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selling seeds

 
pollinator
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Currently I am selling herb plants online and offline. I am thinking of saving some of my own herb seeds maybe buying some and offer that as well.
Saving seeds for myself is one thing but what's the difference to offering a sellable quality? If the seeds are sold the same season do I have to test for germination - this is maybe not even possible with multicycle germinators! How do I make sure that they are perfectly dry? Then there is the cross pollination issues with herbs i.e different calendula strains or different yarrows. Can you give me some reading hints?
I could also buy some in bulk but there's a huge expense when I want to have a decent stock.
 
pollinator
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One thing to consider, first off, is legality.  Do you need a license to sell seeds?  Then determine whether or not you care, or whether or not the official folks do.

I'd think germination testing would be a requirement, whether or not it's dictated by law.  You wouldn't want to sell seeds that didn't germinate at a reasonable rate, at least not if you want to keep customers.

As for cross-pollination, there are options.  You might choose to physically isolate varieties with screens, bags/sacks, etc.  Or you might just rely on distance between varieties, though this tends to require either a rather large piece of property, or plants spread across multiple properties.

As for resources, most tend to focus on veggies, from what I've seen.  But I'd suggest the book Seed To Seed, for starters.  It seems more and more seed catalogues have this information, too.
 
Angelika Maier
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I don't think that there is a license necessary in Australia but I will ask google duck duck go. I sold some alexanders seeds from my own garden, all very fresh and the portions were ridiculous (sort of for the whole neighbourhood). I might wildcraft some herb seeds too, but then I have to look in what's a weed and not allowed to sell. I will certainly read something about it, my own seed saving effeorts so far were quite crude. I wonder about the space you need to dry and so on. HOw to make cleaning screens etc.
The beauty is that I already have a page were I sell plants so I can introduce one seed variety after the other and learn slowely.
 
pollinator
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well i have been working on building up to this same idea. i have been selling small amounts of seeds for a while, here and there.
it's true theres a big learning curve, and it is different than just learning about regular seed saving for yourself. i think just taking it one plant at a time is a good way to go, slowly gathering knowledge about each type that you want to sell. seeds of different plants all have their particular ways. some like to be kept moist, or frozen, for others that would be bad. some can be very dry and keep for 3-10 years, many are really best within a year or 2.

thats definitely an issue with seeds, especially if you want to sell them, they are only good for so long. you want to build up a stock on hand, but they will only be good for so long. if you have some larger perennials that can be great, cause you know you will always get more the next year.

theres some things i won't ever collect, carrots, brassicas are two examples. i have found that swiss chard and beets don't turn out to well either.
i do save some brassicas for myself sometimes, but since i like to grow so many types of brassicas the results vary a lot with how easily they cross pollinate.
unusual herbs are good, wildcrafted herbs are great, but first you will want to try them out yourself. some herbs are very hard to germinate and maybe you wouldnt want to sell them if it just leads to frustration, because they are very difficult to germinate.
theres definitely a lot of details to get to know, so one at a time is good. pick stuff you already like and want to grow and grow them out yourself first...

obviously theres the hybrid vs heirloom issue, most hybrids are not worth saving especially if your goal is to have something reliable for sale.

tomatoes are a good one to start with, perhaps. they almost always come out true to type unless you go out of your way to cross them.

i am interested in selling fruit tree seeds too. they are harder to find but there is interest in them. mostly plums and peaches.
 
leila hamaya
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as for drying and screens and all that, i am pretty low tech and dont have a lot of extra space but i make it work.
paper plates, coffee filters, recycled plastic lids to yogurt containers, etc. paper bags are great, and i also use a lot of small mesh organza bags to dry them.

the screens for separating out the seed from the chaff can be nice, but i usually just use tea strainers, or colanders and the like, over a bowl. i have ones with various size mesh holes for different sizes of seeds. its a long slow process to clean a large batch of seeds. there are some things which are easier, but most require considerable effort to get them all nice and clean. winnowing them takes a bit of time...blowing on a bowl of seeds so that all the chaff and not quite mature ones float away, but your solid best seeds stay on the bottom of the bowl....
 
Angelika Maier
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I'll definitively start with the bigger ones alexanders goat's rue etc..
 
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