In late year , more agriculturist have commence preserve their own seeds , or even sell seeds on a commercial-grade scale . Here ’s how to consider about whether saving seeds for sales agreement could be a good burst for your farm .
Why Sell Seeds?
Selling germ can be quite lucrative and further diversify your farm ’s income streams . There are also other advantage .
If you have enough of them , you may use the seeds you ’ve saved to mature your vegetable crop . This allows you to adapt authoritative diversity to your own alone growing conditions and methods .
It also makes your farm a bit more self - sufficient . At the beginning of the pandemic , for instance , come were difficult to derive by , even for professional growers .
show more : need to salvage tomato seeds ? There ’s a cognitive process , but you’re able to do it !
Know the Basics
Seed saving is a complex scientific discipline , so if you ’re not an experient seeded player - saver , begin by familiarise yourself with the best - practices .
There are many good seed - saving usher on the market , but few of them deal with the scale or equipment needed to save seeds on a commercial scurf . One of the best resources for would - be professional grower isThe Organic Seed Growerby John Navazio .
But even seed - save guides geared towards dwelling house - gardener will render you with a substantial apprehension of the fundamental frequency , so do n’t devolve them by entirely .
Select a Market
Before deciding which crops to produce , figure out how you contrive to sell your seed crop . Is there a small seed society nearby already selling some local varieties ? If so , a good first step might be get hold of out to see if they ’re looking for any contract growers .
A common arrangement in the seed - saving world is for bombastic seller to contract with grower , each of whom get a few dissimilar cum crops .
or else , you may betray your seeds yourself . If you already have customers coming by your farm to pluck up CSAs or frequent a farmstand , moot create and selling your own seed packet .
You could also reach out to some local businesses to see if they might be willing to allow you set up a rack of seeds by their register . Hardware storehouse and nurseries are a proficient place to begin . If you do decide to sell your seeds yourself , make certain your germ packet publicize that the seeds were grown topically .
Read more : Seed Savers are leading the plant preservation movement .
Select Your Seed Crops
Selecting which seed crops to grow requires consideration of several variable , so take your fourth dimension get the determination . Some of the fundamental variables to consider include :
Space Requirements
How much place would it take to grow out a profitable seed crop from a certain vegetable ? Some vegetable need to be grow a certain distance away from other sort or harvest in the same family to prevent cross - pollination , so explore this in advance .
Market Interest
Are there specific seeds that might be of particular interestingness in your community ? Many multitude might be drawn to regional , heirloom varieties , for instance .
Special Equipment
Some come crop ask special equipment for harvest or processing , so verify to research any requirements like this up front .
Money
As with anything else , some seeds are worth more than others , so inquiry which ones you might be most profitable for your farm .
Selling seeds on a small scale can be a smashing elbow room to broaden your farm ’s sales and can benefit your procedure in other slipway as well .
