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.