Heirloom/non-GM seed companies?

[Jill- OK]

Anyone have a great recommendation? A company you've used, that has great products/customer service?

 

Heirloom/non-GM is my first priority...organic would be secondary to that.

 

TIA!

 

(ETA: I'm familiar with Victory, and had stuff in the cart there, today, lol...just wondering if I'm missing great deals somewhere else. ;-)

[Ginevra]

Tomato Fest on-line. I order tomato seeds from them every year. I have not ever harvested the seeds and re-seeded, but I still prefer the concept.

[littlebug42]

My Mom uses Seeds of Change. She gets most of her stuff from there.

 

www.seedsofchange.com

[Blossom'sGirl]

I always order from Fedco seeds. They are based in Maine so I figure if the seeds grow there they may work here in NY also.

[BikeBookBread]

There's a local seed bank that is spoken highly of: http://www.nativeseeds.org/

 

I'm not sure if they only specialize in southwestern plants, but FWIW :)

[Heather in WI]

I like:

 

http://www.seedsavers.org/

 

:-)

[caitlinsmom]

http://www.heirloomseeds.com/

 

I have ordered here for years and have been very pleased with the service and quality of the seeds I have recieved. Better priced than a lot of other companies too.

 

I have also ordered from all of the above companies with great success also.

[Colleen]

Hey, Jill. Here's a link to a previous, similar discussion. I mentioned there my misgivings about Monsanto's entry into the market.

[Amy loves Bud]

I like:

 

http://www.seedsavers.org/

 

:-)

 

Love this one.

[Caitilin]

I got all my seeds from Nichols Garden Nursery last year, and was very happy with the seeds and the service. :) Here's a small quotation from the stuff on their homepage:

Nichols is proudly celebrating our 60th anniversary in 2010. This is an exciting time at our nursery. In this 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.

[Jenny in Atl]

Hey, Jill. Here's a link to a previous, similar discussion. I mentioned there my misgivings about Monsanto's entry into the market.

 

Did you hear about the recent Monsanto corn study? Their GMO corn was linked to organ failure!!! Of course Monsanto is saying the study is flawed. Still, it throws up some serious red flags. My kids basically live off brown rice & corn (because of their Celiac), so now I'm truly scared about what GMO grains they are getting, even while I'm trying to be careful. :confused:

[LittleIzumi]

http://www.sustainableseedco.com/

 

I just ordered from them and I got a free packet of seeds added as a thank you, and they send you emails on how to harvest the seeds from your plants so you can use them again the next year :D

[Slartibartfast]

I use

 

http://rareseeds.com/

 

I love them. Last time they send me purple carrot and red/white beet seeds for free. YAY! I love purple carrots! I love beets!!

Edited January 14, 2010 by Sis

[Slartibartfast]

I got all my seeds from Nichols Garden Nursery last year, and was very happy with the seeds and the service. :) Here's a small quotation from the stuff on their homepage:

Nichols is proudly celebrating our 60th anniversary in 2010. This is an exciting time at our nursery. In this 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.

 

Nichols has Monsanto ties.

 

An easy way to check is look for the varieties that Seminis sells and then check with the company. They are buying seeds from Seminis which is owned by Monsanto.

http://www.seedalliance.org/index.php?page=SeminisMonsanto&print=true

 

These are all Monsanto varieties. They may well be GMO-free but they come from Monsanto. Of course whether or not you want to purchase their seeds is up to you, I am just pointing that out. :)

 

http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/store/product-info.php?pid938.html

 

http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/store/product-info.php?pid800.html

 

http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/store/product-info.php?pid890.html

Edited January 14, 2010 by Sis

[Colleen]

 

Did you hear about the recent Monsanto corn study? Their GMO corn was linked to organ failure!!! Of course Monsanto is saying the study is flawed. Still, it throws up some serious red flags.

Ya think? Girlfriend, don't EVEN get me started.:cursing:

 

[tex-mex]

My Mom uses Seeds of Change. She gets most of her stuff from there.

 

www.seedsofchange.com

 

Excellent company!

[melissel]

I use

 

http://rareseeds.com/

 

I love them. Last time they send me purple carrot and red/white beet seeds for free. YAY! I love purple carrots! I love beets!!

 

Another vote for this one. I was just on their site again tonight, thinking about spring :D I bought a ton of seeds from them last year (wishful thinking!), and my germination rate was absolutely incredible. They're great seeds.

Edited January 14, 2010 by melissel
Quoted the wrong post

[Slartibartfast]

Another vote for this one. I was just on their site again tonight, thinking about spring :D I bought a ton of seeds from them last year (wishful thinking!), and my germination rate was absolutely incredible. They're great seeds.

 

They are great! We love the black cherry tomatoes. They always grow in abundance for us and they are delicious. We ate all the squash blossoms so uh...I never got squash. Woops. It was a bad time to be reading too many mexican cookbooks.

 

I was doing the same thing! I put $85 worth of seeds in my cart! HA! Wishful thinking indeed. I still have some seeds from last year too. I am crazy. :lol:

Edited January 14, 2010 by Sis

[Liz CA]

I am going to check out Baker Creek. Their website is http://www.rareseeds.com - I think.

They now have a store fairly close by. I am looking forward to going there.

[ciyates]

I like:

 

http://www.seedsavers.org/

 

:-)

 

:iagree: Great experience with them. Very bad experiences with heriloomseeds.com

[yarrow]

Seeds for years. They are also very inexpensive. http://www.fedcoseeds.com

[ciyates]

I like:

 

http://www.seedsavers.org/

 

:-)

 

:iagree: Great experience with them. Very bad experiences with heriloomseeds.com

[jojomojo]

I like:

 

http://www.seedsavers.org/

 

:-)

 

:iagree:

[Caitilin]

Nichols has Monsanto ties.

 

An easy way to check is look for the varieties that Seminis sells and then check with the company. They are buying seeds from Seminis which is owned by Monsanto.

http://www.seedalliance.org/index.php?page=SeminisMonsanto&print=true

 

These are all Monsanto varieties. They may well be GMO-free but they come from Monsanto. Of course whether or not you want to purchase their seeds is up to you, I am just pointing that out. :)

 

http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/store/product-info.php?pid938.html

 

http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/store/product-info.php?pid800.html

 

http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/store/product-info.php?pid890.html

 

 

Thanks for the info--and, rats, now I have to revise my seed buying plans. :( I had Nichols recommended to me by a friend who also won't buy Monsanto seeds, so she must not have known either. Thanks for the heads-up!:tongue_smilie:

[Critterfixer]

Baker Creek. All the way. I have never had a bad lot of seed from them and I've used them for five or six years now. Not to mention they have the most impressive collection of rare squash I've ever seen, the tomato section is great too.

[Jill- OK]

I'll do some checking...and see if Victory has some competition. ;)

 

Thanks for all the suggestions! I appreciate it.

[momto2Cs]

I use

 

http://rareseeds.com/

 

I love them. Last time they send me purple carrot and red/white beet seeds for free. YAY! I love purple carrots! I love beets!!

 

 

The owner was homeschooled too! They're an awesome company. We're lucky enough to have their new store half an hour away.

[Cindy in NY]

Thanks for the info--and, rats, now I have to revise my seed buying plans. :( I had Nichols recommended to me by a friend who also won't buy Monsanto seeds, so she must not have known either. Thanks for the heads-up!:tongue_smilie:

 

 

Fedco has a page on their site regarding Monsanto and their decision not to do business with them. I'll be ordering from Fedco this year.

 

http://www.fedcoseeds.com/seeds/monsanto.htm

[melissel]

The owner was homeschooled too! They're an awesome company. We're lucky enough to have their new store half an hour away.

 

Oh, how cool is that? I was reading his bio the other day. I can't believe he started that company when he was 17. He's obviously made it into a smashing success. What a great story!