Arable Crop Wanted Long Term Partnership

[SCLtd]

Hello All,

First of all apologies if this is in the wrong thread/place.

We are looking for someone to grow catnip for us in the U.K.

Current requirements are one tonne dried weight per year however this my increase. Estimated approximately one acre depending on plant spacing.

Organic certified a plus but not necessarily a deal breaker.

Product to be air dried as heating will drive off volatile oils.
Product to be milled down to 2.5mm

Successful, genuine business operating for the last 8 years. This is not a fanciful idea and has sound backing.

We have some experience growing catnip in the U.K. and can share lessons learned/methods.

Unfortunately family issues resulted in current arrangements no longer being a viable option.

Please feel free to get in contact if you feel this is something you may be interested in.

Toby
Simply Catnip

 

[Jam Tomorrow]

Grow it , dry it , mill it , package it , post it to PO Box ?
No thanks it’s about to be banned in the UK

 

[Steevo]

Why not try and rent some land from a farmer for an attractive rent, then get a contractor to carry out all the operations for you as and when needed?

 

[SCLtd]

Grow it , dry it , mill it , package it , post it to PO Box ?
No thanks it’s about to be banned in the UK

Thank you for you input.

To clarify there is no plan to ban mint in the U.K. Nepeta cateria is a mint.

Further to your comment regarding what we are looking for. We intend to pay a fair rate for the job.

We are a small British firm who wants to support British farmers and farming.

 

[SCLtd]

Why not try and rent some land from a farmer for an attractive rent, then get a contractor to carry out all the operations for you as and when needed?

This is an option we have started to look into.

I guess it comes down to whether a contractor would be interested in performing this task for a single acre.

 

[Steevo]

This is an option we have started to look into.

I guess it comes down to whether a contractor would be interested in performing this task for a single acre.

I think if the price reflects someone would.

 

[teslacoils]

Any info on what soil it prefers? Sounds interesting.

 

[czechmate]

Drought resistant, needs air drying...
Sounds like it needs growing in France

 

[teslacoils]

So you harvest the leaves? Mow it? How does it work?

 

[Steevo]

So you harvest the leaves? Mow it? How does it work?

Hand pick perhaps?

@Muddyroads i know how you like niche crops!!

 

[SCLtd]

Any info on what soil it prefers? Sounds interesting.

Hello,

It is fairly hardy and it doesn't seem to struggle with competition. This is what we have found online:

Mature Size	2 to 3 feet tall and wide
Sun Exposure	Full sun
Soil Type	Moderately rich loam or sandy, well-drained
Soil pH	Acidic to alkaline (6.1 to 7.8)
Bloom Time	Summer and fall
Flower Color	White, lavender
Hardiness Zones	3 to 9 (USDA)

 

[SCLtd]

Drought resistant, needs air drying...
Sounds like it needs growing in France

Not out of the realms of possibility if we can scale our EU operation however we aren't quite there yet.

 

[SCLtd]

So you harvest the leaves? Mow it? How does it work?

We would harvest and dry the whole plant. Cut, sheave and hang in a drying barn. Other suggestions have been to allow to dry on pallets weather permitting. This was an experiment we did back in 2019. At this stage the plants had been allowed to flower so were no use for this harvest:

 

[SCLtd]

Hand pick perhaps?

@Muddyroads i know how you like niche crops!!

We were planning on using a sickle bar mower, an old Allen Scythe in fact. We haven't tried running a combine over it.

 

[theboytheboy]

What location are you looking for

 

[SCLtd]

What location are you looking for

We aren’t particularly fussy about location, some of the business is based in South Wales another part is based in Berkshire. We are less worried about location and more concerned about a good working partnership. However, U.K. is a must.

 

[Muddyroads]

We could be interested. Organic farm just east of Exeter growing veg as well as sheep, cattle, cereals etc.
Feel free to PM us.
p.s. We have 2 farm cats who are our main predator control and we’d rather they didn’t become junkies!

 

[7610 super q]

This will attract the wrong sort of person......

 

[steveR]

Grow it , dry it , mill it , package it , post it to PO Box ?
No thanks it’s about to be banned in the UK

Why should catmint be banned??

 

[steveR]

Drought resistant, needs air drying...
Sounds like it needs growing in France

Very similiar to lavender....

Provence, here I come