Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Where to Go: Avoid GMO Seeds

Monsanto sells most of their garden seeds through a subsidiary named Seminis. The Seminis web page has a useful list of seed companies that retail their seeds:
http://us.seminis.com/products/hg_dealer.asp

As of the time of making this post the list included the following (with some very familiar names!):
THESE GUYS SELL SEMINIS SEEDS:


Dege Garden Center
St Paul, MN 55119

E & R Seed Co.
Monroe, IN 46772

Earl May Seed
Shenandoah, IA 51603

Garden Trends
Rochester, NY 14624

Gardens Alive
Lawrenceberg, IN 47025

Germania Seed Co.
Chicago, IL 60631


J.W. Jung Seed Co.
Randolph, WI 53956

Lindenberg Seeds
Brandon, Manitoba

Mountain Valley Seed
Salt Lake City, UT 84115

Nichols Garden Nursery
Albany, OR 97321

Park Seed (sells Some from Seminis, but not all)
Greenwood, SC 29647

Rocky Mountain Seed Co.
Denver, CO 80229

T & T Seeds, Ltd.
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Tomato Growers Supply
Fort Myers, FL 33902

Willhite Seed Co.
Poolville, TX 76487
When you buy garden seeds, and you want to harvest and save for next year, you have to buy them from somewhere that doesn’t sell anything labeled F1 as this is a giveaway.
Some clean sources for seeds listed below. I personally have been thrilled with Harris, Cooks' Garden, Horizon Herbs, Sandhill, and SeedSavers. I cannot speak for the others, as I haven't tried them.
THESE ARE THE GUYS AND GALS TO PATRONIZE FOR NON-GMO SEEDS:

  1. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
    2278 Baker Creek Road
    Mansfield, MO 65704
    417-924-8917
    417-924-8887 FAX
    www.rareseeds.com
    Products: Untreated non- GMO heirloom vegetable seeds from around the world

  2. Cook’s Garden
    P.O. Box C5030
    Warminster, PA 18974
    800-457-9703
    800-457-9705 FAX
    www.cooksgarden.com
    Products: Certified organic and untreated non-GMO vegetable seeds

  3. Fedco Seeds
    P.O. Box 520
    Waterville, ME 04903
    207-873-7333
    207-872-8317 FAX
    www.fedcoseeds.com
    Products: Certified organic and biodynamic seeds, untreated and non-GMO vegetable seeds, certified organic onion sets, specialty potatoes and fingerlings, and Jerusalem artichokes

  4. Filaree Farm
    182 Conconully Hwy.
    Okanogan, WA 98840
    509-422-6940
    info@filareefarm.com
    www.filareefarm.com
    Products: Certified organic garlic cloves

  5. Harris Seeds—Organic and Untreated Seeds for the Professional Grower
    355 Paul Rd.
    P.O. Box 24966
    Rochester, NY 14624-0966
    800-544-7938
    www.harrisseeds.com
    Products: Certified organic and untreated non-GMO vegetable seeds, OMRI listed and NOP National List pesticides, small vegetable production supplies.
    (I have purchased from these guys.  if you have need for a lot of seeds and have a big garden, this might be the way to go.  I've been especially impressed with their chard and beans.  Their Asparagus beans are especially wonderful and tasty.

     
  6. High Mowing Seeds
    813 Brook Rd.
    Wolcott, Vermont 05680
    802-888-1800
    802-888-8446 FAX
    www.highmowingseeds.com
    Products: 100% certified organic vegetables seeds

  7. Horizon Herbs
    P.O. Box 69
    Williams, OR 97544
    541-846-6704
    541-846-6233 FAX
    herbseed@chatlink.com
    www.chatlink.com/~herbseed
    Products: Certified organic and untreated native medicinal herbs of the world

  8. Johnny’s Selected Seeds
    1 Foss Hill Road
    RR 1, Box 2580
    Albion, ME 04910-9731
    207-437-4395
    (commercial orders)
    207-437-4301
    (home gardeners)
    800-437-4290 FAX
    homegarden@johnnyseeds.com
    (home gardeners)
    www.johnnyseeds.com
    Products: Certified organic and untreated non-GMO vegetable seeds, small vegetable equipment and machinery, OMRI listed and NOP National List pesticides

  9. Lakeview Farm
    44200 Hwy. BB
    Middletown, MO 63359
    573-549-2231
    Products: Certified organic cover crop seeds (hairy vetch, clovers, rye, and buckwheat), certified soybeans, corn, oats, and sunflowers seeds

  10. Milk Ranch Specialty
    Potatoes, L.L.C.
    20094 Highway 149
    Powderhorn, CO 81243
    970-641-5634
    970-642-0471 FAX
    craig@milkranch.com
    www.milkranch.com
    Products: Certified organic potatoes and specialty fingerlings

  11. Morgan County Wholesale Seeds
    18761 Kelsey Rd.
    Barnett, MO 65011-3009
    513-378-2655
    Products: Untreated non- GMO vegetable seeds, vegetable production supplies and equipment, soil amendments, and pesticides

  12. The Natural Gardening Company
    P.O. Box 750776
    Petaluma, CA 94975-0776
    707-766-9303
    707-766-9747 FAX
    info@naturalgardening.com
    www.naturalgardening.com
    Products: Certified organic and untreated non-treated vegetables seeds

  13. Organica Seed Co.
    P.O. Box 611
    Wilbraham MA 01095
    413-599-0396
    office@organicaseed.com
    www.organicaseed.com
    Products: Certified organic vegetables, herb, cotton, and cover crops seeds

  14. Sand Hill Preservation Center
    1878 230th Street
    Calamus, Iowa 52729-9659
    563-246-2299
    sandhill@fbcom.net
    www.sandhillpreservation.com
    Products: Heirloom untreated vegetables seeds, sweet potatoes, plants, and poultry

  15. Seeds of Change
    P.O. Box 15700
    Santa Fe, NM 87596-5700
    888-762-7333 (orders)
    866-339-3876 (technical questions)
    www.seedsofchange.com/
    Products: Certified organic and untreated non-GMO heirloom vegetable seeds

  16. Seed Savers
    3094 North Winn Road
    Decorah, IA 52101-7776
    563-382-5990
    563-382-5872 FAX
    www.seedsavers.org
    Products: Certified organic and untreated non-GMO vegetable seeds
    (I LOVE These Guys!!!) They are awesome to deal with and are dedicated to preservation. 

  17. Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
    P.O. Box 460
    Mineral, VA 23117
    540-894-9480
    540-894-9481 FAX
    www.southernexposure.com
    Products: Certified organic and untreated non-GMO heirloom and open-pollinated vegetable, herb, and flower seeds, certified organic peanut seeds, and garlic. (I LOVE These Guys Too!!!) They are awesome to deal with and are dedicated to preservation.  Their catalog is like "seed porn" LOL!  

  18. Territorial Seed Company
    P.O. Box 158
    Cottage Grove, OR 97424
    800-626-0866
    888-657-3131 FAX
    www.territorialseed.com
    Products: Certified organic and untreated non-GMO vegetable seeds

  19. Burpee, W Atlee
    Warminster, PA 18974
    Burpee sells hybrids but makes the statement that they do not sell GMOs.
    (update, 4/12/2010: Burpee has released a press statement stating that they don't sell any GMO seeds even though they do buy some seeds from Seminis.  not all Seminis seeds are GMO. In 2005 Monsanto bought vegetable seed company, Seminis Inc. who supplies some seeds to Burpee.)

  20. Ferry Morse Seed Co  (do sell hybrids, but not GMOs)
  21. Lilly Miller Seeds

3 comments:

HeartlanderMom said...

Thanks for writing, Kristin. I've looked into this and amended my post. According to my research, in 2005 Monsanto bought Seminis Inc., a seed company. Seminis in turn supplies some seeds to Burpee. I want to be accurate and educational, not rumour-passing. Thanks for the comments!
~HLM

Unknown said...

I'm a bit unclear on this Heartlander. Why is for example Johnny's selected seeds on both of these lists?

Earthbreather

HeartlanderMom said...

@Norma:
Great catch. I didn't realize I did that! Thanks for posting the info. Although I've never purchased from Johnny's I certainly would if I couldn't find what I was looking for with my regular guys. (Harris and Southern)