Heritage Harvest and the Rare Bean

I know I've mentioned this before, but I adore the catalog of Heritage Harvest Seed! I placed my first order last week, hopefully they'll still have in stock what I ordered. I left it later than I like. The tough part was decided from 12 pages of tomatoes which to order! We already have 3 or 4 different kinds of tomato seeds here, but I want to add to them this summer. So from 12 pages in the catalogue, I wrote out about 20 different kinds, and then put it aside until better sense could take over. Then I whittled the list to 4, I think. I wanted early harvesters, as well as determinate type so we could grow them again from any seed we saved. I was proud of myself for only ordering those tomatoes! I also ordered red celery, and rhubarb.
I have high hopes for this order!
I'm sure I'll be thrilled with it. I like that these folks grow this seed themselves, they don't just get it from someone else. They've been in business for 10 years no, and they're proud of the fact that they don't deal in hybrids or GMO's. Many of their seeds are either heritage or heirloom, and many have fascinating histories! Like the beans passed down through three generations within one family, until being forgotten in a bag somewhere until they made their way into the hands of one of the owners of HHS ten years later. Wouldn't you know, a number of them sprouted! It makes me smile to think that an extremely rare bean seed that I might order has such a history behind it!

Their catalogue makes for more fascinating reading than most seed catalogues that arrive at the end of winter. Not only are the pen and ink drawings charming, they include little tid-bits like this:
"The Hidatsa, Mandan and Arikara Indians dried squash to keep over the winter. The squash was cut about 3/8" thick and placed on willow rods called squash spits. The slices were spaced slightly on the rod so air could circulate around them. The squash spits were then placed on the upper rails of the drying stage to dry."

If you live in Canada, or know a gardener who does, I encourage you to check out their website, or even order a catalogue. Peruse it, fall in love with it like I did and rest assured that we're preserving some very rare and endangered seeds, and those that would like to.
You won't be sorry you at least looked.

The Season of Seed Catalogues!

It's time for the much-anticipated arrival of seed catalogues here in the North, and in the spirit of sharing, I'd like to share a bit of how I decide where to buy, and where not to!

I like to shop locally if I can. Sometimes that means either my own region or at the very least, my own country. Not only has changed laws now made this nearly mandatory, but it makes more sense to me. Especially if I can find seeds guaranteed to grow in either my zone, or colder. This year, I've been lucky enough to find two seed companies that grow successfully in colder climates than mine, AND believe in non-GMO's! Yay! Heritage  Seeds and T&T Seeds, both in Manitoba. I can't wait to see how their seeds do next summer! No matter where you live, you'd be wise to buy as locally as you can. Please consider heritage types. They are worth the time, consideration and research. We lose an alarming number of plant species every year to hybrids, and the heritage types have colors, taste and shapes that no lab can reproduce reliably.

I made a list in the summer, and again in the autumn, and again just last week. I then compare this to how much space I'll have for growing, and how much work I'll be doing in a heat wave, or weeding  amidst mosquitoes. The seeds that make the cut are the ones I order.

This coming year, I'm going to attempt saving more than just pea seed. Starting small, and being realistic, I figure I'll probably move up to tomato, pepper, pumpkin and zucchini. If all goes well, I may not have to buy those seeds next winter.

Have you got your favorite seed catalogues yet? Who do you like to buy from? How do you decide what to buy and what to leave?