Organic Heirloom Non-GMO Seeds – You’re #1 Easy Online Guide

Last Updated on March 23, 2023 by Jeremy

Gardening has been around for centuries – since 10,000 BC. Since then, gardening techniques and seeds have come a long way since our ancestors broke ground hundreds of years ago.

Organic Heirloom non-GMO Seeds:

What is organic heirloom non-GMO seeds besides a mouthful? Well, heirloom seeds can be described as seeds that have been saved and passed down to generations of home gardeners.

For organic seeds, they can only be certified ‘organic’ if free of any commercial fertilizer, herbicide or pesticide (also called inputs). Organic farmers can only use those inputs if it’s certified and permitted for use in organic farming.

And finally, non-GMO seeds have not “undergone the mechanical transfer of genetic materials outside of natural reproductive methods and between genera, families, or kingdoms”.

With the advancements of technology, we can grow our own organic crops without relying on commercially grown, genetically modified produce often sold in supermarkets.

This is where the internet comes in with thousands of websites available to peruse and shop from. The only catch is that not all those websites offer organic, heirloom, non-GMO seeds.

Fortunately, I composed a list of online seed companies that are available in North America, which I broke down into two categories: Canada and the United States.

CANADA ONLINE SEED STORES:

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1) Heirloom Seeds Canada – heirloom-seeds.ca

This company is Montreal based that has teamed up with Mr. Birri, who is a market gardener with 50 years of experience selling seeds to farmers and individuals.

They offer over 350 varieties of seeds including:

• Cereals – corn and quinoa
• Flowers – edible mix, broccoli/cauliflower, lavender, nasturtium, etc.
• Fruits – melons, ground cherries, gooseberry, strawberry
• Fruit vegetables – beans, cucumber, peppers, tomatoes, etc.
• Herbs – basil, chives, dill, cumin, cilantro, etc.
• Leafy greens – brussel sprouts, cabbages, celery, asparagus
• Root vegetables – beets, carrots, onions, radishes and turnips

2) Veseys Seeds – www.veseys.com

This company was established in 1939 in the town of York, Price Edward Island. Only a ten-minute drive outside of Charlottetown, visitors are welcome to come and browse their retail shop that is open year-round, except Sundays, or view their trial gardens.

The website has a wide selection of seeds available such as:

• Vegetables
• Flowers and bulbs
• Herbs
• Fruits and berries

Veseys online also offers tools and accessories for the garden, and if shopping online is a bit tricky, you can request a catalogue to be mailed directly to your mailbox.

If growing plants prove to be a challenge, Veseys offer tips and advice through their Gardening 101 tab, where you get lessons like:

• How to Grow
• Hardiness Zones and Frost Dates
• Protecting Your Garden
• Gardening Terms and Definitions
• Videos

3) Stokes Seeds – www.stokeseeds.com

This company has been around since 1881 being founded in the United States. Through a couple sales and the Great Depression, Stokes seeds was bought by a Canadian businessman in the 1950s where his family has been at the helm ever since.

Stokes seeds offers a retail store located in Thorold, Ontario which sells all their seed varieties as well as garden supplies and accessories.

Unfortunately, this company does not offer heirloom varieties, but it does offer 93 varieties of untreated seeds.

For their website, there are many items available like:

• Vegetables
• Flowers (perennial)
• Flowers (annual)
• Flowers (potted plants)
• Flowers (companion plants)
• Herbs
• Accessories/Sale items/Plant tags

One neat item featured are their seed collections. For prices varying from $14.95 – $28.75, these collections will save you money whilst showcasing handpicked choices:

• Natural Fabric Dye – carrots, beets, lavender, spinach, and marigolds
• Non-edible Ornamental
• Fresh Smoothies and Juices
• Pollinator Paradise
• Children’s Garden
• Sizzling Salsa
• Summer Salads
• Herbal Tea
• Majestic Sunflower
• Stir Fry
• Butterfly Garden
• A Cutting Garden
• Ornamental Grasses
• Splendor in the Shade
• Fragrant Garden

Stokes Seeds does ship to Canada with orders arriving in approximately 2 weeks or unless otherwise notified.

4) McKenzie Seeds – mckenzieseeds.com

Located in Brandon, Manitoba, this company has been around since its establishment back in 1896 and only offers non-GMO seeds.

Seeds available online include:

• Vegetables – available in organic and heirloom varieties
• Fruits – cantaloupe, honeydew, melon, watermelon
• Herbs – available in organic varieties
• Flowers
• Bulbs and roots – flower bulbs/perennials, vegetable roots/bulbs, fruit roots (raspberry, strawberry, rhubarb)
• Garden supplies and grow kits.
• Merchandise – clothing, mugs, stickers
• Gift cards
• Seed tape – beets, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, bunching onion, spinach, radish, Swiss chard.

For shipping purposes:

• Seed packet orders under $65.00, a flat rate of $8.99 is applied to total.
• Seed packet orders over $65.00 – FREE

• Live plants and bulb orders under $65.00, a flat rate of $8.99 is applied to total.
• Live plants and bulb orders over $65.00 – FREE expedited shipping

5) West Coast Seeds – www.westcoastseeds.com

Established in 1983, West Coast Seeds was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia. Offering over 1,000 varieties of untreated, non-GMO, non-GEO, open-pollinated and hybrid seeds to stores throughout British Columbia and online in North America.

Seeds and plants available online include:

• Vegetables
• Herbs
• Flowers
• Fruits
• Cover crop
• Sprouts
• Lawn solutions and grass seed
• Microgreens
• Ornamental grasses
• Plant stock – roots, tubers, bulbs

Also, available online are garden supplies, gifts, and essentials.

For those who require a guide to help, you can download their new 2023 Gardening Guide available on their website as well as resources available like how-to guides or advice and tips.

UNITED STATES ONLINE SEED STORES:

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1) Johnny’s Selected Seeds – johnnyseeds.com

Started in New Hampshire in the spring of 1973 before relocating to Acton, Massachusetts the following fall, Johnny’s Selected Seeds was founded by 22-year-old Rob Johnston, Jr.

For the types of seeds available, Johnny’s Selected Seeds offer the following:

• Certified Organic seeds – offering hundreds of varieties of certified organic vegetable, herb, flower, fruit and farm seeds.
• Hybrid seeds – created via traditional methods of breeding are used that involve the cross-pollination of two parent varieties that were selected for specific traits (improved flavor, disease resistance and weather/environment factors like drought)
• Open-pollinated & Heirloom seeds – offers hundreds of varieties that are pollinated one of two ways:

1. cross-pollination – between separate individual plants of the same species and variety via wind, insects, water
2. self-pollination – between male and female flower parts within the same flower or between separate flowers on the same plant

For a plant to be classified as Heirloom, they have to be older varieties of open-pollinated strains that are passed down from generation to generation.

Through Johnny’s Selected Seeds, buyers have the option to choose between 3 main enhanced seeds like:

1. Treatments (Actives) – the seeds have a coated fungicidal treatment for protection against soilborne pests or pathogens.
2. Coatings – film-coated and pelleted seeds
3. Priming – this process is used to improve germination speed and seedling uniformity, or to break the dormancy of the seeds.

For planting purposes, they offer a wide variety of seeds like:

• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Flowers
• Herbs
• Farm seed
• Organic seeds
• Featured seeds – new for 2023, edible flowers, heat tolerant, etc.
• Sale items

Their website also offers a comprehensive Grower’s Library, which provides loads of resource material to ensure a beautiful, plentiful yield.

For shipping purposes, Johnny’s Selected Seeds ships packages to:

• Throughout the United States – free standard shipping to orders over $200.00
• Canada – sent via USPS, with other options like UPS, FedEx or other carriers with standard rates applied.
• International – ships to 47 countries but require a phytosanitary certificate for importation of all agricultural crops. Shipping rates may apply.

2) Seeds Now – seedsnow.com

~All their seeds are guaranteed 100% non-GMO, heirloom, non-hybrid, open-pollinated, raw and untreated and all their packaging comes resealable and moisture-proof~

Seeds Now’s online shop include:

• Herbs
• Flowers
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Seed Banks – Mega bank, Culinary Herb, Fall & Winter, Medicinal, Homestead, Sprouts, Spring & Summer
• Variety packs
• Roots, Bulbs, Transplants – asparagus, garlic, horseradish, leeks, onions, shallots, potatoes, rhubarb, strawberries
• Cover crops – buckwheat, clover (crimson, White Dutch, yellow), Hairy Vetch, rapeseed, rye
• Sprouts & Micro-greens
• Garden supplies – books, tools, bags, containers, starter trays, etc.
• Gift ideas – gift cards, monthly seed club

For shipping orders, Seeds Now does not ship outside of the United States as they do not provide phytosanitary certificates.

As an affiliate marketer with seedsnow.com, I can link you directly to their website for purchases at no extra cost to you. This helps me keep my page alive and growing, just like the plants you’d get from these seeds.

Here’s a gift just for you:

3) Grow Organic – www.groworganic.com

Since 1976, Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply has been providing quality organic seeds to farmers and friends in Nevada county, California. Many decades later, and a second warehouse in Albany, Oregon, Peaceful Valley & Garden Supply has become the largest independent US retailer focusing on organic farm and gardening supply.

With operations in the Sierra foothills and online through www.groworganic.com, they offer organic, non-GMO vegetable seeds as well as other garden/farm supplies.

Online offerings include:

• Exclusive Products (all Peaceful Valley branded) – fertilizers, soil amendments, seed/plant starting, seed mixes, apparel, tools.
• Fruit and Nut Trees – bare root trees, potted, planting supplies, tree maintenance & care, popular growing guides/articles, how-to videos.
• Seasonal Plants & Flowers – berry plants, perennial vegetable crowns, planting & growing essentials, seed garlic & shallots, onion bulbs, seed potatoes, flower bulbs, mushrooms, popular growing guides, how-to videos
• Cover Crops – fall planted, grass seed, seed inoculants, seeders & seed spreaders, soil building mixes, specialty cover crop seeds, warm weather, year-round cover crops, popular articles, how-to videos.
• Seed Packs & Bulk Seeds – bulk vegetable & herb, vegetable, herbs, sprouting seeds, flowers, special mixes & collections, seed garlic, popular growing guides, how-to videos.
• Fertilizers & Growing Supplies – fertilizers, seed starting, plant support, propagation/grafting supplies, composting, growing mediums, soil amendments & testing, articles, videos.
• Irrigation & Watering – water hook-up & shut-off, timers, fertigation, drip irrigation, garden hoses, spray nozzles, sprinklers, watering cans/wands, articles and growing guides, how-to videos.
• Pest Control & Beneficial Insects – beneficial insects, natural/organic weed control, natural/organic pest control, natural/organic fungicides, animal control, popular articles, how-to videos
• Tools & Equipment – hand tools, long-handled tools, gardening equipment, pruning/cutting tools, harvesting tools, sprayers, garden accessories.
• Frost & Sun Protection – frost protection, greenhouse growing, sun protection, popular articles, how-to videos.

Shipping of orders is done via USPS (United States Postal Services) and FedEx to all 50 states and select US territories. Shipping rates may apply and vary pending on orders.

4) Territorial Seeds – territorialseed.com

Purchased in 1985 by Tom & Julie Johns, they are a company that has taken the Safe Seed Pledge, vowing to not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered seeds or plants.

Their online shop offers many plants and seeds like:

• New Products
• Vegetables
• Flowers/Herbs
• Fruits/Vines
• Garlic/Potatoes
• Fall/Winter Vegetables
• Houseplants
• Cover Crops
• Plants
• Garden Supplies
• Organics
• Open-pollinated & Heirloom Varieties

They also have growing guides, garden planners, digital catalogues, a dealer locator, or request your own catalogue.

For shipping info, a flat rate of $8.95 is applied to ALL ORDERS except for gift cards only or live plants only. Orders are shipped via USPS, FedEx or UPS with standard rates applying. For orders to Canada, they must be placed over the phone at 1-800-626-0866 with standard rates applied.

5) Annie’s Heirloom Seeds – www.anniesheirloomseeds.com

Located in Madison, Wisconsin, Annie’s Heirloom Seeds are around 50 years old, and they offer open-pollinated, hardy, nutritious varieties guaranteed to thrive in every growing season.

For their seeds and plants, they offer:

• New for 2023
• Heirloom Seeds
• Organic Heirloom Seeds
• Mixes, Collections, Gardens
• Organic Seed Potatoes
• Onion Plants
• Sweet Potato Slips

For other gardening needs, they also sell gardening books, tools and supplies, gifts and gift certificates, bulk seeds, an online catalogue, and gardening tips.

Annie’s Heirloom Seeds ship throughout the US with standard shipping rates applied to orders under $100.00. For orders over $100.00, shipping is FREE.

Annie’s Heirloom Seeds no longer ships to Canada.

Final Thoughts

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To get an early start on your garden and to save money, starting your own plants from seed is the way to go. You’re guaranteeing an earlier harvest and more growing opportunities by starting your own plants.

By ordering online, you may be saving money on gas, but you’ll have the added expense (for a few weeks) of power supplying grow lights. This will provide adequate sunlight without making the seedlings too long and thin. Other supplies needed are shelves (to hang the lights and hold the trays) and starter trays with plastic domes. The domes act like a mini greenhouse for the plants. At this stage, watering is only done by water bottle set to mist spray until the soil is damp, but not soaking wet.

Another bonus with starting from seeds is that they can grow anywhere – garden plot, raised beds, Garden Tower, flowerpots – with little shock to the plant as opposed to transplanting plants. Other factors also affect how a plant grows like weather, environment and water availability.

Regardless of whether you’re planting from seed or transplanting a couple herbs and flowers, gardening is all about enjoying fresh, home-grown produce whilst immersing oneself within nature.

If you have any tips or words of advice on how-to grow your own food, feel free to leave a comment below.

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