Heirloom/traditional/open pollinated seed and seedlings sources

[lady-t]

www.heirloomseeds.com

they also have seeds packaged for a three year storage program. for your survival kit.  i am going to order stuff from them soon.

[rdocr]

Please add your links!

<snip>  Commercial content removed.   You have been warned about this. -Nicole

[pamela]

hi there, I'm new here but have enjoyed coming to LATOC for some time, I am especially interested in this gardening section.
I have been buying heirloom seeds from some sellers on ebay.  this is pretty useful for folks just wanting a very few seeds. I have had really
good results as the sellers buy the seeds in larger quantities and then divide them, so they are getting the seeds from places like Seed Savers Exchange, etc.
A few are farmers who save their own seed and sell there too.
I used to have a farm and grew all our food, I have limited room now however, and, I'm getting older so my garden is smaller but still productive.
My husband and I garden in raised beds that have been double dug and the soil augmented with kitchen compost and composted cow manure.
there is a good book called "Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew. And another one called "The Apartment Farmer" by Duane Newcomb. These two books
are just great for people learning about gardening and who have very limited space, or, just want to get more out of the space they have.
It is very important for folks with no gardening experience, to begin now to learn some basics. Just get some dirt in a pot and put a bean in it, water it,
give it some sunlight and see what happens.

[Nicole]

Good point, Pamela.  Also, there are often local seed and gardening swaps.

[Nicole]

A (very) small nursery with an unusual selection of fruiting trees and shrubs:
http://www.hiddenspringsnursery.com/

[Ash]

A couple sources for medicinal herbs:

www.richters.com/

I've ordered a few times from them.  Plants always arrive in good order.  Seeds are packaged in sealed foil (not paper) so they're waterproof.  For herbs, I typically get pretty good germination rates.  But, if you don't have a greenhouse and the capability to control the environment, get plants and propagate via cuttings where possible.

http://www.horizonherbs.com/

I've never (yet) ordered from them, but I plan to later this summer if the world hasn't gone to hell by then.  They have a good reputation among my friends that have dealt with them, and seem to carry just about everything that Richter's doesn't.

By far the best fruiting trees and bushes I have ever received came from:

www.raintreenursery.com/

I don't know what they do to their plants, but they're the hardiest I've ever received from anywhere.

[mmadeel]

If your not going to save your own seeds yr to yr why buy heirlooms? The only seeds i have to buy now are cabbage seed. havent mastered the art of keeping a cabbage plant alive through the winter yet. hopefully this yr i will be successful.

[theozarker]

I buy heirloom seeds from Bakercreek Seeds because they're only about 50 miles from where I live.  So far, I haven't been disappointed.  I'm also going to experiment with seed saving this year too.

Linda

[flute]

If your not going to save your own seeds yr to yr why buy heirlooms? The only seeds i have to buy now are cabbage seed. havent mastered the art of keeping a cabbage plant alive through the winter yet. hopefully this yr i will be successful.

Because I want to support small seed companies that sell heirloom seeds instead of big multinational seed companies that sell hybrid seeds. If nobody bought heirloom seeds there would be no companies selling them, and hence nobody growing them, except a few enthusiasts.

[Uncle Fester]

If your not going to save your own seeds yr to yr why buy heirlooms? The only seeds i have to buy now are cabbage seed. havent mastered the art of keeping a cabbage plant alive through the winter yet. hopefully this yr i will be successful.

Because I want to support small seed companies that sell heirloom seeds instead of big multinational seed companies that sell hybrid seeds. If nobody bought heirloom seeds there would be no companies selling them, and hence nobody growing them, except a few enthusiasts.

I'd like to add to flute's comments. Heirlooms came from a time when there was a HUGE variety of garden plants and most were open pollinated and would come true from seed so you could save the seed. Today's hybrids often do not come true from seed; that is if they produce viable seeds at all.

[flute]

Just stumbled upon a beautiful seed company for all you folks on the other side of the Atlantic:
http://www.psrseed.com/

[Eileen]

My favorite: Seeds of Change - I love their seeds the best of any I've grown. Consistently sprouting seeds. Quality. Every year they add more variety. Few seeds in any pack.
Peaceful Valley Farms (www.groworganic.com) has several varieties - new to me this year were organic heirloom tomato seeds ( Johnny's?). They also have Turtle Tree seeds - a biodynamic/organic company with some interesting, usually not available organic seeds. Tobacco, celeriac, passion fruit, interesting cabbage, etc.

[Katryina]

another Canadian one .  http://www.saltspringseeds.com/

[MidWestHerbalist]

Here We Go,
grouped in a single post with additions

Trees and Shrubs:
Trees of Antiquity: http://www.treesofantiquity.com/

General Vegetables, Herbs and Fruit:
Heirloom Seed Shop: http://www.organic-foods-produce-healthy-diets.com/heirloom-seed.html
Seed Savers Exchange: http://www.seedsavers.org/
Seeds of Change: http://www.seedsofchange.com/default.asp
Bountiful Gardens: http://www.bountifulgardens.org/
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange: http://www.southernexposure.com/index.html
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds: http://www.rareseeds.com/
Victory Heirloom Seeds: http://www.victoryseeds.com/
Underwood Gardens: http://underwoodgardens.com/index1.php
Landreth Seeds: http://www.landrethseeds.com/
Native Seeds: http://www.nativeseeds.org/v2/default.php
Mountain Valley Growers:  http://mountainvalleygrowers.com/ 
Select Seeds: http://selectseeds.com/   
eat the day lilies. http://chetday.com/edibleflower.htm
Moose Tubers: http://www.fedcoseeds.com/moose.htm 
johnnyseeds http://www.johnnyseeds.com/default.aspx
Seed Trust www.seedstrust.com
FEDCO http://www.fedcoseeds.com/ Untreated seeds
High Mowing Seeds: http://www.highmowingseeds.com/
Heirloom Seeds: www.heirloomseeds.com
Hidden Springs Nursery  http://www.hiddenspringsnursery.com/ Mostly fruit bearing trees & bushes
Richters www.richters.com/ Awesome Herb Selection
Raintree Nursery www.raintreenursery.com/
Peters Seed and Research: http://www.psrseed.com/
Organic Gardening: www.groworganic.com
Salt Spring Seeds http://www.saltspringseeds.com/
Pinetree Garden Seeds www.superseeds.com,
Territorial Seed Company  www.territorial-seed.com
Sand Hill Preservation Center http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/ Poultry Also!
Seeds of Victoria  http://www.earthfuture.com/gardenpath/Seeds_Catalogue.htm w/THE SAFE SEED PLEDGE Certified Organic (IOPA 1406)
Two Wings Farm  http://www.twowingsfarm.com
Full Circle Seeds http://www.fullcircleseeds.com
Almost Eden http://www.almostedenplants.com/index.htm exotic, unusual, and hard to find plants.

Blue Ridge Bamboo http://www.blueridgebamboo.com/jmapledwarf.html They have bamboo that will grow in northern climates.

Tanager Song Farm  http://www.tanagersongfarm.com/heirloom_seeds.html lotsa’ heirlooms from around the world.
Rich Farm Garden  http://www.richfarmgarden.com/welcome.html

Native Medicinal Plants (Ethnomedical) of the World ENTHEOGENS AND ETHNOBOTANICALS
Horizon Herbs http://www.horizonherbs.com/
http://www.entheobotanical.com/
http://riverssourcebotanicals.com
www.ethnobotanicals.com
www.sacredcactus.com
http://www.maya-ethnobotanicals.com
http://www.bouncingbearbotanicals.com
http://www.iamshaman.com
http://www.nativehabitat.com
http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net
http://www.magicgardenseeds.com

For those over the pond
Real Seeds: http://www.realseeds.co.uk/
The Heritage Seed Library (Grow Organic) http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/hsl/index.php

Aussies
http://www.diggers.com.au/
http://www.edenseeds.com.au/content/default.asp
http://www.greenpatchseeds.com.au/
http://www.selectorganic.com.au/content/default.asp

Canada
http://www.seeds.ca/rl/rl.php
Not recommended
Park Seed www.parkseed.com This is NOT a NON-GMO company Geo. W. Park Seed Co., Inc.is owned by Mansanto Frankenfood who Genetically alter the genetic code of seeds and place them in the food chain for human consumption

[Limey]

Just down the road from ("Transition town") Totnes, UK, the AgroForestry Research Trust:

http://www.agroforestry.co.uk/Catalogue20078.pdf