Heirloom Seed Suppliers

     In the current age of GMO, plant/seed patents and big business seeming to have too much to hide, I think it's extremely important to attempt to preserve as much genetic diversity as possible.  In light of this, I do my best to only grow heirloom and open pollinated food varieties.  Don't confuse genetically modified organisms (GMO) with hybrids, which is, by technical definition, genetically modified.  What I'm specifically speaking of is genetic modification by manipulation of genes, either by insertion, deletion or mutation.  Hybrid plants are the offspring of two plants from different species but the same genus or family, this happens in nature and by human involvement and the parents must have matching ploidy or number of chromosomes.  These plants do not breed true and their offspring can look wildly different from each other and their parents.  Open pollinated or OP plants have fairly stable genetics so one can expect similar fruit year after year, allowing for slight variability.  An Heirloom is an open pollinated, seed grown variety that dates before 1945 according to some or 100 years according to others.  They are usually grown in specific locales and have become adapted to those growing conditions, showing some resistance to local pests, diseases and weather extremes.
     Thankfully, there are several seed companies that feel the same way I do and have made it their mission to helping to preserve and distribute these rare or unknown seeds and plants.  The next few  entries will be an introduction to the specific varieties I've chosen to grow in my gardens.  In the fall, I'll post evaluations of each variety based on my specific growing conditions.  These are the companies I chose to order from for 2015.

Bakers Creek Heirloom Seed Co.
Jere Gettle, at the age of 17 printed his first catalog in 1998.  The company, located in Mansfield Missouri, now sells over 1,750 varieties of rare, open pollinated seeds from around the world.  They host several heirloom festivals throughout the year and have recently added two more locations in Petaluma, California and Wethersfield, Connecticut.  Jerre and his wife, Emilee launched the nationally distributed magazine Heirloom Gardener which is now in it's 11th year of publication.  They work to distribute seed to several of the worlds poorest countries, free of charge, in addition to providing seed to schools and educational projects.  Their goal is to introduce everyone, everywhere to a safer food supply and to fight genetically modified 'food' and the companies that support it.  This is my go to company and where I order the majority of my seeds.  They can be contacted at their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/rareseeds or through their website http://www.rareseeds.com/

High Mowing Organic Seeds
Started in 1996 with just 28 varieties, founder Tom Stearns turned his shed into a seed packing area, where he had no trouble selling the seed he produced that first year.  The company now offers over 600 varieties of organic heirloom, hybrid and open pollinated and still grow the majority of their seed offerings on their 40 acres.  The people at High Mowing are passionate about food and farming and believe that understanding and supporting food systems can support health on all levels including healthy bodies, economies, communities and environments.  They can be contacted through their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/highmowingorganicseeds or their website http://www.highmowingseeds.com/home.php?xid=e1eef2a586523fa0e63729d8a2cf5849

Tomatofest
Gary Ibsen has been providing organic heirloom tomatoes, along with Dagma Lacey, through his website since 1994.  All varieties are grown, trialed and harvested by him.  Selections are made based on rarity, flavor and detailed notes are kept on each of the 600 varieties.  This helps to ensure the best quality and true to name seeds.  You can learn more at http://www.tomatofest.com/heirloom_tomato_seed_home.html

Native Seed/Search
This is a non profit founded in 1983 by Gary Nabhan and Mahina Drees with the mission to preserve the biodiversity of the American southwest.  Their state of the art seed bank now houses more than 2,000 varieties of seeds adapted to the arid region, although only around 500 are offered through their website and catalog.  If you're interested in learning more or growing some of their really cool offerings (especially beans and corn) check out their website at http://www.nativeseeds.org/

Mariana's Heirloom Seeds
Located in Copemish, Michigan (about an hour north of me, cool right?) they stock over 5,000 varieties of heirloom, non GMO and non hybrid, tomato, pepper and eggplant varieties.  You have the option of ordering seed or plants, having them shipped or picking them up in person, they even offer exhibition seeds from the biggest and best of each variety.  You can order your selections from https://www.mariannasheirloomseeds.com/

Pinetree Seeds
Pinetree Seeds is a family run business started in 1979 with the mission of supplying high quality, low cost seed selections to the home gardener.  In addition to the now approximately 1,300 seed varieties, they offer a huge selection of books, tools and craft supplies.  You can order a catalog or order online at http://www.superseeds.com/

There are, of course, many other great companies with some spectacular offerings, these are just the companies that I have personally ordered from for 2015.  I'd love to read some of your thoughts and recommendations in the comments section.

Heirloom and Open Pollinated Tomato List 2015

Anna Russian  75 day, indet, med, pink slicer.  Russia

Black From Tula  80 day, indet, med, black slicer.  Ukraine

Black Prince  80 day, indet, med, black slicer.  Russia

Bonnie Best  75 day, indet, med, red slicer.  USA

Boondocks  80 day, indet, potato leaf, lg, pink slicer.  USA

Black Early   70 day indet, black, med, slicer.  France.

Bordo  80 day indet, black, med, slicer

Brave General  80 day indet, lg, pink slicer.  Russia

Break O Day  70 day indet, med, red slicer.  USA

Creme Brulee  75 day indet, med, black slicer.  Russia

Cherokee Chocolate  80 day indet, lg, black slicer.  USA

Cherokee Green  80 day indet, med, green slicer.  USA

Copia  85 day indet, med, yellow/red bi color slicer.  USA

Cosmonaut Volkov  80 day indet, med, red slicer.  Russia

Gilbertie Paste  85 day indet, med, red paste.  Italy

Great White  85 day indet, lg, white slicer.  USA

Gypsy  80 day indet, sm, black slicer.  Russia

Heinz  75 day indet, med, red canner/slicer.  USA/Canda

Homestead  65 day det, med, red canner/slicer.  USA

Indigo Apple  70 day indet, sm, blue/red slicer.  USA

Japanese Black Trifele  75 day indet, sm plum, black canner/paste/slicer.  Russia

Jaune Flamme  60 day indet, sm, orange slicer.  France

Julia Child  85 day indet, lg, pink slicer.  USA

Large Barred Boar  85 day indet, lg, black/red striped slicer.  USA

Manitoba  70 day det, sm, red slicer.  Canda

Martha Logan80 day, indet, potato leaf, lg, yellow slicer.  USA

Moskvich 60 day, semi det, med, red slicer.  Russia

Mountain Princess 70 day, det, med, red slicer/canner.  USA

Mr. Stripey 80 day, indet, lg, bicolor slicer.  USA

Noir De Crimee 75 day, indet, med, oblong black slicer.  Russia

Northern Lights 90 day, indet, med, bicolor slicer.  USA

Oaxacan Jewel 90 day, indet, lg, oblate, bicolor slicer.  Mexico

Orange Icicle (Sosulka Oranzhevaya) 70 days, indet, sm, orange canner/slicer/paste.  Russia

Orange Strawberry 80 day, indet, med, orange slicer/canner/paste.  USA

Peppermint 80 day, indet, lg, bicolor slicer.  USA

Perth Pride 70 day, indet, med, dwarf, black slicer.  Australia/USA

Pork Chop80 day, indet, med, yellow slicer.  USA

Principe Borghese 70 day, semi det, sm, red salad/paste/drying.  Italy

Purple Dog Creek  85 day, indet, lg, pink slicer.  USA

Purple Prince 85 day, indet, med, black slicer.  Russia

Rebekah Allen 70 day, indet, med, pink slicer. 

Rose De Berne 70 day, indet, med, oblate pink slicer.  France

Rutgers70 day, indet, med, oblate red slicer.  USA

San Marzano 70 day, indet, med, red canner/paste.  Italy

Stupice 60 day, indet, sm, potato leaf, red salad, Czechoslovakia

Summer Cider  85 day, indet, lg, orange slicer.  USA

Tsarskiy Podarok 75 day, indet, med, pink slicer.  Russia

White Queen 90 day, indet, lg, white slicer.  USA

Meet Ron Livingston: Hybridizer of Hosta

Ron Livingston

   Ron Livingston was born one of three children in Detroit, MI.  He has been with his partner for twenty one years and has a daughter from a previous marriage.  For almost 36 years, Ron was a science teacher in the Detroit Public School System.  He also worked at Lawrence Technology University, where he taught operation physics, plant sciences and heredity.  Retired now, he spends his time on photography, hiking, traveling, body building and, naturally, breeding Hosta which he has been doing since 1997.
   

Hosta Garden

  Ron credits his grandfather and his contagious enthusiasm for plants for sparking his own horticultural love.  "My grandfather got me started.  He taught me to enjoy to enjoy the joys of the soil, the smell, the feel, and other unlimited possibilities to produce life of all kinds."  Since childhood he has had a fascination with genetics of all kinds, spending time breeding guppies also.  He says he'd like to work with canine genetics eventually. His garden style is pretty eclectic, doing what ever he feels like doing. Space is always short in a hybridizers garden, so the neighbors are lucky to get free Hostas that didn't quite make the cut.  Ron loves producing his own plant varieties, but he feels that those doing the breeding aren't given the recognition they deserve for their hard work, creativity and vision.  'I am not fond of the “big business” end of things, where as usual, the large companies get the lion’s portion of the profits and the hybridizer gets a meager tidbit. I feel that there should be some way that the person doing the creative portion of the job gets properly compensated. I am not sure why that cannot happen.'

Pink Flamingo

   He chose to work with Hostas because of their popularity, easy to access sexy parts, sometimes bees do the work for you, and the genetic diversity available.  When he first breeding Hosta, a good friend, Stuart Asch was there to mentor him and pass along the knowledge he had gained while he was mentored by Pauline Banyai.  Ron says that the hardest part of actually breeding Hosta is that the plants you've produced and become very fond of either die for no apparent reason or don't survive the winter.  His other least favorite part of the hobby is when it becomes work and no longer fun.  He used to do 5,000 different crosses per season, it became tedious, back breaking labor.  Now he stops when he wants to and it's back to being fun again.

Tremont Spice

   Ron says he doesn't keep track of the number of seeds he produces and sows, 'it is not how many you plant that counts, it is the quality of those you plant that counts. Also, as they grow, it is extremely important to be able to closely monitor them. If you grow too many of them, you have less time to observe each one.'  The initial selection process is to pull the fastest growing, best looking seedlings and give them bigger pots.  The other smaller seedlings will usually get a chance to prove themselves over winter in the same flats they were sown in.  The ones that don't impress him get composted or given away.  Space is at a premium and plants that aren't worthy don't get the garden real estate.  The evaluation process can take anywhere from five to twelve years, depending on stability of variegation.  He doesn't believe in registering his plants, subjecting them to other peoples rules and regulations, after all, it won't make them better plants and he doesn't seek notoriety.  There are too many factors that go in to what makes a plant worthy of introduction to make an accurate list.
'I am often best guided by serendipity. I may follow a direction for a while then something will pop up and redirect me…some things are so unexpected, for instance, “ I didn’t know hostas could do that !! “…next thing I know I am using the “new” look in my breeding program.'
    

Afterglow

    Ron's advice for the new hybridizer is 'The green world is full of many miracles, don’t think one will not happen to you. Don’t let you hobbies become jobs, maintain “sane” limits on them'
 

Tenny Up

   More on Ron Livingston and pictures of more of his Hosta introductions can be seen here.   http://www.foosf.com/ron.php

Spring 2014 Pictures

Corylus avellana 'Contorta' Harry Lauders Walking stick

Sedum Angelina and Juniperus horizontalis 'Blue Rug'

Bergenia cordifolia

Amalanchier sp.

Trillium cuneatum

The new shade bed from last year

Primulas

Fallopia japonica 'Freckles' new growth

Meet Luke Marion: Garden Vlogger

   If you were to happen upon the YouTube channel, MIGardener, and saw the number of videos posted and the mass of followers of the channel, you would probably be surprised to learn that the person responsible for all of it's content is just 20 years old.  At 16, Luke Marion started MIGardener to give advice to other gardeners through weekly video entries.  Four years later, he's never missed an episode.  You'll find episodes on everything from vermiculture (worm farming), composting, saving and starting seeds to aquaponics.  All videos are delivered in a friendly, straight forward manner to anyone willing to watch and listen.  Topics are based on what is happening in his own northern region and on questions his viewers are seeking answers to.

  Luke's garden is located on the east side of Michigan and is both organic and strictly edibles.  He grows only the things he enjoys eating and varieties that give multiple fruit so that he can share with family and friends, things such as tomatoes, zucchini and peppers.   He is self taught, owing his horticultural education to books.  Luke's favorite part of the whole gardening experience is the satisfaction he gets from starting everything from seed.  Watching the tiny seedling emerge and grow and produce something amazing.  "I like to say it is old fashion gardening brought into the 21st century. I like putting a modern twist on my garden to inspire the youth that gardening is for more than just "old people."  His first foray into gardening was caring for the single tomato plant his mother designated as 'his'.  From there the passion grew.  "I look at people like me as the next generation of food production. We need to start learning how to grow our own food or we will meet starvation and poor quality right at the intersection of overpopulation and industrialization." 

  "I see the future of the garden going into the city. As we urbanize and industrialize we are going to eventually run out of good farming land. I also see a reduction in monoculture since that has caused so many problems with peats and depopulation of certain animal species. I lastly think that gardening is going to go from the back yard to the whole yard, and we will be more organic. As a society we were so clueless of what was being fed to us, and we just settled for convenience. But now we are taking more time to prepare meals, look at ingredients, and become aware of what is going into our bodies."

   To anyone looking into starting their own vlog, he offers this advice; always trust yourself first.  No matter how many times someone attempts to tear you down or tell you that you're wrong, trust your gut feeling.  A vlog is a lot like a garden, growing and evolving over time and you get better at it the longer you do it.  " If someone told me what I couldn't film, I would not be where I am today."
Luke's YouTube channel can be found here  https://www.youtube.com/user/MIgardener  or you can find him on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MIgardener

Meet Brooks Garcia: Hybridizer of Sarracenia

Brooks Garcia

   Brooks was raised with a gardening sensibility from a very early age.  By the time he was in his  mid teens he was entering horticultural competitions...and winning.  He attended and graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in environmental design.  Twenty five years ago he moved to Atlanta, GA where he still lives.  For the last twenty three of those years Brooks has been the owner and operator of his own company, Fine Gardens, a design firm, http://www.atlantafinegardens.com/.  He also writes the blog Sarracenia Obsessed, http://www.sarraceniaobsessed.com/ where he shares his adventures in growing and breeding this temperate, carnivorous plant.  When he's not gardening at work, then he's at home working in his garden and if he's not doing that, well, he's probably still gardening in the production vegetable garden for the local Georgian restaurant, Home Grown GA.  He also enjoys just being outside, hunting or hiking the countryside.

Bog Fever

   "I find horticulture rewarding in so many ways. It feeds my soul and my client’s.  It is an artistic expression and allows me to shape a space and create a mood."  Brooks loves the 'hort-head' community for the shared passion of plants; how they grow and bloom and for the ups and downs one experiences in learning the cultural requirements of some exciting, new precious.  "I am greatly discouraged by the dumbing down of plants in our culture, the attitude of mow, blow and go and of instant gratification, the big box store mentality of marketing plants."  He says that he can't imagine a life where he isn't working with plants.  Goody Davis, a close friend of Brooks is credited with being his biggest garden influence.  She is/was directly responsible for his love of horticulture.  Beck Cherry and Mary Izard also helped the gardening passion along, they believed in him and hired him to be their personal gardener and the early age of sixteen.  His personal garden is fairly small and designed utilizing classic English and cottage principles.  Brooks sees horticulture as a series of trends and feels the ornamental garden is on the downward slope.  Ornamentals will eventually regain their popularity, but until then, small, local, organic farming is the new horticulture.

Blood Moon

  Brooks true horticultural love is the Sarracenia and the only plants that he breeds.  Sarracenias are a carnivorous, pitcher plant native to the United States and Canada, that prefer to grow in acidic, full sun bog conditions.  He's completely fascinated by their primal nature and their ease of care once a few cultural requirements are met.  He starts thousands (or maybe tens of thousands) of seeds each spring where only the strongest survive.  Perhaps 1% of these seedlings make it to registration.  He breeds for vigor, interesting pitcher shapes and a bright, stable color.  He's hoping to see the elusive, good, clear orange emerge from his lines.   After being grown out by Brooks for four or five years, divisions are sent out to some of his grower friends in varying USDA hardiness zones for further evaluation.  Temperature has a lot of impact on pitcher color, so it can't always be trusted to be true for everyone.  If all of his strict criteria are met, the seedling is given a cultivar name and made available to the general public. 
 

Savannah Fire

   He offers this advice to all new breeders, which I believe applies to all genera.  "Choose excellent stock plants to work with, dogs only beget dogs. Think through your crosses but don’t be afraid to experiment. Stay away from freakish trends. Develop your own style and vision. Be ruthless in your culling, raise your standards of what is good. Don’t be too quick to proclaim something cultivar worthy and be patient for the cream to rise to the top. Trial your plants with other top growers to ensure stable plants that produce even results."
 

Wilkerson's White Knight

Humerous Garden Memes