Bean Communities, Capitol "H" Heirlooms, and Pass-a-long seeds.
No, We don't sell seeds, but...
There are many wonderful seed merchants in this world that specialize in selling heirloom Appalachian Seeds. Scroll to the bottom of this page for my favorite-- Wm.
If you would like to support our educational efforts and work collecting, growing, and sharing Southern Appalachian heirloom seeds, please attend one of our seed programs! William is very much looking for people to commit to stewardship of the varieties in his care (forever homes!) and is very happy to share seeds. Already, he has collected more seeds than he could grow out over the course of his expected remaining gardening seasons. The seeds deserve to live, thrive, and adapt to the very real challenges that we will face future. Sleeping in a freezer they can't do that! For a few years William had seeds available online, but selling the seeds online just didn't feel "right." Once we emerged from Covid-19, he returned to sharing seeds in person.
Many of these are very old "landraces" that are prone to sometimes sporting or producing offspring that are not "true-to-type." We don't think of that as a bad thing, in fact, it often means these seeds carry the genetic potential for adapting to disease and climactic pressures. As you save seed every year, they'll be better able to adapt to your particular area. It's also just very exciting to see how the genetics will express themselves differently every year.
One last note, I do not conduct germination tests. This is not a commercial enterprise, and I firmly believe that "every seed is a plant." In most cases, I have a very limited number of seeds, and only a handful of people (if any) are still growing them. They are simply too rare to sacrifice for germination tests.
Many of these are very old "landraces" that are prone to sometimes sporting or producing offspring that are not "true-to-type." We don't think of that as a bad thing, in fact, it often means these seeds carry the genetic potential for adapting to disease and climactic pressures. As you save seed every year, they'll be better able to adapt to your particular area. It's also just very exciting to see how the genetics will express themselves differently every year.
One last note, I do not conduct germination tests. This is not a commercial enterprise, and I firmly believe that "every seed is a plant." In most cases, I have a very limited number of seeds, and only a handful of people (if any) are still growing them. They are simply too rare to sacrifice for germination tests.
Suggested Seed Merchants
Sustainable Mountain Agriculture Farm
Started by legendary seed-saver Bill Best, the Sustainable Mountain Agriculture Farm has one of the biggest and best collections of old-time pass-a-long seeds. A lot of their seeds feature someone's name, which is always a good sign for traditional seeds. They are the "real deal."
Started by legendary seed-saver Bill Best, the Sustainable Mountain Agriculture Farm has one of the biggest and best collections of old-time pass-a-long seeds. A lot of their seeds feature someone's name, which is always a good sign for traditional seeds. They are the "real deal."