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Follow on TwitterOver the last couple of months I’ve been experimenting with growing my own fruit, vegetables and salad. It turns out I’m pretty good with lettuce – we’re now eating it with more or less every meal – but not so good with strawberries. We’re still waiting to see how everything else does. I’m not really sure why I suddenly decided to have a go at growing things, after all I’m not known for my love of gardening and most plants that I touch usually come off worse for the experience.
However I do know that watching the repeats of River Cottage Spring has certainly inspired me to expand my "grow-it-at-home" project, so over the next few weeks I’ll be adding more fruit and vegetables to our collection. The problem is where do I put them? I think I’ve worked out a solution for our house but it occurred to me that many others, especially those who don’t have a greenhouse, allotment or even a garden will be facing a similar problem.
On River Cottage they solve this by making all sorts of DIY plant pots and planting trays which are then placed on window sills around the home. Which is great – I grew up watching Blue Peter so I love the idea of making my own – but what about those who don’t? Well where there’s a problem there’s a business opportunity! I think that anyone who invents/designs a range of low priced (I suspect that most people doing this will be wanting to save money and/or naturally frugal) greenhouse kits for those without the space for a full sized greenhouse. Hobby greenhouse kits if you like, for those who just want to grow their own salad or have a small herb garden in their flat, on their balcony or even on a window sill.
There’s scope to increase the profit on the greenhouse kits by including an initial set of seeds, some soil/compost and instructions in the form of a guidebook. How much demand there would be I don’t know, but given how popular the packets of seeds seem to be in all the local shops there must be quite a few people having a go at growing their own. Are you?
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This blog is about business opportunities and ideas that I spot, think of or hear about and think are useful and interesting. It is intended to provide ideas and inspriation for you to help you find the right business idea for you to then grow it into a successful business.
That is a very interesting idea. I saw a similar product in the “I Want One of Those” catalogue (http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/aerogrow-garden-and-seeds/index.html), however I think this product (judging by the price and ease of use) if intended for young professionals.
For me a halfway house between a full size (and permanent) greenhouse and a window box (too small) would be very appealling, allowing me to grow midsized veg yet permanently losing part of the garden.
It would have to be something that you could take straight out the box and be ready to grow. Angle: your first crop of tomatos (or whatever) are supplied already planted… just add water!
Growing your own fresh produce is one of the most satisfying and liberating things you can do. I’ve been dealing with nurseries and agriculturalists here in South Africa for the past seven odd years, and the growing interest people are showing in planting their own has really amazed me. Good luck with your endeavour, I suggest adding an organic grow medium or the like as part of your angle. SEER Centre rockdust is really awesome stuff, you might look at using as part of your kit.