4 Reasons to Buy High Quality Seeds

I know, I know.  Thinking about gardening with so much snow on the ground just doesn’t feel right.  But it sure feels good! Believe it or not, it is time to start thinking about starting your garden plants.  At HōMSTED, we are so excited to start preparing for spring and I know you are too.  
If you want to hit the ground running this planting season, then you better start your plant now, indoors.  Lucky for you, HōMSTED has an extensive selection of the highest quality seeds coming in very soon. We are so excited to offer seeds from Seeds Trust, a wonderful 30-year old seed company based in Colorado.  If you are not sure why you should be very picky about where you get your seeds from, then read the sections at the end of this blog. If you already are convinced that you should be buying the highest quality seeds you can get, then come see us at HōMSTED next week and peruse our awesome new collection.  We’ve got Colorado-appropriate veggies, flowers and herbs (culinary and medicinal). As far as quality goes, you can trust that we’ve put a ton of work into finding you the best option. Seeds Trust is a great company and we couldn’t be more excited to offer their product to you. 
In addition to the seeds, HōMSTED is also bringing on an amazing selection of garden tools and seed starting tools.  We are proud to carry Barebones tools. They are simple, rugged,built to last decades, and based in the USA. Do yourself a favor and stop buying those disposable cheap tools from big box stores.  You love gardening so why not invest in an heirloom quality tool that will make you smile every time you use it. 

Why buying high quality seeds matters: 

Go Small and Go Organic: Did you know that 80% of the seed market is controlled by fewer than 10 transnational corporations? Of these, a vast majority are grown using chemical intensive techniques.  Because seeds are not grown for direct human consumption, they fall in a much more lax category of oversight and chemical use limits. That, combined with the fact that seed cultivation requires a much longer growth time than typical harvests often means that seed crops often receive a much higher dose of chemicals.  Focus on selecting organically grown seeds that see restricted use of such chemicals and focus on preventative measures to combat pest problems.  

Plant Hardiness:  Plants get lazy too.  If plants are grown and bred using copious amounts of fertilizers and pesticides, their offspring (i.e. seeds) can lack the vitality and hardiness of plants grown without.  Select seeds that come from sources that utilize, at a minimum, organic growing practices to ensure you are getting plants that will thrive rather than rely on the use of chemicals.

Climate appropriate: Similarly, finding seeds that were bred from acclimatized plants will help ensure that your plants are well suited for your specific climate needs.  Most of the larger seed distributors produce seeds that grow into plants that will struggle in our relatively arid, cold and generally alkaline environments.  

Open-pollinated and heirloom: While hybrids have their benefits, choosing open-pollinated varieties conserves the genetic diversity of garden vegetables and prevents the loss of unique varieties in the face of dwindling agricultural biodiversity. Furthermore, focusing on heirloom varieties creates a historical connection to gardening and food production, building a more sustainable future by carrying on our garden heritage. By choosing open-pollinated and heirloom varieties, you have the ability to help conserve biodiversity and to contribute to the stories behind our seeds.