seeds and seed suppliers for the first year

Please hit me with your ideas for seeds and seed suppliers to plant on the farm this summer!

Paul has said anytime the land on the farm is disturbed, seeds should be planted.

So Paul has asked me to start a list and a forum thread about the plants and seeds to start growing on the land in the next two months, plants that grow in Western MT in the summer.

And we need a list for the sources/suppliers for said seeds.

I thought that one way to start this off would would be to group the plants by function on the farm (why we want them and where we are achieving multi-functionality), and then later group them by guild, layer, and location (where and when to plant).

So, I've started a list, just brain-dumping what comes to mind and will thin them out for the summer seeds and those appropriate for the climate and the land (after I know more about the soil). I'll be dusting off my Jacke, Hemenway, Holzer, and Fukuoka books for more ideas.

I'll dump all this into a spreadsheet or database for easy sorting based on function, perennial/annual, layer, and other attributes of interest.

Best,
Charlie

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Cover/mulch crops:
comfrey
hairy vetch
miner's lettuce
amaranth
mustards
daikon radish

Nitrogen-fixers:
Black locust
clovers (crimson)
lupine
alfalfa
Siberian pea shrub

Soil-break/cultivator:
daikon radish
fava bean

Nutrient accumulators:
stinging nettle
sunflower
yarrow
dandelion

Insect attractors:
comfrey
fennel
dill
chamomile
miner's lettuce

Pest detractors:
walking onion
Mexi marigold
peppermint
lemon balm

Deer fence:
Russian olive
(Don't tell the Missoula native plant folks, who I believe have labeled it a noxious plant!
gooseberry
garlic
hops
strawberry

Fire retardation:

Poop-beasts:
cottonwood
willow
poplar

Medicinal:
echinachea
mullein
artemisia
St. John's wort
burdock

Edible, human food, fruit and veggies:
apple
strawberry

Edible, human food, staples:
potato

Edible, human food, herbs:
cumin

Edible, livestock food:
buckwheat
Siberian pea shrub
buffalo grass

Riparian:
cottonwood
alder

Windbreak/soundbreak:

Aroma/Fragrance:

Flower/aesthetics:

Fiber:

Cleansers:

Other human uses:

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Seed ball mixes:

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Seed Sources:

www.reneesgarden.com
www.abundantlifeseeds.com
www.ecoseeds.com
www.gardencityseeds.com
www.nativeseeds.org
peaceseeds.org

Well, let's see...
You have a reputable tree nursery just up the road from you (Plains, MT)
http://www.lawyernursery.com/
http://www.lawyernursery.com/maggies/avail.txt Updated daily availability & price list.
They are wholesale, and have minimum orders, but not too restrictive.
Good selection & prices.
Be forewarned: While they do grow most of it there, some of the evergreens are grown west of the Cascades.

And if you want seeds for trees & shrubs, you cannot beat these guys for selection/prices:
http://www.treeshrubseeds.com/catalog.asp

Request a 2013 catalog from JLHudsons for a lot of the misc, hard to find stuff:
http://jlhudsonseeds.net/
Ted, the current owner, has been there for over 40 years. Good guy to deal with.

These have helped me out. Hope they help you.

https://www.horizonherbs.com/

http://mountainroseherbs.com/

And this good man Ken set me up with a flat rate box of comfrey bocking 14 root cuts. He says he's got more...

https://permies.com/t/24147/resources/Organic-Russian-Comfrey-root-cuttings

Matt

So for Edible, human food, staples:

Apios americana
Ulluco
Dioscorea japonica
Smallanthus sonchifolius
Chicory
Burdock
Argentina anserina

Amaranth
Buckweath
Quinoa

I would suggest in the strongest of terms that extensive raspberry and blackberry seed or rootstock be investigated, as canes grow extremely fast and I believe that they are some of the first perennials to bear after planting. Their control (keeping some from spreading) can also provide good browsing for pigs, if nothing else, right? Definitely candidates for the deer fence too.

Is it known if there are sunchokes on site already?

There is a smaller, hardier subspecies of fava (I believe it's called horse bean) that would do better without attention.

Quinoa might be a grain addition for cooler sites, even if it just feeds the birds. I am using an organic "feed the birds" mix that includes quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat (which is a useful grain and n-fixer, good to see its on the list), and red clover ( another n-fixer, why isn't white clover a good idea? I know that too much foraging on red clover can cause some ruminants to miscarry or have fertility issues).

There are a variety of beet called mangelwurtzel. They drop huge taproots and are a rooting favourite for pigs, making them excellent for pig plowing.

As to beets, chard (as I understand it, beet varieties chosen for their tops rather than roots) is great human and animal forage, as is kale and many leaf brassicas.

The insecticidic effect of mexican marigolds can actually hurt the growth of some more sensitive plant species. The French variety is potent enough that the local protective effect lasts in the soil a full three seasons, and doesn't have any negative effect on plants.

There are "magic bullets" of companion planting that greatly increase the health of plants around them for various reasons. The ones I like are borage, geraniums, and lovage. Some people like bee balm for its insectiary properties.

I would determine from Paul what his thoughts are on tree and shrub species for a long-term large-scale windbreak on the perimeters of the property that coincide with the prevailing winds, in an effort to slow heat loss. If the right species were chosen, the windbreak could effectively become a dense rainforest analog, stopping wind, collecting moisture from the ground and from swales and transpiring it into the air with the slowed wind to alleviate aridity and to make local moisture traps (piles of stacked stone) more effective.

I have not seen hawthorne in any category. It has long been used for hedgerows (the thorns, I think), and apparently it will accept grafts of pear scion wood, too.

I have not heard Paul mention it, but for barriers or windbreaks, a variety of clumping bamboo might be a great idea. The clumping variety needs to be propagated by splitting the clumps apart and transplanting, as opposed to by runners, so it is easily controlled, and many animals that are not pandas eat it, too. Also, if a hardwood variety can be grown, it might make a significant addition to natural building materials on the land.

I haven't seen mulberries on the list at all. Even if they're just feeding the birds, they will draw them away from your other fruit crops. Not to mention their value as human food and the protein content of their leaves for animal forage.

If Paul is going to have citrus growing on TL, I would suggest starting every fruiting perennial you can find, starting with the hardier stone fruits like plum, and moving all the way to peaches and apricots.

I have seen no mention of grapes or nut trees.

Lastly, wormwood has been used in Europe as a treatment for internal parasites and such since forever. It is also the key ingredient in absinthe.

Lots of these are perennials that take a while to yield, but that is why it's key to get them in as soon as possible.

I get all my seeds from a store run by the people behind www.uharvest.ca. All are organic, and many are heirloom. They also carry some rare varieties.

I'm sure someone will fill in anything I missed.

-CK

EDIT: I forgot currants. Great shade-loving berry producer. There are a whole range of berries that should be considered, including Serviceberry, Gooseberry, Bearberry, Bayberry (render the wax for bayberry candles), and any number of species generally or colloquially referred to as blueberries. I know Paul will want huckleberries. Add to all of this: Rhubarb! Little House on the Prairie's Pie Plant.

It would be good to know what is already growing on site.

If you want to attract wasp, hornet and bees grow cowpeas. It's an amazing cover crop, fast growing, hardy, drought resistant, dense organic residue and who doesn't like black-eye peas?

In addition to Cowpea.

Dutch corn salad/ Mache
Indian (hot) Mustard
Sea Kale
Bergamot / Bee Balm
Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) fiddle heads
Purslane

I have over 500 Burr oak(quercus Macrocarpra) acorns I will send if you wish/want or need. LMK. these are from the texas Panhandle bur should do well.....LMK

i have a few of those things i would be willing to send, including a few walking onion seeds and more that should be coming and are fresh.
just because you're all so awesome =)

private message to me an address and i will send a bubble envelope with a few of those requests within a few weeks.
=)

also, i have gotten some seeds from this company and been happy with the order.

http://www.eonseed.com/catalog501.html

http://www.eonseed.com/

Derek Brewster wrote:I have over 500 Burr oak(quercus Macrocarpra) acorns I will send if you wish/want or need. LMK. these are from the texas Panhandle bur should do well.....LMK

YES! Such an awesome offer. Though Paul wants to close on base camp and get moved before receiving/buying seeds and such, which makes sense.

Others offered seeds and plant starts, too, in the first month thread and I started a donations thread to separate those out so I can have a better hope of tracking and thanking folks.

In response to Chris/CK,
Cold stream farms
I have to recommend.
Completely professional and everything I have ordered from them is beautiful.

It might be worth considering planting hedge apple trees (maclura pomifera) in the places you want thorny hedge for natural fencing, wildlife and two-legged critter control. The tree has a myriad of uses, but at the top of the list is an insect deterrent that has been tested to be as effective as DEET at discouraging mosquitoes. (My understanding is that certain times of the year that might be a great boon in the woods of western Montana.) The wood is hard, exceptionally rot-resistant, and useful for lots of handcrafted items from bows to fence posts. It burns hot as heck, and can be used to produce a great yellow dye.

As far as seed stock, it grows everywhere down here in Oklahoma... getting a bunch of seed would be easy. Trying to get cuttings to root would be a slightly more ticklish prospect with the wicked thorns it has...

Thanks for all the suggestions and offers. Keep 'em coming!

FYI Zoomoolians: The Five Valleys Seed Library just opened at the Missoula Community Food Co-Op, 1500 Burns St.
They are giving a workshop on seed saving at the Missoula Public Library on June 1. I think the time is 3:30 PM, but I'll try to confirm and post this on the Missoula forum.

https://www.facebook.com/missoulaseedlibrary

http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/five-valleys-seed-library-provides-exchange-for-missoula-gardeners/article_143bfe82-c341-11e2-bef2-0019bb2963f4.html

Sea berries. - sea buckthorn

I second mulberries they start producing fast and are propagated by layering very well.

Don't forget all the hardy kiwi varieties and they are also propagated by layering.

The same goes with the fruiting Cornelian Dogwood tree

Ill have oodles of parsnip seed later on in the year. They selfseed like wildfire. I let about a dozen go to seed last year and there is a trail of them across the pasture this year where the wind blew the seeds.

leila hamaya wrote:i have a few of those things i would be willing to send, including a few walking onion seeds and more that should be coming and are fresh.
just because you're all so awesome =)

private message to me an address and i will send a bubble envelope with a few of those requests within a few weeks.
=)

Leila, I think you are awesome for the offer, too! Once we're moved, I will post or pm an address - thank you, thank you!

Kelly - "hedge apple trees (maclura pomifera)" aka osage orange - YES. Paul is very excited about this one! And he loves mulberries, too, Jay and Chris.

Charlie - awesome posts about Missoula seed library and workshop. (Edit: this was already done: I'm going to copy/add this thread to the Missoula forum).

RE: the Five Valleys Seed Library Seed-Saving Class in Missoula...

I don't see the workshop listed on the Missoula Public Library calendar, but I did see a sign posted on the bulletin board, and I saw this on Facebook:

Ann Little: "Seed-Saving Class - FREE - at the Missoula Library 3:30 - 5:30pm on June 1st, 2013 with John Erdman. The focus of this class will be how to plan your garden for optimum seed-saving. We'll have other classes throughout the summer - stay tuned."

LAMBSQUARTERS (Chenopodium album)

It's drought-tolerant, grows just about anywhere, and it has delicious young greens and edible seeds. Can't recommend it enough. Care-free yum-yum.

Tony and I are looking through seed catalogs today and beginning the process of marking seeds to order. Any more lists or ideas are helpful. Thanks!

I got some seeds from this guy for Christmas. He lives in my neck of the woods and does some interesting stuff like deep winter lettuce which grows outside all winter with no help, and perennial wheat, which I'm excited to try along with some Weston A. Price methods of preparation.

On Tomatoes: I would buy every heirloom that tickles your fancy. You just never know what will grow well in your microclimate or that year. After a year or two you can narrow down to a few varieties based on how you use them. We have a pear and a cherry for salads, a paste/roma for making sauce, and several eating varieties because they all taste unique and hopefully one does exceptional each year whatever the weather.

On cover crop seed, I have ordered from here: http://www.greencoverseed.com/ Good service and good price (on what I ordered, anyway).

I heard about a new radish, graza, that is like a daikon root but a forage top. They sound like a really good deal for pasture improvement while rotational grazing. I haven't checked the price to see if it is worth it or a daikon/turnip mix is more cost effective.

Don't forget all the things like chicory, plantain, MULTIPLE clovers, almost any bean (except SOY) or pea. Something will eat them and turn them into fertilizer if you don't. I tried hulless oats, but they are a fail in my climate. They would be a real winner if you can grow them IMO. I have been told you can get them from South Dakota in 50 lb bags but haven't found it--finding things Amish or Mennonite online is kind of hard...

How big of an area are you thinking about needed to covercrop? An acre or fifty? I am in this no-man's land right now--need more than garden packet or lb packages, but not enough to get a skid. Shipping 50 lb bags UPS is cost prohibitive, but I don't have a source in driving range either.

I will second that recommendation of JL Hudson! They gave a presentation/critique on "Invasive Species" at the Sepp Holzer workshop in Loma Mar this year, which many people said was their favorite part of the whole workshop. I will be posting a youtube video of it soon and will post the link here. (The co-owner's name is David by the way)

JL Hudson has one of the most interesting catalog's available, but non-veggies are only listed by Latin Name so it can be difficult for most people to search through it.

The most BEAUTIFUL catalog, in my opinion, is from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
http://www.rareseeds.com/

Catnip is a fragrant beneficial insect attractor that is quite nutritious when nibbled out of hand or in a salad and makes great relaxing tea for adults and children. I can send seeds if I get an address.

Shall I send a couple of hickory nuts and chestnuts to plant as well?

It's great to plant things on purpose but it's also great to get free seeds as well.

We will be having a spring seed swap here, maybe locals would come and donate some if you had such a party. Maybe an in town location would let you have it there if you would prefer. Let the donations flow in...

Matt Armstrong wrote:
Apios americana, Ulluco, Dioscorea japonica, Smallanthus sonchifolius, Chicory, Burdock, Argentina anserina

Amaranth, Buckweath, Quinoa

(I compressed the quote.)

I'm not sure about some of these... at least in combination. It is a mix of warm summer plants and cool summer plants. Apios, Dioscorea, and Amaranth want warm summers. Yacon, Silverweed, Quinoa, and escpecially ulluco want cool summers - ulluco really does poorly where summers often exceed 75 degrees. The rest are pretty adaptable. Yacon and ulluco want lots of water at the same time that amaranth and quinoa will be ruined by it.

As far as staples go, the low calorie density of yacon, chicory, and silverweed would seem to make them poor staples.

We are leaning towards choosing two tomato types. One might be Matt's Wild Cherry. Any suggestions for the other? Possibly something good for canning. It's difficult to choose among all of the beautiful heirlooms!

I would like to add a seed supplier to your list that might help you a great deal. Johnny's selected seeds in Winslow Maine. I worked there for 15 years with the last eight of it in the seed lab where we regularly tested the seeds for germination levels. The catalog has a wealth of information. And for questions they are just a phone call away. Johnnyseeds.com

For a canning tomato, Opalka is a good one.
It has few seeds, and less juice than something like Amish Paste, so it needs less rendering if you are making it into paste,or thick sauce. Very prolific grower. Mid season (about 80 days from transplant, or 100 from seed). I know people growing it in zone 5 regions. It was originally from Poland. I think it has more flavor than the Amish Paste, and should give you more pounds of fruit per square foot.

It is not well known, since it has so few seeds that many growers were having trouble getting enough seeds to 'market' it. The plants look wispy and frail with few leaves, but are in fact very vigorous. Once mature, they will load up with large harvests.

There two tomato varieties that I would include in your plans for ease of care
and reseeding ability: black cherry and Matt's Wild. They also are very tasty.

You likely know the best full size tomatoes for the Mizzoula area and I don't
pretend to. I just can't imagine being without the two small ones I mentioned.

High mowing seeds (.com) is in CA. Organic, heirloom, etc etc. also Horizon Herbs

Is no one on TL a member of seed savers exchange that can get in touch with locals/localish folks?

Mullein a great pioneer species that likes compacted ground. Nice taproot, toilet paper and medicine.

Emily Aaston wrote:We are leaning towards choosing two tomato types. One might be Matt's Wild Cherry. Any suggestions for the other? Possibly something good for canning. It's difficult to choose among all of the beautiful heirlooms!

I missed this post. In my opinion Matt's wild should be grown for snacking but not
for your main crop. Black Cherry is bigger and produces like crazy and is great tasting.
I do not think you can beat it.

Last year I grew 15 varieties of heirloom tomatoes and the only full sized tomato that
stood out was one called "Neves Azorean Red" ,NAR. I am down South and don't know how
it would do up there.

No one mentioned milkweed. Come on...plant some milkweed along with some pollinators and attract the monarch butterfly!

I used http://www.outsidepride.com for clover when I was a homeowner. They sell much more than clover, though. No one has mentioned it, so let me. I recently made a fairly large order from them for planting this spring on a 3 acre area. I have no complaints about them, except non-organic seed. I'm attempting to turn a neglected grass/weed pasture into a permaculture paradise. Zone 6a, 7000', 14" annual precip, volcanic based.

Here is my order list from outsidepride:
Red Clover
White Clover
Arrowleaf clover
Buckwheat
Alfalfa

Anise Hyssop
Astralagus
Calendula
Catmint
Chamomile - Roman
Chamomile - German
Chicory - wild
Chive
Columbine
Dandelion
Echinacea
Fenugreek
Hyssop
Lavender
Lemon Balm
Nasturtium
Plantain
Peppermint
Purslane
Skullcap
Sorrel
Spearmint
Stinging Nettle
St. John Wort
Strawberry - Wild
Strawberry - Wild
Valerian
Yarrow - white
Yarrow - red



From Johnny's Selected:
Most my veggie seeds (Which I'll spare you)
Borage
Corn - Open pollinated, MT variety "Painted Mountain"
Chicory - red rib
Forage turnip
Mangel
Millet
Sunflower
Sorrel

Various Online sources:
6 varieties of Quinoa
Uva-Ursi
Bocking 4 & 14 (have ~600 plants in the ground)

Locally sourced/collected:
Apple (save the seeds)
Burr-oak (collected, water-tested, stratifying dismal amount of sinkers)
Chicory (Collected what was left today)
Hawthorn (Still reading about, 12-18 month freeze recommended)
Honey Locust (which I am now pro at sprouting)
Milkweed (grows good here anyway)
Mullein (many mullein seeds. many many)
Rose hips (4 from the garden, 2 from the wild)
Scrub Oak (and more next spring!!)
Lots of fruit tree cuttings (dormant starts, trying)


I still have some things to add. Trees, berries, nuts, peas, shrubs, ground covers, vines, sweet potato slips.

(Sorry, I hope I just didn't thread-bomb you. Not the intention)

WHEN first starting out ........it's easy to get over whelmed by the numbers of different things you can plant
and get yourself stretched too thin.

One person.... can manage about a half acre intensively and do it well ....and that's starting at dawn not 9 -11 .

Use the old strategy of war ...and divide and conquer deciding what the goal is to start out with ....fast food production
or permaculture strategies...

i once read about Montana having a WILD temperature swing of -20 ....and then going all the way to 80 degrees in a single day.
So that's a HUNDRED DEGREE TEMPERATURE CHANGE. you need to plan for that scenario.

NOTE: to PAUL and Jocelyn, your spell checker still doesn't recognize the word Permaculture

WHEN...it's going to rain that's when you think about WATERING everything. TRY and water everything that has deep roots
because water doesn't penetrate down to a deep depth UNLESS the tilthe of the soil is quite loose allowing it to penetrate easily.
then when it does rain... instead of the rainfall spreading out thin (as it does) it'll go deeper where it's less likely to evaporate.

WITHOUT making the land your BITCH (love Paul's line) and striving to let it become a wild permaculture food source it
would be very wise to get yourself a good PONCHO and a water proof rain hat so when it rains hard you can be outside comfortably
and study how the land redistributes run off and how to work with the contour's of the land and not against it ...work with NATURE
same as training a horse.... you utilize it's natural tendencies and habbit's and work with them not against them.

DON'T try and turn the farm into a forty years of permaculture bonanza in ONE season.... it takes time to achieve this as SEP would tell you.

you will need staging area's to get things started and then when they get to the point of "taking off" a strategy of transporting them
to a given area then doing a massive planting preferably just before several days of misty rain so they get a chance to adjust.

I once over planted tomatoes and was quite proud of my crop at the initial stages as they were extremely healthy and prolific.
instead of staking them to get them off the ground to prevent fruit rot...i said, i'll let nature figure it out and let them go wild.
for a time they looked just awesome, a bumper crop planted in several wide rows which later became ONE HUGE ENTANGLEMENT
you'd walk out there and try to venture here or there and the tomato vines would trip you, snag you, and trap you like a bug in a spider's web.
it was a tomato NIGHTMARE and then some. I tell you this because Nature can be CRUEL in how it responds to spacing .
it is far better to put 1-3 tomatoes here and then 1-3 tomatoes way over there instead unless you stake the hell out of them.

No where did i see SUGAR snap peas mentioned as they are an extremely hardy *easiest vegetable and will push up thru snow with ease in spring
the idea is to plant them just before the last snow fall ...the old saying is snow is free fertilizer... and they are a prolific fast producer.
Broccoli is a seed that needs to be ALONE because every sing seed will sprout and it needs 18-24 inches between the next one if direct seeding
otherwise they crowd one another and compete for light instead of growing a huge stalk in width to support a 8-10 inch head.

your planting schemes are to give adequate space so they don't crowd or bolt and reach for the sky
but also shade out the soil to make the micro climate
thus controlling temperature and conserving moisture as well as preventing weed growth.

SOMEWHERE build a little pond for ducks... as they are the most proficient bug eaters imaginable if you train them right.
and they won't poke holes in everything like chickens do and because of this chickens suck
but ducks will walk the rows stick their long necks out and looking around to the UNDERSIDE OF LEAVES of all the foliage to find slugs and all types of bugs.

when they are fuzzy yellow chicks you flip over the "duck boards" (for bugs to hide under)between rows
and allow them to feast on bugs as they grow older
having trained them to eat handfuls of bugs you collected so they become conditioned to eating them....
later, they will walk the boards and keep the garden bug free.

I order almost all my seeds from three companies. I can attest to them being quality seeds, and companies. All open pollinated... No gmo

www.bountifulgardens.org- Non profit in connection with John Jeavon's org. Wide variety of seeds and good info.

www.rareseeds.com/‎ - Baker Creek. A little bigger company then I prefer to give my business to, but a huge selection of quality seeds and a giant "wishbook" type catalog.

www.sandhillpreservation.com - An absolute hidden gem. Tons of seeds, and chickens too ! No pics, only tons and tons of info in their catalog. Largest supplier of sweet taters that I am aware of. Absolutely the cheapest prices and most generous helpings of seeds anywhere.


This may be a stupid question, but why would you limit yourself to two types of 'maters? I mean, what if they both suck? A summer without 'maters is a very sad affair.

For my first time plating of a large field I tried everything I could. 20 different tomato, 30 different potato, a dozen beans, 3 peas, 10 peppers, 4 eggplant, 15 squashes, 4 corn, 3 cucumber, 2 tomatillo, 2 ground cherry, sunberry, huckleberry, raspberry, blueberry, schnozzberry...

With the attention given, most cultivars of most species will do just fine. All they need are suitable conditions. Mother Nature is full of surprises. You may find that a particular cultivar does a little better, perhaps another performs a bit weaker. Unless a disaster occurs, you'll have side by side comparisons of different crops to speed along the selection of what is most desirable for your conditions. Do you like the flavor of this tomato or the production of that one?

The year of my giant planting the entire east coast was hit with Late Blight. I lost all 300 tomatoes and 600 potatoes. However, the Blue Viking potato held out the best, and the Russian Banana potato produced a yield before being wiped out. On the tomato side, the Silver Fir Leaf was the first to go, Red Fig was the last to succumb, and a particular cherry tomato produced early enough to pick fruit before the blight came.

A pack of seed is $2-3. Testing numerous cultivars can be pricey. A larger pack offers cost savings, but if it's the wrong cultivar, all may be lost.

Let me add in the Pest Detractor and Deer Repellent category (article I wrote on them linked):

Daffodils

I love this seed catalog and company index, based on the Safe Seed Pledge list. Each seed company is listed by state. First, the pledge, follows the link to the list of seed companies.

The Safe Seed Pledge:

"Agriculture and seeds provide the basis upon which our lives depend. We must protect this foundation as a safe and genetically stable source
for future generations. For the benefit of all farmers, gardeners and consumers who want an alternative,

We pledge that we do not knowingly buy, sell or trade genetically engineered seeds or plants.

The mechanical transfer of genetic material outside of natural reproductive methods and between
genera, families or kingdoms, poses great biological risks as well as economic, political, and cultural threats.
We feel that genetically engineered varieties have been insufficiently tested prior to public release.
More research and testing is necessary to further assess the potential risks of genetically engineered seeds.
Further, we wish to support agricultural progress that leads to healthier soils, genetically diverse agricultural
ecosystems and ultimately healthy people and communities."

SAFE SEED RESOURCE LIST

At my blog, I also compiled a list of seed companies based off the Permies forum, and added some of my own favorites.

I have enjoyed purchasing seeds here:
http://sustainableseedco.com/

They have organic heritage seeds sold individually as well as in packages: herb packs, veggie packs, fall packs, flower packs, etc.

They do have cover crops and the like as well.

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:

leila hamaya wrote:i have a few of those things i would be willing to send, including a few walking onion seeds and more that should be coming and are fresh.
just because you're all so awesome =)

private message to me an address and i will send a bubble envelope with a few of those requests within a few weeks.

Leila, I think you are awesome for the offer, too! Once we're moved, I will post or pm an address - thank you, thank you!

my offer still stands, but it will wait if needed. =)

still have some egyptian walking onion seeds, though i already traded or planted most...but theres still a bit of them saved.
i really like those cutie little onions!
one of my favorites....extremely easy to grow and self seed and/or somewhat perennial
if you start with a couple you get dozens more each year as long as you keep dividing them....actually even if you dont... they do keep planting themselves and "walking"
though they are from this year, they probably need to be planted fairly quickly.

if you all had a master most wanted seed list i could look over it for other stuff, or perhaps you could look over my list-
but i have a few other things from the top list, in the OP, i could also send.

Leila, you are a sweetheart! Some folks have sent us seeds and plants already and I have been remiss in thanking them. (We're looking forward to having assistants here, soon, to help with this!)

Here's what I posted in June over in the donations thread (edited here for brevity):

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:If you're interested in sending things, the mailing address is:
2120 S Reserve ST #351
Missoula MT 59801

It's a private mailbox at a mail center kind of place - the same address that shows on the bottom of the daily-ish e-mail. If you're a Missoulian, I think you could even drop things off for box #351 if that's easier.

Thanks folks for all the great ideas and offers to help.

I'm not sure how many hugels we will start this first year, and some of our soil has yet to be improved, and we're ordering a lot of seeds and plants ourselves, so I'm not sure how to answer if we might need more. We'll try to post more cohesive info as we are able.

Oh, and for local folks, we're also looking at http://www.nativeseedfoundation.com/ for some tree and shrub seeds.

Here's their pic of some black elderberry: