Heirloom Seed Banks: What is heirloom seed.. and why grow & store it? "Heirloom" plants are open-pollinated (non-hybrid) plant varieties with long track records of traits considered valuable by private growers who consume the produce they grow. Hybridization is a technique of cross-pollinating different plant strains to produce a generation of plants having unique traits such as exceptional size, color or shape. Many of the outcomes pursued by hybrid breeders are aimed at enabling industrial-scale production, such as the ability to withstand rough mechanical harvesting, or heavy pesticide usage. Other outcomes aim to appeal to retail seed buyers through superlative visual traits, or extreme sweetness. Hybridization has been highly successful when judged by commercial profitability, but that success has come at the cost of other plant traits that have been traded away in the pursuit of "bigger, brighter, sweeter, unbruisable and chemical-compatible" cultivars. Nutrient value, natural hardiness, natural pest resistance, and gene pool diversity have been given short shrift in the process. Even flavor has been compromised where it was selectively incompatible with traits deemed essential for large scale production, or less lucrative than traits presenting flashy eye-appeal. Plant hybridization has proliferated over the last several decades, to the point where commercial seed catalogs today are predominantly filled with hybrid seed choices.

Reproduce-Ability: Beyond the issue of the quality of the produce, is a matter that looms even larger for many growers... the ability to save and replant seed. Though some hybrid varieties are sterile, many vegetables grown from hybrid seed do produce seed themselves. However, the seed they produce is not genetically like the parent plant. So for purposes of creating another generation of similar plants, hybrid plants do not reproduce themselves. The seed they do produce tends to be weak, with grossly inferior genetics that lack vigor and hardiness and which will produce poorly if at all. So if you want to grow hybrid seed again after the initial crop, you must purchase fresh new seed again from a commercial supplier. In contrast, vegetables grown from open-pollinated heirloom seed produce seed that is genetically identical to the parent seed. By following simple seed-saving guidelines (included with our packages) you can grow the same healthy (and healthful) crops, generation after generation, never having to purchase new seed again. This means that a "Seed Bank" of heirloom seeds provides a "forever-garden-in-a-can", eliminating dependence on an outside supplier. And because plants produce much more seed in each generation, your seed supply can be not merely maintained, but rapidly multiplied to produce even more seed for yourself or for others! Naturally, all of our seed is non-GMO (it contains no "genetically modified organisms".)

What's needed? The concept of the "Seed Bank" starts with a well-chosen selection of robust (open-pollinated) vegetable varieties, but there's also more involved. If you want to store your garden-in-a-can for possible use next year, or even several years from now, the seed needs some particular protections to ensure that it will be viable and vigorous whenever you need it. It must be kept dry and cool. It also needs protection from vermin including rodents and insects who would quickly make a hearty meal of it. The #10 steel cans our seed comes in are laquer coated and hermetically sealed to provide exactly the protection that's needed. Each seed variety is also individually sealed in reclosable mylar bags. Protected this way, your seed will store well for four to five years on a shelf at 70 degrees. Seeds stored in a root cellar, refrigerator or freezer will store much, much longer.

Abundant supply: Each can (one Seed Bank) contains enough seeds to plant three quarters of an acre of garden — over 32,000 square feet! If you were to purchase the same amount of seeds at your local garden center; you would need to purchase 100 to 150 small packets, and would spend far more. Complete planting and seed harvesting instructions are included with your heirloom vegetable seed bank.

Heirloom Vegetable Seed Bank: Varieties Included
Sweet Corn, Golden Bantam, 5 oz. Onion, Utah Swee Spanish, 10 grams Spinach, Bloomsdale Long Standing, 10 grams Winter Squash, Waltham Butternut, 10 grams Squash Zucchini, Italian Stripe, 10 grams Radish, Champion, 10 grams Tomato, Rutgers, 5 grams Swiss Chard, Lucullus, 10 grams Pea, Lincoln, 10 ounces	Beet, Detroit Dark Red, 10 grams Cabbage, Golden Acre, 10 grams Broccoli, Waltham 29, 10 grams Lettuce, Paris Island Cos, 5 grams Cucumber, Marketmore 76, 10 grams Carrot, Scarlet Nantes, 10 grams Pepper, Yolo Wonder, 5 grams Bush Bean, Strike, 5 ounces Cantaloupe, Hales Best Jumbo, 10 grams

Easy, reliable & inexpensive: There's no better way to ensure your ability to grow the food you need, than picking up one or more of our meticulously prepared & economical Heirloom Seed Banks, today! (These make outstanding gifts too, for use next season or later!)

Heirloom Vegetable Seed Bank: $49.99 Qty: FREE FedEx SHIPPING if order total is over $99*. ($7.95 flat-rate shipping under $99)         Click for Info/Help

Order Online or by Phone: 1-800-321-1073 (Allow 12 rings) Phone hours    Or see: Mail or Fax Orders

Also see our Herb seed bank, below.

Heirloom Seed Bank of Culinary Herbs: Our culinary herbs are non-hybrid, and just like the heirloom vegetable collection described above on this page, they are varieties that have proven their merit over many, many years of cultivation. A very generous supply of seed is provided, at pricing that represents a large cost savings compared to assembling the same seed collection individually. As with the vegetable seed bank, planting and seed harvesting instructions are included with the heirloom herbs. The hermetically sealed #10 steel can and individual reclosable mylar bags provide complete protection, enabling you to save your seeds for up to four years at 70 degrees, and much, much longer if kept in the cool, stable environment such a root cellar, or refrigerated or frozen.

Herb Seed Bank: Varieties Included
Basil, Genovese, 200 seeds Basil, Lemon, 200 seeds Chives, 200 seeds Chives, Garlic, 200 seeds Cilantro, Slow Bolt, 300 seeds Dill, Bouquet, 400 seeds Fennel, Florence, 200 seeds Marjoram, Sweet, 300 seeds	Oregano, Italian, 600 seeds Parsley, Italian Flat Leaf, 300 seeds Peppermint, 300 seeds Rosemary, 400 seeds Sage, Broad Leafed, 200 seeds Spearmint, 300 seeds Terragon, Russian, 200 seeds Thyme, 200 seeds

Heirloom Herb Seed Bank: $49.99 Qty: FREE FedEx SHIPPING if order total is over $99*. ($7.95 flat-rate shipping under $99)         Click for Info/Help

Order Online or by Phone: 1-800-321-1073 (Allow 12 rings) Phone hours    Or see: Mail or Fax Orders

Also see our Vegetable seed bank, above.