Web site to help gardeners sell goods

Come Jan. 1, Missouri gardeners may be able to turn their hobby into a little extra spending money.

The MU Center for Agroforestry and the Missouri Grow Native program have partnered to create a Web site that will bring together buyers and sellers of Missouri-grown products.

The site, which does not yet have a name, will serve as an online classified ad system for locally grown plants, nuts and other goods, said Larry Godsey, an economist with the MU center.

Too often, Godsey said, people who would like to get involved in the locally grown marketplace don’t have either a viable option for selling locally grown goods or the know-how to raise them.

The site will seek to fix both of those problems by providing information about how to grow, care for and cultivate native plants.

“The Web site provides a free marketplace and free information,” Godsey said. “So we’re taking down both those barriers.”

The site will target an important but little-served niche market, said Tammy Bruckerhoff, marketing and business development specialist for Grow Native.

“We frequently receive requests for places to buy native seeds and plants,” she said. “Now, buyers can check this Web site for sources.”

Growers can contact Godsey to begin listing products. The launch of the site will be announced on www.centerforagroforestry.org.

Funding for the Web site came from a grant from the Federal State Marketing Improvement Program.