Seed of the week

We found this at a beach on the south side of San Juan Island. I have had students bring them to my class in the past. I have my thoughts about their journey. How do you think they got here?

Safe Seed Pledge

The Council for Responsible Genetics has created a "Safe Seed Pledge" that seed companies can sign. If they sign the pledge, they are guaranteeing that their seeds are 100% GM-free. Do you want to check if your favorite seed company signed the Safe Seed Pledge? Check here.

In addition, you can Google your favorite seed comapny's name and "Monsanto" to see if a relationship exists. Be careful to check the date of your information. Seminis was purchased by Monsanto and a lot of our favorite companies had been purchasing seeds from them; however, they may have phased the company out of their inventory over time. When all else fails, fire off an email to the company and feel free to come back here and share your findings. Let's get current and correct information out there!

Great gardens have to start with healthy and safe seeds.

Territorial Seed Company and Monsanto

After I posted my 2012 seed list, I received a couple of messages about using Territorial Seed Company's seeds since they were owned by Monsanto. Yikes! What!?! I am not one to wait around with this type of thing, so I started doing a little research on Google and my jaw was dropping. News that TSC was buying seeds from Seminis, who was purchased by Monsanto, was mentioned quite a few times. News that TSC was owned outright by Monsanto. Are you kidding me?

I needed to get to the bottom of this because the more I researched, the more the information seemed to swagger.

This afternoon I sent the following message:

I am just about to complete my order with TSC and I wanted to make sure none of the seeds I am purchasing are from Seminis or any other Monsanto-affiliated company. Could you please provide me with a list of any of your seeds that are purchased via Monsanto or Seminis and any seeds that are GMO?

Thank you in advance for your help with this.

Territorial's rapid response:

Val,
We don't purchase any seed from Seminis nor Monsanto.
Regards,
Marlece

My response:

Thank you for the quick response. I had read online that one of the companies you purchased seed from (Seminis) was purchased by Monsanto and a note saying TSC was selling Monsanto seeds and yet another saying TSC was purchased by Monsanto. So, just to confirm, are all of these accusations false? I will gladly post information on my blog to that effect if they are. I loathe all of the misinformation that makes it to the web. 

Thanks again for the quick response,
Val

Territorial's response:

Val,
The information is false. We are owned by Tom and Julie Johns, and we don't purchase seed from Seminis nor Monsanto.
Marlece

Thank you to Territorial Seeds for responding so quickly on this important matter. Without healthy seeds, you cannot have a healthy garden. I appreciate their ethics surrounding this difficult topic. Now go order some seeds from them, peas are supposed to go in on Monday!

Do you want to see if your favorite seed company signed the Safe Seed Pledge? Check here.

Mental Chew's 2012 Seed & Plant List

Ok, I have done it. I have decided what we will plant in our garden for now. I have gone with three different companies this year for several reasons. 1) History with the company 2) Organic or heirloom 3) Convenience (available on the island) 4) Just kind of fun!


Seeds marked with a * are varieties I have used before with success.


Also, as I plan, I like to use Territorial Seed's planting chart. Very helpful.


Botanical Interests

Bush Bean - Tiger's Eye (drying)

Cucumbers - Homemade Pickles

Peas - Progress #9 (shelling)

*Radish - Cherry Belle

*Spinach - Tyee

Sunflowers - Mammoth Russian

*Zucchini - Black Beauty

Seed Savers Exchange
Bean - Hidatsa Red (drying)
*Carrot - Danvers
Gourd - Apple
Kale - Lacinto
Lettuce - Grandpa Admire's
Sunflowers - Sunflower Mixture
*Swiss Chard - 5 Color Silverbeet


Territorial Seed Company
Artichoke - Green Globe
*Basil - Sweet Basil
Bean - Scarlet Emperor Bean
Corn - Golden Bantam
*Garlic - Music (bulbs)
*Leeks - Giant Musselburgh
*Lettuce - Valmaine (Romaine)
*Marigolds - Bonanza Mix
*Onions - Walla Walla (bulbs)
*Peas - Cascadia (snap)
Pole Beans - Kentucky Blue
*Potatoes - French Fingerlings
*Potatoes - German Butterballs
*Potatoes - Yukon Golds
*Pumpkin - Howden
*Pumpkin - Small Sugar
*Radish - Cherry Belle
Shallots - Santé Shallots
Summer Savory
Summer Squash - Superpik Squash (yellow)
Sunflowers - Kong
*Tomato - Oregon Cherry Tomato (plants)

Do you want to see if your favorite seed company signed the Safe Seed Pledge? Check here.

Gardening with Kids: Seed Selection - Part 1

On Christmas Eve, I pulled the van up to our mailbox, grabbed the contents and hopped into my seat. I started shuffling through and our favorite seed catalog arrived amongst a pile of holiday cards. Merry Christmas. The Little Man was so excited, he grabbed it right out of my hand from his car seat. I caught myself because I almost snatched it right back. It is difficult to over come the power of those instincts at times.

Today I offered the seed catalogs to the Little Man with two markers. His job was to place dots next to the items he would like to see in our garden. Two years ago, he simply asked for pumpkin pie. No problem.

Not this year. This tiny task offered up a world of surprises. I assumed he would pick 2-3 items and then move on. I assumed wrong. During his first run, he marked about $500 worth of seeds and plants and then there was the second run, when he decided we should focus on fruit this year. I tried to share with him the challenges of growing fruit in the PNW, but he was undeterred. Cherries, apples, lemons, watermelon, cantalope, mangoes, nectarines, every type of berry, pomegranates, oranges and grapes. Sure. Then he wanted to plant at least 30 varieties of flowers and about 10 sunflower varieties. "Don't you think that would be nice Mom?" Um, yah.

At first, I was a little taken aback and sad that I would have to tell him we couldn't possibly plant everything he chose. Then it hit me. My 4 year old just spent half an hour with me going through a seed catalog. He was naming every item in every picture. He wants to grow MORE this year. He chose vegetables he hasn't tried before, yet he knew by name. "Maybe we could try some parsnips and eggplant this year?" Maybe? Of course. "When are we going to plant our starts in the window?" He remembers.

Next step, plotting the garden so we can see what we are actually going to plant now that our "dream list" has been created and also to determine if we are up for a little bit of expansion. Maybe this is the year we start the orchard.

Oh, and we just received two more seed catalogs in the mail.
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