I have not but I was actually thinking about the same thing. I too have been trying to think of some different ways to sell my herbs. I figured this year I would for sure sell them fresh and in pots. I would like to sell them dried but I just do not know where to dry them, I just don't have a good place. Maybe if I dried them in my hoop house out of the sun that would work, I don't know I guess I will just have to experiment.

Anyhow I was planning on growing some luffa gourds, so that I could make luffa soap with herbs in it. I also thought about making herb candles. Of course I have not tried any of these things yet so I do not know how they will sell.

As far as the certified kitchen that may vary by state. I am pretty lucky that our regulations are not as strict as other states are, so I was thinking it would probably be ok for us. I did not look into it yet though because I just started to think about it myself.

I hope some others have some suggestions and advice since it is something that I have been thinking about also. If I can come up with anything else to use herbs for I will let you know.

Anything you can grow or craft that can bring more people to your table, the better off you will be. I started at a farmers market in the early days of my nursery, but had to stop because it got too busy at the nursery. I mainly grew plants, but sold fresh cut herbs, herbal wreaths, culinary herbal blends, dried herbs(culinary and ornamental), potpourii, and herbal bath salts. In the spring, plants will be your number one seller. Plants are not popular in the heat of the summer. I knew one woman who made herb jellies, vinegars, and herbal biscuits and scones, which many of the bed and breakfast in the area purchased from her. She rented the kitchen at her local volunteer fire department, so she didn't have to have her kitchen certified. The rental fee was very reasonable, and she did very well for herself. I've written articles about my nursery, and the link below might give you some info on growing and retailing herbs. Make sure when you get to the link that you read "The Power of Signage". Well written signs will be your biggest asset.

Here is a link that might be useful: A Schedule of a Nurserywoman

We have to have a certified kitchen here, so that pretty much rules me out. I'd thought of selling sprouts at a winter market so I'd have something fresh, but they have to be at a certified kitchen too. Bummer

bagardens and herblady, thanks for all of the great ideas. I'm still kicking around different possibilities.....trying to figure out what I should do v. what I'd like to do. I'd like to do it all :) If only time weren't a consideration!

I had also looked into doing the fancy soaps with essential oils, etc...One restriction one of the markets we go to is that at least one of the ingredients in the product must be grown by the seller. So, I thought about maybe herbal soaps?? I've just started looking at this so I'm not sure about the time it would require at this point. Then to find recipes for soaps that have ingredients from the garden.....I guess maybe even flowers could count?? Anyhoo, maybe someone has done soaps that could give a little info?

Thanks for all the input on this topic. I will investigate the certified kitchen rental option for the vinegars...I'm sure there's one in the area somewhere. It seems such a "simple" process, but I'm not sure how well they would sell. I guess it's a trial and error situation.

Thanks again for the tips and hope to hear more from the other "experts"!

I just got out a book from the library the other day called "Making and Selling Herbal Crafts" by Alyce Nadeau. I had a lot of good ideas in it and some good recipes too. Some of the recipes were for Sage Blossom Vinegar, ideas for a culinary gift basket, Lavender Cookie Recipe, Tea bags, Tea blend (with peppermint, spearmint and lemon grass), and Herbal Bath Refresher. There were lots of other things too those were just some that caught my eye. The author also mentions baking breads with herbs, which really got me thinking. Last year I sold Zucchini Bread and Pear Nut Bread and both did very well almost sold out every time. So this year I wanted to make some more different types of bread. Looks like I will have to see if I can find some recipes for herb breads.

I know what you mean about wanting to do it all. Right now I am starting to feel a little overwhelmed by all the new plans I have made for myself this year. I am thinking some will have to wait for next year, but how to choose?

While I was searching for information about luffa gourds I came across a tread that included this recipe for luffa soap:

"Hi, in order to make loofa soap, your loofa should be fully dried. You may need to purchase dried loofa from your local craft store if loofa is not dried in time.
Loofa Soap Recipe:
Cut the loofa into slices depending on the size of your mold and the desired effect you wish to have. Round, Rectangle...using whole slices, shreds or chunks of loofa etc. Carefully melt glycerin chunks in a glass measuring cup in your microwave ( or low heat on the stovetop in a coated pan ), approx. 40-60 seconds depending on the amount you are melting. Be sure to add a few drop of fragrance if you choose when melting. Once melted, pour soap into molds and let cool. Loofa will sometime pop up, I use something small to keep it down and then correct the cosmetic flaw once it has cool. This is usually not noticed as it is the bottom of the soap. Once cool, pop out of mold, add a ribbon or two, place in a decorative basket and prepare for the ohh's and ahh's your son will receive as he hands these out to relatives for Christmas."

It seems pretty simple and if you were to had herbs in the soap then you would have two ingredients that you grew. Below I also linked the full thread if you were interested.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread about Luffas

Wow, well it looks like I linked this page instead! Don't ask me how I did that. Here is the link I was suppose to have posted.

Here is a link that might be useful: The actual link about luffas

bagardens, Just thought I'd mention that I saw some interesting books in the Richter's herb catalog. There's one about herb vinegars, and some others about making different projects/crafts/food items with herbs. I'm still trying to decide what to do.....I've even thought of possibly herbed pizza crusts??? We'll see. Hope your plans are coming along. Happy planning!

So many interesting books! I want them all! The one that really caught my eye was "Great Herb Mixes You Can Make". I was able to find a couple of the books to request from the library, but most I could not. I like the idea of herbed pizza crusts. I had not thought of that one, sounds good.

I just got another book from the library that is really good. "The Herbal Pantry" by Emelie Tolley and Chris Mead. I has lots of good suggested combinations for vinegars and oils. Plus it also gives suggestions for what foods to use the different vinegars on. Another thing I have been thinking about is herbal butters. The Herbal Pantry also has many suggestions for herbal butters. Obviously I couldn't sell the actual butters but I could sell the herb mix for customers to make their own herb butters. The book that I mentioned before was actually were I got the idea for herb butter mix to sell. Sample insructions form "Making and Selling Herbal Crafts": "Allow 1/2 pound butter, margarine, or cream cheese to reach room temperature. Add one heaping teaspoon of the herbal blend and mix well."

I just can't wait for spring! I have so many new plans for this year and can't wait to see how they work out. Do you have other plans for expanding besides herbs? I am also planning on trying a lot more different vegetables this year too. Not sure how I am going to accomplish everything, but we will see.