we're gettin' serious 'bout our seeds

It feels good to be back in the greenhouse. With all the seed orders almost in, the new season has begun. We've been staying busy this past week with the first round of seeding in the greenhouse.

While pouring over all the seed catalogs this year we really began to think about and research where many of the seeds we wanted to purchase came from and who was growing them. As consumers, how many of us really think about the seed from which the vegetable we eat was grown, or the seed that produced the grain that the chicken you're eating for dinner came from? We think this information is just as important as knowing the farming practices being used on the food we consume. We order over half of our seeds from a co-op in Maine called FEDCO. One of the reasons we like them so much is because they tell you what farm and/or companies are growing the seeds that are being sold in their catalog. At FEDCO each seed is either grown by a small seed farmer, a family-owned company, domestic or foreign, a domestic and foreign corporation (not part of a larger conglomerate), a multinational company not engaged in genetic engineering, a multinational company engaged in genetic engineering, or a Monsanto variety. We appreciate having this information, it enables us to be able to make choices that reflect our own farming values and practices. We do not purchase any genetically modified seeds or seeds grown by Monsanto. The extent of the seed market that Monsanto controls is significant and over the past several years they have been buying out many of the larger seed companies, one of which is Seminis. Seminis produces many popular varieties such as Big Beef, Better Boy, Early Girl, and Celebrity tomatoes, Pacman Broccoli and Candy sweet onion. These varieties, just to name a few, are widely grown in our region and can readily be found at most farmer's markets. Even though they are not genetically modified we still have chosen not to knowingly grow any of these varieties or any other owned by Monsanto/Seminis. We were surprised to find that Monsanto/Seminis seeds were so popular and found in so many seed catalogs. Fedco only carries one Monsanto/Seminis variety and this will be its last year. So, this may be obvious and needless to say, but I'll say it anyway - we don't want to support Monsanto. They specialize in genetic seed modification, which they thinly veil as being innovative and a way to feed the masses. I've included a couple of web addresses that are about their practices and how they affect farmers, including their home page, because everything I may say about the evils of Monsanto comes from what I have read or seen in documentaries, it is my opinion and I encourage you to form your own.

www.newfrontier.com/asheville/bad_seed.htm
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122498255
www.monsanto.com/

The rest of the seeds we buy are from Johnny's Selected Seeds, also in Maine. Johnny's was started over thirty years ago and is now employee owned. They carry many certified organic products, and their own farm is organic. Unfortunately, they still carry about 30 Monsanto/Seminis varieties. Like Fedco they are planing on fazing out all of the Monsanto varieties as they find replacements.

More of our favorites are Southern Exposure, right out of Louisa, High Mowing Seeds and Seed Savers Exchange.