tiptoe through the tulips ... profitably!

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BY BETTY BRINHART

THE TULIP BULBS YOU SEE ON THE
OPPOSITE PAGE. ARE JUST AS GOOD AS
MONEY IN THE BANK TO THE FOLKS WHO
GREW THEM . . .AND BETTY BRINHART SAYS
THAT RAISING THE FLOWERS CAN BE AN
IDEAL MINI-BUSINESS FOR FARMSTEADERS
AND BACK-TO-THE-EARTH PEOPLE E.

Green thumbers who want to start a small business on a shoestring might be well advised to try growing tulips for profit. The market for bulbs is far from saturated and—contrary to popular belief—the colorful, hardy plants grow as well in this country as in Holland when planted in an organically enriched soil.

There are more ways to make money growing tulips than you might have imagined, too. You can sell bulblets and flowering-sized bulbs in the fall and potted, "forced" flowering tulips find a ready market around Easter. The rest of spring and summer (especially around Mother's Day) you can supply fresh-cut flowers to florists, greenhouses and individuals. I even pick up welcome extra dollars by selling articles about and photographs of my tulips . . . and find that garden clubs and schools will often pay for lectures and slide shows about raising the flowers.

My husband, Jay, and I fell into the part-time tulip business here in West Hatfield, Massachusetts by accident nearly 20 years ago when a magazine editor asked me to do an arficle on the flowers. At that time I intended to grow tulip bulbs for just one year as research for the piece . . . little realizing that I'd wind up with a delightful spare-time enterprise that still nets me almost $1,000 a year, and which could produce a cash flow at least three times that any time we choose! I'm sure, with just a little help, you can do as well.

HOW TO START ON A SHOESTRING

If you intend to grow tulips on a commercial basis, I recommend you start with at least 100 bulbs each of three different colors (the most popular hues are white, pink, bright red, brilliant yellow and the soft pastel shades) of the Cottage, Darwin, Breeder, Single Early and Lily-Flowered varieties. These are sure sellers and will return your investment quickly. Later, as your new business begins to roll, you can add a wider selection for your customers to choose from.

The only trouble with this "minimum" start, of course, is that—small as it may eventually seem to you—it can be expensive in the beginning. One hundred bulbs each of three colors of five different varieties adds up to 125 dozen bulbs. At even a bargain $1.75 a dozen, that can run into money . . . unless you find a way around the problem, as Jay and I did.

We waited until late fall and approached the manager of our local garden shop. When we stated we'd be happy to take any unsold bulbs off his hands for a flat $5.00, he gladly agreed and loaded us down with 30 dozen assorted colors and varieties. We then cut costs further by passing up high-priced bulb food in favor of our own freshly made, 14-day compost.

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