Seeding The Territory -- Northwest Seed Firms Specialize In Varieties Suited To The Region

``The seedsman upon the slime and ooze scatters his grain, and't shortly comes to harvest.''

William Shakespeare

``Antony and Cleopatra''

Although there's no evidence Shakespeare tried to plant a garden in the maritime Northwest, he clearly understood the growing conditions many gardeners west of the Cascades face. Luckily for us, there are some Northwest seed companies specializing in vegetable, flower and herb varieties that love the muck to help us choose the right plants for our region's growing conditions.

Before 1950, regional seed companies flourished all over the country. They selected and propagated varieties of vegetables and flowers that were suited to the climate and soils of the surrounding area. Some companies even developed new strains specifically adapted to local conditions.

During the next two or three decades most of the regional seed companies were absorbed by a few large, centralized companies that limit their line of seeds to those that perform well over most of the country. Because the Northwest has unusual growing conditions, this process of consolidation caused many of our regional seed varieties to disappear from the lists of the national seed companies, and almost die out altogether.

But today there is hope for Northwest gardeners, thanks to Northwest seed companies that have sprung up over the past 15 years to keep the idea of region-specific seeds alive. They all offer seed

varieties suited for our growing conditions. Some of them also carry on the tradition of propagating new varieties that are well-adapted to home gardens in the Pacific Northwest.

Abundant Life

Seed Foundation

When Forest Shomer operated a natural-foods store in Wallingford in the early '70s, a salesman stopped by one day to introduce a line of vegetable seeds that worked, as he boasted, for gardens ``from Boise to Seattle'' and all points in between.

Shomer, himself a home gardener for more than 20 years, decided that Puget Sound needed a seed company to specialize in seeds for vegetable varieties that do well in our soil, climate and growing conditions.

``We had two primary goals when we started the company in 1973,'' he recalls. ``One was to introduce new varieties of seed from around the world which prove adaptable to Puget Sound growing conditions. The second, most important goal was to preserve and propagate old regional seed varieties that had almost disappeared during the last couple of decades.''

The foundation introduced amaranth and quinoa, broad-leaved plants from Central and South America that are related to spinach, and have edible leaves and seeds that are used like grain. Both plants require no more than two waterings a year, which makes them desirable for ecological as well as for labor and cost-saving reasons. The foundation also has reintroduced a regional favorite unavailable for 10 years, the musk melon ``Penn Sweet''; and an almost lost Canadian tomato variety, ``Starfire,'' that is early, tasty and easy to grow.

Shomer's nonprofit Abundant Life Seed Foundation, in Port Townsend, also specializes in the seeds of rare and unusual plants, Japanese vegetables and plants native to the North Pacific Rim. A free catalog that offers 600 varieties of seeds - more than 80 percent of them originating in the Northwest - is available from P.O. Box 772, Port Townsend, WA 98368. Seed packets are available at the Seattle Garden Center in the Pike Place Market.

An office and test gardens are at 1029 Lawrence St. in Port Townsend. The gardens can be toured by garden clubs and groups during the growing season. Call 385-5660 to arrange.

Territorial Seed Company

Begun in 1979, Territorial Seeds specializes in over-wintering vegetables, 80 percent of which are not available through other companies. Owner Tom Johns says his business philosophy is simple: ``We want to help home gardeners grow the best vegetables for our region.''

Johns feels that one major service regional seed companies can perform is to provide home gardeners with good-quality seeds. He points out that most seed companies, whether national or regional, do not grow the seeds they offer to customers. Instead they buy seeds from wholesale seed-growing companies and then repackage them to sell to home gardeners.

Because wholesale seed companies offer several grades of seeds, and the quality of seeds in all categories changes from wholesaler to wholesaler, home gardeners must rely on retail seed companies to supply them with the best-quality seeds available.

Territorial and some other regional seed companies try to purchase high-quality seeds from ``the best regional, national or international sources available for the variety,'' Johns says. Territorial also plans to grow more of its own seed for quality control. The company stores its seeds in air- and humidity-controlled areas for freshness.

Tim Peters, director of research at Territorial, says the broccoli variety ``Umpqua,'' which he bred and produced at the company's test gardens, has good flavor and productivity. He also says the ``Musica'' pole bean shows quick production and tenderness; the carrots ``Estella'' and ``Mokum'' have standout taste and tenderness; and ``Derby Day'' cabbage shows rapid growth and sweet taste.

Territorial's 44-acre research farm is 10 miles southeast of Cottage Grove, Oregon. The 7-acre test gardens are open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays from June 3 to Sept. 9. For a free catalog with driving instructions to the gardens, write to P.O. Box 27, Lorane, OR 97451. Seed packets are available at Seattle Garden Center.

Ed Hume Seed Company

When Ed Hume began his seed company in the fall of 1977, he drew on the knowledge of horticultural experts statewide to select a line of vegetable, herb and flower seeds. ``Ed talked to county extension agents, researchers at the universities and lots of home gardeners,'' says company president Jeff Hume. ``Our primary goal was to offer seeds that are proven to do well in this area.''

Over the years the company has expanded its regional market, and customizes its seed offerings to three distinct markets: Western Washington and Western Oregon; Eastern Washington, Utah and Idaho; and Alaska. ``We customize for Alaska, for instance, because their growing season, with its long hours of sunlight, requires different varieties of vegetables. We have a tomato variety for them that ripens in six to eight weeks,'' Hume says.

Hume says while some companies' seeds may be more than a year old, his company offers only the freshest seeds every year.

New offerings they recommend include ``China Express'' cabbage, ``Parisian'' carrots and ``French Breakfast'' radishes. Ed Hume Seeds also offers flower and herb seeds, and specializes in wildflower and cut-flower mixes.

Write for a free catalog to P.O. Box 1450, Kent, WA 98035. The catalog covers all three market regions and also offers videos, books and booklets by Ed Hume. Seeds packets are sold at garden centers, grocery stores and hardware stores throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Two other regional seed companies resisted the consolidation process of the '50s and '60s and have been part of the Northwest scene for a long time.

Tillinghast Seed Company

``Our company goes back five generations here in La Conner,'' says Arberta Lammers, owner of Tillinghast Seed. ``Sometimes we have folks in their 80s drop in to tell us they remember visiting the store when they were children.''

Tillinghast began in 1885 as a mail-order seed company and was run by the same family until 1980, when Lammers became owner. She added a nursery and gift and flower shop to the old seed company offices in downtown La Conner.

``We still get orders through the mail on forms that are 15 years old,'' Lammers says. ``There's usually a note attached saying they know seed prices have gone up, and they send us a blank check to fill in for them. We have a long-standing relationship with our customers.''

The Tillinghast seed catalog offers a full line of vegetables acclimated to the Northwest, with much of the seed purchased from growers in the nearby Skagit Valley. New items this year include ``Seneca'' mini-Indian corn, a miniature squash, ``Sundrops'' and tomatillos, small green tomato look-alikes for salsas and Mexican dishes. Cool-crop flowers, such as nemesia, schizanthus and salpiglossis, also are featured. For a free catalog and driving instructions, write to P.O. Box 738, La Conner, WA 98257. Seed packets are sold only through the Tillinghast store at 623 Morris St., La Conner.

Nichols Garden Nursery

Nichols put home gardeners and food lovers forever in its debt when it introduced elephant garlic to the Northwest in 1950, its first year of business. Since then it has specialized in offering a large variety of herb seeds as well as a full line of vegetables, which it tests in gardens in Albany, Ore., about 20 miles south of Salem.

New items it recommends this year: ``Sugar Loaf'' squash with excellent taste; ``North Star'' bell pepper for large, early-ripening fruit; and ``Black Aztec'' corn, a sweet-tasting variety that has been unavailable for many years.

The catalog lists more than 110 types of herb seeds, including a selection of ornamental herbs such as verbascum, butterfly weed and black snake root. Recipes are scattered throughout the catalog, and a section at the back features garden tools, potpourri, books and home-brewing equipment.

Co-owner Rose Marie Nichols McGee says they are adding more perennial seeds and a few annuals to their lists, especially plants that show length of bloom, fragrance and the ability to blend well in drifts in the flower border.

The nursery sponsors a plant day on May 19, when guided tours and sales of special plants are available to visitors. Write for a free catalog, which contains driving instructions to the test and display gardens, to 1190 N. Pacific Hwy., Albany, OR 97321. Their seeds are not available locally.

Finally, for the serious home gardener who would like to grow vegetables from seed unavailable commercially in the United States or Canada, there is the Seed Savers Exchange.

Started in 1975 by Kent and Diane Whealy in Decorah, Iowa, the nonprofit organization is attempting to preserve our ``heirloom vegetables - traditional Indian crops, garden varieties of the Mennonite and Amish, varieties dropped from all catalogs, and outstanding foreign vegetables.''

Members receive a ``Winter Yearbook'' listing the names and addresses of more than 700 home gardeners who are willing to offer other gardeners the seeds of 4,000 kinds of rare and unusual plants in an effort to save them for future generations. For more information, pick up a brochure on the Seed Savers Exchange at the Seattle Tilth Association, 4649 Sunnyside N., in Wallingford, or write to Rural Route 3, Box 239, Decorah, Iowa 52101.