Looking for suggestions on seeds

[ameliat]

another fan of Baker Creek - their print catalog has beautiful pics. I just ordered seeds tonight.

[grondeau]

As soon as you start saving seed, you become a plant breeder whether you want to be or not. Hybrids are a quick way to solve the "inbreeding depression" problem and produce seed that seed companies have control over. There is nothing wrong with hybrids - in fact you should make your own from time to time! Or, take your favorite hybrid variety and "de-hybridize" it the old fashion way with years of selection. Once you start saving seed, you will want to know more... For inspiration and general good advice I cannot recommend too highly Carol Deppe's "Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties". My friends over at Adaptive Seeds have the book and they send all of the proceeds back to Carol, so it's a nice way to be supportive of this wonderful gardener and author. (There is a link on my web site or there is Google.)

A good reason to save seed is that your local climate is very likely very different from where commercial seed is grown. As soon as you start saving your own seed, you get the benefit of selection for your own locality - just by what grows. Learn about in-breeders and out-breeders, isolation distance, and minimum number of plants to ensure vitality down the road, and you will be ready to improve your store-bought seed.

Good Luck!
gary

[Dixana]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Baker Creek isn't a seed catalog, it's a coffee table book. It is bar none the beautiful seed book there is. And aside from everything wonderful about them (great customer service, decent shipping, etc) I'll buy from them if nothing else but to help support their "pure" food movement! Their catalog even tells you who to write to to boycott GMO's. How can you not love that?

Territorial also has a LOT of OP varieties and their catalog can teach you a lot! It has so much information about each type of plant it's almost overwhelming and it's great when you're thinking of trying something new! My only issue with TSC is their shipping cost and their recommendation to spray EVERYTHING with pyrethrin. Natural or not it still kills bees and can be toxic to kids.

[grondeau]

Dixana,

Territorial Seed Company is just down the road here, so it is a common name in my community. It certainly is a useful resource - especially their catalog as a general planting guide. But... here is what I wrote about them last spring - and I don't think anything has changed:

"Then there is Territorial Seed Company, a major regional seed producer – but they don’t produce all of their seed locally. Territorial grows about 20% of the seed it sells; the rest it buys from other seed companies – including Seminis, a large seed company owned by Monsanto. This has tainted Territorial’s reputation with many of us, so buy from Territorial after you have tried other sources first, and let them know you do not want Seminis seed."

[DoubleDogFarm]

In other news, I got an email from Territorial Seed Company today. Last I had communicated with them, they had said they would send me the list of Seminis seeds they are selling for 2009 when they got it, but I should email them back in the new year if they forgot. I had just thought about emailing them back in light of my post yesterday, and sure enough, I got the list. Here it is:


BNO28 Romano Gold
BN042 Liana
OK533 Cajun Delight
BN045 Etna
ON542 Mercury
BN059 Helda
ON559 Candy
BR091 Packman
PP663 Northstar
CF188 Cheddar
PP673 Holy Mole
CN203 Seneca Horizon
PP674 Gypsy
CN207 Passion
PP684 Senorita
CR266 Thumbelina
PP689 Big Bomb
CU294 Pearl
PU727 Wyatt’s Wonder
CU295 Cool Breeze
SQ792 Butterstick
CU302 Orient Express
SQ797 Gold Rush
CU312 Babylon
SQ798 Portofino
EG325 Dusky
SQ804 Sungreen
EG332 Fairy Tale
SQ825 Early Butternut
EG333 Twinkle
SQ827 Ambercup
EG334 Hansel
SQ831 Bush Delicata (Conv Only)
LT387 Esmeralda
TM870 Celebrity
LT388 Simpson Elite
TM871 Big Beef
LT400 Summertime
TM885 Yellow Pear
ML456 Fastbreak
TM896 Viva Italia
ML458 Pulsar
TM924 Super Marzano
ML459 Earlidew
TM938 Window Box Roma
ML463 Ambrosia
WA989 Yellow Doll

This list came from here.
http://ft2garden.powweb.com/sinfonian/?p=432

and more here.
http://www.dropstonefarms.com/2009/01/t ... you-think/

Eric

[magicjeep]

Brew, thanks for starting this thread. I'm also looking to start doing some heirloom gardening. I've had gardens in the past (last 2 years we didnt, just too busy w/ kids) and now I'd love to try some heirlooms.

Lorax, any chance I can mooch a few of those hop seeds?

My question is are there any heirloom fruit varieties out there? I'm in NJ and looking to possibly plant some blueberries (my little guy loves'em and I think he'd get a kick out of growing his own).

Thanks to everyone for all the info on the site.

[DoubleDogFarm]

For the purposes of this publication, the term "heirloom" is used broadly and synonymously with such terms as traditional, vintage, antique, heritage, or classic, since each of these terms conveys the age and perceived value of heirlooms, but says little about who grows them, or where, or how. This usage follows that of plant breeder, Carolyn Deppe, who describes the seed-propagated vegetable heirlooms as "any old open-pollinated variet[ies] that [have] been around for a while." Also for this publication, the term "historical varieties" denotes the distinct plant types known from historical documentation; when they still exist today, they are called "heirlooms" or the equivalent. Otherwise, the terms used to describe old varieties are adopted, or inferred, from the respective authors' more specific or contrary usage.

If you would like to read more.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC_pub ... irloom.htm

Eric

[lorax]

Lorax, any chance I can mooch a few of those hop seeds?

My question is are there any heirloom fruit varieties out there? I'm in NJ and looking to possibly plant some blueberries (my little guy loves'em and I think he'd get a kick out of growing his own).

Thanks to everyone for all the info on the site.

Mooch away - PM me your address, and keep me in mind if you've got interesting heirloom tomatoes, any variety of Daikon, or sweet corn of any type (so long as it's not Monsanto).

There are indeed heirloom fruits - I grow a number of them here, although since mine tend to be plums and peaches, I can't really send them anywhere outside of the country. In Canada, I used to grow heirloom high-bush Saskatoons and Blueberries, so they do exist.

Check out the selections at Baker Creek, Johnny's, and McFayden - they often have heirloom fruit varieties.

[gershon]

I buy my seeds here: http://www.mainstreetseedandsupply.com/

The prices are reasonable and they have plenty of variety. I generally go with varieties said to be "most popular" as I figure they got that way for a reason.

The exception is green beans. I use Black Valentine which are very tasty and produce well for a long time. I just searched on Amazon to find them by the pound.