Elle Brown has a mighty green thumb.
She's a small farmer extraordinaire, as evidenced by her and former business partner Dylan Abdoo winning numerous awards over the past decade trading as Newcastle Greens, growing more than 40 lines of microgreens, edible flowers and vegetables. Their Calvin Lamborn varietal peas Rare Variety Leaves, plus other rare lines, were served in the finest restaurants in NSW, including Muse in Pokolbin and Quay in Sydney.
These days, Brown has branched off to run her own fledgling business, Seed Bank of Australia.
THE MARKET
"Seeds have gone crazy since pandemic," Brown said. "Many people are growing from home, even a few lettuces in back garden. It's more of a movement now, I think."
She is still growing microgreens for commercial sale, but plans are in motion to starting selling seeds, farm equipment and farm books online soon.
Brown will eventually offer a wide variety, from herbs to vegetables. She will source both from imports and Australian-grown lines, including seeds she will grow herself and through her own contractors.
In the not-too-distant future, Brown said she will travel.
As a starting point, she's already growing biquinho peppers from which she will harvest seeds to sale.
Her yard is in transition, as she clears out a banana patch with plans for a sunny growing plot, as well as various trial pots and beds. She will doing her own seed harvesting and plant trials, aiming for a high germination rate.
Once she's happy with the seeds she's got - both grown and imported - she will be seeking farm operators to grow seed for her business.
The other aspect will be discovery, with Brown travelling to source unique, quality seeds from other places.
She is convinced there is room for a quality seed-supplying business, especially with a focus on Australian-grown products.
The demand is there, she said. There's even a growth in microgreen growers, including hydroponic and indoor farmers - although Brown personally finds it hard to go past the abundant sunlight of outdoor plant beds.
"Now they are everywhere," she said of microgreen growers. "I have them following me [on social media] all the time. A lot of them don't last."
Importing seeds is tough due to stringent Australian quarantine standards and suppliers from some countries have given up on doing business in Australia. Brown would know: she's been a frequent importer of unique seed lines into Australia.
PATIENCE
Brown is patient, and knows she will be growing her business "slowly, slowly, slowly". But do not underestimate her.
"I don't give up," she said. "How many times did we nearly shut? Drought. COVID. Floods. No staff for most of the time. To survive that is pretty big."
