Merged Topics: Plant & Seed Resources: Catalogs & Suppliers

[The Survival Podcast Forum]

The Survival Podcast Forum > Farm, Garden and The Land > Gardening and Agriculture (Moderators: spartan, DeltaEchoVictor) > Merged Topics: Plant & Seed Resources: Catalogs & Suppliers

[spartan]

Here are links to companies I deal with regularly and have had good experiences with:

Johnny's Select Seeds: http://www.johnnyseeds.com/

I go to Johnny's whenever I need seeds in any quantity, such as bush peas for a cover crop.  You can order anywhere from mini packets, containing a few for sampling, up to multiple pounds or million seed packs.

Pinetree Garden Seeds: http://www.superseeds.com/

This is my general go to company.  They have a nice variety for the homestead gardner, are easy to deal with, and ship fast.

Seeds of Change:http://www.seedsofchange.com/

This is my best source to get open pollinating non-hybrid heirloom seeds. 

[DeltaEchoVictor]

Here are a couple of companies that I use quite a bit. 

Baker Creek Seed Company is sort of local to me.  They're about 2 hours west of me & they are located in Mansfield Missouri.

http://rareseeds.com/  Jere Gettle has a passion for all things heirloom.  He's a leader in the fight for non-GMO food.  He does good things & if you're ever near Mansfield when one of their festivals is occurring I encourage you to check it out.  It's great Ozarks fun & you just might learn a thing or two about heirloom seeds.  Lots of resources on the site as well, give it a look.

Seed Saver's Exchange is one of the biggest & oldest around doing the heirloom seed thing.  They're an invaluable resource for anything heirloom seed related.

http://www.seedsavers.org/

Both sites have lots to offer the heirloom gardener. 

[dragonart]

Come on guys keep them coming, just lined up a good friend and 20 acres to garden next year.  No more trips to Bruno's for me.

Swamp

I use www.jungseed.com, they're pretty good!

[ModernSurvival]

OK winter and cabin fever are on the way for many.  I did a bunch recently on winter gardening.  For your reading and sourcing pleasure here is my exhaustive list of great free seed and garden catalogs.

1.   Harris Seeds - http://www.harrisseeds.com/storefront/PGCatalogRequest.aspx

2.   Burpee Seeds - http://www.burpee.com/ancillary/catalogrequest.do

3.   Park Seeds - http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/Park/MP.CatalogRequest

4.   Thompson and Morgan - http://www.tmseeds.com/catalog-request.html

5.   Gourmet Seed Company - http://www.gourmetseed.com/category/gourmet_seed.catalog_request  (you have to send an email request for this one no form on the page)

6.   The Cook’s Garden - http://www.cooksgarden.com/inforequest.asp

7.   Johnny’s Seeds - https://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/HGCatalog.aspx

8.   Henry Fields - http://henryfields.com/catalog_request_qas.asp

9.   Spring Hill Nursery - http://springhillnursery.com/catalog_request_qas.asp

10.   Gurney’s - http://gurneys.com/catalog_request_qas.asp

11.   Rain Tree Nursery - http://www.raintreenursery.com/CatalogRequest.cfm (really cool stuff you won’t find in other catalogs.  Fruits, shrubs and trees from North America and all over the world)

12.   High Mowing Organic Seeds - http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seed-catalog.html  (the selection of greens is really impressive with many that will grow in very cold or warm climates)

13.   Baker Creek - http://rareseeds.com/catalog/ (extensive catalog of veggies, all are organic)

14.   Pinetree Garden Seeds - http://www.superseeds.com/catalog.php

15.   D Landreth Seed Company - http://www.landrethseeds.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5151

16.   Redwood City Seed Company - http://www.lovepeppers.com/catalog.welcome.html

17.   Bountiful Gardens - http://www.bountifulgardens.org/thankyou.asp

18.   Siegers Seed Company - http://www.siegers.com/request_catalog.htm

Feel free to suggest others that you know about.  Oh and if you use firefox you can set up a form profile and order all 18 in about 10 minutes flat.  Merry Early Christmas!  Happy Reading.

[ModernSurvival]

Here are six more to make it an even two dozen! 

19.  http://www.seedsofchange.com/garden_center/catalog_request.asp  - Seeds of Change, just found them so I don't know much about them other then they sell organic seed.

20.  http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/catalogrequest.htm  - Nichols Garden Nursery

21.  http://www.kitchengardenseeds.com/catreq.html  - Kitchen Garden Seeds

22.  http://www.territorialseed.com/catalog_request  -  Territorial Seed

23. http://www.stokeseeds.com/cgi-bin/StokesSeeds.storefront  - Stokes Seeds

24.  http://www.acnursery.com/acn_catalog.php  - Adams County Nursery

[backyardgardener]

I just ordered seed from: https://www.planetnatural.com/ where I found a lot of heirloom seeds I hadn't seen elsewhere
Seeds of Change is great!

[Hraz]

I'm a big fan of Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company http://rareseeds.com/ as well. Great catalog. I'm looking forward to trying a Black Brandywine Tomato in 2009.

[simpleguy]

Try these three.

http://www.territorialseed.com/

http://www.victoryseeds.com/

http://www.gardennursery.com/

Some of these are priced better than others, but the seeds are either organic or open pollinated, not hybrids so you can save the seed.

[simpleguy]

http://www.victoryseeds.com/

I buy almost religiously through them, fairly priced and open pollinated so you can save seeds.

[meancoyote]

This place is my favorite,
http://www.groworganic.com/

[homegrown]

I like: Heirloom Acres Seeds

The tomatoes that I started from seed here are really incredible.








***Linked it for ya***

[rainbird]

I'm a bit late to this discussion, but I had to add Fedco to the list.

Fedco Seeds ... http://www.fedcoseeds.com/

They have four separate divisions -- vegetable seeds, potatoes, trees/shrubs, and bulbs.  They have a strong inclination towards open-pollinated and heirloom varieties, fantastic selection, old-time down-homey catalog info, all that good stuff ... and hands-down, the best prices I've seen, overall.

They are my second favorite seed source, after Seed Savers Exchange.

As long as I'm here, let me also mention--

St. Lawrence Nurseries (http://www.sln.potsdam.ny.us/)

They have all kinds of fruit trees and shrubs, specializing in cold-climate, short-season areas (Zone 4 and below).  Family business, old-fashioned (pencil-and-paper orders only), very good prices, and take their cold-weather crops very seriously.

Finally, a follow-up comment on the Seed Savers Exchange.  Many people do not realize that SSE is actually a giant membership cooperative.  It is literally a Seed Savers EXCHANGE; with something like 1,000 listed seed-saving members, scattered across the continent, and probably the whole planet.  The seed catalog you get from SSE is just a tiny, tiny subset of the available varieties, and furthermore, it is only a small subset of the varieties actually stored on-site at the SSE home office.  In addition to SSE-central, many of the listed members offer hundreds of varieties themselves, directly available from the members.  Once you join SSE (for $35/year), you get their full catalog, which lists a ridiculous amount of varieties (I'm guessing 20,000+), of vegetable seeds, bulbs, grains, perennial roots, softwood and hardwood cuttings, and every other plant propagation option and variety known to man.

[digger]

One place I use for berries, etc is Tradewinds Fruit. Many, many new to me varieties of fruits & veggies to try.

http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/order_fruit_a_l.htm

[johnnybgood30]

so i really feel stupid can someone please tell me what heirloom seeds are?in short   thank you ~johnny~

[firetoad]

From Seed Savers Exchange:

What are Heirlooms?

SSE defines an heirloom as any garden plant that has a history of being passed down within a family, just like pieces of heirloom jewelry or furniture. Some companies have tried to create definitions based on date, such as anything older than 50 years.
 
The genetic diversity of the world's food crops is eroding at an unprecedented and accelerating rate. The vegetables and fruits currently being lost are the result of thousands of years of adaptation and selection in diverse ecological niches around the world. Each variety is genetically unique and has developed resistance's to the diseases and pests with which it evolved. Plant breeders use the old varieties to breed resistance into modern crops that are constantly being attacked by rapidly evolving diseases and pests. Without these infusions of genetic diversity, food production is at risk from epidemics and infestations.

Just how dangerous is genetic erosion? The late Jack Harlan, world renowned plant collector who wrote the classic Crops and Man while Professor of Plant Genetics at University of Illinois at Urbana, has written, These resources stand between us and catastrophic starvation on a scale we cannot imagine. In a very real sense, the future of the human race rides on these materials. The line between abundance and disaster is becoming thinner and thinner, and the public is unaware and unconcerned. Must we wait for disaster to be real before we are heard? Will people listen only after it is too late.

[Roswell]

why is there such a big price difference between some of these places? 

[fritz_monroe]

I didn't see my favorite place listed.  I've bought from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.  Located in the mid-Atlantic area. 

[dominored]

A great resource for finding obscure seed companies and for getting ratings of companies you may not have dealt with is gardenwatchdog.com.  If you are thinking of ordering from a new company, check here to see what others are saying about them first.

[PeaceChicken]

Seed Saver's Exchange is one of the biggest & oldest around doing the heirloom seed thing.  They're an invaluable resource for anything heirloom seed related.

http://www.seedsavers.org/

Both sites have lots to offer the heirloom gardener. 

I just ordered from Seed Saver's Exchange, they have a lot of organic seeds and they're all non-GMO (heirlooms are pretty much guaranteed to be, right?) People may want to take note of which companies are non-GMO and/or organic because some on that list are not.

Also, I thought Burpee was owned by Monsanto? Seeds of Change is owned by M&M Mars, in case people want to avoid supporting a big corporation.

[Hraz]

I know Burpee purchased Cooks Garden a couple of years back.

[J.R. Morelli]

...I thought Burpee was owned by Monsanto? Seeds of Change is owned by M&M Mars, in case people want to avoid supporting a big corporation.

Yeah... have all these others been checked out to see if their subsidiaries or are in any way associated with Monsanto or any other company of questionable conduct? I mean... how would one even check? I'd love to do it myself but I don't really know where to look. I didn't even see any ifo like that on Monsanto's own website and I'm not sure I'd trust a wiki.

[Hraz]

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2209630714&topic=5481

I found this on the web:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Rudy Arredondo (Washington, DC) wroteon August 22, 2008 at 1:56pm
Seed Companies & their Relationships w/Monsanto

2008/8/14 Diane Dodge <dianefaydodge@hotmail.com>

FYI from Nick DeMarsh:

Here is an interesting post on Seed companies supplied by Monsanto. If you think it is relevant please pass it on to the growing food and justice listserve.

Recently on a gardening forum in which I participate, a list of various seed companies now owned by Monsanto was posted. I was so shocked to discover Territorial Seeds on the list that I immediately wrote to them to ask if it was true... As it turns out, while Territorial continues to be owned privately, by Tom & Julie Johns, one of their seed suppliers, Seminis, is in fact owned by Monsanto. Over the course of my correspondence with staff from Territorial, they provided me with a list of the seeds currently purchased by Seminis, which I have attached. And I was told that the owners are 'considering' whether or not to continue using Seminis as a vendor.

I'm sending this information out in the hopes that *you'll* consider writing to Territorial Seeds to request they terminate their relationship with Seminis, as well as expressing support for them as a company you'd continue to buy seeds from in the future. I can't express enough how important it is for those of us who are dedicated to food security, and the ongoing availability of good, local, organic produce, to do whatever we can to prevent Monsanto from colonizing our primary sources of seed. Toward that end, I'm also posting the list of companies owned by Monsanto for your
review, in case you find others whose seeds you've bought.

* Territorial Seeds
* Totally Tomato
* Vermont Bean Seed Co.
* Burpee
* Cook's Garden
* Johnny's Seeds
* Earl May Seed
* Gardens Alive
* Lindenberg Seeds
* Mountain Valley Seed
* Park Seed
* T&T Seeds
* Tomato Growers Supply
* Willhite Seed Co.
* Nichol's
* Rupp
* Osborne
* Snow
* Stokes
* Jungs
* R.H. Shumway
* The Vermont Bean Seed Company
* Seeds for the World
* Seymour's Selected Seeds
* HPS
* Roots and Rhizomes
* McClure and Zimmerman Quality Bulb Brokers
* Spring Hill Nurseries
* Breck's Bulbs
* Audubon Workshop
* Flower of the Month Club
* Wayside Gardens
* Park Bulbs
* Park's Countryside Garden

And one final thing: here's a link to another seed company, Fedco, who posted information on their website about their own decision to forgo using Seminis any longer once they had been purchased by Monsanto: http://www.fedcoseeds.com/seeds/monsanto.htm
Fedco Seeds - The Monsanto Debate/Monsanto Buys Seminis

Here's the info for contacting Territorial Seeds:

Territorial Seed Company
Attn: Tom & Julie Johns
PO Box 158
Cottage Grove, OR 97424

Phone Orders: 800-626-0866
Fax Orders: 888-657-3131
Customer Service/Gardening Questions: 541-942-9547

Territorial Seed Company Store
20 Palmer Ave
Cottage Grove, OR 97424
Phone: 541-942-0510

Customer Service Email
info@territorialseed.com


As always, please feel free to pass this information on freely - our power is in our numbers!
Thanks, Julianne

[BerserkerPrime]

Just recieved and sent in order for Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  I'm very impressed by catalog and hope the services is as good as the catalog. 

Oh, and thanks for pointing out that Burpee is tied to Mansanto.  I just started an indoor grow project and used some Burpee.....bummer !

Oh well, I'll know better next time.....

BP

[cajunkraut]

Oh well. I ordered the organic/heirloom varieties when given the option. I would have probably gone with Baker Creek, but their catalog came in the day I ordered my seeds from Cook's Garden.

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2209630714&topic=5481

I found this on the web:

Toward that end, I'm also posting the list of companies owned by Monsanto for your
review, in case you find others whose seeds you've bought.

* Territorial Seeds
* Totally Tomato
* Vermont Bean Seed Co.
* Burpee
* Cook's Garden
* Johnny's Seeds
* Earl May Seed

[fritz_monroe]

Hraz, thanks for bringing this to my attention.  I just discovered Territorial Seeds so have not bought from them.  But I got their catalog and would probably consider them in the future.  But if they continue their dealings with a Monsanto company, I won't be buying from them.  I e-mailed them to ask if this info was true and to let them know that if it is true, I won't be buying from them in the future if they keep dealing with Monsanto.

I'm glad the companies I bought from are not on the list, but that could just mean that the author didn't check them out.  I guess it is time for me to start questioning them about this.

Edit: Just received a reply from my e-mail to Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.  They said that they do have some seed on hand that came from Seminis, but they are no longer getting any of their seed from any of the Monsanto companies.  They volunteered that they stopped buying from Seminis when it was bought by Monsanto.

[Hraz]

Good move Southern Exposure!

[Nazdreg]

Guys, just a heads up.
On Dec.4 2008, I purchased 2 x 100 pack seeds from this website: http://cheapveggieseeds.com/  (they also go under www.getseeds.net) and have been given a complete run-around of stories why I to this day still haven't received anything.... I have really tried to believe their stories, and remaining calm when a sarcastic response was given - bottom line is that I still haven't received anything, and it's now almost 3 months since I placed my order.
Beware 

[Nazdreg]

Right should be right ..... I called the company up last week and barked at them, and I have now received the seeds I ordered 3 months ago - and I must say that the variety is pretty good, not all peppers and beans.

[ebonearth]

Just wanted to let everyone know:

Garden's Alive: $20 off a $40 order.
SpringHill Nursery: $20 of free plants, just pay shipping.
Gurney's: $20 a $40 order.

I just ordered 110$ of plants (mostly berry bushes) for only $45 plus shipping.

[amberwolf]

This year I did order from Territorial seed, I had no idea they may had anything to do with Monsanto, let me know if you hear anymore on this! Not many seed companies have golden purslane and they did, otherwise I would have went with another company. No worry though, they sprouted very well and their seeds will be fertile this fall.