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Revision as of 18:37, 4 May 2020
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Saving the World’s Rarest Heirloom Seeds
Will Bonsall has spent a lifetime scattering seeds across the country
Dusty sunlight fell through a window onto a wall of shelves, each one lined with rows of wooden cases the size of shoeboxes. Inside the cases were envelopes, many of them brown with age, and inside the envelopes were seeds — tens of thousands of them, the core of what was once among the country’s most prolific private seed collections...
On the top shelf, Bonsall said, were more than 1,100 varieties of peas. On the rows below were barley, beans, carrots, cucumbers, melons, squash, sunflowers, and more. At one time, Bonsall told me, he had what he believed to be the world’s most diverse collection of rutabaga seeds, along with the second-largest assemblage of Jerusalem artichoke varieties and world-class caches of radishes and leeks. He has donated specimens from his collection to researchers at the USDA-administered National Plant Germplasm System, sold them to seed companies like Fedco, and distributed them worldwide through print and online platforms, some of which he’s been instrumental in launching. His work, which he calls the Scatterseed Project, has been covered in multiple books and one Emmy-nominated PBS documentary, Seed, the Untold Story and it’s earned him something like icon status within the seed-saving subculture.
“Genetic diversity is the hedge between us and global famine,” Bonsall told filmmakers behind the Emmy-nominated 2016 documentary Seed: The Untold Story. “I see myself as Noah, not God.”
Bonsall... is a “living treasure.”
Irena Hollowell, board president of the Grassroots Seed Network, an online seed-distribution effort that Bonsall helped found as an alternative to the Seed Savers Exchange, explains that with fewer young people farming or gardening, the average age of seed savers across the country is climbing — and seed varieties exclusively in the hands of older people are at greater risk of being lost.
“(Will is) a good case in point of why this (seed saving) work is needed... Will is physically not able to keep up with what he was able to do years ago.”
Bonsall acknowledges as much, and his desire to share his knowledge with younger generations is part of why he stays on the lecture and workshop circuit, even though such gigs often nudge him well out of his rural element.
As time allows, Will will keep replanting his varieties, and with help from those he’s supplied, he’ll track down fresher samples of varieties he’s lost. If he can’t keep up with it all, then his collection will continue to age and his seeds to expire. But as long as he’s able to crawl barefoot in the garden, he’ll keep on juggling, keep on doing what he loves.
Read Will's Chelsea Green 2015 book, Will Bonsall’s Essential Guide to Radical, Self-Reliant Gardening
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From Modern Farmer online / April 5, 2020
Got seeds?
Seed sellers across North America have been overwhelmed by skyrocketing demand in recent weeks as home gardeners are preparing to grow their own vegetables in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Starting around March 16, online seed stores saw a huge spike in orders for vegetable seeds, as fears emerged that the pandemic could threaten food security...
What seems to be top of mind for many new gardeners is food security. From a seed seller’s perspective, it never hurts to start growing your own food, especially while governments across the world are struggling to figure out how the necessary number of workers will be available for the coming growing season.
“I think it’s always good for people to grow their own food. I think that’s something we’ve largely lost as a society over the last 30 years or so,” says Ken Wasnock of Harris Seeds. “So I do think that it’s always wise to do that.”
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Life of an Indefatigable 'Seed Saving' Food Activist
For decades, activists across the world have been pointing out many deep costs of industrial agriculture. In most every region, food production beginning with seed stock is pitted against corporate interests with shares of stock and profit incentives. Communities again and again point to a struggle that is ongoing, beginning with the basic, food and health. It's a story of survival at heart.
Perhaps an appropriate place to start this sustenance story of food and water, control and independence, corporate patented 'GMO' seeds and their necessary petro-chemical inputs and corporate controlled growing regimens, would be to bring in a contrarian voice. This would be Vandana Shiva.
Let's begin our story in 2014. Let's follow an intrepid reporter following the controversial Vandana.
Early this spring, the Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva led an unusual pilgrimage across southern Europe. Beginning in Greece, with the international Pan-Hellenic Exchange of Local Seed Varieties Festival, which celebrated the virtues of traditional agriculture, Shiva and an entourage of followers crossed the Adriatic and travelled by bus up the boot of Italy, to Florence, where she spoke at the Seed, Food and Earth Democracy Festival. After a short planning meeting in Genoa, the caravan rolled on to the South of France, ending in Le Mas d’Azil, just in time to celebrate International Days of the Seed.
Shiva’s fiery opposition to globalization and to the use of genetically modified crops has made her a hero to anti-G.M.O. activists everywhere. The purpose of the trip through Europe, she had told me a few weeks earlier, was to focus attention there on “the voices of those who want their agriculture to be free of poison and G.M.O.s.”
At each stop, Shiva delivered a message that she has honed for nearly three decades: by engineering, patenting, and transforming seeds into costly packets of intellectual property, multinational corporations such as Monsanto, with considerable assistance from the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, the United States government, and even philanthropies like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, are attempting to impose “food totalitarianism” on the world. She describes the fight against agricultural biotechnology as a global war against a few giant seed companies on behalf of the billions of farmers who depend on what they themselves grow to survive. Shiva contends that nothing less than the future of humanity rides on the outcome...
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2020
File:Heirloom seed companies - as of 2019-2020.pdf
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2019
Via Dan Barber - NYT / Seed Monopolies: Corporate takeover of global agriculture seed industry
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International Seeds Day, April 30th
Beginning in the 1990's and work in establishing Seeds of Change, our team's goal at GreenPolicy360 is to continue bringing a message of good health, good food, organic ag with smart agricultural methods. Our work has continued on in multiple ways over three decades now in association with the Bioneers mission of seeding environmental, green initiatives, especially with healthy biodiversity...
>Without seeds, where would we be? Seeds are the foundation of the food that sustains us and much of the life we interact with every day. Today is International Seeds Day, and we’re celebrating these small but mighty wonders.
As Bioneers’ Arty Mangan writes, while seed saving once served a vital role in cultural preservation, our seed diversity is now at risk. “Unfortunately, we now have a troubling loss of diversity and monopolistic control of the most fundamental source of our food. Perverse patent laws allow corporations to own life-forms through their genetically engineered seeds, and three chemical companies now control more than 60% of the seed market. Governments around the world have approved these mergers, leaving no way for citizens to sue or break them up. Even more disturbing is the fact that these companies continue to buy up seeds and then ‘shelve’ them as a way to eliminate competition, further limiting the diversity of seeds that farmers can buy and plant.”
Large seed corporations are making it tough for the little guys to get by, writes Gracy Olmstead in The American Conservative. As global climate change continues to make food production more challenging, and as regions throughout the world face food scarcity to growing degrees, many are arguing that putting the power of seeds back into the hands of the people is the solution we need.
The Global Seed Network
The Center for Food Safety launched the Global Seed Network in 2017 to “promote the free sharing of rare, heirloom, and culturally significant seeds among farmers and gardeners around the world.” Gardeners, farmers, and small organizations can use the Network to connect with seed savers in regions throughout the world with similar growing conditions to theirs. In so doing, they’ll have access to seeds that meet their specific needs, such as drought and disease resistance.
The Global Seed Network empowers growers of all kinds and fosters the seed diversity we believe our planet and communities need.
Learn How to Save Seeds
Helping organic farmers, beginning with seed
Organic farmers need seeds that thrive without synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and are adapted to their local climate and environmental conditions. The organic community needs more farmers who are trained to produce organic seed for themselves and for seed companies selling to other growers. The Organic Seed Alliances serves farmers and growers of all size, small, medium-sized, and large. Contact them @ https://seedalliance.org/
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International Seed Saving Act
The Problems with Seed Monopolization
- https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Seed-monopoly-consolidation-chart-2018.jpg / https://philhowardnet.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/Seed2018-1.png?w=1782&h=768&crop=1
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Biodiversity, Co-evolution, Agriculture and Alternative Agriculture
Food and Farming Go Back to the Earliest Recorded Times as Humankind Moves from Hunting/Gathering to Growing and Harvesting
The 'new world order' has delivered a new system of industrial agriculture and at the center of this new corporate-controlled system is intellectual property in the form of patented seeds. These seeds are the product of laboratory design and are created to be a product controlled and sold each year, unlike the tradition of collecting and sharing seeds that have come to be known as 'heirloom' seeds.
Most of modern agriculture, within a corporate growing regime, requires annual/constant purchasing of seeds, investment/debt, and high inputs of petrochemicals, including insecticides with deleterious health effects. The promise of short-term production boosts bring mid-, long-term consequences.
Sustainability of production is at risk, as soils are damaged and lost, aquifers are drawn down and polluted, financial impacts and imbalances that result with the acquisitions of independent and small- and mid-sized local farms and production all play a role in this new world of agriculture.
The loss of seeds that can be grown out, season to season, produces a loss of varieties, species, resilience in the fields and healthy, tasty choices at the table (so many industrially bred fruits/vegetables are deficient in taste and nutrition.)
Let's look at some of the recent changes -- and what can be done to revitalize agriculture, beginning with seed saving, a co-evolutionary strategy where season to season we choose to support and grow out to seed for the next season, the best in the field.
Green best practices in agriculture can often be seen as an alternative to corporate industrialization of agriculture and food distribution.
The challenge of sustainability and optimal practices mid- and long-term begins with seeds and soil and envisions a diversity of growing practices with multiple benefits.
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Re: Seeds as Intellectual Property / Patenting / Environmental Law
Hybrid seed patents, e.g. Bayer-Monsanto corporate seed-stock and market-controlling mergers, corporate trade protectionism with agreements such GATT / NAFTA / WTO
As of 2017 the globalization of the food industry increasingly grows in power, even as legal challenges rise to trade agreements and business practices damaging environmental protection, human health, community well-being and sustainability practices.
- As of 2015, continuing its acquisitions, Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, attempts to swallow up the chemical operations of Syngenta, the world’s largest producer of pesticides and other farm inputs]
- Mega-merger: Monsanto seeks takeover of Syngenta, world's largest crop chemical company
- Syngenta is the world's largest crop chemical producer and Monsanto, known for its genetically-modified (GMO) seed regime, makes Roundup, the popular glyphosate-based herbicide. In March, glyphosate was classified as “probably” carcinogenic to humans by a branch of the World Health Organization.
- As the most powerful multinational biotech corporation today, Monsanto has drawn the ire of farmers and consumers for its firm grip on the global food chain. The company's control and advancement of GMO seeds is of prime concern, as they symbolize the company's consolidation of agricultural processes. This consolidation has been blamed by some for a sharp spike in suicide rates among Indian farmers, many of whom could not afford to continue buying Monsanto's Ready Roundup seeds used in tandem with the company's herbicide.
- Monsanto's track record has been scrutinized ever since it aided US warfare in Vietnam. Agent Orange was manufactured for the US Department of Defense primarily by Monsanto Corporation, the use of which is estimated to have killed and maimed around 400,000 while causing birth defects for 500,000 children.
- Scientific studies have linked the chemicals in Monsanto's biocides to Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and cancer.
- Biotech companies purport that GMOs are key to feeding the world's growing population, but this claim has been heavily contested. A recent report found that GMO "seed companies' investment in improving yields in already high-yielding areas does little to improve food security; it mainly helps line the pockets of seed and chemical companies, large-scale growers and producers of corn ethanol."
- GMO crops and ingredients have been consumed in the US for more than two decades. Large amounts of corn, soybeans, and canola produced in the US are genetically engineered. As much as 75 percent of processed food made in the US contains GMO ingredients.
- Monsanto first introduced glyphosate weed killers in 1974. GMO seeds have caused use of glyphosate to increase immensely since the 1990s, according to US Geological Survey data.
- The effects of biochemicals on wildlife, including pollinators such as honeybees and monarch butterflies, are also a point of concern. For instance, since 1990, about 970 million of the butterflies – 90 percent of the total population – have vanished across the United States, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. At least part of the blame rests on the boom in Roundup use. Roundup, the herbicide marketed to farmers and homeowners as an effective method for eliminating plants like milkweed, is widely blamed for decimating the butterflies’ only source of food in the Midwest.
- In the European Union, suspicions that neonicotinoids pesticides are responsible for mass deaths among honeybees have led to bans on such chemicals.
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As multinational corporations have bought up seed companies in developed and developing countries, a pattern has emerged of exclusivity, where traditional seed stock is set aside and farmers are required to use company hybrid seeds and accompanying chemical inputs. Hybrid/patented seeds require intensive petrochemical/agribusiness inputs. The multiple costs of 'externalities' such as water pollution, soil depletion, pesticide impacts, economic dislocations, and non-sustainable production methods that damage local communities are now coming into view.) Alternatives such as open pollinated seeds and independent agricultural methods are being reconsidered as viable production methods without the external costs.
Multiple issues, political and business, are increasingly being debated re: production/yields/healthy products/soil depletion/acquifer/water depletion and longer term sustainability of agribusiness -- local and global agriculture is re-examining its production and future...
- See more: 'The Food Movement, Rising' -- http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/the-food-movement-rising
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March 2015 / Loss of Seed Diversity (documentary) - Need for "Open Source" Seeds http://modernfarmer.com/2015/03/new-film-explores-loss-of-seed-diversity/
Open Sesame, the Story of Seeds http://www.opensesamemovie.com/
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Genetic Time Bomb
Video by John de Graaf
How loss of genetic diversity in seeds threatens our future
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Loss of Diversity
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Industrial Agriculture -- Consequences
Quick Review of "The Debate" -- Diversity v Monoculture, Seed Saving v Seed Patents, Productivity & Sustainability, a GMO/patented seed, high input, chemically intensive, pesticide/petrochemical regimen and/or...
One of the issues rarely confronted when considering high intensive agricultural is the use of water in unsustainable irrigation.
Water loss and depletion of aquifers is a rising cost and only recently, with the advent of earth observation and monitoring systems, are technologies becoming available to measure the extent of the depletion and loss groundwater basins and recharging capabilities.
New satellite measurements of aquifers/ground water globally, as are now being reported with NASA GRACE satellites, comprise both a warning and a capability of needed sustainable environmental security.
Earth Science Research from Space
Water saving and water security are essential to a lasting agriculture policy.
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UNCERTAIN PERIL: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Seeds by Claire Hope Cummings
“A must-read for anyone concerned about plants and what the privatization and manipulation of seeds may mean for the future of food.” ~ Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food and The Omnivore’s Dilemma
"I hope everyone reads it!" ~ John Seabrook, Staff Writer, the New Yorker
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August 25, 2014
- http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/25/seeds-of-doubt - By Michael Specter, Contributor to the New Yorker
"There are two trends,” [Vandana Shiva] told the crowd that had gathered in Piazza Santissima Annunziata, in Florence, for the seed fair. “One: a trend of diversity, democracy, freedom, joy, culture—people celebrating their lives... And the other: monocultures, deadness... We would have no hunger in the world if the seed was in the hands of the farmers and gardeners and the land was in the hands of the farmers..."
Shiva, along with a growing army of supporters, argues that the prevailing model of industrial agriculture, heavily reliant on chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fossil fuels, and a seemingly limitless supply of cheap water, places an unacceptable burden on the Earth’s resources. She promotes, as most knowledgeable farmers do, more diversity in crops, greater care for the soil, and more support for people who work the land every day. Shiva has particular contempt for farmers who plant monocultures—vast fields of a single crop. “They are ruining the planet,” she told me. “They are destroying this beautiful world.”
The global food supply is indeed in danger. Feeding the expanding population without further harming the Earth presents one of the greatest challenges of our time, perhaps of all time.
Few technologies, not the car, the phone, or even the computer, have been adopted as rapidly and as widely as the products of agricultural biotechnology. Between 1996, when genetically engineered crops were first planted, and last year, the area they cover has increased a hundredfold—from 1.7 million hectares to a hundred and seventy million. Nearly half of the world’s soybeans and a third of its corn are products of biotechnology... Between 1950 and the end of the twentieth century, the world’s grain production rose from seven hundred million tons to 1.9 billion, all on nearly the same amount of land...
The "Green Revolution" relied heavily on fertilizers and pesticides, but in the nineteen-sixties little thought was given to the environmental consequences...
To feed ten billion people, most of whom will live in the developing world, we will need what the Indian agricultural pioneer M. S. Swaminathan has called “an evergreen revolution,” one that combines the most advanced science with a clear focus on sustaining the environment. Until recently, these have seemed like separate goals...
Shiva and other opponents of agricultural biotechnology argue that the higher cost of patented seeds, produced by giant corporations, prevents poor farmers from sowing them in their fields...
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June 15, 2015
Vandana Shiva is a well known environmental activist, eco-feminist, and anti-GMO campaigner. Time Magazine in 2003 called her an environmental hero and one of Asia's most powerful communicators.
Shiva has her critics... A long article in the New Yorker by Michael Specter is a recent example of criticism of her work, although it also acknowledges contributions she has made to the environmental movement. A response to the article by Counter Punch by Louis Proyect calls the article a "hatchet job" but that seems overly harsh. Specter makes a number of valid criticisms of Shiva. I have always had doubts about Shiva even though I agree with many of her positions. For example, I oppose the patents on GMO and the restrictions on farmers reusing the seed. However, the problem of patents applies to many areas. Patent protection adds huge costs to health plans because many drugs are patented and companies can charge whatever the market will bear with no fear of competition...
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August 20, 2014
So Right and So Wrong
http://grist.org/food/vandana-shiva-so-right-and-yet-so-wrong/
Romantic environmentalists tend to get the big-picture problems right, while fudging the details. Rationalists nail the details, but sometimes become so immersed in the minutiae that they lose sight of the big picture.
Michael Specter’s New Yorker profile of Vandana Shiva, the environmentalist and crusader against globalization and Big Agriculture, is a portrait of someone who understands the big-picture concerns of green-inclined young people with great clarity...
There’s a real danger when a big-picture romantic fixates on one particular devil as the root of all problems. Among activists trying to raise awareness about a problem, fudging details is commonplace and, maybe, inevitable. But if you are proposing solutions, it’s important to get the facts right...
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"Bitter Seeds" / 2012 - http://grist.org/industrial-agriculture/bitter-seeds-documentary-reveals-tragic-toll-of-gmos-in-india/
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EcoWatch
Vandana Shiva
Bringing the soil to the center... planning is vital for the life of the soil, but also for the future of our society.
History provides ample evidence that civilizations which ignored the health and well-being of the soil, and exploited it without renewing its fertility, disappeared along with the soil.
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Seeding for the Future
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Seed Saving - Heirloom / Traditional Ways
Save Seeds / Do Your Part to Preserve Diversity (and Enjoy Healthy Tasty 'Best from the Farm & Garden')
List of Seed Suppliers / 2017
United States
Foundroot, Alaska, USA.
Foundroot sell 100% open-pollinated seeds. They specialize in rare heirloom and expertly bred seeds for challenging climates. Contact: 907-414-3077 and Email: [email protected]
Terroir Seeds LLC. Home of Underwood Gardens Arizona, USA.
A family owned independent heirloom seed company that offers the finest untreated, non-GMO heirloom vegetable, herbs and flowers seeds for home gardeners and small growers. Contact: Phone/Fax 888-878-5247
Native Seeds / Arizona, USA.
They are a non-profit conservation organization based in Tucson, Arizona. Since 1983, they have become a major regional seed bank and a leader in the heirloom seed movement. Contact: 520-622-0830 and Email: [email protected]
The Natural Gardening Company California, USA.
They offer organically produced seeds and plants that promotes the long term health and preservations of our natural resources. Contact: 707-766-9303 and Email: [email protected]
Mountain Valley Growers California, USA.
It is a USDA Certified organic company that offers organic herbs and vegetable plants. Contact: 559-338-2775
Laurel’s Heirloom Tomato Plants California, USA.
They offer 100 luscious varieties of strictly organically grown heirloom tomato plants. Contact: 310 534 8611
Renee’s Garden California, USA.
The owner, Renee Shepherd offers heirlooms, certified organic seeds. Contact: Phone: 1-888-880-7228 and Email: [email protected]
The Kusa Seed Society California, USA.
Their mission is to increase humanity’s knowledge and understanding about seed crops. Contact them via EMail: [email protected]
Petaluma Seed Bank California, USA.
Housed in and old bank building, this seed bank offers only pure, natural and non-GMO seeds! Phone (707) 773-1336 Email: [email protected]
My Heirloom Seeds California, USA.
They sell a “survival kit” with a large number of heirloom seeds. “We carry 100% non-GMO Heirloom seeds, that are not genetically modified, non hybrid and open pollinated.” They have signed the safe seed pledge. Contact: 310.773.5936
Bountiful Gardens California, USA.
They sell untreated open-pollinated non-GMO seed of heirloom quality for vegetables, herbs, flowers, grains, green manures, compost and carbon crops. Contact:707 459 6410 and Email: [email protected]
GrowOrganic.com California, USA.
They offer all organic and non-GMO seeds. They also have organic fertilizer, organic weed and pest control. Contact: 530-272-4769 and Email: [email protected]
Kitazawa Seed Co. California, USA.
They are the oldest seed company in America specializing in Asian seeds. All of their seeds are non-GMO and many open pollinated varieties. Contact:(510) 595-1188 and Email: [email protected]
Diaspora Seeds California, USA.
A small family-run seed business in rural Anderson Valley. Many of the seeds they offer are heirloom seeds; resilient, productive and delicious offerings from many different cultures; geographies and time. You can contact them through their online form.
Farm Direct Organic Seed (Hobbs Family Farm) Colorado, USA.
They grow certified organic garlic, open-pollinated seeds, fresh vegetables and many more. Contact:719-250-9835 and Email: [email protected]
Botanical Interests Colorado, USA.
All of their seeds are GMO-Free and they do not buy or sell genetically engineered seeds or plants. Over 500 varieties to choose from. Contact: 877-821-4340
BBB Seed Colorado, USA.
A small family owned company committed to providing safe, healthy, untreated, non-genetically engineered heirloom vegetable seed to its customers and promoting safe and sustainable agriculture. See their line of open-pollinated heirloom vegetable seeds and organic heirloom vegetable seeds as well as a wide variety of wildflower & grass mixes. Contact: 303-530-1222
Select Seeds Connecticut, USA.
They offer a wide range of unique, high- quality flower seeds and plants. Contact: 1-800-684-0395
New England Seed Company Connecticut, USA.
The company offers chemical-free seed products, they sells vegetable, flower, herb and organic bulk seed. Contact: 800-825-5477 and Email: [email protected]
Mary’s Heirloom Seeds Florida, USA.
Mary’s currently offer over 400 varieties of Heirloom, open-pollinated, non-gmo & non-hybrid, non-patented, untreated & organic seeds. Mary has signed the Safe Seed pledge. Most seed orders placed Monday-Thursday are shipped within 48 hours, (except for holidays) Contact: (760) 870-4555, email: [email protected]
Crispy Farms Florida, USA.
They sell homegrown meat, dairy produce, pantry items and non-GMO plants and seeds. Contact them through the online form on their website or Email:[email protected]
Eden Organic Nursery Service Inc. Florida, USA.
They offer organic and hybrid seeds for vegetables, tobacco seeds, medical and healing plants and many more. Contact:(954) 382-8281
Grower Jim’s Plants and Produce Florida, USA.
They are a small sustainable farm selling fresh produce, plants and seeds. Their seeds are hand-picked, open-pollinated, non-hybrid, non-GM, and heirloom types grown chemical-free in a natural environment. Their selection includes both edible and ornamental varieties of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. Contact them through their website or Facebook page.
NON-GMO Hawaii Heirloom Seeds Honolulu, Hawaii.
A newly established heirloom and non-GMO seed retailer that offers different variety of fruit and vegetable seeds. Contact: 808-941-0093
Camp Point Seed Co. Illinois, USA.
They are selling non-GMO seed corn, non-GMO soybeans and many more. Contact: 217-593-7333 and Email: [email protected]
American Organic Illinois, USA.
Their products meet all USDA National Organic Program requirements. This seed was not produced from genetically modified varieties and was carefully grown. Contact: 815-745-1018 and Email: [email protected]
Great Harvest Organics Indiana, USA.
They are selling organic corn, wheat and soybean seeds. Contact: 317-984-2364 and Email: [email protected]
Blue River Hybrids Iowa, USA.
It is an independently owned and operated by dedicated people who wants to provide you the highest quality organic seed corns, organic soybeans and organic forages. Contact: 800.370.7979
- Seed Savers Exchange Iowa, USA.
Registered and non-profit organization dedicated to saving heirloom seeds. They have an online catalog. Contact: (563) 382-5990 and Fax: (563) 382-6511
Skyfire Garden Seeds Kansas, USA.
They sell over 125 varieties of heirloom tomatoes; rare eggplants. heirloom peppers and more. All of these seeds are all open-pollinated, non-GMO and no-treated seeds. Order through their online form.
Sustainable Mountain Agriculture Center Inc. Kentucky, USA.
The major goal of this Center is to demonstrate to the people that farmers do have viable options to off-farm jobs. They assist in identifying, collection and sustaining family and community of heirloom seeds and plants. Contact: (859) 986-3204
Wood Prairie Farm Maine, USA.
They are a small Certified Organic family farm in the State of Maine. They offer organic potato seeds, orgnaic fertilizer and many more. Contact: 1-800-829-9765 and Email: [email protected]
FEDCO Maine, USA.
They offer seeds, organically grown seedlings, seed potatoes, orchard and also farm and garden supplies. Contact: (207) 426-9900
Pinetree Garden Seeds & Accessories Maine, USA.
They offer the best prices for thier high quality seeds, books, tools and soap making. Contact:207-926-3400 and Email: [email protected]
Johnny’s Selected Seeds Maine, USA.
It is an employee-owned company since July 2006. They offers heirlooms, organics and hybrids seeds. Contact: 207-861-3900
Groundswell Seed Farm Maine, USA.
This is farm-based seed supplier that sells only certified organic, hand-harvested open-pollinated and heirloom seeds that are grown on their farm.
Annie’s Heirloom Seeds Michigan, USA.
They offer a wide range of vegetable seeds like broccoli, beans, asparagus and many more. They also have gardening supplies and book for beginners. This is a one stop shop for your garden needs. Contact:800-313-9140
Todd’s Seeds Michigan, USA.
They are specializes in organic, heirloom, non-GMO and open pollinated vegetable, flower and sprouting seeds. Contact him through the online form on the website.
Organic Heirloom Plants Michigan, USA.
They raise their own organic plants and heirloom plants that are 100% free of chemical and pesticides.
Orchard House Heirloom Michigan, USA.
Orchard House Heirlooms is dedicated to bring to market the most sustainable vegetable and herb seeds on the planet, heirlooms. All of their seeds are heirloom or organic heirloom and do not sell hybrid or GMO seeds. Contact: 269-782-7000
Albert Lea Seed Minnesota, USA.
They are Certified Organic Processors, meeting the National Organic Program standards for processing organically-raised grains, soybeans and other field crops. Contact:(800) 352-5247
Grannys Heirloom Seeds Missouri, USA.
They offer non-hybrid heirloom seeds, heirloom herb seeds and garden tools and needs. Contact: 1-800-274-3899
Pantry Garden Herbs Missouri, USA.
They offer a lot of different organic vegetable and organic herb plants. They are USDA certified. Contact:(877) 572-4142 and Email: [email protected]
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Missouri, USA.
The company has grown to offer 1450 varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs-the largest selection of heirloom varieties in the U.S.A. All of their seeds are non-hybrid, non-GMO. non-treated and non-patented. Contacts: (417) 924-8917 and Email: [email protected]
Gourmet Seed New Mexico, USA.
They are selling a wide range of organic vegetable seeds, flower seeds, herb seeds, tools and supplies. Contact: 575-398-6111
Fruition Seeds, New York, ISA
They cultivate over 300 varieties of certified organic vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Contact: (585)374-8903
Lakeview Organic Grain, LLC New York, USA.
They have organic seeds, animal feeds and organic feed grain. Contact: 315-531-1038 and Email: [email protected]
Harris Seeds New York, USA.
They supports the success of organic growers by offering high quality organic and untreated seeds, organic plants, and OMRI listed supplies for organic growing. Contact:(800) 544-7938
Hudson Valley Seed Library New York, USA.
They only offer heirloom and open-pollinated seeds- no hybrids and nothing genetically engineered. Contact: 845-204-8769 and Email: [email protected]
Livingston Seed Ohio, USA.
Livingston Seed is a wholesale company, selling only to the trade. Have signed the Safe Seed Pledge and are proudly GMO-free. Phone: 800.848.2970 Email: [email protected]
Dust Bowl Seed Oklahama, USA.
They sell 100 % pure and natural and 100% GMO-FREE seeds of garlic, onions, beans and many more. You can also check their products online. Contact:+1 918-207-6053 and Email: [email protected]
Family Farmers Seed Cooperative Oregon, USA.
A farmer-owned cooperative that produces high quality, organic, open-pollinated, public domain seeds for farmers. Contact: 541-233-4249 and Email: [email protected]
Territorial Seed Company Oregon, USA.
They offer a wide range of organic seeds of vegetables, flowers, fruits, herbs and many more. Contact: 541-942-0510 and Email: [email protected]
Victory Seeds Oregon, USA.
They 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. Contact: Fax: (503) 829-3126 and Email: [email protected]
Adaptive Seeds Oregon, USA.
They seeds are not hybrids, patented, or genetically modified. They have a wide range of vegetable seeds to choose from. Contact: (541) 367-1105 and Email: [email protected]
All Good Things Organic Seeds Oregon, USA.
As you can see on their company name, all of the seeds that they are selling are organic quality vegetable and herbs. Contact: 805.758.3184 and Email: [email protected]
Daggawalla Seeds and Herbs Oregon, USA.
All of their seeds are open-pollinated and non-GMO that are organically-grew by the owners. They offer a wide range of medicinal and culinary herbs, heirloom vegetables, staple crops, flowers and many more. Their seed collection ranges from common to the rare, from the native to the cosmopolitan, and from the fussy to the facile. Contact: 503.686.5557 or Email: [email protected]
Umpquatopia Oregon, USA.
Located in Southern Oregon’s Umpqua (Ump-kwah) Valley that offers varieties of heirloom vegetables, herbs, companion plants and native plant seeds all grow without the use of synthetics with permaculture methods. Email: [email protected]
Amishland Heirloom Seeds Pennsylvania, USA.
Lisa at Amishland is selling heirloom heritage, exotic and foreign organically raised seeds. Contact: [email protected]
Heirloom Seeds Pennsylvania, USA.
All their seeds are open pollinated (non-hybrid) and untreated, non-GMO and selections of gardening books for beginner. Contact:(724) 663-5356
The Cook’s Garden Pennsylvania, USA.
Organic seeds and supplies, European and American heirloom and specialty varsities. Contact: 1-800-457-9703
The Ark Institute Pennsylvania, USA.
They offer 100% non-hybrid, non- GMO and chemical free produce seeds. Contact:(800) 255-1912 and Email:[email protected]
Marianna’s Heirloom Seeds Tennessee, USA.
They only use a natural growing method so all of their seeds are un-treated, non-GMO or hybrid. Contact: Fax: 615-807-3088 New
Hope Seed Company Tennessee, USA.
They specialize in open-pollinated and heirloom vegetable seed varieties that are rare and not readily commercially available. Contact: Email: [email protected]
Center Of The Webb Texas, USA.
They specialize in rare seeds – they have flower and heirloom and organic seeds and some really unusual “weird and wonderful” vegetable and fruit seeds too. Email: [email protected]
Diane’s Flower Seeds Utah, USA.
They sell open-pollinated and heirloom flower seeds, like rare perennials. They also sell heirloom tomato seeds and vegetable and herbs seeds. Email:[email protected]
High Mowing Organic Seeds Vermont, USA.
Founded in 1996. They are selling 100% organic vegetable seeds, herb seeds and flower seeds Contact: 802-472-6174
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange Virginia, USA.
They offer many unusual, Southern heirlooms, including peanuts, southern peas, naturally colored cotton and many more. Contacts: 540-894-9480 and Fax: 540-894-9481
Backyard Beans & Grain Projects Washington, USA.
They produce a large variety of vegetables, berries, peas and many more. All of their seeds are open-pollinated, non-GMO and non-hybrid. Contact: (360) 224-4757
Filaree Garlic Farm Washington, USA.
They are selling organic garlic seeds and a newly added organic potatoes. They are certified annually by the Washington State Department and the USDA. Contact:(509) 422 6940
Seeds For Generations USA.
A family business selling organic heirloom vegetable seeds and related gardening products. Contact them through their website.
SeedsNow.com USA.
An online shop that sells 100% NON-GMO, non-hybrid and heirloom Herb, Fruits and Vegetable Seeds. Contact: Toll-free #: 1-877-344-4669 and Email: [email protected]
Indoor Harvest Gardens USA
Committed to preserving heirloom varieties and safe, organic, non-GMO seed. Practicing sustainable, earth-friendly, bio-dynamic farming methods. See website for ordering
Knapp’s Fresh Vegies USA.
Currently listing about 450 varieties of mostly heirloom tomatoes. Contact: [email protected]
UK/Ireland
The Real Seed Catalogue UK.
They only offer what they know that is really good. If you’re a first time gardener, you can order a book together with the seeds that you like. Contact: 01239 821107 and Email: [email protected]/
Mr Middleton Garden Shop Dublin, Ireland.
Ireland’s oldest mail order garden retailer, they sell 2,000 varieties of flowers bulbs from around the world as well as garden tools. Contact: 01 8731118
Fruit Hill Farm Country Cork, Ireland.
One stop shop for your garden needs. They only sell organic seeds of vegetables, potatoes, garlic, onion and even organic fertilizer. Contact: 027 50710 and Email: [email protected]
The Organic Centre Leitrim, Ireland.
They have almost 200 items in their seed catalog. They also offer seed saving workshops for those beginners. You can visit their website for the workshop lists. Contact:353-71-98-54338 and Email: [email protected]
Western Seeds Pembrokeshire, UK.
They sell organic seeds with the highest possible quality seed at the most competitive price. Contact: 01834 861904 and Email:[email protected]
Irish Potato Marketing Ltd. Co Dublin, Ireland.
They sell conventional and organic seed potatoes. Contact:01 282 7600 and Email: [email protected]
Irish Seed Savers’ Association Country Clare, Ireland.
It is an Irish non-government organisation founded in 1991 by Anita Hayes. They maintains a seed bank with over 600 non-commercially available varieties of seeds. Contact:+353 61 921866 and Email:[email protected]
Europrise Dublin, Ireland.
It is part of the Bejo Zaden vegetable seed company of Holland. They produce and sell over 140 varieties in 40 species of organic seeds. Contact: (01) 843 8711 and Email: [email protected]
Peppermint Farm & Garden West Cork, Ireland.
They sell more than 300 varieties of organic herbs – culinary herbs, medicinal herbs, fragrant herbs. They also have vegetable plants and organic herbal teas that you will love. Contact:00353-28-31949 and Email: [email protected]
Europe (except UK & Ireland)
Arche Noah Austria.
They offer over 600 species of rare vegetables, field crops, fruits, herbs, wild and ornamental plants. Contact: 907 994 719
Vitalis Biologische Zanden B.V.
They offer a wide range of organic vegetable seeds in Europe. Contact: +31 (0)575 502 648 and Email: [email protected]
Impecta Frö Handel Julita, Sweden.
They sell organically grown seeds for health and environment. Contact: +46 (0) 150-923 31 and Email: [email protected]
Runåbergs fröer Spekeröd, Sweden.
They offer organically (and ecologically) grown seeds and also sell their products in other Scandinavian Countries. Contact: +46 (0)303-777140
Lindbloms Frö Kivik, Sweden.
They are well-known in Scandinavia for organic and untreated seeds from small scale commercial farming. Phone: +46-414 708 80, Fax: +46-414 700 09 and Email: [email protected]
Rara Växter Stockholm, Sweden.
A small family business that was founded in 1987. They sell rare plants, cut the middleman and bought directly from growers to ensure top quality. Organic to the largest extent possible, though they have some non-organic seeds too. Contact: 08-714 85 75 and Email: [email protected]
Fobo – Organic Garden Bredaryd, Sweden.
They sell 100% all organic, which is called “ecological” in Sweden. Contact: 0722-098608 and Email: [email protected]
Franchi frö Sweden.
Seed company since 1783 specialized in organic, heirloom seed. Email: [email protected]
Pratensis AB Lönashult, Sweden.
Specialized in wildflower meadows, with a strong emphasis on preserving endangered species. Contact: 0470-75 10 25 and Email:[email protected]
Dreschflegel Witzenhausen, Germany.
Consist of 3 branches: 1) Flail GbR – union controlled organic farms for seed propagation, plant breeding and marketing online. 2) Profit association name Flail with socio-politically active people with ecological interest. 3) The show garden “Schoenhagen” with countless varieties grown from the Flail range. Contact: 05542-502744 and Email: [email protected]/
Ökologische Saaten Bingen, Germany.
Selling organic seeds in Germany and the United Kingdom. Check their website for product list. Contact: +49 (0) 6035 1899-0 Fax: +49 (0) 6035 1899-40 Email: [email protected]
Canada
Two Wings Farm British Columbia, Canada.
Located in Victoria, BC. They sell heirloom tomatoes, lettuces, peppers and many more. They also have a planting instructions for beginners. Contact: 250 478 3794 and Email: [email protected]
Heritage Harvest Seed Manitoba, Canada.
A mail order business specializing in rare and endangered heirloom varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs. Contact: (204)745-6489 and Email: [email protected]
Richters Herbs Ontario, Canada.
Herb specialist since 1969. Have signed the Safe Seed Pledge for GMO-free seeds. Contact: 1.905.640.6677
The Mushroom Man Vancouver, Canada.
Organic mushroom specialist, “sells mushroom growing kits, mushroom spawn and cultures, mushroom cultivation supplies and conducts mushroom growing workshops”. Email: [email protected] Phone: 1.905.640.6677
Seeds of Victoria British Columbia, Canada.
They offer a wide range of organic seeds of vegetables and also flowers. They also offer lectures and workshops. Contact: (250) 881-1555 and Email: [email protected]
Hawthorn Farm Organic Seeds Ontario, Canada.
Certified organic seed for home and market gardeners. Vegetables, herbs, flowers – top quality and germination tested seed. Almost all of the seed is grown at Hawthorn Farm. Email: [email protected]
Cubit’s Ontario, Canada.
Cubit’s sells ethical seeds for edible gardens with a specific interest in helping home gardeners frow their own food. Contact: 416 879 1985 and Email: [email protected]
Salt Spring Seeds British Columbia, Canada.
They are promoting a safe and sustainable, local agriculture in Canada. Contacts: Email: [email protected]
The Cottage Gardener Ontario, Canada.
They have been providing rare and endangered heirloom varieties of vegetables, herbs and flowers. Their online catalog has over 650 heirloom seeds. Contacts: Email: [email protected] and phone: 905-786-2388
William Dam Seeds Ontario, Canada.
They offer untreated and non-GMO seeds. They also sell vegetable plants in the spring. You can check their online catalog for the list of their seeds and plants. Contact: 1-905-628-6641 and Email: [email protected]
Prairie Garden Seeds Saskatchewan, Canada.
They offer a wide range of organic seeds of vegetables and also flowers. Contact: Jim Ternier, (306) 682-1475 and Email: [email protected]
Strathcona 1890 Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Non-GMO, open pollinated, non-chemically treated, heirloom seeds for sustainable food resources. Phone: 1 (604) 253-8844 Email: [email protected]
Solana Seeds Quebec, Canada.
A small seed company that offers a variety of vegetables, flowers and exotic plant seeds. Order through their online form.
Mapple Farm Online NB, Canada.
A small seed company that offers a non-GMO seeds and plants. Great online PDF catalogue. Email: [email protected]
Sugar Shacks Seeds British Columbia, Canada.
A lot of their seeds are heirloom, open pollinated. You can be rest assured that you will never receive any GMO or treated seeds. Email: [email protected]
Eagleridge Seeds British Columbia, Canada.
They specialize in rare organic heirloom seeds since 1995 and completely non GMO. Contact: 250.537.5677 or through their online form.
Vesey Seeds Ltd. Prince Edward Island, Canada.
They sell certified organic vegetable and herb seeds as well as organic garlic and potato seed, heirloom varieties as well as hybrids. They sell seeds to all states and provinces in North America. Contact: 1-800-363-7333 (toll-free) and Email: [email protected]
Rob’s Rare and Giant Seeds Canada.
Not every single thing they sell is heirloom/organic, but they are growing seeds for some very rare plants. They carry zucca melon seeds, which nearly went extinct. They have some weird and wonderful stuff.
Australia & New Zealand
The Organic Seed Co.
Old traditional open pollinated seeds, no hybrids and no GMOs, no chemical treatment, certified organic.
Fair Dinkum Seeds
A huge and constantly changing selection of seeds, plants and even the odd herbs. Selling worldwide via the eBay store! Old style Heirlooms, Rare and interesting forms, Bushtucker species, and lots of stuff that’s just plain old cool! No GMO, or Dodgy hybrids that don’t breed true to form, or chemical toxins. Green Harvest Organic Gardening Supplies Pty Ltd Maleny, QLD, Australia. Organically certified seed supplier. Has heirloom and rare varieties and has signed the safe seed pledge. Phone: 07 54352699
The Diggers Club Australia.
“Australia’s largest range of heirloom vegetables, cottage flowers and fruit plants that can be delivered direct to you. We have specialized in growing hard to find, non-mainstream seeds and plants for over 30 years. All our plants are trialed for hardiness, drought tolerance and flavor before we list them for sale.” Phone: 03 5984 7900
Seeds2Freedom Australia.
Seeds2freedom sells Organic, Heirloom and Open Pollinated seeds. Great selection and online ordering.
The Italian Gardener Australia.
Distributor of Italian vegetable and herb seed from Franchi Sementi SpA of Bergamo, in Northern Italy. They have an organic seed section (linked). Phone: 0407 833 930 Email: [email protected]
Jankala Organic Seed Middleton, SA, Australia.
Online provider of quality organic seed. Providing organic and heirloom seed varieties of fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers.
The Seed Collection Australia.
An online-only business. Seeds are all non-hybrid varieties with no chemical treatment and no genetic engineering. Phone: (03) 8719 0440 Email: [email protected]
Eden Seed Lower Beechmont, Australia.
Old traditional open pollinated varieties of vegetable seed, preferably old Australian varieties and organically or bio-dynamically grown where possible. No chemical treatment, and no genetic engineering. Phone: (07) 5533 1107
Select Organic Middleton, Australia.
They sell organic seed, non-hybrid seed, open pollinated seed and heirloom seed. Phone: (07) 5533 1177
Heirloom Harvest South Australia.
Your source for traditional, heirloom, open-pollinated and organic vegetable seeds for your home garden. Contact them through their online form.
Koanga Institute New Zealand.
The Koanga Institute is a nationally recognized seed saving, permaculture research and sustainable education organisation dedicated to the protection, conservation and development of NZ’s heritage food plants. They have an online shop and seed catalog. Source: Off Grid Info via TheYardener.com
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