Weekly Recommendations, Week 6: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

Even though it is very possible that I won’t get to have a garden this year, I still placed a small seed order with one of my favorite seed companies, because I couldn’t look through their catalog without feeling the urge to at least order something. The seed company I am referring to is Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, this week’s Weekly Recommendation. To start off, they have the most visually appealing seed catalog I have ever laid my eyes on. It’s full color and glossy with the kind of photography that you might expect from a magazine like Organic Gardening; instead, this incredible photography is found in the catalog of a modest, little seed company based in tiny Mansfield, MO. Several of the photographs take up entire pages, while some even include the smiling faces of the Gettle family, the owners of Baker Creek Seeds. If your sole purpose of getting your hands on a copy of this catalog were to entertain your eyes, that would be totally understandable; however, an eye for design is not the only thing that Baker Creek has to offer – their massive and distinctive seed inventory is really the main event. They are leaders in the heirloom seed movement – scouting the planet continually for obscure varieties and old school favorites – so many of the seed varieties they offer are not likely to be found in many other places. In fact, in their 190+ page catalog you’ll find 1300 varieties of seeds from 70 different countries. One prime example is their wide selection of hot peppers, which includes ‘Bhut Jolkia’ (also known as the Ghost Pepper), weighing in at more than one million Scoville units. Whether you’re going to have a garden or not this year, acquaint yourself with Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, a company that truly sets the bar for all other seed companies.