Green Your Thumb with Heirloom Seeds Companies
Plant heirloom seeds to help preserve endangered plant varieties.
By Natural Home Staff
January/February 2011
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Plant heirloom seeds to help preserve endangered plant varieties.
Photo By Povy Kendal Atchison
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“Scientists know we must protect species because they are the working parts of our life-support system.” —Biologist Paul Ehrlich
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Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Mansfield, Missouri
Petaluma, California
Old Wethersfield, Connecticut
Offering heirloom, non-genetically modified seeds, Baker Creek’s store in Petaluma’s historic Sonoma County National Bank building is a beacon for gardeners, foodies and tourists. Last June, Baker Creek added a new family member—Comstock, Ferre & Co., the oldest continuously operated seed company in the United States. Owner Jerre Gettle plans to preserve Comstock’s historic East Coast garden and create a green agro-tourism destination.
Learn more, shop online, order a free seed catalog, find events and more: www.rareseeds.com.
Johnny’s Selected Seeds
Winslow, Maine
Founded in a New Hampshire farmhouse attic in 1973 by a 22-year-old vegetable grower named Rob Johnston, Johnny’s is a partially employee-owned company dedicated to rigorous seed testing and top-quality, non-hybrid products. You can tour Johnny’s 40-acre research farm Monday through Friday, July through September.
Order seeds, catalogs and tools, arrange a visit or learn about plant breeding: www.johnnyseeds.com.
Seed Savers Exchange
Decorah, Iowa
Dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds, Seed Savers Exchange members have been distributing rare garden seeds for 35 years. Visit their 890-acre Heritage Farm to see the group’s gorgeous preservation gardens, the source of the largest nongovernmental seed bank in the United States.