The article only links one seed supplier, Experimental Farm Network, but Truelove Seeds is also mentioned. I'm ordering from both thanks to their amazing variety of uncommon materials. (Wild ramp...
The article only links one seed supplier, Experimental Farm Network, but Truelove Seeds is also mentioned. I'm ordering from both thanks to their amazing variety of uncommon materials. (Wild ramp seeds! Gooseberries! Ethiopian basil! Sure, I'll wait five years for some things, but it's fun to be able to plant rare or threatened culinary delights for future generations.). There are a couple of sellers (Nature and Nurture Seeds, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds) that I visit regularly because they have reliable varieties suited for my climate and growing conditions; you may have your own favorites.
I'm mainly seeking suppliers of organic seed rather than heirlooms alone. Hybrids are OK for yield, flavor, and disease-resistance (e.g. Territorial Seeds, Fedco, and Johnny's Select Seeds). Landrace seeds (mixed genetics from open pollination and non-selection) are sustainable, provide genetic diversity, and the results are likely to be interesting even if the yields aren't maximized. Sadly, I don't have enough space to seed-save for reliable variety propagation.
Open to chat about favorite vendors and varieties, as well as 2022 garden plans...
Oh wow, that link to Truelove seeds. One of their suppliers lives near me and grows dried beans! Dried beans are hard out here, and I have never tried them. I guess the variety, Rockwell Bean, has...
Oh wow, that link to Truelove seeds. One of their suppliers lives near me and grows dried beans! Dried beans are hard out here, and I have never tried them. I guess the variety, Rockwell Bean, has been here for a long time! I'm super excited :)
I've ordered a lot from West Coast Seeds out of British Columbia. Someone seriously needs to do something about their website, but that aside, they offer only organic seed, both open pollinated and hybrid. They have some unusual seed, but it's mostly regular garden seed.
If you're looking for a place that is trying to keep heirloom varieties alive and well, then Seed Savers Exchange is an amazing organization based out of Iowa. Not only can you buy seed, they have a program where you can exchange seeds with other members (if you want to be a member). You can search for their organic offerings through a click of a button.
I grow a lot of medicinal plants and found Strictly Medicinal out of southern Oregon to offer just about everything I want. They also have a lot of unusual seeds.
Full Circle Seeds is another organic British Columbia based seed company. All their seed is harvested from their farm.
Another organic seed company that I've recently learned about and will be ordering from this year is https://www.wildgardenseed.com/ based in Oregon. They are part of the Open Source Seed Initiative donating many of their breeds to the project. They have quinoa seed I am hoping to get my hands on that I might just be able to grow in my garden! Super excited to try it since grains typically don't do well here.
Like you, I look for organic seeds, but I also look at provenance. I want seeds that grow well in my environment, so locating suppliers who grow or test seed that has a similar climate to me is important.
This year I'm all about raised beds! My property is wet and filled with noxious weeds of all varieties. In the past my gardens have been extremely difficult to maintain to the point that I mostly gave up. I'd like to get 10 4'x8'x3' beds built before spring. One for strawberries, one for asparagus, one for basil, one for calendula, one for quinoa, and the rest for a mix of lettuce, spinach, peas, green beans, broccoli, cilantro, tomatoes, carrots, onions, and kale. I'll do potatoes in bags. Oh, and the dry beans, I need to find space for them too.
For onions and carrots I usually buy from Territorial because I can get pelleted seed. I grew Copra (F1) onions from for a long time, but they are no longer available, giving way to Patterson. I'll be growing Red Bull (F1), which I've grown for many years, and trying Patterson for the first time. Copra was great for storing and I'm hoping Patterson will be also. Red Bull is also a decent storage onion, but not as good as Copra was.
I'm not sure which carrots I'll be doing this year, but do know I want to try Dolciva (OP) even though they don't come pelleted. Supposedly they can store for over nine months! I usually do a mix of fresh eating carrots and storage carrots. In the past I've planted Mokum(F1) in succession for fresh eating because they have 56 day turnaround and I planted Giants of Colmar(OP) behind them for the winter garden. Once something works I loathe to change it, but this year I'm going to change up my varieties.
For potatoes I almost always do Desiree for red, and Kennebec for white. They do well here and store well enough. I do these because I can get in on group buys with the farmers in the area.
I also have plans for the perennial garden that's outside my living room window. I've been slowly getting it how I want but there are a few larger shrubs I want to remove from it to make way for more perennials, and I am still battling the cranesbill geraniums that I'm totally done with. The monarda, valerian, foxglove, selfheal, bleeding heart arnica, and one bush fuchsia gets to stay, but I think I am ripping everything else out. The "vision" is for it to contain mostly medicinal plants.
With the new things I want to do and maintaining the rest of the property, I think I'll have a very busy gardening season!
I’d also recommend checking out your local library. Many of them have free seed libraries. They’ll give you a pouch of seeds that you can plant. My local library has hundreds of different seeds...
I’d also recommend checking out your local library. Many of them have free seed libraries. They’ll give you a pouch of seeds that you can plant.
My local library has hundreds of different seeds available.
The article only links one seed supplier, Experimental Farm Network, but Truelove Seeds is also mentioned. I'm ordering from both thanks to their amazing variety of uncommon materials. (Wild ramp seeds! Gooseberries! Ethiopian basil! Sure, I'll wait five years for some things, but it's fun to be able to plant rare or threatened culinary delights for future generations.). There are a couple of sellers (Nature and Nurture Seeds, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds) that I visit regularly because they have reliable varieties suited for my climate and growing conditions; you may have your own favorites.
I'm mainly seeking suppliers of organic seed rather than heirlooms alone. Hybrids are OK for yield, flavor, and disease-resistance (e.g. Territorial Seeds, Fedco, and Johnny's Select Seeds). Landrace seeds (mixed genetics from open pollination and non-selection) are sustainable, provide genetic diversity, and the results are likely to be interesting even if the yields aren't maximized. Sadly, I don't have enough space to seed-save for reliable variety propagation.
Open to chat about favorite vendors and varieties, as well as 2022 garden plans...
Oh wow, that link to Truelove seeds. One of their suppliers lives near me and grows dried beans! Dried beans are hard out here, and I have never tried them. I guess the variety, Rockwell Bean, has been here for a long time! I'm super excited :)
I've ordered a lot from West Coast Seeds out of British Columbia. Someone seriously needs to do something about their website, but that aside, they offer only organic seed, both open pollinated and hybrid. They have some unusual seed, but it's mostly regular garden seed.
If you're looking for a place that is trying to keep heirloom varieties alive and well, then Seed Savers Exchange is an amazing organization based out of Iowa. Not only can you buy seed, they have a program where you can exchange seeds with other members (if you want to be a member). You can search for their organic offerings through a click of a button.
I grow a lot of medicinal plants and found Strictly Medicinal out of southern Oregon to offer just about everything I want. They also have a lot of unusual seeds.
Full Circle Seeds is another organic British Columbia based seed company. All their seed is harvested from their farm.
Another organic seed company that I've recently learned about and will be ordering from this year is https://www.wildgardenseed.com/ based in Oregon. They are part of the Open Source Seed Initiative donating many of their breeds to the project. They have quinoa seed I am hoping to get my hands on that I might just be able to grow in my garden! Super excited to try it since grains typically don't do well here.
Like you, I look for organic seeds, but I also look at provenance. I want seeds that grow well in my environment, so locating suppliers who grow or test seed that has a similar climate to me is important.
This year I'm all about raised beds! My property is wet and filled with noxious weeds of all varieties. In the past my gardens have been extremely difficult to maintain to the point that I mostly gave up. I'd like to get 10 4'x8'x3' beds built before spring. One for strawberries, one for asparagus, one for basil, one for calendula, one for quinoa, and the rest for a mix of lettuce, spinach, peas, green beans, broccoli, cilantro, tomatoes, carrots, onions, and kale. I'll do potatoes in bags. Oh, and the dry beans, I need to find space for them too.
For onions and carrots I usually buy from Territorial because I can get pelleted seed. I grew Copra (F1) onions from for a long time, but they are no longer available, giving way to Patterson. I'll be growing Red Bull (F1), which I've grown for many years, and trying Patterson for the first time. Copra was great for storing and I'm hoping Patterson will be also. Red Bull is also a decent storage onion, but not as good as Copra was.
I'm not sure which carrots I'll be doing this year, but do know I want to try Dolciva (OP) even though they don't come pelleted. Supposedly they can store for over nine months! I usually do a mix of fresh eating carrots and storage carrots. In the past I've planted Mokum(F1) in succession for fresh eating because they have 56 day turnaround and I planted Giants of Colmar(OP) behind them for the winter garden. Once something works I loathe to change it, but this year I'm going to change up my varieties.
For potatoes I almost always do Desiree for red, and Kennebec for white. They do well here and store well enough. I do these because I can get in on group buys with the farmers in the area.
I also have plans for the perennial garden that's outside my living room window. I've been slowly getting it how I want but there are a few larger shrubs I want to remove from it to make way for more perennials, and I am still battling the cranesbill geraniums that I'm totally done with. The monarda, valerian, foxglove, selfheal, bleeding heart arnica, and one bush fuchsia gets to stay, but I think I am ripping everything else out. The "vision" is for it to contain mostly medicinal plants.
With the new things I want to do and maintaining the rest of the property, I think I'll have a very busy gardening season!
I’d also recommend checking out your local library. Many of them have free seed libraries. They’ll give you a pouch of seeds that you can plant.
My local library has hundreds of different seeds available.