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My herb nursery How To Grow Basil From Seed To Market Packs Whether you are growing for market, for personal use, or as a fundraiser, growing basil had been one of my most profitable herbs that I grew when I was in the business of growing and selling herbs. I opened my nursery mid April, but I didn’t offer my basil plants for sale until the week before Mothers Day, because it was generally too cold for basil to be planted in my zone 6. Our frost date is May 15th, and I always placed a sign by the basil telling people to wait until the 15th to plant. For years I seeded my herbs in 72’s(72 plugs/flat),and planted them in 3″ pots, until I realized that everyone else was doing this, and I needed to be different, and offer my customers a better product. I started to grow in 273’s(273 plugs/flat),and transplant in 6 packs. I seeded my basil on 3/01 and transplanted on 3/26. In each cell I seed 10-15 seeds. The basil will germinate in 3 days. I always seed heavy, because I like to see the packs look full and lush. They will not be overcrowded, and don’t need to be separated. After planting the whole plug, the plant will grow full and bushy. People bought my herbs over others because they felt they were getting more for their money. I grew all my seed herbs this way. Basil was the only one that I sold in a 6 pack, all the other herbs I grew from seed were grown in 128’s(128 plugs/flat), and were sold in 4 packs. Hardy herbs that I took cuttings from the previous year were sold one per 3″ pots. In my large greenhouse I had a small greenhouse from Growers Supply, that I used as an incubation chamber. I filled the small greenhouse with 5 tier plastic shelving that I bought from Home Depot, where I could fit 65 flats at a time, and if I used plastic domes on top of the flat I could get over 100 flats at a time, by putting one on top of the other. This allowed me to keep my large greenhouse cool, and with the aid of a small heater, I was able to keep the small greenhouse 65-70EF. A friend of mine would partition his greenhouse by tucking plastic around the frame and letting it drape like a curtain. When I first started growing I used a table on top of a table, covered with plastic, and put my small heater on the floor. Once seeds start to germinate, I knew what it felt like to be a baker. While one flat was coming out, another one was going in, until I had two greenhouses filled top to bottom. Most important is to have a fan going 24/7. I hope this information can help any grower who is thinking about adding herbs to his or her selection. My suggestion is to start with Genovese basil, and add more herbs as you feel comfortable. Culinary herbs are always in high demand.

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A schedule of a nurserywomen

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  A Schedule of a Nurserywoman   I have written a few articles about my past retail nursery, and have received several emails asking me about how I did my scheduling.  Through my 18 years of trial and error I came up with a plan that was best for me.  I live in zone 6, … Continue reading A schedule of a nurserywomen