Gardening has become much more than a hobby for many people, and savvy nursery managers need an added edge to compete. This guide discusses the beginning stages of opening a gardening business, from finding financing, choosing a location, and shaping a business plan to the advanced practicalities of promotion, display, and handling live goods. 80 photos. 40 drawings. 30 tables.

Annotation. Nursery Management second edition is an introduction to setting up and running profitable and efficient nursery businesses covering production, wholesale and retail nurseries at various scales of operation. The book discusses all the practical aspects of nursery management from site selection, production systems, and plant propagation through to materials and equipment. Conventional as well as non-chemical biological control measures for pests, weeds and disease control are included. Management issues for production nurseries, wholesalers and retail nurseries are treated separately for each operation and cover products and services, budgeting, production management, work scheduling and staffing. The chapter on marketing looks at the major changes that have taken place in the nursery industry, particularly the roles that landscapers, garden centres and hardware stores now play in retailing. It covers market research, promotions, distribution and consumer laws and shows the operator how to define the scope of their operation to fit their resources and how to sell their product for maximum return. This accessible guide is essential reading for anyone considering entering the nursery industry, and for those already in the business. Covers production, wholesale and retail nurseries Discusses practical aspects of site selection, disease control, production systems and equipment Explores marketing issues including distribution and relevant consumer law.

The main objective of the book is to provide concise but complete information on "How to Start and Operate a Plant Nursery". It offers a cohesive treatment of the subject, covering fundamental principles of plant science and business management to operate a plant nursery in a highly profitable manner. The book provides both general and specific information on the full range of topics related to nursery management. It explains in great detail how to run business that raise and sell plants for substantive profit. This is an essential reading not only for graduating students but for anyone considering entry into the nursery business, and also for those already in the nursery industry. It meets the requirement of a course entitled “Plant Propagation and Nursery Management” taught at UG and PG level in Agriculture/ Horticulture /Forestry courses at Universities in India or abroad. Besides students a wide range of people, including horticulturists / research scholars, gardeners, florists, foresters, arborists, plant propagators, nursery operators and extension workers who desire a good understanding of the subject would find this book as an indispensable guide.

When Avent announced that he was quitting his job to build a specialty nursery, his former horticulture professor begged his student to reconsider, telling him he couldn't possibly make a profit "without doing something illegal." More than ten years and 20 nursery catalogs later, Avent owns a thriving national business with nearly 30 employees. He wrote So You Want to Start a Nursery to debunk myths about the ornamental-plants nursery business and what it takes to succeed, whether you're a backyard hobbyist or a wholesale grower. (And he still has a clean arrest record.) Assuming that the reader has some basic knowledge about how plants are grown, Avent focuses on the business and planning concerns of the nursery owner. While recounting humorous stories of his baptism by fire as a beginning nurseryman, Avent also provides a primer on the nursery industry as a whole, with discussions of the merits and disadvantages of retail, wholesale, mail-order, and liner operations, to name just a few. Readers of this book will obtain the tools they need to make a business plan of their own. This book is a must-read for horticulture students, industry insiders, and advanced gardeners who dream of turning their passion for plants into a job they love.

Cover crops slow erosion, improve soil, smother weeds, enhance nutrient and moisture availability, help control many pests and bring a host of other benefits to your farm. At the same time, they can reduce costs, increase profits and even create new sources of income. You¿ll reap dividends on your cover crop investments for years, since their benefits accumulate over the long term. This book will help you find which ones are right for you. Captures farmer and other research results from the past ten years. The authors verified the info. from the 2nd ed., added new results and updated farmer profiles and research data, and added 2 chap. Includes maps and charts, detailed narratives about individual cover crop species, and chap. about aspects of cover cropping.

A practical, systems-based approach for a more sustainable farming operation To many people today, using the words "factory" and "farm" in the same sentence is nothing short of sacrilege. In many cases, though, the same sound business practices apply whether you are producing cars or carrots. Author Ben Hartman and other young farmers are increasingly finding that incorporating the best new ideas from business into their farming can drastically cut their wastes and increase their profits, making their farms more environmentally and economically sustainable. By explaining the lean system for identifying and eliminating waste and introducing efficiency in every aspect of the farm operation, The Lean Farm makes the case that small-scale farming can be an attractive career option for young people who are interested in growing food for their community. Working smarter, not harder, also prevents the kind of burnout that start-up farmers often encounter in the face of long, hard, backbreaking labor. Lean principles grew out of the Japanese automotive industry, but they are now being followed on progressive farms around the world. Using examples from his own family's one-acre community-supported farm in Indiana, Hartman clearly instructs other small farmers in how to incorporate lean practices in each step of their production chain, from starting a farm and harvesting crops to training employees and selling goods. While the intended audience for this book is small-scale farmers who are part of the growing local food movement, Hartman's prescriptions for high-value, low-cost production apply to farms and businesses of almost any size or scale that hope to harness the power of lean in their production processes.