OK, back to a little preparedness. Would everyone consider posting your recommendations regarding suppliers of non-hybrid seeds. This seems to be a source of confusion given all the different suppliers (and con artists) out there. Your personal experiences and advice may be helpful. Spring is (hopefully) around the corner.

-- lparks (lparks@eurekanet.com), December 27, 1998

Answers

I bought my seeds from Heirloom Seeds. Their website is at http://www.heirloomseeds.com/

They sent my *large* order in 3 days!! This was in September. A friend of mine recently placed an order with them and the wait-time was about 5 days (friend is in Calif. and this company is in PA.)

They filled my order correctly, and refunded me $2.50 for one item they didn't have (sage), and the order arrived fast. I am VERY VERY pleased with their service and the seeds I got.

I highly recommend Heirloom Seeds to everyone. Of course, now that I have recommended them, their ship-time will probably increase .

Don't wait too long for those seeds folks. Heirloom/open pollinated seeds might get hard to find before too long.

Bobbi http://www.buzzbyte.com

-- Bobbi (bobbia@slic.com), December 27, 1998.

# # # 19981227--"non-hybrid seeds"

lparks:

No bull, Hermetically Sealed Paks ( Low Moisture ), non-hybrid seeds:

LIFE SPROUTS Paradise, Utah 84328

801.245.3891

Regards, Bob Mangus # # #

-- Robert Mangus (rmangus@mail.netquest.com), December 27, 1998.

# # #

lparks:

This, from an e-mail sent ( in response to an inquiry earlier this year ) to my Year 2000 Citizen Action Group e-mail distribution list < mailto:y2kcag@hotmail.com >:

"I picked up some non-hybrid seeds last fall ( I haven't planted yet ) at a Preparedness Exposition in Indianapolis, IN. I'm hoping these seeds will be good next year. They're still hermetically sealed, dry and cool. Here's information off of the packaging:

LIFE SPROUTS

FAMILY GARDEN SEED

These Seeds Are Non-Hybrid Four Person Storage Pak

Note: Do Not eat the seeds in this container. STORE IN A COOL, DRY PLACE See Instructions Inside

Hermetically Sealed Paks (Low Moisture)

CONTENTS

Paks Type of Seed Weight ---- ------------------------- --------- 4 Beans (Blue Lake Pole) .75 oz. 1 Beets (Detroit Dark Red) 5 grams 1 Cabbage (Copenhagen) 4 grams 2 Carrots (Chantry) 3 grams 6 Corn (Jubilee) .75 oz. 1 Cucumbers (Straight 8) 4 grams 1 Lettuce (Black Simpson) 3 grams 1 Onions (Yellow Spanish) 3 grams 6 Peas (Wando) .75 oz. 1 Peppers (Green Jupiter) 3 grams 1 Radish (Scarlet Globe) 5 grams 1 Spinach (Bloomsdale) 4 grams 1 Squash (Butternut Ponoa) 4.5 grams 1 Swiss Chard Fordhook Gt.) 4 grams 1 Tomatoes (Rutgers) 3 grams 1 Zucchini (Black Beauty) 4.5 grams

This product is packed by the rules and regulations of the Federal Seed Act for Hermetically Sealed Seeds.

Manufactured and Packed for LIFE SPROUTS, Paradise, Utah, 84328 (801) 245-3891

I hope this helps! I'm holding on to mine for the farmers I hope to sharecrop with. ( I am not a farmer! )

Good crops, to all those that are prepared!!"

Regards, Bob Mangus # # #

-- Robert Mangus (rmangus@mail.netquest.com), December 27, 1998.

lparks:

Check out www.y2chaos.com's link in the index sidebar for non-hybrid seeds.

Seeds

Also, many of the food storage businesses sell these as well. A while ago I ran across one place that would customize your seed package depending on the region/climate you are in but I don't remember the site... maybe another poster has this info.

Good luck, hope this helps.

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), December 27, 1998.

lparks , Check at yuor local feed store . Thats where i found mine Mike :o)

-- Mike (mickle2@aol.com), December 27, 1998.

I have about twenty years experience as a home gardener. Here's my $0.02:

1. I've dealt with Pinetree Gardens in the past (http://www.superseeds.com/). Excellent service, wide variety, super prices.

2. Johnny's (http://www.johnnyseeds.com)is a very reputable company. I've been quite happy with their service.

3. Heirloom Seeds (http://www.heirloomseeds.com/) has a fine selection of open-pollinated seed at reasonable prices. I have not done business with them. (See post above from Bobbi).

I strongly advise all to get a book on saving seeds. Should be easy to find at any used book store.

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), December 27, 1998.

Try territorial seed at : www.territorial-seed.com they are in Cottage Grove Oregon and have a "Millennium Pakage" with just about everything you would want in hybred seeds. Rocky H

-- Rocky H (rharp1@webtv.net), December 27, 1998.

Walton Feed is pathetic. I placed an order for two of their seed samplers in #10 cans in July, still no word. I will order from the above sources, and maybe get my order from Walton before tshtf.

-- Bill (bill@microsoft.com), December 27, 1998.

The Ark Institute www.arkinstitute.com Geri Guidetti she is the moderator on gary north non hybred seed forum. I bought a variety package deal which also included a good book on food self-sufficiency.

-- ronbanks (phxbanks@webtv.net), December 27, 1998.

Pinetree, Johnny's, Vessey's, Shumway...all those folks sell open pollinated seeds. If it does not say Hybrid, or F-1 in the description, it is (probably) open pollinated. Occasionally the company makes a mistake, but that is rare.

The best BEST price to amount of seed ratio I have ever seen was at Willhite. www.willhite.com. Most of their seed is under a dollar for a half an ounce or more. Plastic packed. Not air tight.

That being said: For new gardeners, and all of us with a high failure rate, a hybrid seed will be a fail safe for you. Get both. You will have to work with the open pollinated seed, saving seed from the best, etc., to get a sub variety of that seed that likes your garden.

Also, get a good seed saving book. Susan Ashworth Seed to Seed is great, and ther are others. Go to Amazon.com

Finally.....when you are thinking about gardens, don't overlook the calorie crops. Did you know that you can grow more protein in the form of potatoes in the smallest amount of space than any other crop. I have one book, called One Circle, from Ecology Action in Willits...about $10, where the author actually worked out a system of raising ALL one's food on about 1500 square feet. No recipies...but hey, if you are really hungry...

The John Jeavons book How to Grow More Food...and the companion, The Backyard Homestead....are both really good... You may not want to follow all the measurements, but if they are writing from practical research, the yields of the biointensive system are fantastic.

Hope this helps

MP.

-- Mary Phillips (blufrogg@garlic.com), December 27, 1998.

Heirloom seeds are really great. I have found several other sources that are also good for heirloom/open-pollinated seeds. shepherd's Garden Seeds is really good, and has a wide variety of different types. My favorite though is Virtual Seeds. They have a huge variety of different fruits, vegetables, trees, medicinal herbs, grains, etc, mostly open pollinated, cheap, and their catalogue is a disc that you can use in your pc. They give great service, and ship quickly. Their url is: www.virtualseeds.com. The other catalogue i really respect is Southern Exposure. Their seed savers exchange catalogue is mostly heirloom/open pollinated, and they have some really old, interesting varieties of grains/veggies/ that i hadn't even heard of before. Their url is: www.southernexposure.com.

-- Damian Solorzano (oggy1@webtv.net), December 28, 1998.