Dean, I grow seed for Sandhill and Rodger who sometimes posts here grows for Southern Exposure.

The amount of seed needed varies. I try to produce at least 20 pounds of seed per variety of beans and cowpeas to send to Sandhill. Rodger tries to grow about 10 times that much.

DarJones

I grow numerous items for Southern exposure seeds, cucumbers for Fedco seeds, Melons for Bakerscreek and beans and peas for heavenly seeds and some pumpkins for Sandhill.I produce anywhere from a couple hundred pounds of peas to 300lbs of beans to 60lbs of cucumbers to 1/2 a pound of tomato seed so it all varies on what is needed. Dar I was up your way this past weekend visiting family will have to come see you againone day. Rodger

Rodger,

I have a fabulous looking garden again this year. Barring incident, I will have well over my objectives for seed. Be glad to see you any time you can come by. I have a couple of varieties of seed for you too.

To answer Dean's question above, Here is what I am growing for seed this year.
Frosty Lima
Herndon Lima
Big Mama Lima
Grandma Roberts Purple pole beans
Barnes Mountain pole beans
Striped Bunch beans (a kind of half-runner growth habit)
Dolloff pole beans
Goose shelly pole beans
Alabama #1 pole beans
Comtesse di Chambord bush beans
Honey Drip sorghum
White Seeded African sorghum
Sugar Drip sorghum
Black Peanuts
Tennessee Dancing gourd
Trombone squash
Red Kuri squash
Japanese Siphon Gourd
Apple Gourd
Ledmon Watermelon
Yellow Moon & Stars watermelon (I love these!)
Japanese Climbing cucumber
Improved Long Green cucumber
Longhorn Okra
Red River Okra
Whipple White sweet corn
Piggott Family Heirloom cowpea
Howell Cowpea (this may be the old Sugar Crowder!)
Franklin Red cowpea
Whipporwill cowpea

There are a handful of other things I am growing plus about 150 varieties of tomato.

DarJones

DarJones,Rodger, Thank you for your responses. I have thought of possibily growing an item or two for the seed companies myself.

For example how many feet of pole beans do you need to grow for the saved seed? How many hills for the cucumbers?

Rodger, Did you grow the Poona Kheera, Suhyo long, Super Zagross for Fedco by chance. Those have been my favorites for the last couple of years.

thanks,
Dean

Dean, I will ask Glenn if he is interested in a grower in your area. Very likely he will be. You could also call them yourself and ask.

Please be forewarned that growing for seed is a very time consuming job with relatively little financial reward. It does have the advantage of doing something I really enjoy and making a real difference in helping others garden.

Of all the seed I've grown for Sandhill over the last 5 years, I am most proud of the black peanuts. They are a variety that I received as a gift from a man named Lewis Kilgore and that have since been multiplied and distributed across the U.S. The best part is that I had to talk Glenn into listing them the first year. Then when seed orders started coming in, it turned out the black peanuts were on nearly half. He thought I had sent enough peanuts to last 2 or 3 years but then he ran out and had to have more seed for the next year.

DarJones

Dean, I just talked to Linda at sandhill. Please give me a call, I need some info. You can reach me at the numbers on my website at selectedplants.com

DarJones

Seed catalogs ought to give credit to growers for their work, i.e., "seed grown by Mr. Jones, Alabama."

In addition, catalogs would be more interesting if they also included seed histories (except for those banal goose/turkey craw stories, which could make you puke). But Dar Jones' history of Black Peanut, as told above, is interesting, believable, and well told.

DarJones,

"Please be forewarned that growing for seed is a very time consuming job with relatively little financial reward. It does have the advantage of doing something I really enjoy and making a real difference in helping others garden."

Yeap, just like you stated, and just wanted to do something I find fun and help out a smaller seed company.

I will give you a call about Sandhill, I ordered from them the first time this spring. I have been very happy with the seed results. It would be nice to work with a local company as well. I order also from Fedco and few items while visiting Baker's Creek.

"Of all the seed I've grown for Sandhill over the last 5 years, I am most proud of the black peanuts."

I ordered and am growing some of your black peanuts this season. I need to check to see how they are doing this evening. I have been unable to weed my garden for almost one month. Weeding starts tonight finally a dry two days.

thanks again for all of the help. I will definitely give you a call.

thanks,
Dean