Who grows plants for a living?

[Guest]

I'm interested in a carreer involving growing plants. I don't want to do research, I don't want to publish papers, but I'm coming out of college with a biology major slanted towards plants. I'm looking for ideas and I'm wondering what others do/grow for a living. Thanks

 

[Truth]

you'll need a horticulture degree, and a few other things.

 

[jojajico]

hey, i may be going the same route... back to school for a degree in horticulutre mostly just cause i like plants havent really considered much. but one thing i did consider is ownin a vineyard someday. i think that would be a very enjoyable life. smoke erb and make wine

 

[Guest]

I didn't take horticulture as a major because I didn't like how focused it was on things like landscaping, turf mgmt, and stuff like that. I enjoy the science of it all and I like other aspects of nature which is why I took bio. I'm taking soil science, plant physiology, plant biology, and organic soil management among other things. I plan on growing plants some how some way. Someone I know is going to school for soil science and plans on being a vitner. There's an option but not for me.

 

[Guest]

I don't grow for a living but i know a few people who do and they make decent livings doing what they love; usually selling niche plants. Tropical cactus, Carnivorous plants, ......another one that is starting to ake off if you live in a colder area is hardy plants that are currently unnavailable such as hardy palms, banana, things like that. Niche stuff is where there is a living, otherwise you need to do commercial scale.
check out the greenhouse forum, theres a new member named Josh something that owns a commercial hydroponics lettuce and greens kinda business; he posted pics with a few descriptions.

J.

 

[CC Rider]

yeah HERE is the thread.

CC

 

[bounty29]

I'm interested in the exact same thing, just a little unsure of where to go or what to do. I just started college and I'm not sure which route to take. I've bought a few different books just to read up on some stuff, but any more info here would be awesome.

 

[Habibi]

if your talking about growing marijuana for a living there are only a few places you could do it semi-legally.

amsterdam, canada, spain, or the 12 states in the US where its legal medicinally would probably be your best choices. you would have to do research though as their is always risk and plenty to learn on the subject

norml.org is where you can check laws at

if your talking about something else...im clueless

 

[Guest]

Not talking about MJ, most likely other plants.

 

[Pops]

The future in plants currently seems to be in genetically modified or altered plants. As we use up more and more of our farmland for housing tracts,shopping malls and factories, we will have to be more productive on our farms, in order for our farms to survive. Lately, with some of the major legislation, our produce and meats supplies are increasingly coming from 3rd world countries, where land and labor is cheap. Some foodstuffs will have to be bred or modified to be able to be grown on marginal land, either here or in foreign countries, where it is not native and not acclimated to the environment.

 

[Pops]

Gourmet mushroom farming might be a possibility. Shitakes still bring a good price.

 

[NoNameNoshame]

Gourmet mushroom farming might be a possibility. Shitakes still bring a good price.

Yep............and Truffles.........very pricey! Just plant some trees with the micro on the roots and some years later........lots of $$$$$!

 

[bounty29]

If you don't mind waiting, and you've got a couple acres to spare, check out truffles.
http://www.truffletree.com/index.html
You can buy saplings that are guaranteed to produce (in 5-10 years.) They can sell for over $1500/lb, and I've seen as high as $3000/lb.
http://p7.hostingprod.com/@foodnotebook.com/blog/2007/01/truffles_starting_at_1800_per.html

Edit: NoName beat me to it!

 

[Guest]

I didn't take horticulture as a major because I didn't like how focused it was on things like landscaping, turf mgmt, and stuff like that. I enjoy the science of it all and I like other aspects of nature which is why I took bio. I'm taking soil science, plant physiology, plant biology, and organic soil management among other things. I plan on growing plants some how some way. Someone I know is going to school for soil science and plans on being a vitner. There's an option but not for me.

It's what you choose as your focusing courses, usually it's the second year when you have to make a choice at the first level gardening school. There are options for "open country" farming, landscaping, florist, park/city gardener, greenhouse and some places have garden tech or something like that. Some of those are hand in hand with others courses. I think I'm going to try that tech stuff when the time comes. After that 3 yr school I'll be a "toy gardener" and maybe 3-5 yrs in next level school I can say I'm a real gardener. Don't have the English words for all of those so spare me.

I sent an application to a gardening school, I get the answer during summer did I get in.

 

[Tripco]

If you want to grow ornamental plants, consider ornamental bananas as a good choice. There's a few species with good hardiness: Musa sikkimensis, M.basjoo (the hardiest one), M.itinerans, Musella lasiocarpa.... You can also find some less hardy (tropical) species, but very interesting (red, pink, purple or variegated leaves and fruits) such as M.ornata, M.velutina, M.zebrina, and numerous edible cultivars.
They're all easy to grow, but don't start 'em from seeds (it could be pain in tha ass to germinate). Do a Google search on banana nursery and find one who sells bare rooted 1 year old plants or rhizomes (it's much cheaper than buying 3-4 year old plant).
As i said, growing is easy - just give 'em enough direct sun and lots of fertilizer high in nitrogen and lots of water and they'll grow mad. Hm, it reminds me to certain stage in cultivation of some other plant...
If you want to grow some plants for food, try melons and watermelons. Payback in one season. But, you'll need a few hundred acres of land, reliable vehicle for transport, hothouse (if you live in area with colder spring) and whole summer of hard work

 

[bounty29]

I'm thinking about starting up a little backyard greenhouse with some lettuce and tomatos and stuff. If there's demand at the farmers markets and stuff then I might expand. I'm not trying to turn it into a career (yet) but testing the waters. It's also something I love doing, so it's a profitable (hopefully) little hobby.

 

[Pops]

You have to watch the watermelon business. Two Kentuckians decided to go into the watermelon business. They bought a truck and drove to Indiana, where they purchased watermelons for 50 cents each. They drove back to Kentucky where they sold all the melons for 2/$1.00.At the end of the day, the first Kentuckian counted the proceeds and turned to his partner and complained that they hadn't made any money. The second Kntuckian reminded him that he had suggested that they buy a bigger truck.

 

[Guest]

I was thinking aside from argiculture or your own business, maybe working for maybe a museum and taking care of plants, or working in a lab and maintaining experimental crops and plants....But I'm hesitant to see what kind of salaries those offer.

 

[DimeBag65]

orchids?

 

[Guest]

orchids are pretty cool