Selling Herbs?

[ydolem11]

I have a spearmint plant that is multiplying WAY faster than I can use on my own. I started with 1 mint plant which I recently divided into 6 different pots, and have an additional 9 cloned plants that I started from cuttings off the original plant. I'm wondering if anyone has had any success in selling herbs before, and if so, where and how? I'm living in Honduras and there are plant nurseries, but I don't know if they would buy them, and I don't know of any online resources I can use (like craigslist) to sell them to individuals. Any ideas would be super helpful. Thanks!

 

[amelia88]

I haven't ventured into it myself - usually with surplus herbs I either freeze them, or try and make things with them - one of my favorites to make is infused oils with things like basil, rosemary, oregano or chili. They also work really well for gifts. I would imagine these days that the primary place that people would sell things like that is online, but I wouldn't know where to start when it came to selling online in Honduras!

 

[Beth_B]

Mint is so hardy and invasive! At my current house and a previous one it's part of my lawn...gets mowed down regularly but can't kill the stuff. Even in my cold climate it comes back bigger and badder every year. I don't do anything with mine but where it flourishes in the un-mowed portions of my yard I and the butterflies enjoy the pretty purple flowers.

I sort of like @amelia88's idea of making it into something. If you do that, or have other stuff to sell, are farmers' markets or street markets a viable option?

 

[Corzhens]

Mint is definitely prolific and it is a good product to sell. What's saleable here are herbs that are planted in small plastic pots that sell for a dollar or 2. But if you intend to sell to a grocery or supermarket, I guess you need to have a small plantation of mint because it doesn't grow that fast and grocery supplies have to be consistent. By the way, do not expect mint to make you rich, they are not that expensive.

 

[amelia88]

Mint is so hardy and invasive! At my current house and a previous one it's part of my lawn...gets mowed down regularly but can't kill the stuff. Even in my cold climate it comes back bigger and badder every year. I don't do anything with mine but where it flourishes in the un-mowed portions of my yard I and the butterflies enjoy the pretty purple flowers.

I sort of like @amelia88's idea of making it into something. If you do that, or have other stuff to sell, are farmers' markets or street markets a viable option?

Ahhh yes! If there was a farmers market locally, where you could rent a stall or booth, then that would be a great way to sell things like that. You could sell herbs, bottled oils, baked goods featuring your herbs -- it's open to whatever you like and what your skill set is!

 

[IcyBC]

Mint took over my little garden in the backyard but I haven't thought about selling them. My neighbors don't use mint, and all members of my family have mint. Like @amelia88 said, you can try to set up a stall where there is heavy traffic and sell what you grow. I have seen people do this in the summer here!

 

[Trellum]

Maybe you can make something with it and sell it locally? I don't think many people would be interested in buying mint, but as IcyBC said, you could try in setting a stall. You could sell your products there...

 

[claudine]

To be honest, I'm not sure how many people would be interested in buying mint plants, but maybe you could make mint tea and other mint treats and start selling it online?

 

[Sonjiskica]

I have a spearmint plant that is multiplying WAY faster than I can use on my own. I started with 1 mint plant which I recently divided into 6 different pots, and have an additional 9 cloned plants that I started from cuttings off the original plant. I'm wondering if anyone has had any success in selling herbs before, and if so, where and how? I'm living in Honduras and there are plant nurseries, but I don't know if they would buy them, and I don't know of any online resources I can use (like craigslist) to sell them to individuals. Any ideas would be super helpful. Thanks!

Well, you should try at the nurseries and see whether they would take them in.

 

[majorcatfish]

you might think about selling culinary herbs with a hint of different herbs, there is a vender down at our farmer's market that has a world of herbs for sale and has a rack of uses for those herbs, he is always busy...
just food for thought.....

 

[marlingardener]

Having an oversupply of something, and providing what the customer wants are two different things. We tried selling dried and fresh herbs and herbal vinegars with very little success. We were trying to sell marjoram to a salt-and-pepper crowd.
If the surrounding population doesn't use the herbs and are unfamiliar with them, the education process is so long and so difficult that it usually isn't worth your time and effort.
If you want to invest the time, try doing presentations to gardening and other clubs about herbs, uses, and growing your own. Build your customer base. Good luck!

 

[KimmyMarkks]

I haven't tried selling herbs either. I don't have any plant large enough to do so. However, I bought aloe Vera plants from other local people via tag sales. I would say its worth a try.

 

[ydolem11]

Thanks for all these suggestions! I'm definitely not looking (or expecting!) to get rich from them. I'm just hoping that there's something productive I can do with them and make enough to cover some of my expenses. I bought the initial plant for about $1.50 from the supermarket, so I don't expect to sell my cuttings for more than 50cents or so even once they get a little bigger. I'll probably start exploring my options with the different nurseries here while I let them get a little bigger. Since my garden is a side hobby on top of a full time and part time job, I don't have a lot of time to devote to making much with them except for the tea I drink myself. I'll also soon be experimenting with making some extracts with them.