Now that the general building design has been completed and the construction has started, it is time for the group to decide on and purchase the equipment and tools needed for green garden gates. In keeping with our goal to reduce, re-use and re-cycle, we will be looking for only essential tools necessary to conduct our business and search for those recycled tools in the area to purchase.
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Road vehicle.
We have already made our choice and purchased a type of company vehicle that will be the model for all green garden gates stores in our network (entry #55)
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Forklift
If a garden store owner had only the money for one piece of major equipment in the business, it needs to be a forklift. It is essential. The forklift will save hours of backbreaking labor and lots of employee wages.
There are a lot of used forklifts available anywhere in the
Here are some important features that are needed. First, it is best if it is propane powered. Yes, the gas fuel ones are good if the price is right, but propane is handy for re-fueling and does not cause exhaust or odors for indoor operation. Be sure that that you don’t get stuck with a forklift that has those little tires in the rear. You will be towing the thing out of loose sand and gravel all the time. We prefer the dual tires on the front of the forklift for better lifting power. Spend the money and get an automatic transmission for the forklift. It will save you lots of dollars not having to replace the clutch all the time. (Your employees burn out clutches at 700.00 a copy, you can count on it)
If you get the forklift where the forks adjust side to side and get into tight spaces, buy it. It is not necessary, but it is handy. And while you are at it, build a little removable plywood cover for the roof of the forklift. You will thank us for this tip with the rain comes down.
Now don’t spend your money on some big hulking forklift out of some shipyard. Remember, you are operating in tight low buildings. Those big berthas are not good. We believe that no other forklifting equipment is needed for a garden store other than an average lift, average power, medium sized used forklift.
Forklift Safety Cage
This cage is a must for forklift work. It is a safe way to get up to high places and eliminates the need for a huge dangerous ladder. We have purchase one for each store. You can usually find these used in the 200-500 dollar range. Buy one if you have a forklift
.toyotaforkliftsusa.com
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Skid Steer Loader
Some type of loader is essential for our bark loading operations, soil production, potting operations and moving large trees and shrubs that we sell. Our conversations with garden store owners have convinced us that a wise purchase for our stores is a medium duty skid steer.
We have chosen the Bobcat brand of wheeled skid steer. They are extremely versatile, easy to operate, can be fitted with many attachments, hold a very high re-sale value and are plentiful on the used market. We were able to buy this used low hours vehicle for under 15,000.00 including the attachments we need. Here are some important specifications that we highly recommend as well as features that are not necessarily needed. Like the forklift, avoid a huge bobcat. Remember the tight spots in a garden center.
Engine: Diesel
Horsepower: 45 or above
Operating Capacity: 1700 pounds or above
Tipping Load: 3800 pounds or above
Joystick Controls
Enclosed Cab Not needed
Suspension Seat Not needed
Cab Heater Not needed
Attachments Most Needed
A forklift attachment with a self leveler feature
Although fork lifting with a bobcat is a bit tricky, it can be of great help when a lot of shipments arrive at the same time in a larger garden store. The important feature to get is the self leveler. When the load is lowered from the truck, it stays even all the way down to the ground.
A boring attachment with several sized augers
In order to get the large trees into the display holes, the soil needs to be bored out. This attachment is very valuable for this work.
Buckets
We recommend two sizes of buckets, a half yard bucket and a full one yard bucket
Additional Loaders and attachments
Depending on the volume of business in our bark loading operations and the amount of material that is being loaded per customer, we may purchase, later, an additional larger capacity loader.
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Pallet Jack
Another indispensable tool for garden stores is the pallet jack. You will be lost without one. They have just a lot of uses during the retail day, unloading trucks, moving store inventory and re-locating shelves and counters. This is not a place to economize. Get a good one, able to handle a lot of weight with all steel construction, top notch hydraulics, and high quality easily replaceable wheels. Pallet jacks cost 200-400.00 a piece. (Often they are available used and an auction item in your local area) We have purchased two used pallet jacks for each of our stores. We see no reason to purchase the motorized style of pallet jack for our stores. They have limited uses and are not adaptable for the many chores a pallet jack must do in the retail garden store.
globalindustrial.com
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Golf Carts
We like used golf carts. They are plentiful on the market. They have lots of pulling power, the batteries re-charge quickly, they maneuver well around the garden store, they are easily maintained and repaired and they are quiet and comfortable to operate. Forget about all those fancy pieces of equipment like “gators” or even four wheelers. You can pick up a used golf cart for about 1500.00 a copy or less. There is an abundance of them in each area for sale.
We have purchased three golf carts for the store, each of them have rear seats for transporting disabled customers. The seats fold flat to carry supplies. We installed a rear hitch for trailers.
golfcarclassifieds.com
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Trailers
We have chosen to wait on purchasing a an enclosed road trailer for our company vehicle. In the early days, a trailer was necessary since many growers asked that the plants be picked up their greenhouses. Now, most growers will transport their plants to the store. However, if we find an outstanding grower in the area who does not have this ability, we will purchase a trailer to get the good stuff at this growers place of business.
The best trailers on the market for moving plants around the garden store are the old “Gleason” (the guy who invented them) flat trailers. They have large, self tracking, with air filled wheels which can maneuver around most any obstacle and are smooth to pull. They have a bed of almost indestructible meshed steel that drains water off. You can load three pallets of cans of nursery stock onto the trailer bed, hook several trailers to a golf cart and drive them to a display location, no problem. We recommend about the 48” wide and 10 feet long dimensions They aren’t cheap and hard to find used. They run about 1200.00 each new and we wished we had a dozen of them for each store. They can be hooked together in groups of four or five and easily pulled by a golf cart of forklift. Forget about buying the double deckered support rails or any sideboards, they just get in the way. We have purchased five new “Gleasons” for the store.
nurserytrailers.com/nursery_tracking_trailers.shtml
www.wellmaster.ca/
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Display Benches
We have all seen the butts in the air, the image of the “Bloomer Betty” lawn ornament, as our customer doubles over to the ground trying to pick up a pak of petunias or a one gallon bee balm?
“Consider the implications of what we call the butt-brush factor, the discomfort women feel when they are jostled from the rear when shopping. It indicates that women have an aversion to examining merchandise that’s displayed below the waist level, which takes quite a bit of American retailing’s selling space. You can’t ask a woman to bend over and expect that she’s going to feel comfortable for more than a moment or two. This isn’t limited to women, either. Nobody likes to bend over in a store. In fact, older women are probably more limber than their male counterparts.”
“Why We Buy”
by
We want our customers to view and choose small plants, flowers and shrubs from a convenient height, using benches and raised display pieces. We have observed successful nurseries raise these plants from ground level which dramatically increases those sales.
The display benches are a significant money outlay for each of our green garden gates. The goal is to use one bench design and one major manufacturer in order to duplicate for all of our stores.
Our requirements for the benches are:
They are uniform in sizes, height, materials and look
They are lightweight for moving and storing
They are simple in design and function
They hold a large amount of weight without bending or breaking
They are safe, free from sharp edges or other obstructions
They are economical
They are free of excessive maintanence and can be easily repared.
We like the aluminum framed benches with the steel meshed tops. They have a number of supports that keep the meshed steel fabric from bending under weight. The legs are detached from the tops for easy storing and moving. The new models lock into one another when combining benches keeping them sturdy from wobbling. The rough edges are protected with rubber snap on coverings. The benches are delivered pre-punched for easy set-up. They are galvanized to prevent rust. and they are extremely light weight and economical
We have purchased 150 tables, 75 of them used, for each store, in lengths of 8-10-12 feet and a width of 4 feet. Some of these bench styles come with wheels on the legs. We see absolutey no reason for this extra purchase. Normally rolling a bench through a garden store is impossible. The total cost outlay for the benches are 75 used tables at 30.00 each plus freight and 75 new tables at 200.00 each for a grand total of 17,250.00.
We took a hard look at having constructed locally wood frames, a meshed top and concrete blocks for support. Our conclusion was that, although the cost was much less, there would be constant maintenance issues with them. Also, they would have no re-sale value. In addition, we want a professional look to our stores that these hand made wooden benches could not provide.
These benches are often available used from greenhouse auctions and out of business sales. The problem is freighting them to the store. As we expand our store network, we will be able to make those purchases and other store items for future store development. For now, we try not to purchase used benches and other larger equipment farther than 300 miles from the store.
Here are two sample companies to get started on these benches.
greenhousemegastore.com
wellmaster.ca
We like these two additions to the benches.
A hex table.
It is strong and sturdy, made of galvinized steel and steel mesh, with legs that disassemble and bolt tightly into place. This unit can be configured to a complete or one-half table as desired. We have purchased fifteen of these tables
A stair step display table 
It can be moved and positioned easily and holds lots of weight. We have purchased twenty of these steel stair steps for the store.
wellmaster.ca
While we are on the display fixtures for plants, here is a cheap and neat way to display small pots of annual basket vines. 
Use plastic white rain gutters, attach them to posts for support with a bolt and a large washer and drill holes in the bottom of the gutter for drainage.
You can pack a lot of vines in these displays, they never get tangled and they are easy to shop.
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Roller Greenhouse Carts
Retail garden centers just cannot get enough of these rolling greenhouse transport carts. They are invaluable for quick loading, unloading and display. They are strong, capable of being pulled by a golf cart and even fork lifted completely loaded with heavy plants. They break down and store easily (which never happens).
We have purchased twenty new carts for each garden center. We would buy them used if we could find them, but they are difficult to get used.
Here are some tips in what to look for in these transport carts.
Buy the narrow ones,
about 2 feet wide by 8 feet long by about 6 feet high.
Never, never buy the big square 4 feet by 4 feet carts. They are a bear to move and position.
Buy solid shelving for the carts
not the meshed shelving
Get the shelves that slide into place rather than hook into holes in the supports.
It takes a brain surgeon to figure out how to get the shelves in, locked and leveled
Get the best high quality wheels available.
Look for the best wheels. You might have to buy from another company and install them. The effort in pushing bad wheels will kill you
Get the assembly with the wheels that turn only on one end.
A lot of these carts are set up for all the wheels to turn freely and that is a pain to maneuver and position
Get the locking mechanisms on at least two of the wheels.
That way, you won’t have to carry a pocket full of little rocks to keep the cart from rolling
wellmaster.ca
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