Making a living running a nursary or farm etc

 

All,

    I am interested in getting out of the IT corporate rat race that
I'm currently up to my neck in and doing something completely life
changing:)

As my username suggested I have become a Gardening convert so much so
that I have a desire to make a living out of it and get out of the
office and away from the PC and corporate S**t that I have to deal with
on a daily basis.

The main problem is that I do earn a pretty good wage in IT and that
has to currently support my wife, 2 children and the Cat.

Is there really a living to be made in horticulture or am I stuck with
the IT corporate hell that I suffer at the moment.

I'd rather shovel S**t for the flowers , fruit and veg where it does
some good rather than shovel it at work !!

Would I need to re-train or could I jump straight into something ?

I would look to move away from Berkshire going further south , is there
any particular areas that would be advantageous for this sort of move ?

 

On 6 Mar 2006 07:47:02 -0800, "Gardening_Convert"


There lies your problem. You can make a living in horticulture but you
are not going to get anything like the income you get from IT. If you
want to get out of the rat race then you are going to have to
surrender the toys and perks of the rat race.

 

On 6/3/06 15:47, in article
1141660022.705190.21000@e56g2000cwe.googlegroups.com, "Gardening_Convert"


There is a living to be made but it's not going to be the sort of money
you're making now, I would think and certainly not at the beginning.

You can't do it without experience and training of some sort, IMO.  And
without wishing to dampen your ardour, there are a LOT of small nurseries
closing down in the current economic climate and there are more than a few
very large garden centre chains in trouble - some of them in very BIG
trouble.  And I very seriously doubt you'd make the sort of money you're
making now, so you have a hard choice to make - current lifestyle or some
big financial cutbacks of a personal nature.
I don't know if this is a practical choice for you but could you work part
time in IT and part time at a nursery learning about the trade?  And I do
mean a nursery, not a garden centre.
The other thing to think about, IMO, is that turning a hobby into a job
isn't always a great idea.  You might not enjoy it as much if you *have* to
do it to put the food on the table.  And early morning starts outside,
watering on summer days, are lovely, the same on cold winter mornings is
another game altogether.  While working in a nursery is certainly working
with plants, it's not at all the same as gardening and often doesn't leave
much time for it, either!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(sacha@garden506.fsnet.co.uk)

 



  Take a look at advertised job vacancies in the trade press  to see
what fully trained, qualified, experienced, full time, professional
gardeners get  paid by large prestigious gardens open to the public.

Self-employed get a better hourly rate but take into account  their
actual paid hours per year are limited by season,  health, adverse
weather, time spent travelling between jobs etc.

 
  Janet

  .
  

 


Can you live on around £14K per year?
Lots of first class nurseries and gardens in your area.
We desperately need motivated trained or trainable people in all
branches of horticulture but low wages and poor street cred render it
difficult to attract and retain people.
I'm increasingly finding late starters more useful than the products
of the colleges.
You need work experience, that's not difficult to get if you can
stomach the low pay. You need training, training and more training -
less easy to come by. Colleges in general are not up to the mark with
a very few honourable exceptions that have managed to maintain or
improve their standards over the years. RHS qualifications can be done
part time and they have the merit of being externally examined so they
are worth the paper they're written on. There's not really enough good
practical work even in those courses so you need to find an employer
who regards you well enough to help and encourage you with practical
work and professional short courses. your IT skills will be useful to
many employers. If you get the right boss, keep asking questions,
questions,questions............
If a rewarding career means more to you than money it's the best job
in the world.
BTW my SIL would like my job - and he could do it but he's a lawyer
and he can't find anybody in horticulture to pay him £100 an hour.
If you have capital to do something on your own, still get some
training and experience first, though self employment is a great
motivator for climbing a steeper than normal learning curve.
--
Rod

My real address is rodtheweedygardeneratmyweedyisp
Just remove the weedy bits
and transplant the appropriate symbol at.