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Huge Profits From Arborvitae
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By B Hirst
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Anyone can be a farmer. You can too. Why not try growingArborvitae. They're simple to grow and plant. They can even makeyou huge profits. I feel the best opportunity in agriculture isin raising plants and trees. Growing plants can be done almostanywhere. You don't have to have large fields and hundreds uponhundreds of acres. You merely have to have imagination. Peoplewho grow dope do it in cellars and in caves. Select plants toraise which you see being sold in quant like mine (Highland HillFarm). There are just so many local nurseries, garden centers,flower shops, etc.
In our area, arborvitae are in hot demand. These plants can bestarted from free cuttings or you can buy rooted cuttings.Thousands can be grown in a 20'x20' area, for instance, the sizeof two parking spaces, in small containers. Arborvitae are notthe only plants that you can choose. Dwarf conifers and bonsaiare other avenues to consider. The first thing to consider iswhat plants you like. They make a nice starting point. I likearborvitae. Plus they are easy to grow. There are many types thatare available. These can be grown from cuttings or you can purchase rooted cutting or small liners. Isuggest that you raise EmeraldGreens. They are compact and very popular. A 2-3" rootedcutting in 3 years should be 2' if growing conditions areoptimal. These might sell for as much as $5-10 depending on yourmarket and quality. If you were to raise 1000 of them that mightbe $5-10,000. You can market them just as I do on the internet.Being small you can ship them via UPS practically anywhere. Anexample of a plant that is not suitable for small plot urbanfarming is an Oak tree. It is very fast in growing (good), buthas a big tap root, and is best marketed when over 6-8' tall.You will use up your space with a hard to confine, large treethat is not suitable for close compact container production.Shipping will also be more costly as starter plants tend to belarger hence larger shipping fees per tree. Besides I have soldmany people 50 -100 arbs at a time but no one, 100 oaks at atime. My largest order for arbs to one homeowner was 265. Try totarget plants that will sell multiples to a customer rather thanjust one at a time. If you target single plants to individualcustomers you need high value plants for your sales cost perunit will be higher. You will hear the same story from yourcustomers about 1 plant as you will about 10 plants. I can tellyou without a doubt that each customer will tell you about hisproperty and his neighbors dog. I would rather hear the storyonce for each 10 plants that I sell. That is why I like plantsthat sell in multiples to a single customer. Additionally anunusual or exotic plant is seldom purched in quanity and thebuyer has little knowledge of the plant. They will have manymore questions about this plant. This translates to a higheramount of time spent on a smaller volume of product sold.
Arborvitae are commonly used evergreen shrubs or trees usefulin urban areas where low maintenance and durability is needed.Many cultivars with forms such as being globed in shape,columnar, or narrow pyramidal, tend to be near buildings, doors,and walkways. Other forms which are larger are used for screensand buffers that are planted in rows. These plants will be easyto raise on your small urban lot.
The form of arborvitae is small, medium, or large depending onthe cultivar. Some reach 50', others only 3'. Most prefer fullsun to partial sun. Planting in dense shade conditions should beavoided. A moist , well drained, loamy soil in full sunlight areideal conditions for growing healthy arborvitae. These plantswill tolerate rocky, clay, urban conditions of heat drought andpollution. The most important pest we have is bagworms whichmust be controlled to prevent complete defoliation. Somecultivars have multiple leaders which also prove to be adetraction for the plant. Pruning out multiple leaders in somecultivars is a simple remeady. As you raise these plants if youfind that you are selling more than you can raise on yourproperty, an add in the newspaper such as, "Wanted: land to growtrees on" will help you find vacant parcels to use in growingmore stock. This land may be free to use as many owners want inurban areas land to be used as it is then maintained. We havehad many offers of free land to use in raising nursery stock.(You should check with your local BTK Code Enforcement Officerto make sure that this use is acceptable.) Another suggestion isthat you work for another local urban grower. They may havefacilities set up that they would allow you to use after hours.When they see that you are a willing go getter, they might evenask you to grow special plants that they don't want to growbecause the volumes are light or they are to intensive in labor.At any rate it is the best way to learn the trade and itssecrets. Most nurserymen will tell all their trade secretsbecause its the best way to help the industry and build anetwork of reliable and knowledgeable associates. See my website at http://www.seedlingsrus.com
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