On April 3, 09, the Jamesport Amish Auction had its first session for the season. All locally grown product was either bedding plants or individually potted vegetables or flowers. This is the first report and analysis of the auction and how it relates to the Unity Garden and possible steps for next year.
Most bedding plants were in a 10 x 20 tray with a variety of 2 or 6 packs. Cabbage and other cool weather plants ran as low as $3 per tray. My measure is that most crops will cost close to a nickel to grow in a 10 x 20 tray counting only seed, tray and soil. These plants would have been a good buy as they were close to cost.
With 8 six packs in a tray, if we resold at a buck a 6-pack, we would make around $5 dollars a tray reselling at our stand. I think that if ‘marketing’ (our marketing div) would check KC prices, they would find that 6 packs will go for more than a dollar a tray
These would make a good resale prospect although there was a limited quantity and we would probably need other sources or our own. Most cool weather crops are easy to start, quick to grow with good tolerance to low temperatures. Most cool weather crops will look good in the tray for about a month.
There was a large number of flats of flowers, many not blooming yet. They were going for 3 to 5 dollars for marigolds and 6 to 8 dollars for pansy. Similar prices were available on other varieties.
Again good resale profits at the 5 cent per plant cost standard of mine. Resale of 6 packs at around $2 would give a better than 100% profit. Although there was a large at the sale, still the bidding was active and our presence would probably run up the costs. As with cool weather crops, pansy’s should be looked into either as an early crop for us to raise or have the Amish at Stanberry raise for us.
(A pansy will survive low temperatures and some mild winters will survive to be blooming throughout. As such they are an easy green house (unheated hoop house ) as they can withstand freezing temperature).
They also make a very colorful display and give the stand a chance to explain that they can be grown in early spring in a window or outside with out danger of frost. Gives us a chance to show our knowledge!!
A small number of 10 x 20 flats with over grown tomato plants went for around $10 plus (Had been started to early or were left over from early greenhouse). Four inch pots with single tomatoes transferred from flats as they out grew their flats went for around two fifty to three dollars. In addition, 12 inch pots with 2 ½ ft blooming patio tomatoes in simple containers went around $ 4 or better.
These prices will give us a profit, say 8 dollars on the flats sold as 6 packs for $ 2 ea but were far enough along that they would need to retail shortly for a good appearance. But take a flat for $10 that will start to lose its looks in a week or two because it needs to be transplanted and look at how we can make even more and this will apply to our own stock as well. The 10 dollar flat will have 48 tomato plants. Transplant them into 4 in pots at 50 cents costs each and now you have a tomato that cost you 70 cents (50 plus 20 for tomato) and it will wholesale at two fifty to three dollars or around three fifty on the retail market for about $132.00 dollars plusprofit from that $10.00 flat of overgrown tomatoes. And if in three weeks or so, if some of these tomatoes have still not sold, you put them into a 8 in pot with an additional cost of 70(minus the reuse of the 4 in pot) cent and raise the price to several dollars!!
(Keep in mind that if we raise our own at my 5 cent each plant standard, we will make another
7 or 8 dollars on each flat. The main item here is that a tomato plant does not have to sell in a couple of weeks. Its shelf life extends up to a couple of months and each week becomes more valuable!!!!! )
A large number of hanging plastic baskets sold around $10 which I thought was high as mostly they held only one or two varieties of simple flowers. Would help if I knew what hanging plants went for at retail outlets in KC. (Marketing check this out)
Remember how we took the tomatoes and increased the prices? Now if you take some 10x20 flats of flowers that we grow for a nickel a flower or bought for a dime and put a dollars’ worth into a $2.50cost) hanging basket, we have a $3.50 cost and they were selling for $10 wholesale?? Again we can take these products and not be overly concerned about shelf life. In addition, for those who like to arrange flowers, your creative skills can shine here and like a quilting bee, a group can enjoy the warmth of a greenhouse while carrying on wonderful conversations designing flower arrangements. Another thought would be to have designing classes. They buy the plants from our selection, the soil, the pot( which we may make profit on as our cost is low) and learn the secrets of a beautiful patio flower garden. As our selection and volume increases, we could have the large pots that would sell for 30 or 40 dollars if bought already planted and mature. Our cost would be around $10. Of course the items we create as demonstrations will be available for us to sell and for them to tell their friends about!
We will have some opportunity to practice some of the above if we have a potting shed even if we don’t start until the first of June. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have patio tomatoes with fruit ready to ripen and abundant flower baskets for our open house?
Suggestion to consider for next year;
Start Pansy early in hoop houses
Start flowers early with emphasis on transplanting varieties for baskets
Start tomatoes if heated green house available for transplanting into larger pots
Ideally we have minimum orders already placed with the Amish at Stanberry(Jamesport Amish will not sell retail as they support their auction)
As able, we would have our own products starting to line up
Check on prices of plugs from commercial sources for flowers and lead time needed.
Consider upgrading 8 in pots with ribbons or ??? So that the cheap pot looks expensive similar to what they do with Christmas flowers (poinsettas)in the fall.
Posted for comments;
Pete