Amaranth
11-3-11, 10:48am
On a number of occasions the DLandreth seed company has been a resource for people in this forum looking for open pollinated or heirloom seeds for vegetables, herbs, and flowers. They are one of the few sources for those tangy grape sized cucumbers for example as well as one of the few sources for the Boston squash/pumpkin.
DLandreth is the oldest seed company in the US with presidents from Washington to Roosevelt getting seeds from them. They also work extensively with national and international seed preservationists to preserve and share their historic seeds. Additionally they give workshops and talks to educate people about all the amazing heirloom vegetables available along with how to grow and make use of them. Civic minded as well, they give extra seed packets from previous years to community gardens and other service groups.
Recently they have found themselves in a jam due to needing to pay back debt used to acquire and fund the business faster than the money to do so has been available. You can read about the situation starting about halfway down the page here:
http://www.landrethseeds.com/
One thing I have done to help is go ahead and get as many of my 2012 seeds from them now as possible to help with their cash flow. A few of the 2012 seeds that I planned to get from them aren't in yet, so I will check for them in another month. Usually I'd do this in Dec and Jan when I could coordinate between all the various catalogs and all the new stock had arrived, but it looks like timing is essential here.
If you could alert people in your local garden groups, they may be able to help out similarly. DLandreth attends a number of garden shows so there may be one close to your area. Currently on the 2012 Events list
http://www.landrethseeds.com/catalog/flower_shows.php
it looks as though most are centered in the Mid Atlantic and North East, but I've seen them do ones in more diverse locations throughout other years.
DLandreth is the oldest seed company in the US with presidents from Washington to Roosevelt getting seeds from them. They also work extensively with national and international seed preservationists to preserve and share their historic seeds. Additionally they give workshops and talks to educate people about all the amazing heirloom vegetables available along with how to grow and make use of them. Civic minded as well, they give extra seed packets from previous years to community gardens and other service groups.
Recently they have found themselves in a jam due to needing to pay back debt used to acquire and fund the business faster than the money to do so has been available. You can read about the situation starting about halfway down the page here:
http://www.landrethseeds.com/
One thing I have done to help is go ahead and get as many of my 2012 seeds from them now as possible to help with their cash flow. A few of the 2012 seeds that I planned to get from them aren't in yet, so I will check for them in another month. Usually I'd do this in Dec and Jan when I could coordinate between all the various catalogs and all the new stock had arrived, but it looks like timing is essential here.
If you could alert people in your local garden groups, they may be able to help out similarly. DLandreth attends a number of garden shows so there may be one close to your area. Currently on the 2012 Events list
http://www.landrethseeds.com/catalog/flower_shows.php
it looks as though most are centered in the Mid Atlantic and North East, but I've seen them do ones in more diverse locations throughout other years.