We sold 2,500 Plants…

One of the biggest things we are learning is that sometimes you just have to get after it. I say that with balance in mind because maintaining a healthy work/life balance is important, but BOY, April was a wild month.

Back in the winter, we stopped into our local MFA to buy chicken feed and ran into one of our old managers from a restaurant we used to work at together. By the time we left, we had landed a new contract. We agreed to fill their greenhouse with our plant starters. They get a local supplier, and we get upfront cash flow for the farm.

The funny thing is, we were already planning to grow the same number of plants for our own plant sale. The difference now was that we had a guaranteed place to sell them, along with guaranteed income for the flower farm.

Hannah and I ended up delivering over 2,500 plants to MFA. I even took the last week of April off to help with the final push. Somewhere during those deliveries, I realized we’re definitely going to need a different vehicle if we want to keep doing this. I somehow managed to fit 16 trays in the car seats folded down, two trays in the front seat, and one on the floorboard.

Overall, this was a great move for us. The income helped cover costs for the flower farm and gave us confidence that we can continue making upgrades and improvements to the property (a cooler is definitely in our future).

Here are the biggest takeaways from supplying a local greenhouse with plant starters:

Buy More Soil Than You Think You Need

Hannah and I thought we had purchased enough soil to get through at least the vegetable starts.

We were wrong.

Thankfully, we found some good options at our local Menards, but by the end of it all we had used more than 40 bags of 4.5 cu. ft. soil totaling over 200 cubic feet.

Trays and Containers Matter

These are obviously critical to the operation, but you don’t have to buy the most expensive options. We found a local garden store with more affordable trays and containers, which helped us keep our costs down.

That allowed us to sell the plants to the greenhouse at a lower price, which in turn helped them stay competitive with the big box stores.

Labels Were the Biggest Headache

This was probably the most frustrating part of the entire project.

Since this was year one, we didn’t have the budget for a label maker. Instead, we used colored plastic labels and organized them by vegetable type. It actually looked really nice once everything was displayed in the greenhouse, the colors really caught people’s attention.

The downside? Every single label had to be handwritten.

And if your handwriting looks anything like mine, you know that’s a problem.

In all seriousness, it took a lot of planning and time. Hannah and I took turns writing hundreds of labels. Next year, a label maker will absolutely be part of the budget.

Plant Organization Becomes Chaos Quickly

Starting seeds was the easy part. We used a soil blocker and could fit hundreds of starts onto cookie sheets.

The chaos started once it was time to up-pot the seedlings.

Suddenly, plants were packed into every nook and cranny we could find. We created an assembly line just to move trays outside for hardening off. When the weather cooperated, things went smoothly. We used shelves to organize upcoming orders and staged deliveries accordingly.

The biggest lesson? Space will always become an issue.

We improvised, adapted, and overcame it. Now we’re brainstorming ways to add a temporary greenhouse to the property next year — something we can put up during peak transplant season and take down afterward.

Hard Work Does Pay Off

More than anything, this experience gave us confidence.

We knew we could do it. We planned, prepared, and talked through different scenarios. But like most plans, once execution starts, things usually go sideways.

As a small farm and small business, we have to stay flexible and move quickly. We can’t afford to let things sit too long before it’s time for the next season or project.

For new growers looking to create additional cash flow for their farm, I highly recommend exploring opportunities like this. It helped us tremendously as we continue building toward the 2027 growing season.

I would love to hear your feedback or answer any questions you may have. Feel free to reach out to us at Hannah@angeldawnflowerfarm.com.

Happy Growing,

Nick