treehugger - 10 Best Heirloom Seed Companies as Selected By Readers

mmn Mother Nature Network - A guide to heirloom seed catalogs. Some of the best catalogs are also free.

Amishland - All of my seeds come from my very own plants. I NEVER sell or will sell anyone else's seed, only my very own hand grown, hand selected seed from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Arche Noah - Seed Savers Association in Central Europe - If you are interested in information about heirloom varieties, if you are looking for seeds or plants, or the exchange with like-minded people, you are at the right place.

885 kinds of seeds (german or botanical index) from Arche Noah

rareseeds - Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds carries one of the largest selections of seeds from the 19th century, including many Asian and European varieties. The company has become a tool to promote and preserve our agricultural and culinary heritage.

Wild Garden Seed - All of our seed is Organically Grown at Gathering Together Farm along the winding Marys River on the edge of Philomath, Oregon. All of this seed is open pollinated, untreated, germ and vigor tested in living soil mix, and well cleaned.

Landreth Seed Company - We have become the oldest seed house in America providing our customers with one of the most extensive selections of fine lawn and garden seeds in the world.

FEDCO Co-Op Garden Supplies - Fedco Seeds is a certified organic processor under the National Organic Program. Our facilities were inspected by MOFGA Certification Services. Each variety labeled as organic in our catalog has been certified by a USDA-approved agency. By maintaining an audit trail and careful procedures we ensure that our cerified organic seed will not be contaminated.

Freie Saaten (german) - "Freie Saaten" ist ein Verbund von Hausgärtnern, ehemaligen Landwirten,  Eltern, Rechtsanwälte, Naturwissenschaftlern und  Freidenker. Die Gründung des Vereins begründet sich mit dem Wahnsinn der modernen Welt innerhalb der Nahrungsmittelerzeugung, des enormen Verlustes von alten Nutz- und Kulturpflanzen sowie Nutztierrassen und den Privatisierungs- und Patentierungsangriffe auf die natürlich gegebenen Ressourcen.

Granny's heirloom seeds - There are four different methods that are each widely employed to judge a cultivars qualifications as an Heirloom: 100 years old, 50 years old, Pre- 1945 (end of WWII), and Pre-1951 (Considered the beginning of the wide-spread commercial distribution of seeds.)  Each of these methods also requires that a cultivar be Open-Pollinated (Non-Hybrid , true to type producer).

Pinetree Garden Seeds - While we sell a variety of items for the home gardener, we started out as a vegetable seed company and this remains our primary focus. We spend the majority of our time in trials evaluating vegetable seed varieties. Since we deal only with home gardeners, we don’t worry about shipping or machine harvesting characteristics. We focus on flavor, space efficiency, beauty, and uniqueness.

Nichols Garden Nursery - Nichols Garden Nursery has served home gardeners for more than 60 years. In a time of corporate culture and takeovers, we remain an independent family business steeped in a tradition of customer service and fine food gardening.

Traditional Foods - Growing Garlic: Selecting Varieties, Planting, Harvesting, & Storing Garlic

Heirloom Seeds - All the varieties of seeds we sell are open pollinated (non-hybrid) and untreated. None of the seeds we sell are genetically engineered. ALL NON-GMO.

Seed Savers Exchange -

• Maintaining thousands of varieties of different plant types—from amaranth to watermelon—in one of the largest seed banks of its kind in North America.
• - Regenerating seed in isolation gardens and storing them in ideal conditions.
• - Documenting valuable cultural information on varieties and their histories.
• - Distributing heirloom varieties to members and the public through the Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook and the Seed Savers Exchange Catalog
• - Storing varieties in back-up locations at the USDA Seed Bank in Fort Collins, CO and at Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. These off-site deposits remain the property of SSE.

Sand Hill Preservation Center - Our primary mission is the preservation of our genetic resources. We are not a wholesale seed company nor are we a large hatchery. We produce all of our own eggs for our hatches, tend all of our own flocks, weed and care for the seed crops and produce around 90% of the seed which we sell (one of the highest percentages of any place in the country). In addition to the seed we produce here we also work with several close friends to produce some rare and unusual items to help give you a bigger and better variety.

Grow Italian - We are the exclusive U.S. mail-order distributor for Franchi Seeds, Italy’s oldest family-owned seed company, founded in 1783. We sell more than 400 varieties of heirloom Italian vegetable seeds, herb seeds, and flower seeds. Franchi Seeds of Italy is known worldwide for the quality of its seed, resulting in high germination, vigorous plants, and delicious food.

Chelsea Green Publishing - Seed to Seed is a complete seed-saving guide that describes specific techniques for saving the seeds of 160 different vegetables. This book contains detailed information about each vegetable, including its botanical classification, flower structure and means of pollination, required population size, isolation distance, techniques for caging or hand-pollination, and also the proper methods for harvesting, drying, cleaning, and storing the seeds.

High Mowing Organic Seeds - 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 or sell genetically engineered seeds or plants.

Seeds of Change - make organically grown seeds available to gardeners and farmers, while preserving rare heirloom and traditional seed varieties, and promoting sustainable organic agricultural practices. Today, nearly a quarter century later, we continue to pursue this mission while expanding it to include a range of certified organic foods and chocolates. Our line of Certified Organic Rice & Grain Blends, Simmer Sauces, Pasta Sauces, Salad Dressings, and Chocolate Bars were inspired by the notion that great taste and sustainability go hand in hand.

Victory Seeds - is a small, family owned and operated organization that works to preserve plant varieties by locating, growing, documenting and offering heirloom and rare open-pollinated seeds to home gardeners. We grow seeds on our farm and help to support other seed farmers by purchasing from our network of growers.

Sustainable Seeds Co. - We are an Organic Seed Farm, we grow seed!  We have over 1700 varieties and over 1/3 of those we grow here on our organic seed farm. Our farm is also home to rare heirloom fruit trees, grapes, berries, nut trees, and antique roses.  The farm is located in Mendocino county.  The first county in the U.S. to outlaw the production of Genetically Engineered crops.

Solana Seeds - We have many heirlooms, unusual and rare items available, including more than 200 tomato varieties. We invite you to browse the online catalog by clicking the different links in the menu.

Wood Prairie Farm - we are a small Certified Organic family farm in the State of Maine that market our products, and those of a number of other Certified Organic farmers that we know and trust, directly to our customers through our print catalog and this webstore. Our modest scale allows us to focus on producing high quality organic goods for you and your family

Siskiyou Seeds - We feel tremendously fortunate to be in a position to deliver vital, vigorous seed right from our farm and the fields of our growers to you.  We want to help you manifest your own version of a planted paradise! Siskiyou Seed is a bioregional, certified organic seed bank and seed source for gardeners and small farmers.

Johnny's selected seeds - Johnny's is pleased to offer an expanded selection of certified organic vegetable, herb, and flower seeds as well as accessory products. Look for the OG symbol following the variety name throughout our catalog and website. As always, most of our varieties continue to be available untreated. Many of our Pest and Disease Controls are WSDA listed.

Kitazawa Seed Co. - Kitazawa Seeds proudly continues to offer the highest quality Asian seeds to delight the diverse palates of our customers. We offer over 250 seed varieties that produce dento yasai or traditional heirloom vegetables of Japan, to the Asian vegetables popularly found in farmers' markets, specialty grocery stores and restaurants. Now you can grow them in your kitchen garden, sell them at your garden center and grow them commercially.

Evergreen Seeds - We offer only the highest quality Asian vegetable seeds. On this site, you can find many Chinese vegetables (Chinese cabbage, choy sum, yardlong Bean, bitter melon, Chinese mustard, Chinese broccoli, etc.), Japanese vegetables (Japanese cucumber and eggplant, daikon radish, Edamame soybean, kabocha squash, etc.), Korean radishes and melons, Indian bitter gourds and baby eggplants, various Thai basils and much much more.

Hudson Valley Seed Library

Seminis grow forward - Seminis is focused on open-field and unheated greenhouse vegetable-seed products

CRG - Council for Responsible Genetics - The Council for Responsible Genetics was  founded in 1983, and is comprised of scientists, lawyers, public health advocates and citizens concerned about the social, ethical and environmental impact of new genetic technologies.  
The Safe Seed Resource List -Your Resource for GM-free Seeds

Territorial Seed Company - Safe Seed Pledge, seeds still keep their age-old secrets of survival, and Territorial's seed saving techniques range from natural fermentation to the newest processors. Today they grow almost 20% of the seed they offer, especially lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash.

MONSANTO "owned" Heirloom Seednames to watch out for

List of MONSANTO FREE Seed Companies