Luke of Seedwise just sent me a press release for his new marketplace for organic seeds. I don’t know a lot about it other than this, but the idea sounds great.
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ORGANIC SEED MARKETPLACE OPENING SPRING 2014
An online platform for selling and buying organic seeds, directly from USA farmers
May 12, 2014
Seedwise.com, the organic and non-GMO seed marketplace, has created an online platform for organic seed farmers to connect directly with retail consumers. Home gardeners and farmers alike can now purchase seeds with the added knowledge of exactly where and by whom, their seeds have been grown.
SeedWise is breaking down one of the last barriers of transparency in the organic movement by integrating the farmer at the root level of commercial exchange. Unlike even the most well-respected organic seed companies, SeedWise allows buyers to choose not just seed variety, but also provides the choice of seeds grown in specific climates, by particular farms.
With 10 farmers currently offering seeds, the home gardener can be highly selective, choosing the same garlic seed grown in the Willamette Valley, or a mere 100 miles away in the Columbia River Gorge.
By understanding what climate the seed originates from, consumers can more accurately predict the success of the seeds in their home climate. Most importantly, by increasing the accountability of the seed industry, we can all see exactly who is growing our seeds and the practices they use. SeedWise is strictly a non-gmo, organic seed marketplace, customers can be assured that every dollar spent is a vote for their values.
The idea for SeedWise grew out of conversations with farmers who struggle to earn a living growing and selling organic seeds to larger companies and seed catalogs. Relying on the wholesale market has crippled many small seed farmers, and SeedWise was created with the intention to give these farmers more direct connection with the retail customer.
The majority of organic seed farmers get into the trade because they want to live their values by growing, breeding, and saving high quality seeds. SeedWise is happy to provide the technical framework that allows farmers to make a living, doing what they love.
