Seed Catalogs

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One of the great winter pleasures of gardeners is planning and dreaming about what to grow next season. And one of the best ways to transform those dreams into reality is to browse through some of the wonderful, mail-order seed catalogs. As a seasoned catalog junkie and garden journalist who has been writing about seed companies for the last 12 years, I always look forward to this time of year.

With a stack of catalogs and a cup of steaming tea in hand, I kick back in front of the fire and dream. It isn't visions of sugarplums dancing in my head: I imagine harvests of luscious tomatoes ... nutritious squash ... spectacular sunflowers ...

Here are profiles of 29 of my favorite mail-order companies. In most cases (except where noted), their catalogs are free - all you have to do is ask. These seed catalogs offer an unbelievable selection of enticing varieties you simply cannot find elsewhere. The folks at these companies are on the cutting edge of bringing the newest and best to home gardeners everywhere. In many cases, they also pack lots of great growing advice into their catalogs. You easily can learn as much browsing through these catalogs as you would studying many gardening books.

The personal, knowledgeable service you can get from most mail-order companies can be priceless. Whatever question or problem you may encounter, there is usually expert help just a phone call away. Many of these companies are small and/or family owned, and customer service is a matter of pride, as well as a key to the continued success of their businesses.

All the companies I've included do not sell controversial genetically engineered varieties, and most of them (indicated by an asterisk after their name) offer all their seeds free of pesticide treatments.

Abundant Life Seed Foundation*
P.O. Box 772
Port Townsend, WA 98368
(360) 385-5660
www.abundantlifeseed.com
Catalog: $2 donation

Abundant Life Seed Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to preserve genetic diversity and support sustainable agriculture by promoting the conservation and use of heirloom, native and rare seeds. The foundation's catalog offers open-pollinated seeds of vegetables, flowers, herbs, grains, Northwest natives and uncommon crops, such as amaranth, millet and Andean tubers.

Bountiful Gardens*
18001 Shafer Road
Willits, CA 95490
(707) 459-6410
www.bountifulgardens.org

Bountiful Gardens is part of Ecology Action, a nonprofit group dedicated to teaching biointensive gardening - a technique that emphasizes soil fertility and high yields. Bountiful Gardens' catalog offers open-pollinated organic and nonorganic seeds, specializing in rare medicinal herbs and supernutritious varieties of plants.

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