A growth industry

By BELLA LEVAVI

Staff Writer

Published: 03-19-2023 5:00 PM

GREENFIELD — A storefront on the second floor of a small office building on Davis Street will open its doors as the first cannabis seed shop in New England.

“To acquire seeds everything is internet-based. This is the first of its kind,” said Daniel Rosen, one of the founders. 

Rosen and his business partner Angelo Ferrer are seed experts and plan to share their knowledge with the community through their new storefront Seed, which they plan to open in early summer. 

The store will sell fresh, collectible, novelty cannabis seeds to visitors interested in different strains of the product. The inventory will be sold in small retail packages to collectors, as opposed to large quantities of seeds sold to wholesale growers. The founders are working with a number of growers across America for their business. 

Rosen described their work as “being stewards of the genetics” of cannabis plants. Being a novelty store, they are planning to be a destination for cannabis enthusiasts across New England to share stories of specialty seeds and offer guidance to find the perfect strain for people’s interests. 

Because of the online nature of the seed industry today, scamming is rampant, Ferrer explained.

“We won't let people get lost in the sauce here,” he said.

Ferrer and Rosen said while cannabis seed banks are unpopular in America, they have been around since the 1970s, with brick-and-mortar locations in Amsterdam.

Article continues after...

Yesterday's Most Read Articles

“We are connecting with the history of cannabis; this is about honoring the people who came before us,” Rosen continued. 

Permits have already been issued to open the cannabis dispensary ToroVerde in the same building, although the two businesses are not related. 

Seed is not a dispensary and requires different permits to operate. The Centers for Disease Control does not regulate any cannabis product containing less than 0.3%  tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in the cannabis flower. The seeds sold at the store do not contain THC, making this business simply a retail location.  

Outside of this new business venture, Ferrer is an artist from New York and has lived in Turners Falls with his family for many years. Rosen is from Northampton and now owns a home with his family in Greenfield; he has a background in the natural food industry. 

Rosen also runs an online business called Chai Life where he sells cannabis seeds. Before they closed, he helped run the Amherst store Trade Roots Records, where he hopes to cultivate a “similar vibe.” 

The business partners came together after learning they both had a passion for cannabis seeds and lived in the same area. They bonded over being interested in the rare seed “Chili Verde,” only available from the strain’s inventor. The two made plans to open a seed store three years ago, but said when the bridge between Turners Falls and Greenfield, closed the idea was shelved for years. They recently obtained the retail space and have begun planning the business. 

Ferrer described Greenfield as a “mini-Brooklyn on its way to becoming a mini-Manhattan,” pointing to the innovative businesses that have popped up in the city. He is excited to contribute to the growing landscape. 

The two plan to open up the store for community events. They hope to rent the space to be used for co-working, photography, product development, acupuncture, or any other interest people have.

“What we want to do is create an experience. This has been all online,” said Rosen. “We want to tell people about the origins of the seed and where it came from.”  

Bella Levavi can be reached at 413-930-4579  or blevavi@recorder.com.

]]>