Hat tip to WRAL, which let me know about the site Veggie Trader. Veggie Trader allows you to search for people willing to sell or trade a variety of produce (vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc.) within x miles of a given zip code. It’s at http://www.veggietrader.com. The site was launched in March but already has over 2400 users signed up.

You can’t do much of anything at this site unless you register. You can’t even search the listings unless you register. Registration isn’t too bad, though, requiring only a name, address, and zip code. I couldn’t find anything in my area so I did a search veggies in the area of 90210 — within 10 miles. You can search for specific kinds of items, or keywords, but I don’t recommend that — the site’s still a bit too small. General overview searches tend to have managable amounts of information.

My search results were divided up into sections — in this case, Fruits (4 listings), Seeds, Plants, Starts, and Flowers (3 listings), and “Plan and Specialize!” (1 listing.) The results are presented in a table that show the trade type (sale, trade), what the trader has to offer, what they want, date posted, and any details (like a picture.) Click on the details link for additional information like trading details and contact info.

The most recent listing in this search results was from 4/24, was a sell/trade offer for organic herb and vegetable seeds. The listing didn’t have any pictures but it did have extensive notes about the types of seeds available and a link to the trader’s Etsy site.

This site needs a lot more activity — of course, I’d be thrilled to find listings in my area — but I’m impressed with the infrastructure that’s been put together. Not to populate it — perhaps a partnership with Craigslist or local agricultural extension services?