Welcome back to our investigation into reliable and reputable sources for all our plant and seed needs. In our last Garden Gossip we examined some of the larger players in the Canadian seed market. Today I’m going to share some of my favourite specialized seed sources and smaller seed companies.
One very specialized company that carries some of the most amazing seeds is Richters. This is an Ontario company that specializes in herbs. If you can name an herb, no matter how uncommon, the odds are good that Richters carries it. And if you’re looking for something like basil, mint, thyme, etc, you won’t just find a single offering in those categories. Instead you’ll often find dozens of variations in colour, flavour and form. To pick out just one example, Richters offers 35 varieties of mint this year. The hardest part of shopping with Richters is knowing when to stop. Besides herbs, Richters also offers a small selection of heirloom vegetables and mushroom starting kits. If you’d rather start with plants than seeds, Richters offers an incredible selection of starter plants from their seed bank.
Perhaps you’d like to support a small family seed company. The Cottage Gardener, also from Ontario, is an heirloom oriented seed company that carries organic, non-GMO seeds and is closely involved in seed and variety preservation. Their selection has grown incredibly over the past few years and the average gardener can easily find everything they need right in this one simple black and white catalogue.
Perhaps you’d like to buy from a company that understands the special problems we face in northern gardens. T&T Seeds from Manitoba specializes in cold hardy stock. Working closely with prairie university agriculture programs, T&T Seeds is always happy to offer some of the hardiest rootstock you’ll find anywhere. While T&T also offer a fairly comprehensive selection of flower and vegetable seeds, their real claim to fame is the various fruit trees that they carry. All of their rootstock is extremely cold hardy (rated for northern prairie growing) and when I’m looking for cherry, apple or pear trees for the garden I always check with T&T first. They also carry a number of less common fruit varieties that are well worth experimenting with.
Perhaps you’d like to grow some funky new potato varieties. Eagle Creek Seed Potatoes from Alberta focuses exclusively on potatoes. Their product is top notch and is not limited to the commonly grown varieties. Eagle Creek is also a great source for numerous oddly shaped and coloured potatoes that can be hard to find elsewhere.
Just like potatoes, garlic also has a few specialized breeders offering their wares to Canadian buyers. Based in British Columbia, Boundary Garlic has become my go-to source for all things garlic. Not only do they have hundreds of varieties to choose from, each variety comes with a story and their website is loaded with everything you’ll ever need to know to grow the best garlic in town.
Looking for strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries? How about asparagus, horseradish or rhubarb? Strawberry Thyme in southern Ontario specializes in commercial pricing on all these plants. Most of their varieties can also be purchased in home-grower quantities. You lose out on the commercial pricing but even so, their prices are quite good.
Perhaps you’d like to support a truly local seed source. Uncle B’s Chilies and Etc is a Manitoulin based seed company that offers a little bit of everything but has a real focus on various chili peppers. Be sure to check out this exclusively online seed source and help a small local seed company get off the ground. Some of their products are even available as mail order plants later in the spring.
Going a little further abroad, but still in Canada, Salt Spring Seeds from British Columbia is another important seed company focusing on organic, heirloom and GMO free seed supplies. Home to many unique and unusual seed varieties, Salt Spring is another of those companies worth supporting.
In today’s world of increasing awareness around the nutritive value of sprouts and juicing, a seed company specializing in bulk seeds for these purposes is quite valuable. Mumm’s Sprouting Seeds offers organic, GMO free seeds that are intended for the sprouting market. Surprisingly affordable pricing along with free shipping on $25 orders makes this Saskatchewan company a real treasure. Add in over 30 years of experience in the industry and you are unlikely to find a better source anywhere.
Next week I’ll quickly touch on a few American seed companies of merit.
