Mail Order Heirloom Tomato Plants

Mail-order companies offer unique tomato varieties, such as 'Marvel Striped.'

tomato, tomato plant, heirloom tomato, growing tomato, year round tomato, tomatoes
Mail-order companies offer unique tomato varieties, such as 'Marvel Striped.'
MARIANNAS HEIRLOOM SEEDS
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Explore the wonderful world of great-tasting heirloom tomatoes by purchasing tomato seedlings from a mail-order company. You can choose from hundreds of varieties ? usually grown organically ? and have them shipped directly to your garden gate.

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Trying plants from unusual, open-pollinated (nonhybrid) varieties is an excellent way to decide if you like them enough to start saving seeds, which is the first step toward cultivating varieties that are well-suited to your garden. Companies that specialize in heirloom tomato seeds generally choose their most dependable varieties to sell as transplants. Some suppliers continue to grow and ship plants through June and July, when seedlings are long gone from retail store shelves, but be sure to place orders for late plantings in advance so they can be seeded and shipped at just the right time. Instead of buying half a dozen seed packets to try six varieties, for example, you might simply order one of the seedling collections offered by a mail-order company.

Plant prices vary, as do shipping costs, but expect to pay between $25 and $35 for a half-dozen plants, including shipping. If the prices seems high to you, remember that over the season each plant will produce many pounds of high-quality, super delicious, vine-ripened tomatoes for fresh eating, canning, freezing or drying.

After your plants arrive, it's best to get them in their beds right away. You can transport tomato plants, tower cages and plant protectors to and from your garden with a heavy-duty garden cart. Real do-it-yourselfers can build their own cart using the easy-to-follow cart plans available below.

Mail-order Tomato Sources:
W. Atlee Burpee & Co.
Warminster, PA

The Herb Cottage
Hallettsville, TX

Hirt's Gardens
Medina, OH

Laurel's Heirloom Tomato Plants
Lomita, CA

The Tasteful Garden
Heflin, AL

Territorial Seed Co.
Cottage Grove, OR

Please share your comments with us and the other readers on the mail-order seed companies you've used.

Comments

  • Brian 6/26/2009 8:08:08 PM

    I like http://www.tomatoheirlooms.com they have a great site.

  • Brian 6/26/2009 8:05:28 PM

    woo mother earth!

  • Toni 3/27/2009 11:23:42 AM

    First time looker - hopefully, I can get Heirloom tomato seedlings in a patio pot. New to this house and am loathe to dig up the garden.

  • James Yannes 4/18/2007 12:00:00 AM

    Are your Heirloom Tomato Plants hybreds or can I use the seeds
    produced bvy the plants and they will produce the some tomato plant
    next year? I would like to also purchase seeds or small trees from
    origfinal fruit stock and not grafted trees. Can you help or are
    you tied toMonsanto and those of that ilk?James Yannes

  • Joe Stutzman 3/10/2007 12:00:00 AM

    I would like to share another wonderful garden site, they sell
    over 20 different varieties of live garden plants.
    www.gardenharvestsupply.com also offers many different organic
    products for a more earth friendly approach.

  • Sue Gillespie 2/20/2007 12:00:00 AM

    I was really glad to see someone mentioned Nichols Garden
    Nursery in the comments above. I've gotten an order from them
    recently, and they're a great source for organic, heirloom, and
    open-pollinated plants. I've also heard great things about Southern
    Exposure Seed Exchange at http://www.southernexposure.com/. By the
    way, I only looked at the first link in the article, which is
    Burpee's, but only two of their heirloom tomatoes are organic. You
    also have to specifically search for "organic" to find them on
    their website. They're not listed under the "heirloom"
    link.

  • Sue Gillespie 2/20/2007 12:00:00 AM

    Correction to my comment above: Nichol's sells mostly seeds, not
    plants. They do have a very few actual plants, like asparagus
    starts.

  • SHANNON Dressler 2/2/2007 12:00:00 AM

    You've got to check out www.heirloomacresseeds.com ! Only $2.50
    shipping on most orders and the best quality ever! They have the
    lowest prices I've ever seen! Example: $4.25 for 1lb of purple top
    white globe turnip seeds. They have all kinds of tomatoes too. Most
    are 50 seeds for $0.95! Just check it out for yourself! You'll soon
    be a faithful customer too!

  • D SIEBERT 1/28/2007 12:00:00 AM

    the Herb Cottage no longer offers mailorder service

  • WILLIAM Greer 1/28/2007 12:00:00 AM

    I ordered seeds from Heir Loom Seeds,
    http://www.heirloomseeds.com/. I have not planted any yet as it is
    still to early to start them. I liked their
    selection....Bill

  • Richard Yarnell 1/27/2007 12:00:00 AM

    I can't believe you failed to mention and direct gardeners to
    Seed Savers and others who have done the work preserving "heritage"
    varieties which the major seed vendors, the ones who were largely
    responsible for replacing the older, mostly open pollinated
    varieties in the first place, are only now returning to.The
    non-profits need support and deserve it for their work in keeping
    the genetic banks intact.

  • phil47 1/27/2007 12:00:00 AM

    Good morningI really like the new approach of Mother Earth News
    toward homesteading, energy, conservation, more different topics,
    you are getting into the turf of Consumer Report, and it's great.My
    questions are very simple;1) I have been gardening for over 45
    years, that it rains or shine I'm out in the garden, love it, it's
    a great relax, I rarely watch TV, no sports, work at a stressy job
    during the day. Until recently gardening was for me the way to go,
    in order to obtain right on your own property healthy vege at a low
    cost. But what I really can't understand these days, after
    calculating the cost of the seeds, the plants, the physical
    efforts, owning a decent piece of land, and be at the mercy of
    Nature, you could buy everything so cheap you are wondering how
    they can sell it at that price. Now it seems that everything is
    coming from China, at dirt cheap prices, we, Canadian and American
    can't even compete, there is no more fair possible competition,
    it's plain and simple discusting dumping and flooding the entire
    planet. We are all gone go broke, stop buying Chinese
    products.Sincerely yoursPhilippe Demets

  • MARTHA burke 1/26/2007 12:00:00 AM

    http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/I was surprised the above
    wasn't included in resources for seeds etc. They are GMO free and
    have been in business for a lot of years. Please check to see if
    you think they're worthy of including. Thanks.

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