New Heirloom Seed Catalog

December is the month we all get inundated with seed catalogs and to be honest, 90% of them end up in recycling unless they have organic, heirloom, or seed savers as sources somewhere on the cover or inside. I shared a review last year on which seeds companies are the best to choose from so you don’t end up unknowingly buying into supporting genetically modified seed production given 50% of all seeds are produced by a handful of seed giants (that produce genetically modified seeds and hybrids). Last evening, I received a catalog from a seed company I read about online, but never had the pleasure of perusing a catalog. http://www.rareseeds.com/, a.k.a. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds puts together a glossy, informative, educational catalog: “All our seed is non-hybrid non-GMO, non-treated and non-patented. We do not buy seed from Monsanto-owned Seminis. We boycott all gene-altering companies. We work with a network of about 50 small farmers, gardeners, and seed growers to bring you the best selection of seeds available.” I was totally impressed. The owner, Jere Gettle, started the company 12 years ago at the ripe age of 17. It’s grown from 550 catalogs that first year in 1998 to 250,000 catalogs this year. One of the items that caught my attention from Baker was an “Heirloom Package.” It’s a tin of seeds that are packaged to last 4-10 years if kept cool and dry. Talk about money savings! For a tiny garden like mine (yes kids, my garden IS small compared to some), I could invest $55.00 and have fresh, organic produce for the next 10 years. That’s a deal in my eyes. Although, last year I bought SO much I already have plenty to keep me going for a couple more years. There’s one important uniqueness about this catalog – they are ALL heirlooms. If you are unfamiliar with heirloom varieties of produce, read here what they are. Heirlooms are not hybridized or GMO seeds. They are original "pure" seeds of plants without any cross pollination from other varieties. Watch for a post on heirloom seeds vs hybridized seeds in the future. There IS a significant difference between the two in many different ways. It amazes me to see the varieties of heirlooms becoming more available. For instance, Baker Creek lists 47 different kinds of eggplant! I had no idea there were that many kinds of eggplant. Astounding. Of course I have to try a couple. And that's one of the really cool thing about heirlooms - finding out what the plant is like. Two years ago, I discovered heirloom peach tomatoes and have been talking about them since. And you thought gardening was just about sticking a seed in the ground and watching it grow! Keep gardening.