where can I buy open pollinated seeds?

February 28, 2009 7:46 AM

Is there a place in eastern Massachusetts or southern New Hampshire where I can purchase open pollinated/heirloom seeds in person? Prefer Metro-West, but I'll go where the seeds are.
posted by Mayor Curley to Home & Garden (6 answers total)

I'm sorry, this is in the other direction - but I live around So.NH and hang with gardeners and I don't know anywhere you can buy from a good heirloom collection in person around here. Everybody catalog-orders. So instead, you could try the store at Plimoth Plantation. There's a good array available there of varieties from the 1600s.
posted by Miko at 7:54 AM on February 28, 2009

Plimoth Plantation has seeds.
posted by saffry at 7:56 AM on February 28, 2009

MC, are you looking for anything specific? I do seed saving and don't mind sharing some if I happen to have what you're after. Also, there's MeFi Seed Exchange if you want to trade by mail at all.
posted by Miko at 8:31 AM on February 28, 2009 [1 favorite]

Old Sturbridge Village sells seeds, too, which might be more convenient than Plimouth if you're coming from NH. Debra's Organic Gourmet in West Concord, MA, has been known to sell seeds from a variety of organic heirloom/open-poll providers but I'd call them first and make sure they had them.
posted by Sidhedevil at 11:41 AM on February 28, 2009

Response by poster: I was just at Mahoney's in Winchester, which has Burpee's "Heirloom", which has no claims of authenticity on the packaging. It also has this brand, which I was excited about until I looked at their site:

High Fashion meets Horticulture. That's Hort Couture!

We like to call this collection "Heirloom meets Gen X".

I'm not buying their pretentious seeds.
posted by Mayor Curley at 2:15 PM on February 28, 2009

Response by poster: MC, are you looking for anything specific? I do seed saving and don't mind sharing some if I happen to have what you're after. Also, there's MeFi Seed Exchange if you want to trade by mail at all.

This is the first time in my adult life that I've had the space to start my garden from seeds, so I don't currently have anything to exchange because I'm starting from scratch. I've still got time, so I'm going to order from a catalog. Miko, thanks sincerely for your offer to share, but I'd like to be able to browse and choose!
posted by Mayor Curley at 2:22 PM on February 28, 2009