Resources: Heirloom Seed Companies
For all of you interested in great heirloom non-GMO seed companies, here’s a list I’ve been compiling for a few years. I keep adding as I find more, so let me know if you have any great companies to add. Bookmark or Pin this page as a resource because I do update it often.
Abundant Life Seeds – At Abundant Life Seeds we have been protecting the genetic diversity of rare and endangered food crops since 1975. Our goal is to offer true-to-type open pollinated varieties grown using only certified organic or biodynamic farming methods. We pledge that we will not knowingly buy or sell genetically-engineered seeds or plants. We wish to support agricultural progress that leads to healthier soils, genetically diverse agricultural ecosystems, and ultimately people and communities
Adaptive Seeds – We grow and steward rare, diverse and resilient seed varieties and distribute these to other ecologically minded farmers, gardeners and seed savers. Most of our seed is adapted to the Pacific Northwest and short season northern climates. All of our seed is grown by us and a few local friends who act as our isolation gardens. We strictly sell only public domain, open-pollinated (OP) seed, and some diverse genepool mixes. NONE of our seeds are proprietary hybrids (F1), patented (PVP) or genetically modified (GMO) and all of our seed is grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides.
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds – We only offer open-pollinated seeds: pure, natural and non-GMO! We offer heirloom seeds from 70 countries, including many that we collected ourselves. Started in 1998 by Jere Gettle, as a means to preserve rare seeds. We are located in the beautiful Ozark Mountains of Southern Missouri
BBB Seeds – Founded in 1985, BBB Seed is a family-owned company located in Boulder, Colorado committed to providing high quality, open-pollinated and non-genetically modified seed to our customers. We offer an extensive variety of wildflower and vegetable seeds for all regions throughout the U.S. including high altitude gardens.
Bountiful Gardens – Bountiful Gardens sells untreated open-pollinated non-GMO seed of heirloom quality for vegetables, herbs, flowers, grains, green manures, compost and carbon crops. We are able to offer many varieties as Certified Organic, Natural, Biointensive or Grow BiointensiveTM sustainable seed. Specialties: Rare and unusual varieties. Medicinal herbs. Super-nutrition varieties.
Botanical Interests – “At Botanical Interests our goal is to inspire AND educate so that you can create beautiful and successful gardens. ” No GMOs – recently, we enthusiastically signed the SAFE SEED PLEDGE: We do not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered seeds or plants.
Circa Plants – We are Brandon and Alyssa Burns and we have been selling historic seeds and plants since 1999. You can find us throughout the spring, summer, and fall at various garden shows where we love to meet our customers. Our business uses gardens and land that have been in the family since the 1800s.
Comstock, Ferre & Co – They are the oldest continuously operated seed company in the United States, they started back in 1820. Situated in the Historic Old Town of Wethersfield, CT near the city of Hartford . . . Comstock Ferré blends perfectly with the nostalgic past in this oldest of Connecticut’s towns.
Fedco – your source for cold-hardy selections especially adapted to our demanding Northeast climate. Each year we observe hundreds of varieties, selecting only the best for inclusion in our catalogs. Through our product lines and cultural hints, we encourage sustainable growing methods. We offer a large selection of certified organic cultivars and regional heirloom varieties. We buy products from all over the world.
D. Landreth Seeds – Since 1784, the D. Landreth Seed Company has been providing its customers with one of the most extensive selections of fine lawn and garden seeds in the world. Our founders introduced into the United States some of the most beloved flowers and vegetables known today including the Zinnia, the white potato, various tomatoes, and our own Bloomsdale Spinach. We have become the oldest seed house in America because we are passionate in our quest for excellence in quality, service and innovation.
Gourmet Garlic Gardens – We love the country, living simply and doing hard farm and ranch work. Life is good. We grow much of our food in the family garden and dry, can or freeze food for the winter. Gourmets can only dream about food that tastes this good.
Grow Organic (Peaceful Valley Farm Supply) – PV carries only non-GMO seeds, signs the Safe Seed Pledge every year, most of the veg seeds are heirloom, all the flower seeds are open-pollinated. Offering so much more than organic seeds, from fruit trees to canning supplies, Grow Organic has all kinds of supplies for your homestead big or small!
High Mowing Organic Seeds – High Mowing Organic Seeds is an independently-owned, farm-based seed company dedicated to supporting sustainable agriculture and providing farmers and gardeners with the highest quality certified organic seed. 100% Certified Organic, Non-GMO Seeds. Over 450 Heirloom, Open-Pollinated and Hybrid Seeds. Organic Vegetable, Herb, Flower and Cover Crop Seed Varieties.
Hudson Valley Seed Library – Regional Seeds for the Hudson Valley area.
Johnny’s Selected Seeds – Johnny’s Selected Seeds is a privately held, employee-owned seed producer and merchant headquartered in Winslow, Maine, USA. The company was established in 1973 by our Founder and Chairman Rob Johnston, Jr. Johnny’s mission is helping families, friends, and communities to feed one another by providing superior seeds, tools, information and service. Our products include vegetable seeds; medicinal and culinary herb seeds; flower seeds; cover crops, farm seed, and pasture mixes; fruit plants and seeds, and high quality, problem-solving tools and supplies. We ship throughout the United States as well as internationally. We carry sizes ranging from small to large to suit the needs of home gardeners and small growers as well as retailers and wholesalers.
John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds – Our goal is to bring you the world’s best seeds and to help you cultivate the most abundant of gardens for your family. Holding your garden and kitchen close to the center of your life can lead only to good things for you, your family and friends. They do sell some Seminis/Monsanto seed varieties, but if you write and ask they’ll send you a list so you an avoid them. They develop lot of varieties in their gardens and are a terrific resource for Northern gardeners and for gardening supplies like heating mats, soil blockers, and tools.
Marianna’s Heirloom Seeds – Extraordinary and Italian heirloom seeds.
Nichol’s Garden Nursery – has served home gardeners for more than 60 years. In a time of corporate culture and takeovers, we remain a family operated business, steeped in a tradition of customer service and fine food gardening. When you order from us you receive the finest quality seeds, plants and products. If you have a gardening question our knowledgeable staff is prepared to assist you. We are an original signer of the Safe Seed Pledge and offer no genetically modified seeds or plants. We at Nichols do not sell or offer treated seed, GMO seeds and this year we have discontinued purchasing from major GMO seed developers. You will notice some varietal changes and in almost every instance we offer a comparable substitute resulting from three years of vegetable trials to fulfill this objective.
Ohio Heirloom Seeds – Ohio Heirloom Seeds is proud to sell only the finest quality vegetable and herb seeds. We pledge to you that none of our seeds have been generically altered in any manner. All varieties are open-pollinated, meaning that you can harvest seeds from your fruit and grow the exact same variety, year after year.
Renee’s Garden – Renee’s Garden seeds are selected from growers we know and trust in the USA, Holland, Italy, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Thailand, Japan, China and New Zealand. All our seeds are carefully trialed and evaluated in our test gardens in different climate zones before being added to our line. We are strong supporters of sustainable farming practices and give our business to a wide range of small organic growers whenever they can provide the grade of seed we want to supply to our customers. We do not sell treated or GMO seeds and have signed the “Safe Seed Pledge” developed by The Council for Responsible Genetics.
Pinetree Garden Seeds – In addition to continuing to offer over 1100 vegetable and flower seed varieties, books, soap making, gardening products and kitchen gadgets, we will still be packing seeds by hand and answering all the phone calls and emails ourselves to provide you with the best possible service
Salt Spring Seeds – All our seeds are untreated, open-pollinated and non-GMO. We grow all our own seeds and sell only our most recent harvest.
Sand Hill Preservation Center – “We are not a large operation and all of the work is done by Linda and me with occasional inputs from outside sources. The family consists of myself (Glenn) and my wife, Linda. Our two grown sons, Nick and Cory are no longer living at home. We are not a wholesale seed company nor are we a large hatchery. We are genetic preservationists that are in this for the genetic diversity of this planet we all call home. We produce all of our own eggs for our hatches, tend all of our own flocks, weed and care for the seed crops and produce around 90% of the seed which we sell. We also work with several close friends to produce some rare and unusual items to help give you a better variety. We purchase a few common varieties of nontreated seed to expand our offerings.”
Seeds of Change – 100% certified organic seed: vegetables, flowers, and herbs. Over 1,200 varieties: many heirloom, native and hard-to-find. Quality and performance in your garden or farm guaranteed!
Seed Savers – Since 1975, Seed Savers Exchange members have passed on approximately one million samples of rare garden seeds to other gardeners. We are a non-profit organization of gardeners dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds.
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange – Southern Exposure Seed Exchange is a wonderful source for heirloom seeds and other open-pollinated (non-hybrid) seeds seeds with an emphasis on vegetables, flowers, and herbs that grow well in the Mid-Atlantic region. We support seed saving and traditional seed breeding. Seed savers and breeders are to thank for our rich selection and we will do whatever we can to support our customers and associates to carry on this noble tradition.
Sustainable Seed Company – We are a new generation of farmers who understand that if there is to be a bright future for humanity we need to start farming and living sustainably today. We sell over 100 varieties of heirloom seeds for less than a $1 No one out there currently does this. This creates a lot of extra work for us, but we want to make healthy food available to everyone and help stretch their ever shrinking dollar!
Territorial Seed Company – Territorial Seed Company is a privately held company, wholly owned by Tom and Julie Johns. Purchased in 1985 from its founder Steve Solomon, Tom and Julie have grown the business substantially over the past 26 years but have never strayed far from the original course set by Steve.
Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello – Specializing in heirloom and historical seeds
Terroir Seeds – We are a family owned and operated business focused on providing the highest quality seed, the best personal service, and making a positive impact in the community. We have a network of growers that are passionate about the seeds they grow for us. They are even more demanding about the quality than we are! We partner with growers that understand the importance of genetic purity, identifying and correcting genetic drift and continuing to select for the best possible qualities in the plants that have made them heirlooms to begin with.
Terroir Seeds – We are a family owned independent heirloom seed company offering the finest untreated heirloom vegetable, herb and flower seeds for home gardeners and small growers. We offer heirloom and open pollinated seeds, soil building and seed saving education combined with personal service, great selection and fast shipping.
The Thyme Garden Herb Company – The Thyme Garden Herb Company is an eclectic, earth friendly family business working with nature to provide organically grown herb seeds and herb plants, along with bulk dried herbs, herb teas, herb seasonings and much more. We are driven by our passion to add more to the environment than we take. Our beautiful display gardens offer visitors an opportunity to experience over 700 varieties of useful herb plants from all around the world as well as providing a source for our organically grown herb seeds and herb plants. We not only grow organic herb seeds and herb plants we have been cooking with herbs for nearly 30 years.
Vesey’s Seeds – Organic agriculture is not only good business; it is also the key to biodiversity, healthy soil and the understanding of our garden and farm ecosystems. Veseys is pleased to offer you this selection of certified organic seed – seed which has been produced under strict guidelines which govern the production of certified organic products. Veseys is also certified as a shipper/handler of organic seed.
Uprising Seeds – The majority of our seeds are still grown at our home farm Uprising Organics in Acme, WA and isolation plots throughout the county. The remainder are sourced from our great network of family farms in Washington, Oregon, N. CA and Idaho. Our growers are among the best and most experienced in the Organic Seed trade.
Victory Seed Company – Victory Seed Company is a small, family owned and operated organization that works to preserve plant varieties by locating, growing, documenting and offering heirloom and rare open-pollinated seeds to home gardeners. We grow seeds on our farm and help to support other seed farmers by purchasing from our network of growers.
West Coast Seeds (only in Canada) – specialize in certified organic, non GMO, open pollinated, and heirloom seeds and seed potatoes for organic growing.
Wild Garden Seed – We are an organic seed and vegetable farm in the Pacific Northwest. We produce farm-original varieties of many salad greens, vegetables, herbs and a few flowers.
Wood Prairie Farm – we are a small Certified Organic family farm in the State of Maine that market our products, and those of a number of other Certified Organic farmers that we know and trust, directly to our customers through our print catalog and this webstore. Our modest scale allows us to focus on producing high quality organic goods for you and your family. They have taken the Safe Seed Pledge.
Resources for Finding Organic Seeds:
ATTRA – search for organic seed sources
Where do you get your garden seeds from? Any great companies not listed here?
Other Resource lists:
Heirloom Apples and other Perennial Fruits/Nuts
Seed Potato Sources
Alternative Allium Sources
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My Seed Organizing Method
Many of you wanted to hear a little more my seed organization system. I didn’t used to be organized in this area, until last year I kept my seeds in a plastic bin. I had amassed so many seed that it took me while to sort through them every time I needed something. I decided to come up with a more organized solution.
After much thought, I finally I set up the system I’m currently using and I really like it. I made these small folders from some extra folders I had in the office. I simply cut them to size to fit the box I was using for my seeds (which is from IKEA). I cut each folder in half on the normal fold line, then I cut it to width retaining the tab in the location I wanted (of course I alternated them as you can see in the box view). Then I folded those in half and I had a folder the perfect size for my box.
Next I set up and printed up these charts to put on the fronts of the folders. These keep track of the things I have inside the folder so I can see at quick glance what varieties are inside.
I have tweaked it a bit since I set it up. I now have added subcategories to a few of the kinds of seeds I have lots of and for the different seasons that I grow them in. So I have categories for: spring greens, summer greens, fall greens. This particularly helps with my winter gardening as I have all the varieties that are good for fall/winter separated out so they’re quick to find. I also have folders for flowers I need to start extra early like globe amaranth and others that take 120 days to flower.
You may have noticed that I also paperclip or butterfly clip the folders closed (it also attaches the info card), I find this makes them easier to take in and out, no seed packets sliding out of the folders.
To help keep my seeds viable for longer I store my seed box in the basement where it’s cool. I also save those little silica gel packets and put them in the boxes to absorb extra moisture. I plan on replacing them with some activated bamboo charcoal as soon as I order some.
This system is working very well for me. It sure saves me a lot of time when I’m planting seeds. I have actually set up another box to store my larger packets of seeds and cover crops separately. All I need to come up with now is a great garden journal that I can use to keep track of all of my other planting notes. I’m hoping to incorporate that into my new blog redesign so you can see it as well in case you’re interested.
How do you store your seeds? Any great tips for us? Any great tips on setting up a garden journal?
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Planning My 2011 Edible Garden
I received most of my favorite seed catalogs before Christmas, but I didn’t look through them. I set them aside for the new year. This past weekend I realized it’s getting close to the time to start my onions and celery already so I figured I should start looking through the catalogs to decide what interesting things I may want to grow this year.
First I had to get out my seeds and sort through them. I’ll get rid of varieties that didn’t do well or I didn’t like, I’ll sort out old seeds to do germination tests, and I’ll see if there are any gaps that need filling. I’m pretty sure I’ll need pea seeds, popcorn, and a few other things I want to try new this year.
I really want to try to grow some broom corn this year, how fun would it be to make a broom. I’m pretty sure my nieces would love to come over and have a Little House on the Prairie party to make brooms.
I’m also looking for a new variety of popcorn to grow this year. We grew Strawberry Popcorn two years ago and we loved it, but I want something that produces larger kernels and has a higher yield for the space.
Are you going to grow anything new and interesting this year? Do you have a great variety of heirloom popcorn that you’d recommend?
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Winter Gardening
Earlier this month I spent some time going through Eliot Coleman’s Book, The Winter Harvest Handbook and wrote all the dates for starting fall/winter crops on my calendar (my Chiot’s Run calendar of course). I thought I’d post a reminder for all you other zone 4-5 gardeners that are interested in winter gardening.
Usually for me, seed starting is limited to spring, so it seems weird to be starting seeds in June. I really want to have a fall/winter harvest, and that means it’s time to start fall cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower. It’s also time to start leek seeds for overwintering. Next week it will also be time to start carrots for harvesting in October. I actually ordered some of the ‘Early Napoli’ carrots from Johnny’s that Eliot grows for overwintering.
I have all my fall planted crops organized in folders by type in my Seed Stash, so they’re super easy to find. I’ll be starting: ‘Long Island Improved’ brussels sprouts, ‘Ruby’ and ‘Glory of Enkhuizen’ cabbage, ‘DeCicco’ broccoli, and ‘Tadorna’ Leeks. I’m hoping all my efforts will yield a bounty of delicious veggies throughout the winter months to save me time canning and freezing this summer. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
Are you trying to garden throughout the seasons?
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Seed Starting 101: Learn More Each Season
Now that you’ve gone through an entire season of seed starting, you need to take some time to sit down and review your successes and failures. Taking stock of what worked and what didn’t is an important part of being successful year after year at seed starting. By doing this you’ll learn from your mistakes and hopefully not make them again. It will also help you understand the exact needs of your garden and climate. You’ll also start to develop techniques that work well for you and you’ll start to figure out which methods you prefer.
If you make the extra effort each to experiment with a few types of plants each year, you’ll develop your own successful techniques much quicker. Perhaps you can try germinating a flat of peppers with a seedling heat mat and without, see if it’s worth the extra money to invest in a few heating mats to ensure better germination. You could try direct seeding some onions and starting some in flats indoors to see which option works best in your garden. For example this year I didn’t start my lettuce until February. Now I know, I need to start lettuce in January each year so I have nice seedlings to transplant into the cold frame as early as I can.
Since each area garden is essentially it’s own microclimate you will learn more and more about it each year. You may find that because your garden is sheltered by large trees and you live on top of a hill, this allows you to plant things out a week or two earlier than those that live in low-lying areas nearby. Or you may find that your garden collects cold air and you need to plant a week or two later than those around you. This is a great time to start planning your seed starting calendar for next year so you remember what you want to start earlier or later.
Spending some time thinking about the seed starting season will also help you identify your limits and boundaries. Perhaps moving 15 trays of large plants in and out of cover during weather changes was more work than you are willing to put in. From now on you can start your tomatoes a few weeks later so you only have to move a couple trays of small seedlings. Then you can plant them directly in the garden when the weather is warm. Maybe after a year of seed starting you’ll realize that it’s not for you, that you want to purchase your seedlings at a local greenhouse. If you don’t time to sit down and think about these things after the seed starting season is over you may forget by the time planting season rolls around next spring.
What lessons have you learned throughout your seed starting career be it only 1 season or 60?
The rest of the Seed Starting 101 Series
Why Start from Seed
Getting Started
Containers
Soil Mix
The Needs of Seeds
My Workflow
Diseases and Problems
Hardening Off
Transplanting
Learn More Each Season
Visit my Amazon store to see what seed starting supplies I like.
