Best Containers for Starting/Selling Herb Plants?

[BetterHensandGardens]

I was toying with starting herb seedlings and selling them at market this year, and was wondering what was the best (inexpensive) containers/method to use for starting the seedlings and selling them.

I'm planning to use soil blocks to start my garden seedlings, but that doesn't seem like a very "pretty" method for offering seedlings for sale to the public - anyone have suggestions/experience with this?

Thanks!

 

[thistlebloom]

I know a lot of people hang on to their nursery pots and then take them back to the nursery to recycle them. A lot of nurseries don't like to bother with the 4" containers, but they do reuse the gallons and bigger.
Why don't you start with a call to some nurseries and see what they can offer you? When I worked at a greenhouse/nursery operation we got TONS of dropoffs. The non standard ones got taken right to the dumps plastic bin because we couldn't use them.
Or you could put an ad on Craigs List . I think if you use regular nursery pots you'll have a better looking product, as opposed to using cottage cheese and yogurt containers or whatever.

 

[BetterHensandGardens]

I know a lot of people hang on to their nursery pots and then take them back to the nursery to recycle them. A lot of nurseries don't like to bother with the 4" containers, but they do reuse the gallons and bigger.
Why don't you start with a call to some nurseries and see what they can offer you? When I worked at a greenhouse/nursery operation we got TONS of dropoffs. The non standard ones got taken right to the dumps plastic bin because we couldn't use them.
Or you could put an ad on Craigs List . I think if you use regular nursery pots you'll have a better looking product, as opposed to using cottage cheese and yogurt containers or whatever.

That's a great suggestion, never would have thought of it myself. I can start them in the soil blocks, then transplant to old nursery containers. And it will help get the old containers out of the trash too.

 

[lovemyherbs]

I sold potted herbs when my kids were little at farmers markets. The biodegradable foam cups make great small pots and the side of the cup is a built in label to write on. Good luck and have fun!

 

[Rozzie]

I didn't have enough small containers here this year, so I bought Dixie cups (the big ones) on sale for 99 cents for 20 cups. I prefer to use my recycled containers, but didn't have enough that were tall enough.

I put a drill bit in the Dremel and drilled five holes in each cup. A dremel can go through about three cups at a time with a tiny drill bit.

Then, filled with soil and planted. I use tiny little yard sale price stickers to label the sides. This way, I can reuse these cups for several years. They'll stack neatly and store in a very small area.

 

[AmyRey]

I bought clear plastic cups (16 oz.) to transplant into. (99 cents for 25 @ Wally World) Poked holes in the bottoms for drainage and labeled the sides with a Sharpie. With the clear plastic, I can keep an eye on the root growth.

It's working GREAT so far. And they'll be reusable.

 

[mare]

If you are using old nursery pots, make sure to wash them in a bleach solution. This will get rid of any diseases or even bugs that may be in the pots. I use these pots for my tomatoes. Years past I've given the 'maters away, but this year I'm thinking of selling them. Luckily I know someone who works at a nursery and can give me alot of those 4" pots.

 

[HunkieDorie23]

I bought clear plastic cups (16 oz.) to transplant into. (99 cents for 25 @ Wally World) Poked holes in the bottoms for drainage and labeled the sides with a Sharpie. With the clear plastic, I can keep an eye on the root growth.

It's working GREAT so far. And they'll be reusable.

this is what I do also. You can leave them stacked and poke holes in them it saves time. My engineer son did this for me last year. It is way easier.