Today it’s no surprise to anyone that a considerable part of citizens in our country strive to establish their own business. This is due to the fact that no one wants to depend on the state salary, which by no means always and everywhere allows providing their family with everything necessary.
If you decide to follow the path of an independent entrepreneur, then the main problem may be choosing the direction of your own entrepreneurial activity.
Many people prefer to go in for food; some follow the path of organizing private veterinary clinics or clothing stores.
But in both of these cases, the problem is the strong employment of these areas of activity. The competition there is such that without abundant financial influences and strong business acumen, the novice entrepreneur will have practically no chances.
Therefore, it would be reasonable to look for those areas of activity that are practically not occupied by anyone in our country.
Growing seedlings
For example, we advise you to pay attention to our business plan. Growing seedlings will be our main focus. This business is extremely attractive in that it does not require any serious costs. Of course, in our country there are many specialized nurseries, but their production capacities do not cover the ever-increasing needs.
What trees and shrubs are valued higher?
The fact that varietal seedlings are more valued will not be news. Even those nurseries willingly buy it, who far from always have the means to buy varietal seedlings from official suppliers. The latter have always been known for their immoderation in price formation.
Of course, even this business has its drawbacks. The main negative factor for an entrepreneur is his strict seasonality. Simply put, sales peak in the fall and spring. At the height of winter, for some reason, seedlings of fruit trees are of no interest to anyone.
Therefore, entrepreneurs, unlike the nurseries mentioned above, prefer to deal only with the most unpretentious and popular plants. So, you will always have regular customers, selling seedlings of apple trees, pears, gooseberries, raspberries and currants. Most often, novice entrepreneurs focus on just such a business plan. Growing seedlings of seed crops is much more laborious, and therefore not so common.
Currently propagation of fruit trees by means of scions is widespread, and shrubs are divided by processes.
Technology Brief
So, cuttings of the same currant or gooseberry are dug up until the root system is formed in the ground, after which they are transferred to greenhouses, where they are regularly watered and treated against pests. With the beginning of spring, seed material of good quality diverges en masse among gardeners.
Thus, if you have a heated greenhouse on the plot and several bushes of varietal garden shrubs, the amount of the initial investment will be just ridiculous. Such a business plan is ideal for beginners. Growing seedlings in more complex cases, we will consider in the next part of our article.
How to grow pome crops?
If you have any experience in gardening, the growth of pears, apple trees and similar crops looks more promising.
Since they do this by grafting already existing seedlings, in this case they will have to spend a lot of money on their initial cultivation. We will consider the general technology of growing seedlings.
The easiest way to grow suitable stocks from the seeds of wild apple and pear trees. In this case, the cultivar that will be vaccinated on them will gain excellent resistance to domestic cold and local pests.
So you have to collect the seeds. This is done in the fall, well-ripened and already beginning to rot fruits are used as sources of seed material.
They are manually crushed, trying not to damage the seeds. Then they are properly washed in running water and dried in a room with natural ventilation. If the seeds are overdried, then growing seedlings will be impossible.
Important! In the process of drying, in no case should mold be allowed, since it will easily ruin all the seeds and leave you without profit for the next year. For this, the material must be periodically turned over, contributing to better ventilation and drying.
Sowing and growing
In the spring or before the first autumn frosts, seeds are planted in the soil, and sowing is based on the calculation of one seed per square meter of area. If autumn sowing is planned, then in the middle of winter the seed material is placed in a box with sawdust, where it is stored until planting.
The temperature in the room cannot exceed 5 degrees Celsius. In general, growing seedlings of trees requires a sufficient number of rooms and containers for seeds, so you need to worry about all this in advance.
After a week of such exposure, the substrate is poured with cool water (the sawdust should become slightly moist), after which the box is transferred to the basement and kept at a temperature slightly above zero. After the snow melts, the seeds are planted in the soil.
Vaccination Procedure
Before the first winter, young seedlings are covered with sawdust or other covering material. Inoculate them the next year. If the procedure was successful, then by autumn ready-made plants can begin to be sold. Sales are best started in early September.
Thus, this business plan (growing seedlings) requires much more costs. Yes, and sales can only begin with the second year of operation.
The cost of finished seedlings
So what kind of financial reward do you get by longing for the cultivation? Take it easy: profits promise to be good. One (!) Two-year-old seedling of a good grade costs at least 700 rubles. Imagine how much money you can get when the seedlings of fruit trees disperse like hot cakes! By the way, the price of apples for three to four years starts from 4-5 thousand, so the prospects for such a business are very attractive.
The costs of shovels, fertilizers and electricity will not exceed 50 thousand. Of course, you have to organize your IP and get all the necessary documents.
Coniferous seedlings growing
Oddly enough, but the coniferous plant nursery is often able to provide its owner with much more money. However, more costs will be required, since conifers are much more moody.
But in recent years there has been a tendency for owners of suburban homes to buy them more willingly to design their personal plots. More or less grown trees diverge at impressive prices. So, the cost of pine seedling per meter high is at least 8.5 thousand rubles. Trees, 5-6 years old, go away for a thousand dollars or more.
Be sure to consult with specialists in advance. Find out what species of conifers can grow in your climate zone. If you plan to organize your own coniferous plant nursery, you will need at least a couple of hectares of normal land. You will also need greenhouses.
It takes at least three to four years to grow one pine seedling. Do not forget about the need for regular weeding and watering. From two hectares you can get about a thousand seedlings.
Marketing
It should be noted that the cultivation of quality seedlings is only half the story. Please note that you should start looking for customers from the beginning of February. To do this, you can use both your friends and advertising in the media and blogs. In principle, by placing ads near horticultural farms, you can very well get regular customers as soon as possible.
Be sure to read the forums of your city. As a rule, in any case there will be a section on gardening. If you do not be greedy and do not set sky-high prices, then there will definitely be demand. Use also sites for free placement of announcements.
Additional services to customers
Be sure to use all your knowledge in this subject. Often, potential buyers do not know many recommendations for growing fruit crops, and therefore will be happy with professional and detailed consultations. If you don’t take money for it, then you will soon become widely known and the circle of potential customers. Of course, such consultations will take you some time, but they are invaluable as a means to attract customers.
We remind you that growing spruce seedlings as a business can pay for itself in almost one New Year season, so pay attention to pre-holiday sales.
