Pacific Northwest Seed supply

i'm looking for new/additional sources for seeds suitable to cool, wetter, short growing seasons. we already use territorial and nichol's but are there any that are missing?

thanks, joe

Greetings and to the SFG Forum! I do not have a direct answer to your question but you may find something in previous threads. You can see them here & here<~~ Click on the link. I would guess some of the folks from PNW will be along shortly and will have something for you. Again, Welcome!

Whoo! Alaska? That is a ways north of TSC.

I'm not sure if there are places in Yukon or BC that will help. I get seed from Uprising Seed in Bellingham. They tell me their new catalog will be online by the end of the week. There is also a place called greenheart gardens on Lopez Island. They only sell seed that they grow on Lopez which is as far NW as you can go in the US without crossing Canadian waters. Trouble is, I don't think they have a web page. I get mine from a health food co-op in Mt. Vernon. How can I help?

Deborah....so glad to meet you!

By looking at this site and this chart from Hume seeds it seems you may be in zone 5. Do you have a lot of overcast days in summertime? I have never been to Alaska, but it is on my short list.

[quoteBy looking at this site and this chart from Hume seeds it seems you may be in zone 5. Do you have a lot of overcast days in summertime? I have never been to Alaska, but it is on my short list. [/quote]

i'd go with a 7b. southeast alaska, maritime weather. lot's of cool overcast days. we're getting by but was just wondering if there's something out there i'd missed.



thanks, back to the seed catalogs. joe

Hi,

Your cartoon pretty much summarizes what I'm about to say: get a greenhouse!

Growing Degree Days (GDD) are a better indicator of climate conditions for growing veggies than the old traditional zones. I plugged your zip code, 99833, into this calculator

You had a grand total of 458 GDDs last year for warm season crops. You would be wasting time trying to grow tomatoes, corn, peppers, etc. Short season toms and corn are in the 1300-1400 range. That leaves cool crops like lettuce, spinach, brocolli etc. Even they need some sunshine to be productive.

Do you have neighbors with gardens? What is easiest for them to grow?

Good going Boffer! This is where I was trying to head, the GDD. I love that calculator!

Wild Garden Seed has a few things specific to Maritime Gardening. Mostly they offer lettuces, herbs, broccoli, beets, greens, rutabega, flowers and herbs. You may find just what you want.

They offer seeds on-line. There is a catalog, but I just received the 2009 catalog by mail. (yeah 2009)

Wild Garden

not a real virgin here so the q is about source and not technique, ~ 350 ft² green house space, need to use shade cloth about 10 weeks / summer. used for peppers and tomatos (pretty much cherry size plus, no beefsteaks).

another 1000 ft² of outdoor raised gardens for greens, carrots, peas, and potatoes.

thanks, joe

This is a Canadian Company and may be helpful as a source

WEST COAST SEEDS IN CANADA

Uprising in Bellingham just posted their 2011 online catalog. I grow all kinds of lunch and dinner from uprising. My Goldensweet Peas came from here. Most of what they sell is grown in Bellingham. Might be a longer season than Alaska but short for most of the US.

Uprising Seed

Good gardening to you Farmer Joe
Debs.....trying to be content with micro-greens for now.

Good gardening to you Farmer Joe
Debs.....trying to be content with micro-greens for now.

thanks deb, though i'm not really the gardener, i'm way down the rung in status; deer fence builder, compost turner, wheel barrow driver, and i just found out.....hoop garden builder.

but i enjoy the produce, i have a severe addiction to real tomatoes, not those grown to survive shipping. i've resorted to using them as bribes at my office.

and thanks to the canadian references but shipping organics to the us is very limited.

thanks all, joe

the real gardener

OOOOOOOh! I love your Greenhouse!

+1

bottom-dragger wrote:
Pacific Northwest Seed supply
bottom-dragger on Wed Dec 29, 2010 10:23 am

.i'm looking for new/additional sources for seeds suitable to cool, wetter, short growing seasons. we already use territorial and nichol's but are there any that are missing?

thanks, joe.

Last edited by Megan on Sun Jan 09, 2011 4:54 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : fix spelling of thread title)

I thought he meant the NorthWET.

Furbalsmom wrote:
Last edited by Megan on Sun Jan 09, 2011 4:54 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : fix spelling of thread title)

I thought he meant the NorthWET.

Me too. It's a fairly common joke.

Obviously, Megan has lost the webbing between her toes since she moved from this area.

Just a reminder we have a sticky with seed companies websites in the seed exchange forum...if there is a company not listed feel free to let me know and I will add it. I think I caught the new ones from this thread and added them, but might have missed one. Let me know!

Sea Kale, a perennial, is something I want to try this year here in St. Helens, Oregon. It's a coastal native of Europe and British Isles, so I assume it survives cool, overcast areas like Ireland's. Seed is available from Nichols. Funny seeds, I learned from European websites that the corkey seed cover can inhibit seed generation, so I cut some of the coating off, soaked the seeds 24 hours, and am planting them this afternoon. Hope it works. Good luck on your Alaska gardening! Nonna

Just found this thread....I am always delighted to be in touch with people from Alaska. Although it has been years since I was last there, I grew up in the Yukon territory, right next door to you. We spent a lot of our vacations in Alaska. When we lived in the Yukon, we could grow lots of cool weather crops. Brassicas, root crops, and potatoes did fantastic. The extra long days were wonderful......but anything remotely tender like tomatoes and peppers had to be grown in a greenhouse. Even so.......they tasted a whole lot better than those that were shipped up the grocery stores there. Love your greenhouse, btw.

West Coast Seeds in Vancouver, BC does ship to the US. Much of what they supply would be suitable for you. However, any seed companies out of Washington or Oregon would most likely be good too.......just pick varieties that have shorter growing seasons.

Where in Alaska are you? I am familiar with the Kenai Penn. area, Anchorage, Matanuska Valley, Fairbanks areas. Never got to Juneau or Ketchikan unfortunately.

Gwynn