I want to sell dried herbs in my little farm store. I already sell my greeting cards and prints; homemade jellies; homemade goatmilk soap; lap quilts; vintage aprons; and whatever else is growing on the farm right then....but I haven't sold any of my dried herbs before...
I know there is especially a demand for homegrown sage around here so I'm growing a lot of that...
Should I just place the dried herbs in ittle baggies and tell how many ounces it is??? I just need to know the best way to package this and the other herbs. THANKS!
You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt!
I don't sell herbs, but I do have a great book, "The Pleasure of Herbs," that has great information about growing and packaging herbs. You might want to check it out at the library...
I used to have a a little herb business on our farm. Mostly we sold decorative things, but sold a few food items like loose teas & dip mixes. I will tell you that for food grade items the packaging & labeling is pretty specific. You might have to be health department certified in your state to do so. I know it seems silly-you just want to sell a bit of sage! LOL
I would recommend that you instead consider selling dried bundles of herbs. It's OH SO EASY and much more popular anyway! Just pick your herbs & bundle them (prettily) with a rubber band (the bundles will shrink-the rubberband keeps things from slipping out). Hang the bundles in a clean, well ventilated area until crispy dry. You can cover the rubberband with raffia or some neat twine to make it look nice. To keep herbs from fading & dust free you can cover each bundle with a brown bag until you put it out for sale. We sold bundles from $3 to $15 depending on availability & size. These are marketed more as decorative than food grade.
OH! A neat trick we learned was to hang lengths of chain from your drying room ceiling-you then use a paper clip (unfolded) to secure the bundles though the links of the chain. We dried bundles from floor to ceiling this way! Sure was a space saver! Hope that helps! Rhonda
...and I will sing at the top of my lungs, and I will dance, even if I'm the only one!