Once the risks, benefits and feasibility of growing transplants are determined, then decide if you want to proceed. Successful vegetable producers who grow their own transplants can have healthy plants when they need them. Contamination of your farm with pests from imported plants is also avoided. You know the crop history and variety as well as if the plants are free of diseases, insects and weeds. There are advantages, however, to growing your own plants. They may also have the added cost of buying scarce, expensive replacement plants if the crop fails. Growers producing transplants for themselves have the same investment and loss potential risks. There is also the possibility that your customers may hold you responsible if their crop fails. There must be a sufficient market for transplants just as for any other commodity. If you grow transplants for sale, consider if the operation will be profitable. Since the third category is merely a hybrid of the other two, categories one and two are discussed. The time that must be devoted to the production of greenhouse transplants depends on the category in which a grower falls. Growers of greenhouse transplants generally fall into one of three categories: (1) producers of transplants solely for commercial sale, (2) growers of transplants for personal use, and (3) growers of transplants for their own operations as well as for commercial sale. Problems in the greenhouse can be transferred to the field and poorly grown transplants can become a liability after they are transplanted in the field. An entire crop can be lost in a matter of days. Crop management is much more intensive and less forgiving. Potential problems can range from diseases and pests to structure and equipment failure. Second, weigh the risks and benefits of growing transplants. If you cannot devote sufficient resources to transplant production, it will be an extremely risky venture. Do you have the time, knowledge, management skills and financial resources necessary to do the job well? Start-up costs for growing greenhouse transplants are generally high. Production of greenhouse transplants is very management and resource intensive. In deciding if you should grow vegetable transplants, consider (1) your overall operation, (2) the economic feasibility of growing the number of transplants you need, (3) your management skills and the availability of investment capital, (4) the specific vegetable transplants you intend to grow, and (5) the time and other resources you can spend on transplant production.įirst determine if this operation fits your total business scheme. If you plan to use transplants, you may purchase them from a reputable transplant grower or grow them yourself. However, if crops are lost due to frosts or other factors, replanting further increases production costs. Transplants often result in better stands and earlier harvests factors, which can increase profits to offset additional production costs associated with transplanting. Finally, container-grown greenhouse plants have a media-enclosed root ball, which retains moisture and root integrity at transplanting, reducing transplant shock. Because containerized plants are less crowded and healthier stockier plants can be produced. Their growth can be controlled more easily through fertility and water management and they can be held longer and harvested when needed. They can be produced earlier and more uniformly than field-grown plants. Compared to field-grown transplants, greenhouse transplants have several advantages. Greenhouse grown containerized transplants is an increasingly popular way to establish vegetable crops. Is Growing Greenhouse Transplants for Me? The Economics of Growing Vegetable Transplants in a Greenhouse.Greenhouse Structures and Site Selection.Water and Fertilizer Management for Production of Containerized Transplants.Is Growing Greenhouse Transplants for Me?.Stanley Culpepper, Extension Weed Scientist Granberry (retired), Extension Horticulturistĭavid Langston, Extension Plant Pathologist Boyhan, Extension Horticulturistĭarbie M.
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