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Post by binnylou on May 1, 2021 10:55:57 GMT -5
I'm sometime a bit embarrassed about my seed stash...I almost never tell hubby how much I’ve spent. But, looking at a Facebook for sale ad posted by a greenhouse for tomatoes, peppers, melons, etc, I think I’m not embarrassed any longer.
The greenhouse is not far from us, but I’ve never been there. From the photos in the ad, I’d guess the plants are all in quart square containers...each plant is $4.49. I did not visit any greenhouses last year (in my memory). Is $4+ the current pricing for single potted veggies?
I realize that everybody doesn’t have the time, space, nor inclination to grow from seed. Seeing that ad made me appreciate my passion of growing from seed. No wonder my gardening neighbor told me to not throw away any tomato plants.
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Post by desertwoman on May 1, 2021 12:28:15 GMT -5
Compared to here, that sounds like a great price!! At my favorite mom/pop nursery, who grow organically and start their own seeds, this year it's $4 for a 2" pot or a 4 pk of starter cells.
I haven't paid attention to the qt containers but I would guess they are about $8 Now I'm curious and will check it out!
If I want to try a new tomato I will buy a single 2" pot or 4 pk (depending on how many newbies I want to chance trying) And I have splurged the past 3 years and bought multiple 4 pks of chiles , not being motivated to start my own (they can be so difficult for me to start). So that gets a bit pricey for the 40 plants I like to grow, but still cheaper than buying a couple of bushels at the farmers market. And I know exactly how they are grown. This year, however I started all my own toms and chiles trying the soak seed in peroxide/water solution method. It worked great for me.
Other nurseries, who use non organic methods charged slightly less- maybe $3 or 3.50- for a 2" or 4 pk
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Post by lilolpeapicker on May 1, 2021 12:33:47 GMT -5
Here that's alot for a single plant of a vegetable but it is not for herbs and flowers. I have not looked yet for this season. Many garden outlets are opening as of today. In the past the vegetables come in flats of 4 or 6 and they have been $3.99. Some flowers come in in 4 or 6 cells like marigolds or petunias and pansies but geraniums or lobelia may be single.
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Post by binnylou on May 1, 2021 12:34:20 GMT -5
This greenhouse doesn’t brag about being organically grown, so they probably aren’t. I must be way out of touch for pricing.
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Post by breezygardener on May 1, 2021 15:45:02 GMT -5
I don't really mind giving farmers market people & independent nursery/greenhouse folks my money for healthy well-grown plants. While I usually do rear my own from seed, this year just got away from me & I frankly didn't bother outside of a few seedlings. So I'll be buying starts for a few things in a week or so & just use my seeds for cukes, greens, squash, a few flowers, etc., etc.
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Post by raphanus on May 2, 2021 5:49:31 GMT -5
I had to buy a second full-sized refrigerator for my seed collection recently. I usually order seed in bulk instead of individual packets.My most recent purchase was 5lbs of cowpea seed for $18. Seed prices vary widely by supplier and heirlooms are usually way cheaper. This year I got a 2 big packs of Yellow Brandywine, an old heirloom seed, probably 1000 seeds or so for about $4. Same with patty pan squash, a couple hundred seed for like $3. But I also got some new disease resistant F1 squash and tomato seed from same supplier and it was $5 for like 25 seeds. I start seeds in 50 cell trays in 80:20 ratio of fancy potting mix to manure, then transplant to 4 inch pots in 50:50 ratio of cheaper potting mix : manure. The plants look way healthier than the conventional garbage the big box stores sell for $3-4 per plant. I’m going to take them to flea market today and see if I can get $5 per plant. I spend a few hundred bucks on seeds every year, but I like to be in complete control of the growing process, I’ve worked at commercial nurseries and usually they are growing tens of thousands of seedlings in crowded conditions and each plant doesn’t get the care it needs so pests and diseases are always a problem and there’s lots of spraying even at OG nurseries. I build a small plastic hoop house each fall to make starting seeds a breeze in early spring. I’ve been starting fruit trees from seed for years as well, but occasionally I will buy a cultivar from a nursery to cut up into scions for grafting onto my seed started trees,unfortunately I’m awful at grafting anything, trees or veggies. If I manage to declutter and organize the seed collection I’ll post a photo. The new fridge should Eli increase shelf life. I recently sprouted some mater seeds that were 8 years old!
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Post by desertwoman on May 2, 2021 9:27:57 GMT -5
I had to buy a second full-sized refrigerator for my seed collection recently. "you know you're a gardener when...."
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on May 2, 2021 11:38:12 GMT -5
binnylou, the prices you cited are similar to those here, if buying from a supermarket as opposed to a garden center. These are what are on sale this week: www.meijer.com/weeklyad.htmlThe hanging plants are always much more expensive. It's been years since I've gone to a greenhouse other than to just sigh and get a mood boost, so I don't know what their prices would be. Since gardening became more popular last year, it wouldn't surprise me if stores are (still) capitalizing on that and charging more for plants or combinations that wouldn't normally be grown by first time gardeners.
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Post by emmsmommy on May 2, 2021 12:16:56 GMT -5
At the greenhouse I visited last week, tomato and pepper transplants in 4-packs were $2.99. 4" pots were around $4-5 each. I didn't look at the prices of the bigger containers because I have too many started at home now. The local farm store started having their spring sale two weeks before Mother's Day and a flat of 8 4-packs of flowers or vegetable starts were $12. Hanging baskets were $12 which is the cheapest I've found them. Walmart and Lowes carries Bonnie plants in 4" pots at $3.49-3.99 each. I did buy some of the Bonnie herbs, but it was stuff I can easily propagate. If I were just doing a few planters or one bed, it might be cheaper to just buy the plants. But I personally have an addiction to growing and propagating and not interested in rehab at the moment. Am I embarrassed by my seed stash? No. It's not as big as some of yours, but growing. Actually I just received the first of three seed orders placed recently and two of those were thanks to breezygardener, who posted about Pinetree and Botanical Interests free shipping offers.
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Post by breezygardener on May 2, 2021 16:42:23 GMT -5
Having a garden with starts from somewhere else is still better than having no garden at all.
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Post by emmsmommy on May 16, 2021 4:27:13 GMT -5
Has anyone else noticed a trend of bedding plants being less available in 4 or 6-packs? I did find a pack of mixed coleus a few weeks ago but otherwise if I wanted coleus it was one plant in a pot for $3-6 each. Noticing the same for petunias and impatiens as well some varieties of tomatoes and peppers. Also used to be able to buy seed geraniums in multi-packs as well and haven't seen them available for several years now. I know there's a bigger profit margin in selling plants individually, but I'm preparing to overwinter more plants this year for cuttings.
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Post by Mumsey on May 16, 2021 4:39:40 GMT -5
Sis and I stopped at a huge greenhouse, one of my favorites, or used to be. I noticed prices higher than in rhe past. 6 pack of bedding plants $3.49. Singles 3-5 bucks. Perennials had the most noticeable increases. A growing Caladium $14.99 and they weren't even very big. Glad I saved tubers from last year We bought nothing. I was looking for hardy Hibiscus, but was told they won't be for sale til end of June.
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Post by desertwoman on May 16, 2021 9:01:38 GMT -5
Has anyone else noticed a trend of bedding plants being less available in 4 or 6-packs? Yes! The past 2-3 years some places are not selling them any longer. But my mom/pop nursery still does, as they start their own. At the other nurseries, if I look early in the season I can sometimes find the 4 or 6 packs that they will be potting up to those more expensive larger pots. I prefer supporting mom/pop who haven't sold out.
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Post by pepperhead212 on May 16, 2021 10:44:38 GMT -5
If I didn't grow from seeds, I would start, seeing the prices they charge in this day and time! I would save enough in one season to pay for the setup!
Seriously, though, almost nothing that I grow is available anywhere locally. Big Beef and Sunsugar are two tomatoes that may be found, and Superchili and Jalafuego are two chilis that might be found, but it's doubtful. And some of the herbs. But that's it, out of all those things I grow.
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Post by armjr on May 16, 2021 12:59:09 GMT -5
There is a good chance that I "might" break even on the tomato and pepper plants I bought this year as opposed to just buying the tomatoes and peppers from the store. They were kinda high and $3.98 is what I saw mostly for a single plant. I search around in the plants until I find a pot with two or three plants in it. Then I separate them when I put them in the ground. This was a crappy year for started plants and after our polar vortex experience I was even a little gun shy about planting anything. I kept waiting for that last hard freeze that never came.
I've got about 30 plants going and at least 10 of them are from doubles. Two different garden areas. One has been beaten unmercifully by wind and rain, the other, for whatever reasons is looking great. They are about 100 yards apart on different corners of the yard. The one where they look the best has rows that run across the slope and the other runs down the slope. That one did much better last year. Go figure.
The one that runs down the slope is completely tilled. The other has two tiller width rows separated by two push mower widths of grass. I just run the weedeater along the edges and mow the middles. Seems to work great.
It's raining now. We probably had another 3" last night and today. It's really too much but this will be the norm for the rest of the week. I'm afraid my potatoes are getting too much water.
I have quite a seed stash, nothing like an extra refrigerator full, but more than I can plant...
Alan
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