[Community_garden] Seed List and Regionally Specific Seeds

[David Thomas]

about that seed list...

i've been playing catch-up and have read the past couple weeks of listserv 
digests in the last hour or two and wanted to make a couple comments with 
respect to this seed thread that seems to have been "all the rage" these 
past few days.

Seeds of Change, i believe, is owned by M&M/Mars corp.  don't think that was 
mentioned and thought it may be of interest to folks.  it is also possible 
that this info is out of date.

source: corporganics.org

i have little experience with burpee or soc.  mostly have dealt with fedco, 
johnny's, renee's, bountiful gardens, territorial, seed savers exchange...  
i would probably favor territorial currently, living in nw oregon as i do.

with respect to regional specificity (not sure who originally posted the 
inquiry, but i recall them wondering specifically about "soil type"):

i would say soil type would be less of a concern than other climatic 
variables (humidity, temperature, rainfall) due to the fact that a lot can 
be done to amend the soil (and make up for lack of rain via irrigation, for 
that matter - more difficult to deal with too much rain), thereby changing 
physical and chemical properties of a native soil.

although i haven't been here long, i'm told seeds originating from the UK 
perform well here in the pacific northwest due to a similar maritime 
influence (rainy, temperate, etc.)  i imagine seeds originating from the 
mediterranean would do well in southern california, etc.

as has been mentioned, matching microclimates and finding gardeners who have 
been saving seed in your area for a while (and ultimately saving your own 
seed) would be ideal.

dave
portland, or

(an urban gardener and sometime small-scale commercial farmer with a lot to 
learn)


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Message: 2
Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2007 13:36:10 -0800 (PST)
From: Don Boekelheide <dboekelheide at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Community_garden] Burpee
To: community_garden at list.communitygarden.org

Thanks, Mike, for the Burpee inside story.

Guess we need to put Burpee back on our list...

Don Boekelheide
Charlotte NC