Grow Better Greenhouse Vegetables With These Seed Sourcing Tips

Grant Anderson founded Better Fresh Farms in a small Georgia town in 2016. Since that time, his container farm operation — and his need for seed — has grown. After starting with two farms, he now operates five hydroponic container farms growing year-round leafy greens. Two new farms will be devoted to mushroom production. Part of Anderson’s growing success starts with good seed sourcing.

I caught up with Anderson to find out his top considerations for sourcing seed.

Here’s what he shared:

1. Choose seed trialed successfully with your production method.

As a 100% hydroponic indoor container grower, Anderson said knowing seed has specifically been trialed for hydroponic production is an advantage: “If you want something productive right out of the gate, make sure there is confirmation that it is productive hydroponically, because there are seeds that don’t do well in that environment.”

2. Source seed suited to your scale of production and local market pricing.

Look beyond the initial upfront cost of your seed to the bigger picture, Anderson explained: “Make sure you understand the scale of your production, and what it looks like for your price per head, per seed. … You’ve got to factor that into your local market pricing. Sometimes, specialty-type lettuces tend to be the more expensive seed, so you have to be conscientious of that.”

3. Focus on high germination rates.

Minimize waste by sourcing seed with high germination rates, Anderson advised: “If I plant 200 seeds, part of the benefit of indoor agriculture is we want to get as close to guaranteeing we get 200 plants out of 200 seeds as possible. Make sure you pick seeds that have high germination rates and right out of the gate have a higher propensity to produce seedlings when you plant them.”

4. Never stop experimenting and testing seed yourself.

Anderson noted that his best-producing hydroponic head lettuce — and his cheapest seed — isn’t a “hydroponic” lettuce: “If it wasn’t for me sourcing some other varieties of lettuce to just test and see how things work in our system alongside the hydroponic seeds, I wouldn’t have found a variety of romaine that produces the most weight of anything we grow. … Be adventurous to a small degree, as long as it’s budget appropriate. You can figure out some things that help you develop your niche.”

5. Select seed that can meet your yield expectations.

“Even if we’re producing 1,000 heads of lettuce, if they’re averaging 3 ounces a head instead of 4 ½ ounces a head, and you multiply that by 1,000, you lose a fair amount of weight,” Anderson explained, noting that CEA allows for more definitive expectations for annual yields. “You really have to have a mind toward what you’re actually going to end up producing. What is your end game and is the seed selection you made up front going to get you there?”

6. Source seed aligned with market preferences.

Anderson’s South Georgia operation grows leafy greens for the salad-hungry Savannah tourist market about 65 miles away. Two and a half hours down the road, in Charleston, South Carolina’s foodie market, another grower thrives growing petite specialty produce, specialty greens and herbs, and microgreens. “He’s not trying to grow full-size head lettuces like me. It’s just two totally different markets,” Anderson said, adding that you have to be productive at growing what you can move in your market.

7. Understand what you’re buying, especially with organic or non-GMO seed.

“If your business model is built around trying to provide organic produce options, you’re going to want to be pretty meticulous in your seed selection to ensure you’re not selling a product that’s misleading,” Anderson said. “There are a lot of options out there. … names like ‘heirloom’ can throw it off. Maybe it’s an heirloom, but it’s not organic. Just make sure that you understand exactly what you’re buying for what you represent your customers.”

As a final word of wisdom, Anderson said any kind of farming — including CEA — takes persistence. “No matter what, you’re going to have to be persistent to see success. The belief that just picking a good seed is going to solve all your issues, that’s just the start of it. That’s a building block. Good seed is your foundation. But you’ve got a lot of work you’re going to need to do consistently from the time you plant that seed to the time you harvest it and get a good quality product.”

This article is part of our August edition of CEAg World Insights. Click here to view the entire collection of interactive reports.