Originally Posted by Chris[_14_]

Hi all,

I live in a place where the nearest quarter-decent garden supply store
is miles away, and the locals have to pay bridge tolls to get there
and back. In addition, I live near a mass-transit station that sees
huge traffic in the summer and fall. It finally dawned on me that
there's potential here for a small business catering not only to
locals but to people going home from the beach (did I mention I live
one block from one of the most heavily visited beaches in North
America?)

Anyway, try to put yourselves in the shoes of the locals and the
transients. I realize that the readers here are people who take joy in
starting their own plants weeks or months before they can survive
outside (I have flats and six-packs growing now too!) but if you were
a casual gardener, what might you want?

Here are my thoughts:

....First, tomatoes. Sell a variety. Most locals here have yards, so I
plan on offering sand-and-salt-resistant varieties. A couple of seed
companies offer such. For apartment dwellers, offer cherry tomatoes
that will yield fruit in a container on a balcony or even in a basket
hanging by a window.

....Cucumbers. Bush and vine varieties are called for, given the
reasons for tomatoes listed above.

I plan on selling to transients by setting up a stand near the train
station, and to locals through ads in the neighborhood paper and a web
site.

I know that most small businesses fail in their first year. Thus, I
want to start pretty small and not sink a huge amount of money into
seeds and supplies. I will see how it goes in the first year or two.
If the demand warrants it, I could expand it (as I hope to- my kid
starts college soon!)

Thanks for everything

Chris

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USENET.