Okay, so you've done the garden hobby for years and now you're thinking it might be time to make it a commercial venture. What kind of commercial gardening supplies might you need? For that, you need to know the answers to a few questions.

What Do You Plan On Growing And Where?

Do you have a farm already? Are you not planning to buy farmland, but rather grow indoors? Are you planning on growing mushrooms or orchids? Are you growing a variety? Or are you planning just to add a greenhouse and start your commercial venture on a smaller basis? There are a lot of questions that need to be answered to make your vision a reality. If you already grew something as a hobby and want to expand that, then the choices become clearer. However, if you are tempted to expand your choices, there are a few ways to gather that information.

Information sources for commercial gardening supplies:

* Books and literature
* Internet
* Farmers markets
* Other commercial growers
* Cooperatives

Books

There are a number of published works from square-foot gardening to hydroponics that are helpful in deciding what commercial growing method is right for you. If you are thinking of growing something you've never tried before, then a little armchair gardening might be in order.

Internet

The US Department of Agriculture has many different sections on their website for farmers or hobbyists. There's an entire section on organic gardening and sustainable agriculture. In addition, many websites selling commercial gardening supplies will give the appropriate usage and provide pictures online.

Farmers Markets

Nothing beats getting the information straight from the horse's mouth. If you go to your local farmer's market, you can get information straight from the growers. Tell them you are interested in doing your own setup and you want to know what they think is best to use in your area. They may even be able to tell you where you can locate the commercial gardening supplies locally and which suppliers have the best deals.

Other Commercial Growers

These people are a lot less apt to give you information on how to get you into a commercial operation. After all, they see you as competition. But, you can generally ask them about the differences between greenhouses and different types of growing systems and they may be eager to show off what they know.

Cooperatives

One can join agricultural supply cooperatives that would be a way to reduce costs and gather information from other members. In the United States, the Southern States cooperative provides fertilizers and farming commercial gardening supplies, among many other things.