2024 Plant Sale Updates

Creates and manages a budget for the plant sale

• Team: Julie Bechtold, Cheryl Brady, Kathy Passe, Diana Rankin

Engages volunteers for training and onboarding before the setup days/sale day

• Team: Brianna Gohde, Kay Wimer

Supports RCMG volunteers growing plants to donate to the sale, and tracks donated inventory.

• Team: Brianna Gohde, Diana Rankin, Emily Flagstad, Beth Fritcher, Beth Jackson, Carla Olson

• Tomatoes: Joe Baltrukonis, Jennifer Porwit, Laurel Watt

Chooses plants to purchase from wholesale vendors, manages delivery, and up-potting of plugs.

• Linda Minter, Mary Parenteau, Simba Blood, Emily Flagstad, Beth Fritcher, Sandy Law, Carla Olson

Chooses non-plant items to purchase from wholesale vendors and manages delivery.

• Team: Susie DeShon, Mindy Johnson, Carla Olson

Tracks all plant and non-plant inventory prior to sale and works with volunteer growers to confirm quality and number of plants

• Team: Brianna Gohde, Kristina Hughes, Beth Jackson

Works with Ramsey County groups that have a connection to RCMG and may share space during the sale event

Team: Julie Bechtold, Brianna Gohde

Focuses on preparing the sale venue, including parking plans, room layout & set-up, accepting plants from vendors & volunteers, and price tagging)

• Pricing Team: Linda Minter, Mary Parenteau

• Set-Up Team: Molly O’Rourke, Susie DeShon, Ann Wolfe, Judy Johnson, Gail Lee, Carla Olson

Manages volunteers and the venue on the day of the sale, including inventory restocking, cashier training, and answering shopper questions

• Team: Kristina Hughes, Carla Olson

Leads the end-of-sale clean-up of the venue, returns borrowed items, finds "homes" for leftover plants

• Team: Beth Jackson

Representatives from the Communications Committee, which promotes the event and increases awareness of the RCMG plant sale.

• Team: Nanette Boudreau, Julie Bechtold, Mindy Johnson, Jayme Neverton

Misc

• Brianna said the committee has to decide if we will have a plant donation campaign again. If so, the plant order for the campaign has to be included with the other orders.

• For credit/debit card purchases, Square sends a receipt to customers and there is an option in Square to include a survey. Brianna asked Nanette and Mary to figure out how that could be done.

• Brianna created a Plant Sale Task List in Excel. Each team lead can go to the team area on the spreadsheet to add tasks and check them off when they are complete.

Budget Team

• Current Status - On Budget

• Julie reported that based on receipts she has seen, approximately $2,021 has been spent to date.

• The final Aldrich payment is due April 18, 2024, along with a separate check for $2,000 for a cleaning deposit.

• She asked people to send receipts to her and Kathy Passe. The team will meet soon about forecasting income.

• Mary said her Washington County contact said they offer the same number of plants as the RCMG sale and 100 plant trays is sufficient. They plan to start out smaller and order more trays in the future if necessary.

• Julie said Darren ordered and paid for 10 floor-standing sign holders for directions, etc. She said 60 table top sign holders will be purchased and paid for from the Board's overall 2024 budget, with the cost split between the two types of signs.

Publicity Team

• Susan sent information about the plant sale to Northern Gardener. The magazine is now quarterly so there won’t be a print ad, but it will be in the online listings. Susan said Northern Gardener has gone away from posting community events, but we can appeal to the editor and possibly the plant sale could be listed.

• Nanette and Susan explained the cost and circulation for print and digital ads.

• Nanette said Jayme is finishing the flyer and the team will review it on Monday. Copies will be available at the next in-person meeting or members can print the flyer at home for distribution in their neighborhoods.

• Nanette asked everyone to send her the names of churches, community centers, etc. where she can send the flyer. Joe suggested sending the flyer to garden organizations, Master Naturalists, Master Water Stewards. Wild Ones, Garden Clubs, Hosta Society, Bonsai Society, etc. Building on Joe’s suggestion, Brianna said there’s a map of garden clubs and plant societies that we might be able to reach at this link: https://northerngardener.org/resource/gardening-groups/.

Plant Selection Team (Mary Parenteau)

• Linda reported that the team wants to complete the plant selection from vendors by Saturday, January 20.

• New Vendors: Windland Fields Nursery is a new vendor that was recommended by Hennepin County. They have some interesting perennials that are larger than plants from other vendors and they have good prices. Another vendor recommended by Hennepin County was Rush Creek, but they can't take on any more plant sale customers.

• Mary said that when setting prices in the past, we have tried to double what we pay per plant.

• After Linda and Mary verify the orders, the member pre-sale orders can be organized for pick-up that day and the plants for the sale can be taken inside the arena.

Non-Plant Selection Team (Susie DeShon)

• Susie reported that the team has spent $225 to date, so there might be an extra $85 that won’t be used.

• They have received some of the items that have been ordered and plan to order three additional items. Brianna said she made notecards with photos taken by members and she asked Susie to get people to bundle them in packages.

• Some members are also trying to make garden-related items to donate to the sale.

• Nanette agreed to let the team use her display stand again this year and she offered to help with labels for the non-plant items.

Grow Team (Brianna Gohde on behalf of Beth Fritcher)

• Brianna said Beth has been working on when to start the native plant seeds. Stratification will start soon (15-30 days). The seeds will be wrapped in coffee liners and put in the refrigerator and then we will have a planting day in February and people can take them home and grow them.

• The team hasn’t done anything with annuals and vegetables. Members will be asked to grow things and Brianna asked Carla to recommend plants that will sell well. She also asked Mary and Linda for recommendations based on what they aren't purchasing from vendors. Mary said any plants that would be blooming at the time of the sale would be fabulous (marigolds, zinnias, etc.).

• The SUG for houseplants resulted in a few signups, so Brianna will re-send it.

• Joe and Jennifer decided on a proposed list of tomato varieties, but they want to let master gardeners choose to grow other varieties if they prefer. Brianna said she will create a SUG so people can indicate the number and variety of tomato plants they want to grow.

• Brianna reported that labels will be put on sticks with a short description that can be printed on the RCMG label printer. Growers will provide the information to generate the stickers.

• Molly asked that the instructions to growers include telling people to bring the plants fully watered and encourage a minimum number of plants (full flats). There are 18 3.5" pots in a flat and there are 10 fiber pots (for natives) per flat.

Inventory Management (Brianna Gohde)

• No updates this meeting

Partner Collaboration Team (Julie Bechtold)

• Julie reported that four groups have accepted invitations to host partner tables at the Plant Sale - U of M Extension RCMG Program (SUG will be sent out for shifts); U of M Soil Testing Laboratory (Tory Morris is a Ramsey County master gardener who works there and might be able to staff the table); Ramsey County Environmental Health/Public Health (this group funds Darren's position and they will display and take orders for compost bins and rain barrels); U of M Department of Forest Resources (volunteers from the department will staff the table).

• Molly asked if we are providing tables for the four groups. Julie said we will provide one table per group, but they will not have access to WiFi or electricity and will be located far away from the checkout area. Each group will bring a tablecloth, handouts, etc.

Volunteer Engagement/Education Team

• No updates this meeting
  

Pricing Team (Mary Parenteau, Linda Minter)

• No updates this meeting
  

Set-Up Team (Molly O'Rouke)

• Molly plans to schedule a tour of Aldrich Arena and invited others who are interested to join.

• She discussed the use of captains or co-captains by section, which is what Hennepin County does. She said it's a time commitment, but it's only Friday and Saturday. The captains will manage the volunteers to make sure the right things are being done at the right time. Brianna offered to share the names of people with specific plant experience with Molly.

• Molly asked the Plant Selection Team to let the Set-up Team know the number and type of plants ordered so that they can determine how many square feet of table space is needed.

• Molly said if possible, it would be great if the vendors can deliver plants Friday morning, except the vendor providing plants for the member pre-sale. She said the Set-up Team understands delivery timelines can’t always be controlled, but Friday deliveries would help with setting everything up. Linda said that the vendor deliveries are currently set up for Thursday morning.

• Molly said it would be great if we could have all volunteer-grown plants delivered on Friday morning so they can be priced and set up before the arena closes at 8:30 p.m.

Sale Day Team

• No updates this meeting
  

Clean-Up Team

• No updates this meeting

Budget Team

• Current Status - On Budget

Publicity Team

• Nanette said Jayme has been working on a poster/flyer and once that's done the team will start working on social media.

• Nanette has somebody working on the publicity spreadsheet close to the plant sale location, in addition to the Midway area we used in the past; and sending information to Northern Gardener. Use of the Aldrich Arena sign is part of our contract and they plan to put ads in newspapers and send it to churches, libraries, community centers, etc. Posters will be available at the February and March meetings so members can take them and post them around their communities.

• Nanette talked to the owner of Drago's Coffee Caravan food truck and he will be in the Aldrich Arena parking lot the morning of the sale to sell coffee and other beverages. Betsy will contact the owner of the food truck that offers apple cider donuts for sale at the Arboretum.

Plant Selection Team (Mary Parenteau)

• Mary said the Minnesota Native Landscape prices are the same as last year and the team plans to spend $2,500 this year. She sent the MNL plant list to Simba so she can start working on the order. Mary sent an email to the houseplant vendor and they will keep her informed when they figure out production. Mary asked if we can we send out a request for people to start houseplants, including Sansevieria-Snake Plants, Jade Plants, Spider Plants, African Violets, Money Plants, Aloe Plants and Succulents.

• Nanette said Carlin has a limited number of cases of 400 4” fiber pots for $57. These would work well for native up-potting, but noted the plants would need more attention and watering. We would need three cases to pot most of the natives. Brianna asked if we want to offer fiber pots to people who want to start houseplants. Mary will figure out how many 4" pots fit in a tray. The committee agreed we should order the fiber pots from Carlin.

• Mary said she also contacted Rush Creek Growers, but they are not taking on any new plant sale customers. An order was sent to Katie Knott and we also have hostas. Mary said they plan to place orders with Green Earth Growers and Glacial Ridge for the member pre-sale and for plants for the sale. Brianna asked Mary and Linda to provide her with a tentative plant list for the member pre-sale as soon as possible because she doesn’t have tech help this year. Nanette said a sale page can be built, but not go live. Diana offered to help. Julie will send Mary and Linda the budget for plants and plant materials.

Non-Plant Selection Team (Susie DeShon)

• Cheryl reported that Karen Randall offered to donate nature-related wood crafts to the 2024 Plant Sale if there is room available. Following the meeting, Susie talked to Karen and she will make bird houses specific to particular birds and include a QR reader code with a description.

• The committee agreed this and other crafts made by members would be a good addition to the sale. Susie would like a request to go out at the January meeting for members to make and donate garden-related craft items for the sale.

• Susie reported on non-plant inventory that was left after the 2023 sale, including Burt's Bees Hand Salve, garden journals, and plant ties. She is working on a donation of garden tags. She researched items that are available this year and the committee agreed that Susie should order two dozen Children’s Insect Gloves ($2.50 each) and two dozen Children's Hand Rakes ($2.35 each). Susie will look for other children’s items, including buckets and shovels, and will order weatherproof pens and plant ties.

• Julie noted that the budget for non-plant items is $450 and she will send a copy to Susie.

Grow Team (Beth Fritcher)

• Beth reported that she and Brianna talked about native seeds. They are working with Simba on stratification to understand how long it will take the plants to get to 3-4" so they are saleable. The SUG is for people to volunteer to take care of flats after the native seeds are started.

• Jennifer said she collected a lot of native seeds to donate. Brianna said this is a new experiment and we have the seeds we need. Beth said the White Bear Lake Seed Library would welcome the seeds and Joe suggested Tina Frederickson might also be interested.

• Joe and Jennifer are determining the varieties of tomato plants that will be offered at the sale. They suggested growing Geranium Kiss tomato to hand out to kids at the sale.

• A subcommittee will meet to develop a plan for labels for the 2024 Plant Sale. Jayme, Mary, Kristina, Brianna, Joe and Jennifer volunteered to work on this project.

Inventory Management (Brianna Gohde)

• Mary and Linda will provide the inventory after the plants are ordered and the team will draft plans for different categories – natives, tomatoes, etc.

Partner Collaboration Team (Julie Bechtold)

• Julie and Brianna have discussed potential Ramsey County plant sale partners with a connection to RCMG that might be invited to host a table at the plant sale. In response to Beth, Julie said the Lawns to Legumes program is on the list. Susan asked if RCMG projects are being considered and Julie said she plans to reach out to our youth projects.

• Julie will set up a joint meeting of the Partner Collaboration and Set-Up Teams to discuss the number of partners to invite, available space, etc. When deciding how many partners to invite, Cheryl asked the teams to first make sure there is room for enough tables for the plants and non-plant items that will be sold at the sale, along with sufficient space for wide aisles and the tally and cashier areas. She also noted that the partners will not be allowed to sell anything at the plant sale.

Volunteer Engagement/Education Team

• No updates this meeting

Pricing Team (Mary Parenteau, Linda Minter)

• No updates this meeting

Set-Up Team (Molly O'Rouke)

• Molly has started to gather information about the set-up process at previous plant sales. She plans to connect with the set-up coordinator for the HCMG plant sale. She said the team will figure out how many tables we need for plants and non-plant items so they can determine the number of partners we can invite to host a table. She agreed with the idea of starting small in 2024.

• Gail said the team will need to know the number of plants we will be selling and the measurements of Aldrich Arena so she can draw the set-up plan. The floor space at Aldrich Arena is 200’ x 85'.

Sale Day Team

• No updates this meeting

Clean-Up Team

• No updates this meeting

Misc

• RCMG and HCMG members who have worked on past plant sales met at the end of October. It was a very productive meeting and many ideas were shared.

Inventory

• Plants

  • Mary reported that the order form came in from Katie Knott. Sandy Law is going to review it and the plan is to double the order. The team also plans to order plants from Glacial Ridge (natives and bedding plants), Minnesota Native Landscape (no increase in amount ordered) and Ramsey County Corrections (bedding plants).

  • Brianna said we need to scale up our percentage of natives from both vendors. She also said we have native seeds that have to be stratified in November and Emily and Beth will help with natives.

  • Brianna asked if the team can also look for some cool houseplants. Nanette said HCMG just had a houseplant sale so we can ask them for suggestions. Diana suggested Fancy Plants Plantmongers in NE Minneapolis as a possible vendor. She will also get the name of a succulent grower in Pine County.

  • Brianna asked about offering ground cover plants for sale. Mary said we might be able to sell a few and Diana noted they don't sell at Bachman's.

Grow Team

• Hoop House

  • If the Barn Garden Committee doesn’t start planting until the end of May, we can set up a portable hoop house in that area to house additional temperate (native) plants.
    

• Volunteer Plant Donations

  • No plants from gardens will be accepted this year because of jumping worms per RCMG Board decision at October meeting.

  • Gail suggested creating a “grow guide” outlining all of the requirements and expectations. Diana offered to share a list of seeds that start early with Brianna so she can send out an invite to members to start those seeds.

  • Beth Jackson offered to send follow-up emails to growers.

  • Joe and Jennifer have been sorting their seeds and are working on a list of varieties and characteristics of tomatoes so people have an idea of what the seeds are.They have 200 envelopes to give away and Joe will send a spreadsheet to Cheryl and Brianna.

  • Brianna said we have check-in sheets from last year, so we have information about approximately 90 percent of what was grown.
    

Set-Up/Clean-Up

• The committee discussed creating a map of Aldrich Arena to give to customers when they are waiting to enter the sale. Nanette noted that HCMG uses color-coded tablecloths.

• Brianna talked about creating a customer survey – first time shopper, satisfaction, etc.

• Aldrich Arena pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/cAU1PUJsJ8qsMxW39

Volunteer Engagement

• Beth Jackson suggested assigning a volunteer to stand at the exit to thank customers for coming to the sale.

Publicity

• Nanette reported that the team is changing the marketing plan for 2024. They plant to use vintage photos and silly catchphrases related to plants.

• The Save the Date post is on the RCMG website: https://www.ramseymastergardeners.org/event-details/2024-spring-plant-sale-ramsey-county-master-gardener-volunteer-program

General

Cheryl Brady (Plant Sale Committee Chair) welcomed the Plant Sale Committee members to the meeting and thanked everyone for their willingness to work on the 2024 Plant Sale. Subcommittee Teams were discussed and assigned. (See above)

Inventory

• Plants

  • The committee discussed offering more plants for sale because there is more room at Aldrich Arena. Molly and Diana suggested being cautious about offering too many additional plants the first year due to differences in set-up and we don’t know how many customers will come to the new location. Nanette noted wider aisles and vendor tables for Ramsey County programs will also take up some of the additional space.

  • The committee talked about ways to track the types of plants customers want, including giving volunteers a written list of what plants are in the area that they are assigned and asking them to check off varieties that sold out quickly;

Grow Team

• Volunteer Plant Donations

  • We should not offer more than 50 varieties of tomatoes, including varieties that are compact and bear over a long period of time.

  • We also need more sweet peppers.

  • Joe will share a PowerPoint with Brianna on starting cuttings and said it’s not too late for coleus and some other plants. NOTE: Diana said it’s important to make sure plants we’re cutting aren’t patented.

  • For seed grown plants, Diana and Brianna said if you buy the seeds, the seller has already paid for the rights to package and sell the seeds.

Set-Up/Clean-Up

• Dianna suggested grouping plants during setup (annuals for containers, dry/shade, moist/shade, hot/sun).

• Simba said we could create a spreadsheet with information on available plants and Ann - popsicle sticks/colors designate

Volunteer Engagement

• Mary said Darren suggested having volunteers assigned to each section in advance so they know what plants are being sold and have time to do research about the plants, etc.

• The committee talked about requests to allow 1st shift volunteers to shop before the sale opens. It was the consensus that we cannot allow any members to shop before the sale.

Publicity

• Ideas for children – Activity table and tomato plants.

• Nanette asked committee members to send her names of churches, coffee shops, stores, etc. in their areas so her team can send emails asking ask them to share our flyers

Post-Meeting Information/Activities

• The Budget Team met to prepare a proposed budget for the 2024 Plant Sale. Julie and Cheryl presented the proposed budget to the Board at its October 10, 2023 meeting. After the meeting, the team met again to make minor adjustments and the budget will be presented to the Board for approval in January.

• Linda suggested adding a volunteer opportunity for 2 or 3 proxy shoppers who will shop and purchase plants for the 1st shift volunteers alongside the public. This will keep the volunteers focused on helping with the sale, but gives reassurance to our 1st-shifters that they will get at least some of what might be on their "wish list" of plants from the sale. The key point is that the proxy shoppers are shopping only for 1st shift volunteers. If other members of the RCMG community want plants from the sale, they must come in person to the sale.

• In early October, Darren offered a Cement Leaf Casting volunteer opportunity. Volunteers were able to take a leaf casting home, in addition to making leaf casts for sale at the plant sale.

• Brianna and Cheryl met to discuss how to handle labels for the 2024 Plant Sale. A team from the Plant Sale Committee, including someone from Mar/Com, will be asked to propose a design based on some guidelines that were discussed.

• Diana shared the following links to databases on patented plants

  • Plant Patents Image Database | Digital Collections @ University of Maryland Libraries (umd.edu)

  • Customer – Grower Agreements and Patented Plants List | Proven Winners