Organic growers are looking for seeds that will perform well in their gardens or farms without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Seed suppliers that are committed to sustainable agriculture are more likely to carry varieties that meet the needs of organic growers. Below are a few companies that may be of interest to Georgia organic members.

Seeds of Change, located in New Mexico, sells 100% certified organic open-pollinated seed. Their catalog includes many rare and heirloom flowers and vegetables. Johnny's Selected Seeds operates their own certified organic farm in Maine for seed production, though some of their seed is from suppliers who are not certified organic. They have a wide selection of flower, vegetable, and cover crop seed as well as tools and equipment. Territorial Seed in Oregon is another organically oriented company selling a good selection of seeds and supplies.

In California, Ornamental Edibles offers many specialty seeds to both home and market gardeners. Bountiful Gardens is an outreach project of the non-profit organization Ecology Action, so buying their seed promotes their mission of encouraging biointensive agricultural methods around the world. (The book How to Grow More Vegetables (Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine) by John Jeavons is an Ecology Action publication.) All their seed is untreated and open-pollinated; some is organic. Some seed is from Chase Organics in England, renowned for preserving excellent European cultivars. Bountiful Gardens carries many rare and heirloom flower, vegetable, and cover crop seed.

Peaceful Valley Farm Supply in California only carries seed packets from Seeds of Change and Renee's Garden Seeds, but offers some open- pollinated vegetable and cover crop seed in bulk at good prices. Their fall catalog offers flower bulbs, alliums, potatoes, fruit vines and trees, as well as season extenders. Their selection of farming and gardening supplies seems to be the largest in the "organic world."

An economical way to experiment with different varieties is to buy small packets of seeds. Pinetree Garden Seeds in Maine and Le Jardin du Gourmet in Vermont both sell sampler packets of flowers and vegetables. Le Jardin du Gourmet sells different sized packets; the least expensive is just $.30! A gardener could try 7 packages of tomato seeds from them, each with 10-25 seeds, for the price of one package from Seeds of Change. Neither company seems to be oriented toward sustainable or organic practices (though Le Jardin noted that its seeds were Y2K ready), but it may be a cheap way to have a little fun.

For those who need a lot of seeds ... Georgia Organics member Pete Cimino is offering 50 pound bags of crimson clover, rye, and millet seed. He has been growing seed for about 5 years on his farm in Reynolds, 20 miles west of Perry.

For those who've noticed ... Pete Cimino is the first seed supplier mentioned from the Southeast. Most organic seed companies do seem to be in the Northeast and on the West Coast. There are a few smaller seed houses, however, in the Southeast that are worth investigating. One is Southern Exposure Seed Exchange located in Virginia near Monticello; much of its seed is especially well suited for the Southeast. They offer many disease resistant cultivars, and more varieties of "Southern" crops than other catalogs (seven types of collards and nine types of okra, for example, as opposed to just one type of each in Johnny's). A goal of Southern Exposure is to save heirloom vegetables, and many of their offerings are rare varieties not carried elsewhere.

The Southern Seed Legacy is a project of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Georgia. Their purpose is to preserve heirloom crops of the South. Membership is $10 a year, and includes their Resource Directory which lists seed-saving members and what seeds they have to swap and sell. The directory also has five pages of listings of regional seed companies (some very intriguing). They send to members on request educational packets on "memory banking," (interviewing older farmers and gardeners to record their gardening experiences). This information is used by the Department of Anthropology for its research.

Ever hear of a plumgranny? This is a small melon which doesn't appear in catalogs, but its popularity among the Georgia seed savers indicates that a number of people have grown it and liked it enough to save the seed. You might want to try it, too!

Bountiful Gardens
18001 Shafer Ranch Road
Willits CA 95490-9626
(707) 459-6410
www.bountifulgardens.org

Peter Cimino
Cimino Farms
(912) 847-2231
pscbdc@corinthian.net

Johnny's Selected Seeds
1 Foss Hill Road
RR 1 Box 2580
Albion ME 04910-9731
(207) 437-4301
www.johnnyseeds.com

Le Jardin du Gourmet
P.O. Box 75
St. Johnsbury Ctr VT 05863-0075
(800) 659-1446

Ornamental Edibles
3272 Fleur De Lis Court
San Jose CA 95132
www.ornamentaledibles.com

Peaceful Valley Farm Supply
P.O. Box 2209
Grass Valley CA 95945
(888) 784-1722
www.groworganic.com

Pinetree Garden Seeds
Box 300
New Gloucester ME 04260
(207) 926-3400

Seeds of Change
P.O. Box 15700
Santa Fe NM 87506-5700
(888) 762-7333
www.seedsofchange.com

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
P.O. Box 460
Mineral VA 23117
(540) 894-9480
www.southernexposure.com

Southern Seed Legacy
10 Legacy Road
Crawford GA 30630
(706) 542-1042
www.uga.edu/~ebl/sm

Territorial Seed Company
P.O. Box 157
Cottage Grove OR 97424-0061
(541) 942-9547
www.territorial_seed.com