For years we have saved several types of seeds informally for ourselves. In the past few years, we have begun getting more serious about seed saving, and have begun to offer our own seeds for sale to those who are looking for organically grown seeds. We are a MOFGA Certified Organic grower. Seed packets are $1.00 each for most varieties. Amount of seed per packet varies, but is plenty for most home gardeners; see variety descriptions. For larger quantities, call (207-487-5056) or email us. Our seeds are available at any of our farmers' market locations, at the farm, or by mail order. If ordering by mail, add $1.00 to your order total to pay for packing and postage. All seeds are available year-round while supplies last, unless otherwise noted. All planting and blossoming times and season lengths are based on our experience here in central Maine. Here's how we save tomato seeds.(November '04.) |
FLOWER & HERB SEEDS |
| Anise Hyssop. These annuals have a delightful light anise flavor for teas and cooking, and dry easily. They grow to 3 feet tall with spikes of light purple flowers. Check an herbal text for other uses & precautions. 1/8 tsp. per pkt. |
| Chinese Lantern Physalis. Perennial. 300 days to bloom (that is, blooms starting the second year.) Can be invasive. Blossoms late summer - early fall. 1/4 tsp. per pkt. |
| Cilantro. Jantar variety. 50-55 days to harvest. 90-105 days to harvest seed (called coriander). 1/2 tsp. per pkt($1); $2.50 for 1/2 oz.; $5 for 1 oz. |
| Columbine Mix. Multicolor (pink, yellow, chartreuse) perennial, 18 to 24 inches tall. Very distinctive looking flower. 300-365 days to bloom. Zones 3 thru 9. 1/8 tsp. per pkt. |
| Echinacea, Echinacea Purpurea, also called purple coneflower. Grows three to four feet tall starting the second year. Seed may be collected every year. This is the variety used for herbal tinctures. $1 per pkt; $5 for 1/2 oz.; $8 for 1 oz.. |
| Feverfew. Tender perennial, easily re-seeds itself once established. Feathery leaves thickly cover 18 inch tall stems topped with umbels resembling clusters of tiny daisies. Often called the headache plant when used medicinally. The best way to use is to eat the fresh leaves. May be added to salads or sandwiches. Could cause irritation to mucous membranes. Also can be used in a tea using 2-8 leaves per cup; steep, don't boil. Do not use if pregnant or breastfeeding. For more information, consult an herbal text. 1/8 tsp. per pkt. |
| Hollyhock. White-pink-salmon combo. Biennial - flowers second year. An established planting soon has blossoms every year. Five to twelve feet tall. 1/2 tsp. per pkt. |
| Hollyhock. All yellow. Biennial - flowers second year. An established planting soon has blossoms every year. Five to twelve feet tall. 1/2 tsp. per pkt. |
| Hyssop. Perennial. Zone 3-9. Good border plant, with 2-3 foot spikes of fragrant indigo flowers. Attracts bees. Has medicinal uses. 1/8 tsp. per pkt. |
| Lupine. Russell strain, brilliant mixed colors, including many bi-color variations such as purple and white, violet and white, violet and purple, pink and white, pink and red, yellow and pink, and many more. We only have mixed colors, so you won't know your exact colors until they begin to bloom. We have been saving our own seed since 1993, and usually have enough seed to last year round. Perennials, flowers starting the second year in June. Blossom spikes from 12 to 18 inches long, last up to two weeks each. Vigorous plants produce multiple flower spikes. Plant in late fall or early spring. For more info on growing lupines, see our Lupine brochure. 1/2 tsp. per pkt. |
| Marshmallow, 4 to 5 foot tall perennial plants with pink and white flower spikes. After growing for two to three years, long slender white side roots may be dug for the original marshmallow flavoring. 1/8 tsp. per pkt. (Sold out till Oct 2003.) |
| Perennial Sweet Pea. Pink flowers appear starting the second year. Prefer a trellis to climb on, will grow five to seven feet tall and flower all summer. 20 seeds per pkt. |
| Pink Poppy, annuals. Similar to Red Poppies, but a pale pink blossoms. 1/8 tsp. per pkt($1); $8 for 1 oz. |
| Red Poppy. Annual. Large 4 inch across bright red blossoms that each last a week. Plants grow two to three feet tall, one blossom per plant. Seeds are the size of ground black pepper. After blossoms go by they are replaced by crowned pods that turn from pale green to tan as the seeds mature. Collect the seed pods or they will re-seed themselves. 1/8 tsp. per pkt($1); $8 for 1 oz. |
| Salad Burnette. 70 days to harvest. Old English perennial herb. Use tender young cucumber flavored leaves in vinegars, salads, tomato juice, herb butters and iced beverages. Somewhat similar to parsley in size and appearance. Grows readily from seed and mature plant can be propagated through dividing. Reseeds itself. Needs little attention once established. Hardy to Zone 3. Prefers pH of 6.8 and full sun or partial shade. 1/8 tsp. per pkt. |
| Sweet William (Dianthus). Antique flower, perennial, although often grown as an annual since it flowers the first year (120 days). Very fragrant pink and white blossoms. 1/8 tsp. per pkt. |
TOMATO SEEDSAll tomatoes listed are open pollinated (non-hybrids). |
| Brandywine tomato. 85 days. Large (1+ lb.) pink well formed beefstake-type tomato, often called the best eating of all tomatoes. Ripens early September. Indeterminate potato-leaved vine. Named after the Brandywine Creek in Pennsylvania, where it was first grown. Introduced in 1889. 1/2 tsp per pkt. |
| Yellow Brandywine tomato. 85 days. Large delicious yellow tomato, ripening in early September. Some years tomatoes are more perfectly shaped than other years. Began as a naturally occuring yellow variation to the regular pink Brandywine. 1/2 tsp per pkt. |
| Productiva tomato. 70-80 days. Deep red tennis ball sized and very attractive tomatoes. Prone to top cracking after heavy rains. Originally from Bulgaria. Indeterminate and high yielding. 1/2 tsp per pkt($1); $4 for 1/16 oz.; $7 for 1/8 oz.; $12 for 1/4 oz; $22 for 1/2 oz.; $40 for 1 oz. |
| Moskvich tomato. 60 days. Russian heirloom from Siberia, where they need to have early tomatoes. Juicy, seedy, delicious tennis ball sized tomatoes when they start, tapering to golf-balled sized as fall approaches. Cold tolerant, so a cool summer won't stop these tomatoes. A real chin-wetter when you bite into your first garden tomato in early August. Indeterminate. 1/2 tsp per pkt. 1 pkt $1; ($1); $4 for 1/16 oz.; $7 for 1/8 oz.; $12 for 1/4 oz; $22 for 1/2 oz.; $40 for 1 oz |
| Hogheart tomato. 80 days. This large (two inches wide by seven inches long), banana-shaped heirloom Italian paste tomato is our favorite for making sauces and sandwiches. We have been saving and replanting our own seed since 1988, and now supply these to Fedco Seeds. Ripens late August. 1/2 tsp per pkt. 1 pkt $1; $5 for 1/16 oz.; $8 for 1/8 oz.; $13 for 1/4 oz; $23 for 1/2 oz.; $42 for 1 oz. |
| Pruden's Purple tomato. 72 days. Large 1 pound delicious silky smooth textured pink sandwich tomato, often called "the early Brandywine". We supply these to Fedco Seeds. Ripens late August. Some fruit will be oddly shaped. Fruit may split after heavy rains. Indeterminate. 1/2 tsp per pkt($1); $4 for 1/16 oz.; $7 for 1/8 oz.; $12 for 1/4 oz; $22 for 1/2 oz.; $40 for 1 oz. |
| Yellow Pear Cherry tomato. 75 days. Lemon yellow, mild flavored pear-shaped cherry tomatoes. Huge indeterminate plants are more productive of higher quality fruit when trellised. Tomatoes grow in clusters of 8 to 16 fruit. Pear shape makes for quicker picking, and there is less tendency to split in wet weather than round cherry tomatoes. 1/2 tsp per pkt. |
| Red Pear Cherry tomato. 75 days. Similar to Yellow Pear Cherry tomatoes, but red in color and with more tomato flavor. 1/2 tsp per pkt. |
| Gardener's Delight tomato. 75 days. Large round cherry tomatoes with delicious flavor. Huge indeterminate plants bearing cherry tomatoes up to one inch in diameter. 1/2 tsp per pkt. |
| Lilian's Yellow tomato. 75 days. Large round, slightly flattened lemon yellow tomatoes ranging from 8 oz to 1 lb. Fewer irregular tomatoes than Yellow Brandywine, though there are still some. Has a beautiful faint rose blush on the blossom end just before full ripeness. 1/2 tsp per pkt. |
| Golden Roma tomato. 75 days. Heavy yielding golden plum tomato, two to four inches long by one to two inches wide. Beautiful and tasty in salads. Ripens mid to late August. Turns a light orange color when cooked. We bought these several years ago as the hybrid "Italian Gold", and began de-hybridizing it. So far it is looking very much like the Italian Gold, and we are beginning to select for longer tomatoes. Determinate. 1/2 tsp per pkt. |
OTHER VEGETABLE SEEDS |
| Red German Garlic Bulbs. This is a rocambole, or top-setting, stiff-necked garlic with wonderful rich garlic flavor, far surpassing the flavor of the the more commonly available softneck garlic. In July curly-cue scapes grow from the top of the plant. These may be harvested for cooking or allowed to remain until harvest to grow bulbils. Plant a few weeks before fall freeze up, and harvest in early August. Keeps well into January. For more info on our garlic and how to grow it, see our garlic brochure. Available August thru January. Choose small or large bulbs. Small (1 inch) bulbs are 1/4 lb. for $1; 1 lb. for $4. Large (2 to 3 inch) bulbs are 1/4 lb. for $1.50 or 1 lb. for $6. Five lbs. mixed sizes for $20. We are completely out of garlic and garlic bulbils until September '05. Sorry! |
| Red German Garlic Bulbils. Bulbils are the topsetting parts of the garlic plant. Each bulbil is from pea to marble size. Grow garlic grass in a windowsill pot or in the garden, or grow to maturity for garlic rounds. Use rounds in cooking like garlic cloves or replant rounds to get garlic bulbs the following year. For more info on our garlic and how to grow it, see our garlic brochure. One ounce for $1.00; 1/4 lb. for $3.00; 1 lb. for $8.00. Available August thru May only. |
| Takinogawa Gobo (Japanese burdock root). Related to the common burdock weed, this is a refined variety originally from Japan. Eighteen inch long roots are common; some reach twice that length. Early in spring, plant on a 2-3 foot high soil mound for easier digging in the fall or next spring. 1 tsp. per pkt. 1 pkt $1; 1 oz. $6. |
[This page designed and maintained by Tom Roberts. This is the 12-Dec-04 edition. On the web since 20-Feb-98.]
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Owned and operated by
Tom Roberts & Lois Labbe
3645 Snakeroot Road, Pittsfield Maine 04967
ph. 487-5056, email tom@snakeroot.net
or lois@snakeroot.net
http://www.snakeroot.net
Gardeners to the public since 1995.
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