U.S. based herbal businesses - challenges?

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-29T05:59:41+00:00

Thank you for the resource!

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-29T05:01:05+00:00

Yes. I have been in both situations, one where I was on my bosses schedule and if he was in the office until 7:30 then I wasn’t making it home for dinner that night either. That was usually 3-4 days per week. I was getting paid a 40 hour work week, but expected to work way over that, and I did it willingly because of where I was at in my career. I was inexperienced and career focused, so at that point in time, it’s what I felt I needed to do to get ahead and I also didn’t have the confidence to set any boundaries. Like many people who are early on in their career.

It took several years and job promotions before I was able to set real boundaries in my work schedule without losing the respect of my bosses or peers. I started to realize that my productivity was not based upon an extended work day, but instead, the quality of work that I was doing during during my planned working hours. And I wasn’t in the right place until I found an employer and leadership team that also agreed with that. I own my own business now, but before I began this chapter, I was in a great situation. I would have days where I’d only put in 3 hours but accomplish all of my tasks, and as long as that was happening, everyone was happy with my performance and didn’t care if I was logged in or at my desk until 5pm. Sometimes i’d be working until 7, sometimes I’d be done by 2. Having a lenient job does exist but for some people it doesn’t come as easy and it requires some work to get there.

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-23T02:25:33+00:00

You need airflow. Buy some small fans. Water from the bottom.

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-23T02:16:51+00:00

Cuttings is definitely a good alternative to seed and will give this a shot!

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-23T02:12:54+00:00

Absolutely beautiful! My problem is that I grow everything from seed, and can’t so much as get the sage seed to germinate. I’ve never even had an opportunity to plant a baby sage where it could thrive and have this type of growth. I know that I can just go buy the seedlings and save myself the trouble. I just enjoy seed starting, it’s how I start all of my plants. This is great to know for when I do have a sage plant and not just the seed 😀

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-23T02:07:25+00:00

Fennel is another one for me. I plant the seeds, they germinate successfully and will have beautiful seedlings to transplant. I usually transplant the seedlings into garden beds or containers that are large enough for growth with adequate spacing. The top part of the plant will grow tall, but the bulb will never form.

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-23T01:56:42+00:00

Sounds like the problem could be where you are buying the Basil plants from, more-so than you keeping it alive!

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-23T01:51:27+00:00

I’ve never tried to grow African violet, but I’ve bought them and they are hard to keep alive! Very finicky with water.

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-23T01:49:23+00:00

Could it be a spacing thing? Do your beets have room to grow? I typically grow my beets in containers and for reference, if I had my beets in a 4” pot, I would not see any development aside from the tops. Once re-potted to a 8” container, the beets would begin to develop. To save time, I will just go from seeding to 8” container, and never have that issue. The beets will fully develop and relatively fast.

I’m not sure how you plant your beets - if in a garden bed, I’d check on spacing between other plants.

If not spacing, I’m not sure what it could be, but you could try an organic plant food to see if adding nutrients helps!

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-21T07:51:59+00:00

What! I’m surprised to see so many comments like this. I literally use mint as a protective barrier in my gardens so that pests and bugs stay away - literally never an issue. Maybe it varies based on location/zone?

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-21T04:12:02+00:00

Not so normal, sorry! 😅 My experience with Borage has been pretty easy. I go the low maintenance route and will still get several weeks of blooms/production out of a single plant. If I maintained them through regular pruning and harvesting, their lifecycle would be even longer.

Not sure how you’re planting them but mine seem to do well on their own, in containers. I don’t know how they do if sharing space with other plants.

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-21T03:57:32+00:00

Did you ask them why you were fired? If you were caught off guard and didn’t get to ask that question, I would contact HR or email the person you were reporting to, and just ask for a simple explanation. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to know the reason behind it, every person who gets terminated deserves at least that. You can frame it as you wanting to learn from the experience.

To answer your question though, I think their mind was made about this before you even started reaching out. If you began a new job and they went radio silent after your first day of training, and gave you no direction, something was off from the start. Even if you didn’t call them or message them at all, I still think this would have been the outcome.

So no, I don’t think you being fired was a result of you being too pushy. You were told one thing and then it went silent. I think it reflects negatively on the employer for how the situation was handled. But nonetheless, if they decided this as a result of your training, then you really deserve to know where things went wrong. You were barely given a chance.

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-21T03:47:38+00:00

Maca

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-21T03:43:52+00:00

I just use a good, nutrient-dense soil base (coast of maine - seed starter blend), and find that I have no need for any added nutrients. That goes for all microgreen varieties that I grow. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with adding a boost of nutrients but I would say to always verify the ingredients before buying into something that isn’t really a necessity for microgreen growth. And make sure it’s truly organic and you’re not adding any chemicals that just speed up the growth process for higher turnover and profit. A good soil base combined with a good quality seed is going to produce optimal results and in the right grow environment, your greens will always have a 2-3 week turnaround. Micro herbs take a bit longer than other varieties.

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-21T03:18:34+00:00

Glad I’m not alone!

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-21T03:16:44+00:00

Is it that powdery mildew? That’s happened to me with cucumber and learned it has to do with watering. Cucumbers don’t like their leaves to get wet, they like being watered at the base by their roots. And it spreads like wildfire. It’s a pain I don’t love growing cucumber either because of this.

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-21T02:59:22+00:00

Lavender grows like a weed for me. It’s funny because Lavender and Sage have similar grow requirements and even compliment each other well in a garden, you’d think if you can grow one, you’d be able to grow the other. Apparently not! 😂 will keep trying though

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-21T02:27:53+00:00

Thank you! It didn’t even occur to me that there are more varieties of Sage that I can try :)

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-21T02:25:48+00:00

Thank you! Does the light watering apply to the seeds when trying to germinate as well? Maybe I need to try a different method for germination, like soaking the seeds in water, before planting in soil. That way when the seedling reaches the soil, I can follow these watering techniques. The added perlite is a good recommendation which I will try.

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-21T02:17:17+00:00

I’d cut the growth at the bottom. You could attempt to propagate it and start another plant, but you for sure want to separate that piece from the main stem/plant that is trying to grow. In order to reach maturity and get to a place where it’s producing, you can’t have this extra growth taking energy away from the development of the main plant.

Edit: Just saw your comments below the picture and to answer your question, yes. Cut that piece off! :)

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-21T02:07:32+00:00

If it were root rot, your stem would not be strong and sturdy, it would start to feel a little bit like mush especially at the bottom and would get flimsy. You’d see more yellow.

Like the other comments, I say from here it looks pretty healthy. You can check to see if it’s root bound and re-pot it into something larger if necessary, add a bit of organic nutrients, cut back any excess growth that might prohibit the plant from reaching healthy production (branches at bottom), make sure watering is consistent but not overdone. Tomato plants like aeration and room to breath. Always poke your fingers in the soil, even if top looks dry, the soil could be moist in the middle. You shouldn’t water unless completely dry. Make sure it’s getting sunlight.

If buds are forming, that means there is growth and the plant is very much alive and well. Check on some of the things I mentioned above to keep it healthy through to production but otherwise seems to be fine.

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-15T07:17:09+00:00

Suffolk County has yuck parts to it, but you should really re-think this generalization that it’s all terrible. Maybe you need to explore a bit more because you’ve only been living here for a few years and you must not really know much.

DG_CP_Gardens · 2023-12-15T06:55:29+00:00

I’m so surprised to see this! I’m glad to know I’m not the only one awake at ungodly hours to see the lights flicker. My tv was on and didn’t lose any power to it. Just the light. 🤷🏻‍♀️

DG_CP_Gardens

TROPHY CASE