Seed/Garden Blogs and Websites
Online Seed/Garden Communities
Seed Saving Organizations
- Seeds of Diversity
- Seed Savers
- Heritage Seed Libary
- The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security
Private Seed Banks
Private seed banks are anything not run by a governmental or corporate organization for the sole purpose of saving heirloom and open pollinated vegetable and ornamental seed varieties. Frequently these are run by individuals, non-profits, or libraries within a region. Many of these have a system set in place for sharing seeds that they have in stock, either locally or via mail.
Since originally starting the Populuxe Seed Bank the occurrence of local seed libraries has exploded, and this list is woefully underrepresentative of the actual number currently in operation. I’ll be updating this list to be more inclusive over the next few months.
- Seed and Plant Sanctuary For Canada – from Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada
- West County Community Seed Bank – Sonoma County, California, USA
- Seed Library of Los Angeles (seed library and bank) – Los Angeles, California, USA
- Dan McMurray Community Seed Bank – Creston, BC, Canada
- LifeCycles Seed Library – Victoria, BC, Canada
- Red Deer Community Seed Bank – Red Deer, AB, Canada
- Richmond COmmunity Seed Library – Richmond, BC, Canada
- Toronto Seed Library – Toronto, ON, Canada
Government Seed Banks
These are seed banks that are run by various country government agencies for the purpose of preserving seed and genetic samples. Sometimes you can contact these agencies and receive seeds, other times you can’t. I’ve included the list here for informational purposes.
- Plant Gene Resources Canada – Canada
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research – Germany
- Institute of Plant Genetics – Italy
- N. I. Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry – Russia
- The Millennium Seed Bank – United Kingdom
- National Plant Germplasm System – United States
Please note: I don’t link corporate or business-run seed banks, as they are usually an offshoot of a business venture, and I don’t wish to personally endorse any.
Everything Else
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency – Potato Varieties – A great resource for looking of different potato varieties. Includes growth, disease, and historical information.
If you run an heirloom/OP seed or garden oriented website, including a private seed bank, I would be more then happy to include your link on this page. Please visit the contact page and let me know.