11th Day of Seed Catalogs

Seed Company Spotlight
Territorial Seed Company
 
Location: PO Box 158, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
Store Location: 20 Palmer Aveune, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
Store Phone: 541-942-0510
Inquiries: https://territorialseed.com/pages/contact-us
Phone Orders: 1-800-626-0866
Customer Service/Gardening Questions: 541-942-9547
Website: https://territorialseed.com/
Online Store: https://territorialseed.com/collections
Catalog Request: https://territorialseed.com/pages/catalog-form
 
Territorial Seed Company is my original seed hook up. I have grown Territorial Seed for 3 decades with fantastic results. This company and farm was founded in 1979 by Steve Solomon in Lorane, Oregon. Yep, the author of the classic book Growing Vegetable West of the Cascades. The mission from the start has been to “help growers produce fresh-from-the-garden food year ‘round.” Steve and his crew began extensive vegetable trials in gardens around Eugene and Cottage Grove.
 
The Johns family has been running the company since 1985 and continue that tradition and offer unique varieties that perform well in the Maritime Northwest climate. They offer organic, open pollinated, heirloom and select F1 varieities. They have taken the safe seed pledge so every seed is gmo free. Their mission remains the same: “to improve people's self-sufficiency and independence by enabling gardeners to produce an abundance of good tasting, fresh from the garden food, twelve months a year.”
 
My four favorite vegetable varieties of all time came from Territorial Seed
 
Bean, snap, pole – Malibu, 75 days. I never really knew what I wanted in a green bean until I tasted Malibu. Rich, deep green bean flavor, great snap and no string (it never get stringy no matter the size of the pod). This is my number one snap bean. It climbs to 8’ or 10’ and produces from late June until the first frost.
 
Lettuce – Marshall, 65 days. I love dark red and purple vegetables so I tried this deepest, darkest of all red romaines the first time I saw it offered. This lettuce is jaw-droppingly beautiful. Whenever I see it in the garden, it stops me in my tracks, I am not exaggerating.
 
Lettuce – Flashy Trout’s Back or Forellenschluss, 55 days. This is one of the most popular heirloom romaine lettuces. If you’ve ever grown it, you know why – it is delicious, easy to grow and beautiful. Dark green leaves with red speckles it is fantastic in the garden and salad.
 
Onion – Pacific Pearl, 50 days. This one can be planted almost year-round and grows quickly for an allium. Plant a new crop each month for an everlasting supply. Harvest like scallions or let plants with abundant green leaves grow out and form cute pearls.
 
I found myself actively shopping as I perused the Spring 2024 catalog. The following have been added to my wish list.
 
Perennial Kale and Collards are awesome, they don’t grow from seed (and don’t produce much in the way of flowers) so tree kale and collards are propagated from starts. Territorial Seed offers Purple Tree Collards and the green and white variegated Kosmic Kale.
 
Two new-to-me snap pole beans that I am eager to try.
Bean, snap, pole – Sunshine, 65 days. Long, round, stringless and yellow. This one needs a tall trellis.
 
Bean, snap, pole – Seychelles, 55-65 days. This is the earliest pole bean with a very long harvest period. It is tasty and highly productive. I see it offered by many of seed companies – it must be work a try.
 
Because I can my own salsa and pasta sauce, I like to grow sauce or paste tomato varieties. These are generally longer to ripen so finding shorter season varieties continues to be one of my pursuits. The photo and name caught my attention and the description got me.
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Tomato, paste – Banana Legs, 75 days. These unusual, 4” oblong yellow tomatoes are “truly in a category of their own.” They are tasty fresh like a slicing tomato but look like a yellow roma with metallic golden streaks.

Forellenschluss photo credit: Lisa Taylor

Kosmic Kale photo credit: Lisa Taylor

​All images unless otherwise noted are from https://territorialseed.com and are used for educational purposes only.

Book a Speaking Engagement
​
I would be delighted to bring my message of edible, organic gardening to your group, school, company or organization. I am currently booking speaking events for 2024. I would be delighted to speak to your group either in person or virtually! Book a speaking engagement!
Contact me at 
www.gardenwithlisa.com/contactme or email to [email protected]

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Seed Company Spotlight
Uprising Seeds
 
Location: 1501 Fraser Street, STE 105, Bellingham, WA 98229
Inquiries: [email protected]
   https://uprisingorganics.com/pages/contact-us
Phone: 360-778-3749
Website: https://uprisingorganics.com/
Online Catalog Only: https://uprisingorganics.com/collections  
 
Uprising Seeds is a small family farm that raising certified organic seeds. They are located in Bellingham. Started in 2007, they provide quality seeds with a focus on culinary qualities that have often been forgot by mainstream grocery markets. You won’t find any hybrid varieties in their collection, all of their seeds are 100% open pollinated and certified organic and grown by small farms in the PNW. Their varieties are well adapted to the Maritime Climate because they were grown here.
 
They grow about 70% of their seeds and fill out their catalog offerings by sourcing from a network of family farms in Washington, Oregon, Northen California and Idaho. Check out their grower network here: https://uprisingorganics.com/pages/our-growers 

For every seed in their collection, they acknowledge who grew it, the seed’s history and the legacy of how they acquired the seeds. Every variety has a new story to tell. Their store is closed now as they prepare for 2024 but will reopen in January. You can browse their 2023 catalog online, you just can’t order right now.
 
They offer seeds from around the world with many Italian and French heirlooms. They are passionate about chicory and have 18 varieties from Italy. They are raising the awareness of this delicious crop with the hopes of establishing it as an “anchor of the fall and winter produce season here in North America.”
 
Here are some I have grown and would recommend.
 
Lacinato Kale – Dazzling Blue, 60 days. I love colorful vegetables and this is the most beautiful dino kale ever. Deep purple-blue veins and dark, dark green leaves it grows into a massive plant if you give it some space. Plant in the spring and harvest until late fall. Plants that overwinter will put on flower buds or run ups that can be eaten like broccoli raab. Dazzling!
 
Lettuce – Austrian Yellow Leaf, 50 days. This loose-leaf lettuce is similar to Black Seeded Simpson but stands taller in a tighter bunch so leaves are easy to harvest and stay off the ground. It is bright chartreuse in color and glows in the sunshine. Plant it next two Marshall Lettuce or Ruby Streaks Mustard for amazing contrast. This one is cold hardy and slow to bold so it is a great choice for late spring plantings.
 
Mustard – Ruby Streaks, 35 days. This one is beautiful, hardy and delicious. It has a smoky, pungent flavor without bitterness or heat. I like to sow crops in July and August. Some will be ready for fall/winter harvest while the later sowing will overwinter, growing steadily through the cold into a massive plant in February and March.
 
Browsing their vegetables it is easy to get carried away and want to grow everything. Here are a few I have added to my wish list.
 
Bean, snap, bush – Tanya’s Pink Pod, 40-50 days. This one would be great on a trellis at Barbie’s Dream House, these pink bean pods are so good. I would grow this one just to find out if it stays pink when cooked.
 
Hot Pepper – Biquinho Red and Yellow, 85 days. These were recommended by my friend Laura Matter and they sound amazing. Little bird beak peppers are fruity like their cousin the habanero but will little heat – I am a big fan of the mildest of hot peppers and these cuties fit the bill.

Ruby Streaks Mustard photo credit: Lisa Taylor

sculpit photo credit: Lisa Taylor

​All images unless otherwise noted are from https://uprisingorganics.com and are used for educational purposes only.

Book a Speaking Engagement

I would be delighted to bring my message of edible, organic gardening to your group, school, company or organization. I am currently booking speaking events for 2024. I would be delighted to speak to your group either in person or virtually! Book a speaking engagement!
Contact me at
www.gardenwithlisa.com/contactme or email to [email protected]