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It’s that time of the year for planting seeds! And while you can find your cukes, tomatoes and beans at your local nursery or hardware store, it’s a little more difficult to find heirloom varieties. Step into The Living Seed Company, a small California business that offers high-quality seeds that grow to be flavorful and nutritious. Each of the seed varieties is 100% open-pollinated, organic or grown on small natural farms, non-GMO, untreated and vigorous.
Owned by Matthew Hoffman and Nancy Astrid Lindo, the seed varieties they have selected are rare and beautiful and they’ve searched far and wide to find them. Have you ever heard of Bloomsdale Lonstanding Spinach? We haven't either, but apparently it’s delicious in omelets, soups, dips and pizza.
Here’s out it works: by subscribing to The Living Seed Company, customers receive 22 heirloom varieties, all of which have been selected to grow in almost every region. Subscriptions can be purchased in increments of one year (22 seed packets), two years (44 seed packets) or five years (110 seed packets) and includes a seed saving booklet so you can save your own heirloom seeds to grow year after year. The current selection, called The Founder’s Collection, is a Limited Edition collection with some of the rarest varieties. For shipping, the seeds are packed in strong, re-sealable mylar envelopes with a clay desiccant and they say that most varieties will store a whopping 4-10 years!
While each of these seeds widely adapted, highly productive and extreme weather tolerant, The Living Seed Company plans to take it one step further next year, offering collections that will be specific to regional needs.
Kara is 3p's writer from New England. In her Newport, RI community, Kara is the organizer of Green Drinks Newport, is a member of Newport's Energy & Environment Commission, is a volunteer for the Neighborhood Energy Challenge, Norman Bird Sanctuary, and has also volunteered as a panelist for Rhode Island Farmways, speaking to farmers from around the state about how they can better market and promote their businesses. Beyond the moat that surrounds her island home, Kara has backpacked Mt. Washington in New Hampshire too many times to count and she hopes her next adventure will be to ski the gnarly Tuckerman's Ravine. Kara is a member of the Appalachian Mountain Club, a graduate of the Colorado Outward Bound School and in real life, she is a public relations director who'd just plain like to see the world a greener place. Kara has been writing for TreeHugger.com since January 2005 and began writing for 3p in January 2010.
