herbnet

I’ve spent much of the past year in the blahs.   A lot of reasons, I’m sure.  In a new house (that I love) but it’s still not “home” like the one I lived in for 14 years alone was.  I’m in that middle age muck where you wonder whether what you’ve been doing for over 20 years is still what I want to be doing or do I want to sell everything, leave the cats at my sister’s and join the Peace Corps or move to China.  We’ve all been there at some point.  Or will be if you haven’t had the joyful experience yet. 
         But a realization came to me this morning of why I wasn’t moving through the muck as easily as I usually do.  I had stopped bringing something new, spiritual, motivational into my life and when that stopped, my creativity went as well.   At the old house I had my “room”.  Actually I had an entire large house to myself, but this particular room was my haven.  The shelves were lined with books that had made a difference to me or looked as if they could become part of that collection.  There were decks of cards I had used to inspire me…..hate to use the phrase tarot cards because many were really more than that….perhaps inspirational cards would be a better term.  There were items that friends had added to the room…..a smudge dish and feather from Tina…a Tibetan Prayer Wheel from Diane….a beautiful framed print of Grandmother Moon I’d fallen in love with as I sat in a booth at a trade show next to the artist…and a very comfortable chair.  I’d sit and read almost every morning for a time…..sometimes 10 minutes….sometimes 30.  But I read something that made me think and feel and start those creative juices flowing. 
           It was never herb books or website design books or anything to do with business.  I got those read in the evening or as needed during the day.  These were books where the author shared wisdom…..”The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron….anything by Sark like “Succulent Wild Women”, Wayne Dyer’s latest inspiration.  Books like this inspired me to scramble up to my office and do something I felt passionate about….herbs and the people that were trying to make a business working with something they were passionate about as well. 
            And the new house didn’t have that cozy warm room where I could find that inspiration.  So over the past couple weeks I thought I’d try to recreate that space.  Not to look like the old room, but something that fit into who and where I am now.  I purchased an incredible chair that was big and roomy where I could put my feet up.  I lined the walls with a set of prints of the four seasons I found in China that brought me to tears.  There was a different bookcase, a good light, lots of windows and a return of the cats which hadn’t spent much time in the room before.  And after a few days, voila, my mind started seeing possibilities again.   “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert was devoured.  I’m now in the middle of “Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion” and have every other page turned down because there’s so much I know I’ll want to refer back later to.  (How I screen books later to pass on…..if the book isn’t dog-eared, it didn’t work for me.)
            So if you’re in a malaise right now and you need a lift, create that sacred spot where you can be alone with your thoughts and read only what makes you think and laugh and cry.  It will help you “Make Your Creative Dreams Real” (another wonderful book by SARK.

There are many options in growing herbs.  You can grow for the culinary market.  This includes selling to restaurants or farmers markets.  It also includes growing for manufacturers.  And there’s money to be made in all three markets.  If you’re just getting started, farmers markets can be your best test market.  If you purchased Sandie Shores’ book that I mentioned in the previous post, you’ll have a good solid start.  To be wildly successful in a market as well as selling to chefs, you really do need to love people and love showing them how your quality material will enhance their lives.  Any great business person is a bit of a show man.  If you’re walking along the rows of a market and you have your choice of visiting a booth where the salesperson looks bored and tired or visiting one where the owner is laughing and giving samples to their customers, where would you go?  I personally go to the vendor that seems enthusiastic over their goods.  I want to see what’s so great.  If you’re one of those people that would rather dig in the dirt than ever talk to a customer, you best be finding yourself a partner, spouse, sister or friend that feels differently.  Passion and enthusiasm is the most important part of sales.  I don’t care how much you “feel” it internally, if it doesn’t come across to the customer, it won’t work.   
             Growing for a farmers market gives you the opportunity to try various herbs and how they’re accepted by buyers.  It’s a way to introduce new ideas into your community.   Successful vendors have given samples of something made with the exotic herbs and even recipes.  If you’re consistent with your recipes you can even come up with a booklet that can be sold at the market along with your herbs.  You can add potted versions of what you’re offering in the spring and bring up your sales even more.  This is a great way to get your feet wet in herb growing without a tremendous investment in land and labor.   At one of my local markets there are probably 10-15 produce stands.  Most are small but their produce is so outstanding that many pass up the mega-vendors to buy from them.  And my special favorite is a young man whose products are organic and even though his selection is limited, it looks (and tastes) so luscious that he always has a line waiting to buy.  
         To get started, pick a selection of herbs to grow for the market.   Start with a good assortment of between 10 and 20 herbs.  Pick ones you’re in love with yourself and try some others you think your locale will support.    You’ll need to have a good seed source (or plugs….small plants that have already started to grow).  Look for sources that are reputable.  Many growers choose Johnny’s (www.johnnyseeds.com), a good source if you’re on the west coast is Wood Violet Herb Farm (email herb.farm@yahoo.com). Richters (www.richters.com) and Companion Plants (www.companionplants) are other excellent sources.  Get all the growing information you can find on your choices and get a notebook started.  Every good grower I know keeps a diary of their work.   Details include what seeds and their sources they choose.  If there’s a lot number on the seed package, record it.   When each type is planted and conditions (weather, soil, etc) on the day the seeds/plants put in the ground, amount of rain or water, fertilizer or other additions, growth rate….these should all be recorded religiously.  This recording provides so much information you’ll be grateful for not only later that year but in future years when you’re trying to remember whose seeds didn’t produce or what you did that made the basil especially flavorful. 
               

I get several emails a week from those wanting to grow herbs commercially.  The comment usually is: “tell me everything there is about commercial production in 50 words or less, preferably giving all the names of businesses that will buy the herbs after I grow them.”  Excuse me?  Everything about growing “herbs” (that big vague term)?   If I had that magic formula I’d be sipping drinks down in Costa Rica reading blogs and not writing them. 
              There is so much to consider in growing herbs commercially.   First, you need to have that magic business plan.  For some reason, many people think that farming (and that’s really what commercial herb production is all about) is not like any other business.   You just DO IT.   When you start dealing with Mother Nature and her whims, you’re even more in need of planning than other indoor ventures.  To make this even more clear: Herb Farming is NOT herb gardening.  I don’t care how much you love plants and that your garden thrives, the only similarily between herb gardening and herb farming is that you have your hands in the dirt.
             The first thing to consider is why you’re doing it.  Are you making your own products and need a “purer” source for the materials?  Did you recently inherit a few acres and think you’ll grow something quick and easy that pharmaceutical companies will magically hear about and beat a path to your door?   Have you been growing more traditional crops (corn, tobacco, soy beans) and feel herbs would be a better investment of your time and land?  Or are you just tired of that nine-to-five job and think that herb farming HAS to be easier than what you’re doing now?  (I said “easy” not “more fulfilling”….that’s a given probably).  Tomorrow we’ll discuss the serious thinking that has to be done before you possibly dig a bigger hole than you intend.  
        I’ll try each day to give you a resource that may help you in your decision.  We’ll start with growing herbs, but it will expand into categories as well.   Today’s recommendation for those that want to get into growing and marketing Culinary Herbs:   “Growing and Selling Fresh-Cut Herbs” by Sandie Shores (available at www.freshcutherbs.com )   There is no better or more complete information on the subject by a woman that’s done it for more years than she cares to admit.  It’s worth every dime you spend and filled with detailed information on the subject. 

I was surfing around last night and came across a couple blogs that were talking about an herb business as a big money-maker.  Wrong!  It’s an old joke among long time herb companies that the only way you’ll make $100,000 selling herbs is that you spent $200,000 to do it.  That’s not quite the case but it often feels like it.  For example, you’re a great field grower of herbs.  You’ve been at it a while.  You’re doing pretty well.  You get a really big order from a large wreath making company for thousands of pounds of silver king and you put in 13 acres of the crop.  This should be a no-brainer: easy to grow, no pests, no diseases.  But this year there’s a drought.  And here’s a plant that never gets any pests and you find out the hard way that when silver king is really stressed by drought you can get scale.  :-(    So there’s a large chunk lost.
        Then you harvest what you’ve been able to save and that drought turned into two weeks of rain and high humidity and the workers just pack in all that silver king close together in your barn to dry.  Wow, few weeks later when you start to pack up your crop for that big order, you find you now have mold over a large amount that didn’t have ample air circulation.   A few thousand more dollars disappear.  
        So why does that farmer continue to grow the next year after such a big loss?  Because he loves farming.  And he loves working with herbs and flowers.  And he did sit down and re-evaluate next year’s crop plantings.   No more depending on one or two big orders. 
        And that’s the reason you get into an herb business, you’re passionate about not only the results but the process.  Yes, I do know people that make a “fortune”.   They are few and far between and even for them it varies each year because it’s a guessing game as to what will be in demand. But that’s the way it is with all businesses.   Entrepreneurs enjoy the game.   They enjoy dealing with a product they truly believe in.  It’s what’s kept many herb businesses working from decade to decade even though no fortune has been made.  But they do make a living.  They love what they do.   They usually wake up with a smile believing they’ll help someone with their products.   And in today’s world, that’s a lot better than most people have it.

An herb business (actually any business) is always in transition.  What was really hot last year, no one thinks twice about this year.  Only a few short years ago everyone was growing goldenseal because it was endangered and prices were ridiculously high.  Various associations around the country pushed it as the best thing to get into.  Now goldenseal isn’t the fastest crop around…..takes 5-7 years for it to produce in fact.  But the thought of $50-$75 a lb wholesale prices was exciting and so they planted….and planted…and planted.  And when crops came ready to harvest it shouldn’t have been much of a surprise that the prices had radically dropped because supply was great and the need?  Well, in the meantime, many herbalists found that other herbs did pretty much the same job as goldenseal for a much better price.
             What does this teach you?   If everyone’s jumping on the bandwagon, it’s already past being a great idea.  Be the one that finds the next big thing instead of latching on to everyone else’s coat tails.  If you sign up for google alerts and read up on research, join associations and read what they send you, keep track of certain websites that report new ideas, you could be one of those that actually do make a decent profit on the next trend because you knew it was hot before everyone else did.
               Just an idea to consider as you work on your herbal business.

In talking to a friend yesterday we recalled when we first got our herb businesses started.  For both of us it was the early 80s.  We were passionate about herbs.  There were so few resources and when we found one, the high lasted for weeks.  There were “names” back then in the industry: Adelma Simmons, Bertha Reppert, Madeline Hill, Jeannie Rose, Betsy Williams, Emelie Tolley, the Sasos, to name a few.  Most had written books.  Many had a physical location which one could make a pilgrimage to and learn at their feet.  They’d occasionally speak at a gardening event and we’d travel across five states to see them.  It was wonderful.  It was a passion we shared with hundreds of others.
           Unfortunately for herbal enthusiasts today, it’s not the same.  Society has made “passions” difficult.  Now “herbal odysseys” to a string of herb businesses is halted by gas prices and the fact that many herb businesses are now strictly online.  Publishing changes have made successful herb books a thing of the past, so we don’t have the inspirational authors of the past.  With scheduling conflicts, there are few conferences and those that attempt to schedule one find lack of support.  And much as I’m addicted to the Internet for searching as anyone, I really do miss the pressing of flesh in the halls between sessions at a physical event, tromping through a weed walk with other herb folk, laughingly remembering the banquet back in 96 when we danced half the night to a great band at the conference in Albuquerque.  Will we ever see that passion for our herb businesses again? :)    

What herbnet is about is really a forum for those that are in the business of herbs….problems we face, information we need, how to sell products.  In the days to come, I’ll give hints and tips on making your herbal business profitable and hope others will make contributions as well