Seeds, amazing structures, some tiny barely the size of the head of a pin, some large like the sunflower or a bean, that produce an almost infinite variety of plants that delight and nourish us. January is catalog month..a true gardeners delight.

Let’s review a few seed facts:

1. Seeds develop in a flowers ovary, most from flowering plants and some from non flowering plants.

2. It is a miniature plant with a protective cover in a suspended state of development

3. Inside each seed is the genetic information for future growth, a food supply, called endosperm that can be made up of proteins, carbohydrates or fats. Considered nutrition, this food store supplies the world’s major foods e.g. cereals, wheat and rice.

Mother Earth News, Dec/Jan 2012 has a great article on “Best Vegetable Seed Companies”:

Who made the list and why: briefly:

1. Customer survey for the top 3

2. Seeds with consistently high germination rates

3. Companies that provided detailed variety descriptions, growing advice and interesting stories.

4. All companies listed signed the Safe Seed Pledge.

The Top 15 Vegetable Seed Companies

1. Johnny’s Selected Seeds (Winslow, Maine)
2. Seed Savers Exchange (Decorah, Iowa)
3. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (Mansfield, Mo.)
4. Burpee Seeds and Plants (Warminster, Pa.)
5. Territorial Seed Company (Cottage Grove, Ore.)
6. Seeds of Change (Rancho Dominguez, Calif.)
7. Ferry-Morse Seed Company (Fulton, Ky.)
8. Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (Mineral, Va.)
9. High Mowing Organic Seeds (Wolcott, Vt.)
10. Fedco Seeds (Waterville, Maine)
11. Nichols Garden Nursery (Albany, Ore.)
12. The Cook’s Garden (Warminster, Pa.)
13. Botanical Interests (Broomfield, Colo.)
14. Renee’s Garden Seeds (Felton, Calif.)
15. Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply (Grass Valley, Calif.)

Judith Dreyer, MS, BSN, Writer, Speaker, and Workshop Presenter, Master Gardener.

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