Humble Seed kits in sustainable packaging made from up to 75 percent post-consumer recycled content.
Humble Seed was recently featured by Earth911.com. In case you missed it, here’s the article in it’s entirety. And, in honor of this write-up, we’re extending a 25% discount to all orders placed by September 1st. Enter Earth911 at checkout to lock in the savings.
Readymade Seeds Make Growing Food Simple
According to a 2009 National Gardening Association survey, nearly one-third of Americans planned on growing food that year; that’s a 19 percent increase over 2008.
“There’s definitely a trend back to the basics,” says Kristen Mitchell, who started Humble Seed, an online garden seed company, in 2009 with her husband. “There are several motivators for this; they love to cook and want fresh food. We’re in tough economic times and growing your own food saves hundreds if not thousands of dollars. It’s also a family engagement opportunity, and more than that, people are starting to have concerns about where their food is coming from and safety issues. For all of those reasons, people want to start a garden.”
Humble Seed gives the average person the ability to start garden pretty easily.
The heirloom, certified organic, non-GMO and non-hybrid seeds come in pre-assembled packs – sort of a grab-and-go garden – like Hot Mama’s Peppers and Chiles; Veggin’ Out, complete with cucumber, broccoli, cherry tomato and many other salad staples; and the mother of all kits, The Producer. With everything from cantaloupe to beets, this kit is often donated to community gardens and charity organizations, like the Dinner Garden, because it contains so many basic selections, but it can be utilized at home as well.
“We hope to take the fear out of gardening,” Mitchell says. In addition to creating seed packs, the Humble Seed website offers lots of advice and free recipes. The company strives to create an “excellent gardening community… and be the conduit between the thought and the action,” Mitchell says.
Mitchell also suggests looking up your local permaculture guild, which can answer questions specific to your region and climate. “Working with community gardens helps a lot, too, because usually master gardeners are present, and it’s easy to duplicate at home,” she says.
Humble Seed sets itself apart in another area: packaging.
First of all, the Mylar envelops that hold the seeds are resealable and reusable. In the right conditions of low moisture and light, say in your home refrigerator, these seeds can last years.
Secondly, the paperboard packaging that holds all of the envelops is recyclable and biodegradable. It’s also made from up to 75 percent post-consumer recycled material.
“We’re all about keeping things simple and walking the walk on sustainability, but still providing a value-add, both for the consumer and the seller,” Mitchell says.
More than anything, Mitchell hopes to reinvent the typical garden seed company. “Just kind of elevating something that’s always been there. Like what Starbucks did for the coffee bean. They took a new approach to something that was around forever.”
You can order seed kits and other gardening tools on the Humble Seed website or join the gardening conversation on Facebook.
by Megan Dobransky
Published on July 22nd, 2011
Thanks to Megan Dobransky of Earth 911 for this wonderful feature on Humble Seed.
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