Our favorite seed companies…
It’s that time of year! The time to sit in your warm house, snuggled in with some tea or hot chocolate, in front of the fireplace if you have one and surround yourself by seed catalogs! Now is the time of year that gardening dreams begin and choosing the right seeds can make or break your garden.
There are so many different seed companies out there to choose from and so many different varieties to choose from. You can get certified organic seeds, hybrid or heirloom, genetically modified seeds. Some varieties are breed to be less susceptible to various diseases. Some varieties do well in a shorter growing season (much of Wisconsin). We’ve bought millions of seeds over the years and I wanted to share with you some of our favorite seed companies and why.
First off, we prefer seed companies based in the North, where the varieties they grow do well in a short growing season and are grown in conditions similar to what we see here in Manitowoc
Nature and Nurture Seeds in based in Michigan and we’ve gotten some great seeds from them. Seed packets are usually packed for the home gardener size-20-40 seeds a packet which is plenty for most pepper and tomato varieties. We were introduced to the Giant Marconi Red Pepper through them and loved it. They offer a lot of growing resources as well. Their seeds are all open pollinated and they are doing a lot of work on breeding programs to improve vegetable quality and production. They sell no GMO seeds.
Fruition Seeds in Naples, New York also sells some lovely vegetable varieties. All their seeds are organic and they offer some great resources for growers as well. We loved the Mermaids Tale Cabbage from them last year and the Violet Sparkles Peppers. The Crimson Carillon sweet pepper was so big and juicy and delicious last year-we’re looking forward to growing that one again! The days to maturity for all these seeds fit nicely in our zone 5 growing season.
Adaptive Seeds in the Pacific Northwest is another company we’ve been introduced to in the last couple years. Their slogan is “Bringing diversity back”. From their website: “NONE of our seeds are proprietary hybrids (F1), patented, PVP, or genetically modified (GMO). All of our seed is grown without chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides, and none of it is treated.” We’ve grown their Pumpkin Pie Party variety which offers a nice mix of different pie pumpkins and they have some of the biggest, most delicious tomatillos we’ve ever seen.
Seed Savers Exchange is another favorite of ours that offers heirloom and open pollinated seeds, some varieties going back up to a hundred years. We love the Shishito peppers and their flower varieties. We’ve grown some of the Mammoth Sunflower which were phenomenal!
Cultivating the Commons is a Wisconsin based company that a good friend introduced me to. They are a small family fun seed company with varieties suitable to our growing region. The Rosa de Milano were so tasty this last year!
We also get many of our seeds through Johnny’s Select Seeds, High Mowing Seeds (all organic), Fedco seeds and Territorial Seeds.
There are so many great companies out there and so many online resources for starting seeds and growing a garden. It’s one of my favorite things to do but no worries if it’s not yours! We have you covered! Sign up for our newsletter so you don’t miss out on our herb and transplant sale. We’ll have some great, organically grown, transplants so you can grow your own vegetable garden too. Happy Growing!
Warmly,
Farmer Jackie
