Not all that long ago, seeds for heirloom vegetables were hard to find.
Fortunately, that is changing. Several seed companies now specialize in
heirloom vegetables. Others offer a mix of old-timers and modern varieties. As
hopeful as this trend is, many heirloom vegetable varieties are threatened and
may soon become extinct. Still, there is time to save these plants. All it
takes is a patch of land (or a container), water, sun, and some seeds. The
rest is up to you.
As every gardener knows, seed catalogs are wonderful reading. Between the
tantalizing descriptions of varieties and the first-rate cultural information,
many catalogs can double as reliable gardening books. They are also interesting
as historical sources, but readers will sometimes find that catalogs offer some
very different dates and historical information for certain heirlooms.
Gardeners (especially those re-creating a period garden) should rely
on the old rule of thumb that historical facts need to be verified with three
independent sources.
Here are a mix of commercial seed companies, museums, and non-profit
organizations that sell heirloom vegetable seeds, and the things you need to
grow them. I selected these particular sources because I've had good
experiences with them, or have heard good things about them from my sources. I
list them here for informational purposes only, without any guarantees.
There are, of course, many other fine sources of heirloom seeds.
Note:
Many heirloom vegetable varieties are not available in the seed trade, but can
be found through seed saving networks. For more information, see also:
Seed Savers, Seed Exchanges, and Seed Societies
Merchants and Purveyors
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Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
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2278 Baker Creek Road
Mansfield, MO 65704
(417) 924-8917
http://rareseeds.com
Catalog: Free online.
Baker Creek has been issuing catalogs for ten years now, and the current one
builds on their already impressive offerings. They feature hundreds of
non-hybrid vegetables, flowers, and herbs, this catalog is especially
strong on hot-weather crops. It lists 44 different eggplants, 175 tomatoes, plus ample numbers of old-time corn, squash, and melons. The
other garden vegies are here, too, just in smaller numbers.
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Bountiful Gardens
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18001 Shafer Ranch Road
Willits, CA 95490
fax: (707) 459-6410
email: bountiful@sonic.net
http://www.bountifulgardens.org
Catalog: Free online.
Offers only open-pollinated varieties, including some newer varieties as well
as a fair number of old-timers. Of these, only a few are identified as
heirlooms, even though many others, including some fairly rare ones, are also
heirlooms.
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Colonial Williamsburg: The Colonial Nursery Seed List
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The Colonial Nursery
P. O. Box 1776
Williamsburg, VA 23187-1776
http://www.history.org/History/CWLand//nursery1.cfm
Catalog: Seed list free online.
Gardening was part and parcel of colonial life, and this remarkable museum
displays everything from the aristocratic pleasure grounds for the governor to
a work-a-day kitchen garden of vegetables and herbs, all carefully researched
and authenticated. Their "Colonial Nursery" sells period-appropriate
vegetable, flower, and herb seeds, plus bulbs,
gardening accessories, and other goodies.
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Eternal Seed
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657 Pritchard Road
Farrellton, Quebec
J0X 1T0
Canada
(819) 827-8881
Catalog: free
Even though their website is a work-in-progress, it still includes a fine selection of heirlooms, including some
nice short-season varieties and some that are very rare. Many are grown
organically and packaged without pesticides. They also offer many old-fashioned
flowers (including some choice vintage sweet peas) and a long list of herbs.
BTW, I've never had any
problems with customs or plant quarantines when I've ordered seeds from Canada.
- Fedco Seeds
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PO Box 520
Waterville, ME 04903
(207) 873-7333
questions@fedcoseeds.com
http://www.fedcoseeds.com/
Catalog: Free online.
In addition to undeniable charm, vintage woodcuts, and amusing illustrations, this 100 page catalog has a mix of modern varieties and heirlooms. Among the latter, some are superstars, others are family favorites, many are historic. Informative write-ups help sort out which is which. Fedco has some rare varieties. In fact, they may be only commercial source for some of them. Of course, you're going to want these seeds. Order early. The deadline for mail orders is March 20.
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Filaree Farm
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182 Conconully Highway
Okanogan, WA 98840
(509) 422-6940 (Message only)
http://www.filareefarm.com
Catalog: Free online.
This organic farm offers hundreds of garlics gathered from literally all over
the
world. Some are heirlooms.
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Heirloom Tomatoes
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Heirloom Tomatoes
5423 Princess Drive
Rosedale, MD 21237
http://www.heirloomtomatoes.net/
Catalog: Free online.
Donna Meinschein is now shepherding Chuck Wyatt's astonishing collection of
tomatoes, and carrying his tradition forward. As before, this website offers
hundreds different heirloom tomatoes -- red, pink, orange, yellow, green,
purple, and black tomatoes, big ones, little ones, short-season tomatoes,
hot-weather tomatoes, and everything in-between. Best of all, Donna even has
tomatoes that taste like real tomatoes.
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Heritage Harvest Seed
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Box 40, RR3
Carman, MB, R0G 0J0
CANADA
(204) 745-6489
http://heritageharvestseed.com/
email: seed@heritageharvestseed.com
Print Catalog: $2.00 in U.S. Free in Canada.
Specializing in rare and endangered varieties, this young company's catalog is
chock-full of intriguing heirlooms. Some, such as 'Champion of England' peas,
'Boston Marrow' squash, and 'Tip-Top melon' are vegetable superstars of
days-gone-by. Others, including 'Brandywine' tomatoes and 'Moon and Stars'
watermelon are popular today. If those weren't quite enough, HHS offers
Canadian originals, Native American vegetables, and short-season varieties. For
many of them, HHS is the only commercial seed source. A laudable effort,
especially since without niche seed companies like this one, many rare and
choice heirlooms would simply cease to be.
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Irish Eyes - Garden City Seeds
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PO Box 307
Thorp, WA 98946
(509) 964-7000, Fax: (800) 964-9210
http://www.gardencityseeds.net
Catalog: Online.
Irish Eyes, known for garlic and seed potatoes, and Garden City Seeds, known
for short-season vegetable varieties for northern gardens, now offer more than
ever. Their combined catalog offers hundreds of varieties, and features a
category titled "heirloom varieties." It includes more than 125 varieties. A
few of them seem fairly new. The 'Oregon Spring' tomato, for example, was
released in 1984. (On the plus side, it's especially tasty and it performs well
in the Pacific Northwest.) Such quibbles aside, this website is definitely
worth a browse.
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Johnny's Selected Seeds
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955 Benton Avenue
Winslow, ME 04910
1-877-Johnnys (1-877-564-6697)
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/
Catalog: Free online.
While Johnny's specializes in short-season crops, it also offers a nice
selection of heirlooms identified as such.
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Landreth Seed Company
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60 East High Street, Bldg #4
New Freedom, PA 17349
(800) 654-2407
http://www.landrethseeds.com/
Catalog: Free online.
This historic company (founded 1784) offers an assortment of old and
open-pollinated vegetables. This year, they added a page devoted entirely to
the heirloom vegetables, many of which they have offered since these varieties
were new. The 193 varieties listed here (with nifty vintage images) include
many classics, and is worth a browse.
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Native Seeds/SEARCH
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526 N. 4th Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85705-8450
(520) 622-5561, Fax: (520) 622-5591
http://www.nativeseeds.org
Catalog: Free online.
Specializing in the traditional foods from the American Southwest and northern
Mexico, this non-profit organization offers a wide variety of crops developed
by the Hopi, Apache, Navajo, and other farmers throughout the region. This
catalog is strong in the "Three Sisters" of American agriculture: beans, corn,
and squash, but it also has chile peppers, tomatoes, melons, and lots of other
goodies including tomatillos, teosinte, gourds, and traditional cotton. The
descriptions here are short, but these plants tell the real story about
biodiversity and the people who care enough to preserve them.
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Nichols Garden Nursery
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1190 Old Salem Road NE
Albany, OR 97321-4580
(800) 422-3985, Fax: (800) 231-5306
http://www.gardennursery.com/
Catalog: Free online.
Offering an intriguing assortment of new and old plants, Nichols' catalog is
always a treasure-trove. It has a good selection of heirloom vegetables,
including some old-timers that have become popular again, and some odd-balls
nobody else seems to have.
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Old Sturbridge Village Seed Store
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1 Old Sturbridge Village Road
Sturbridge, MA 01566
(508) 347-0244 (Gift Shop)
Gift Shop Catalog: Free online. Follow links from home page.
One of the premier living-history museums, Old Sturbridge Village has extensive
period gardens. They also sell seeds, and the thirty or so heirloom vegetables
from the gift shop are classics.
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Plimoth Plantation
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Plimoth Plantation Museum Shops
137 Warren Avenue
Plymouth, MA 02360
http://www.plimoth.com/
Garden like a Pilgrim, circa 1620. The seeds from the prestigious Plimoth
Plantation museum are all the real deal -- Cornfield Beans, old pumpkins,
Indian corn and others that the Pilgrims grew. Plimoth also has an interesting
collection of herbs and other useful plants of the time, plus seeds of the
native plants the Pilgrims encountered.
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R. H. Shumway's
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Customer Service
334 W. Stroud ST
Randolph, WI 53956
(800) 342-9461
http://www.rhshumway.com
Catalog: Free online.
Under a vintage banner "Good Seed Cheap," Shumway's catalog is illustrated with
old woodcuts and color images from Victorian catalogs. The thing is, the
"heirloom look" of their catalog is nothing new. This seed company has been
around for more than 100 years, and their catalog looks like it did decades
ago. Could it be that they never changed? In any
case, styles have finally caught up with them. Some of the vegetable varieties
Shumway sells have been around a long time too. Many of them are now heirlooms,
although the catalog does not always identify them as such.
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Ronniger's Potato Farm
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12101 2135 Rd
Austin, CO 81410
(877) 204-8704
info@ronnigers.com
http://www.ronnigers.com/
Catalog: Free online.
Ronniger's Potato Farm has long been known
for its amazing collection of interesting
potato varieties, including a number of rare spuds. Many are new or relatively
so, but they've also got a fine selection of heirlooms. Many of the old-timers
here had faded to obscurity, but Ronnigers brought them back and now offers
them virus-free thanks to the high-tech world
of
meristem tissue culture. Certified organic.
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Sand Hill Preservation Center
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1878 230th Street
Calamus, IA 52729
http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/
Catalog: Free online.
What they're preserving at this small Iowa business is rare poultry breeds and
a fine collection of heirloom vegetables. They sell seeds of about 350 different
tomatoes including red, orange, white, yellow, purple, green, paste,
winter-keepers, and who knows what else. They also offer more than 50 different
sweet potatoes. In addition to these in-depth collections, they also have nice
selections of corn, melons, peppers, squash, and other hot weather crops for
sale. The
catalog lists a smaller (but still interesting) selection of other
open-pollinated vegies.
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Seed Savers Exchange
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3076 North Winn Road
Decorah, IA 52101
(563) 382-5990
http://www.seedsavers.org/
Catalog: Free online.
Associated with the Seed Savers Exchange, Heritage Farm maintains an astounding
20,000 endangered vegetable varieties. To help finance that worthwhile effort,
Heritage Farm sells seeds of heirloom vegetables, herbs, and flowers plus books
and posters. Their collection of vegetables, which numbers more than 500
popular varieties, is particularly strong on heirloom tomatoes, beans, and
peppers, but also has a nice selection of others.
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Seeds of Change
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P.O. Box 15700
Santa Fe, NM 87592
(888) 762-7333
http://www.seedsofchange.com/
Catalog: Free online.
Lots and lots of heirlooms, grown organically.
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Skyfire Garden Seeds
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1313 23rd Road
Kanopolis, KS 67454
no phone
Catalog: Free online.
Operated by a long-time member of the Seed Savers Exchange and organic grower,
Skyfire specializes in heirloom and open-pollinated vegetables and easy
flowers. The catalog offers a wide assortment of all the different vegetables,
plus several intriguing in-depth collections. For example, the catalog lists
more than 100 different tomatoes, more than two dozen different carrots, about
that same number of peppers, and more than a dozen different summer squash.
There are some real treasures here, including some hot-weather varieties and
others that are rarely sold in the seed trade. What's more, the seeds are
priced at only $1.75 per packet. New to this list, and a worthy addition.
- South Carolina Foundation Seed Association
- 1162 Cherry Road
Box 349952
Clemson, SC 29634
(864)656-2520
http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/seed/heirloom.htm
Perhaps the most interesting source of pass-along and handed-down heirlooms from Georgia and the old South, this foundation offers beans, butterbeans, corn, peanuts, squash, pumpkins, and others adapted to hot summers. Each of these varieties has a rich history, including some traditional Native American and African-American varieties. Dr. David Bradshaw, a professor at Clemson University, originally collected these varieties and kept them going. Now, the Foundation has made it possible for gardeners everywhere to grow treasures such as the plumgranny, healing squash, cornfield beans, multi-colored beans, and many, many more. A very cool list.
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Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
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P.O. Box 460
Mineral, VA 23117
(540) 894-9480, Fax: (540) 894-9481
gardens@southernexposure.com
http://www.southernexposure.com/index.html
Catalog: Free online.
Offering more than 500 varieties of heirloom vegetables, herbs, flowers, and
other seeds, Southern Exposure has an impressive assortment of heirloom
tomatoes, plus many other choice varieties. The catalog includes lots of
historical information.
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The Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants
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Monticello
PO Box 316
Charlottesville, VA 22902
Orders: (800) 243-1743. Customer service: (800) 243-0743
http://monticellostore.stores.yahoo.net/plants---seeds-seeds.html
Catalog: Free from web site.
Like his home, Jefferson's beloved gardens have been carefully restored and
planted with the vegetables, herbs, and flowers he knew. Their 32-page catalog
(illustrated with vintage woodcuts) is chock-full of history and lists an
impressive collection of heirlooms.
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Vermont Bean Seed Company
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334 West Stroud Street
Randolph, WI 53956
(800) 349-1071
In addition to a huge assortment of vintage beans, this seed company offers a
good selection of other vegetables. Some are heirlooms, but not all of them are
labeled as such.
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The Victory Seed Company
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P.O. Box 192
Molalla, Oregon 97038
(503) 829-3126 (voicemail and fax)
http://victoryseeds.com/
Catalog: free online or $2.00 (refundable with order) for print version
email: info@victoryseeds.com
Along with some nice information about
World War II Victory Gardens
accompanied
by original posters and pamphlets, this family
seed company offers a good-sized assortment of heirloom and more recent
vegetables, flowers, and herbs.