2278 Baker Creek Road
Mansfield, MO 65704
(417) 924-8917
http://rareseeds.com
Catalog: Free online.
Baker Creek has been issuing catalogs for ten years now, and the current one builds on their already impressive offerings. They feature hundreds of non-hybrid vegetables, flowers, and herbs, this catalog is especially strong on hot-weather crops. It lists 44 different eggplants, 175 tomatoes, plus ample numbers of old-time corn, squash, and melons. The other garden vegies are here, too, just in smaller numbers.
18001 Shafer Ranch Road Willits, CA 95490 fax: (707) 459-6410 email: bountiful@sonic.net http://www.bountifulgardens.org Catalog: Free online. Offers only open-pollinated varieties, including some newer varieties as well as a fair number of old-timers. Of these, only a few are identified as heirlooms, even though many others, including some fairly rare ones, are also heirloom
The Colonial Nursery P. O. Box 1776 Williamsburg, VA 23187-1776 http://www.history.org/History/CWLand//nursery1.cfm Catalog: Seed list free online. Gardening was part and parcel of colonial life, and this remarkable museum displays everything from the aristocratic pleasure grounds for the governor to a work-a-day kitchen garden of vegetables and herbs, all carefully researched and authenticated. Their "Colonial Nursery" sells period-appropriate vegetable, flower, and herb seeds, plus bulbs, gardening accessories, and other goodies.
657 Pritchard Road Farrellton, Quebec J0X 1T0 Canada (819) 827-8881 Catalog: free Even though their website is a work-in-progress, it still includes a fine selection of heirlooms, including some nice short-season varieties and some that are very rare. Many are grown organically and packaged without pesticides. They also offer many old-fashioned flowers (including some choice vintage sweet peas) and a long list of herbs. BTW, I've never had any problems with customs or plant quarantines when I've ordered seeds from Canada.
PO Box 520 Waterville, ME 04903 (207) 873-7333 questions@fedcoseeds.com http://www.fedcoseeds.com/ Catalog: Free online.Vintage woodcuts, and amusing illustrations, this 100 page catalog has a mix of modern varieties and heirlooms. Among the latter, some are superstars, others are family favorites, many are historic. Informative write-ups help sort out which is which. Fedco has some rare varieties. In fact, they may be only commercial source for some of them. Of course, you're going to want these seeds. Order early. The deadline for mail orders is March 20.
182 Conconully Highway Okanogan, WA 98840 (509) 422-6940 (Message only) http://www.filareefarm.com Catalog: Free online. This organic farm offers hundreds of garlics gathered from literally all over the world. Some are heirlooms.
Heirloom Tomatoes 5423 Princess Drive Rosedale, MD 21237 http://www.heirloomtomatoes.net/ Catalog: Free online. Astonishing collection of tomatoes, and carrying his tradition forward. As before, this website offers hundreds different heirloom tomatoes -- red, pink, orange, yellow, green, purple, and black tomatoes, big ones, little ones, short-season tomatoes, hot-weather tomatoes, and everything in-between. Best of all, Donna even has tomatoes that taste like real tomatoes.
Box 40, RR3 Carman, MB, R0G 0J0 CANADA (204) 745-6489 http://heritageharvestseed.com/ email: seed@heritageharvestseed.com Print Catalog: $2.00 in U.S. Free in Canada. Specializing in rare and endangered varieties, this young company's catalog is chock-full of intriguing heirlooms. Some, such as 'Champion of England' peas, 'Boston Marrow' squash, and 'Tip-Top melon' are vegetable superstars of days-gone-by. Others, including 'Brandywine' tomatoes and 'Moon and Stars' watermelon are popular today. If those weren't quite enough, HHS offers Canadian originals, Native American vegetables, and short-season varieties. For many of them, HHS is the only commercial seed source. A laudable effort, especially since without niche seed companies like this one, many rare and choice heirlooms would simply cease to be
955 Benton Avenue Winslow, ME 04910 1-877-Johnnys (1-877-564-6697) http://www.johnnyseeds.com/ Catalog: Free online. While Johnny's specializes in short-season crops, it also offers a nice selection of heirlooms identified as such
60 East High Street, Bldg #4 New Freedom, PA 17349 (800) 654-2407 http://www.landrethseeds.com/ Catalog: Free online. This historic company (founded 1784) offers an assortment of old and open-pollinated vegetables. This year, they added a page devoted entirely to the heirloom vegetables, many of which they have offered since these varieties were new. The 193 varieties listed here (with nifty vintage images) include many classics, and is worth a browse.