soil such as MiracleGro, Expert, or Schultz. Until your plant develops some weight, it will naturally grow toward the sun. Don't be alarmed.

Now hang your planter in an area that will get at least 6 hours of sun. Make sure your hook or branch can take the weight. T-clothesline poles are excellent. So are the 2x4 headers of a porch or from the underside of tall decks.

The theory behind hanging tomatoes is that the pot gets warmed by the sun faster than the ground soil. This promotes faster growth and earlier tomatoes. Since a tomato plant is a vine, free hanging is more natural than staking.

Maintenence is more involved. You need to water thoroughly and more frequently than ground grown. Fertilize every other week with a half-strength solution of liquid fertilizer.

Gardening In Containers

Whether you have a full garden or space limitations, container gardening gives you additional options. Containers like themes. Space limitations allow you to plant containers for need or aesthetics. Veggies can successfully be grown by picking containers that are large enough and plants that are compatable. Good drainage, proper sun requirements, rich soil, water, and fertilizing are all that's needed.

You don't need to buy expensive planters, get creative! A bushel basket will do just as well as a half whiskey barrel. A 5-gal bucket will do instead of a topsy turvy tomato hanger and you can decorate it yourself with paint, stickers, or cover it with fabric or a vinyl tablecloth to match your decor. You can add basil, strawberries or nasturtium plants to the top. You can also use an upside down tomato cage with a contractor's trash bag liner! Fasten together the small-end prongs of the cage. Make holes in the plastic for drainage and planting.

Make a simple macrame hanger from rope or twine to transform any container into a hanger. Hang from porch, house eaves, trees, shepherd's hook, clothes line...

Use a trellis to create a living wall of pots. Pieces of metal coathangers or heavy duty wire can be shaped into loops to hold individual pots of herbs or flowers for a unique presentation.

Even in a large garden, containers are used to add height or drama. Invasive plants like mints, lily-of-the-valley do well being contained by either sinking a large pot in the ground or raising above so roots never contact the soil. Creating an herb container is not only beautiful, it allows you to have kitchen door access at cooking time. A window box works very well too. You can just line the box with individual pots of herbs rather than planting them so you can bring them in for the winter.

Dead tree stumps make excellent containers! Hollow out a large hole or several smaller ones and plant some trailers like morning glories or ivy. Eventually this will aid the decomposition of the stump. If you like, just plop a pot on top. Add a shallow bowl for a birdbath or butterfly drinker.
A teacup of sugar water will bring hummingbirds or orioles. (1 part sugar to 4 parts water, bring to boil and cool, store excess in fridge)

I hope this inspires you to ty something new. I've used kids toys like wheelbarrow, dumptruck, small chair with seat removed successfully as containers and conversation pieces. An a-frame ladder works as a pot holder. The possibilities are endless and thrifty.