Ecological Crop Improvement For and By Farmers
Welcome to our 2018 catalog and website!
We are an organic seed farm in the Pacific Northwest, established in 1994, owned and operated by Frank and Karen Morton. We are known for farm-original varieties of many salad greens, vegetables, herbs, and flowers.
All of our seed is Organically Grown by Shoulder to Shoulder Farm
in cooperation with allies at Avoca and Gathering Together Farms, in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley,
a world class place to grow specialty seeds.
Few places on Earth have the climate, latitude, soil, water, and intellectual resources found in this rare north-sloping river valley. Seed companies from every continent come to the Willamette Valley to contract quality seed production. We are fortunate enough to live and farm here.
Many of these varieties originated in our on-farm breeding program for organic conditions and fresh market quality, denoted by our  farm-original mark. Other varieties have come to us over thirty-odd years of farming, either as heirlooms or good commercial standards, now with generations of selection on the farm. All seed at risk of GMO contamination has been tested and found free of genetic engineering components.
Our ecological approach to plant breeding and crop protection generates superior varieties for farmers who don’t use chemical crop protectants and fertilizers. The small-scale care and authentic fertility of our farm fields yield fat seed with exceptional seedling vigor, a key trait for organic crop success. This seed is organically bred to be organically grown, just like your crops.
We are partners in the Open Source Seed Initiative, and have dedicated all of our original varieties and breeding populations to the Open Source Seed Pledge:
“You have the right to use these OSSI-pledged seeds in any way you choose. In return, you pledge not to restrict others’ use of these seeds or their derivatives by patents or other means, and to include this Pledge with any transfer of these seeds or their derivatives.”
New Additions for 2018
These are a few of our new offerings. Be sure to check out all our new additions on our New Products Page, and our Collection Of Flowers!
Annie Oaky Lettuce
 A cute little deep red oak with curls on the outside, and a heart of gold on the inside. Combines the dark red and crisped edges of Lollo d' Vino with the compact oak frame of Emerald Oak. 6" spacing like a true mini. Farm Original Variety!
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Irene Green Gem Lettuce
One of my favorite lettuce personalities of the year, Irene jumped out of a trial bed like she was ready to go, heading up faster and more uniformly than similar gem contenders. Dark green 6" rosettes quickly form tight fists of crisp white hearts, each a salad for two. From the Island Gems series (Manoa x Leopard). Farm Original Variety!
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Ruby Zoisite Lettuce
A standout minihead, dark green with red patterning on the outside, jewel-like blanched reds and gold on the inside. Uniform 6" heads are all heart at maturity. Farm Original Variety!
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Jadeite Lettuce
From a cross of Winter Density with Dark Green Romaine, these were some of the tidiest, least bitten, most downy mildew free plants in the lettuce growout this year. Unique matte green color, with blanched yellow hearts, these small romaine can be spaced 9" apart. Frost hardy. Farm Original Variety!
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Kilauea Lettuce
From the Island Gems gene pool, compact dark green with red slashes, becoming red in the center leaves as it completes heading. Glossy, dense, crisp, flavorful. Farm Original Variety!
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Cinnamon Oak Lettuce
Cinnamon red compact oak with a tight blanched heart, not quite a mini, about 10" across. Selected for resistance to tip burn. Farm Original Variety!
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Vibrant Ultraviolet Mustard: Mild
Straight out of 'Vibrant Joy', this selection has had the descriptive working name "Solid Purple Lobed," which pretty much sums it up. The deepest color manifests in cold weather which turns the intensity "up to 11" on the spectral scale. Midnight purple lobed leaves with that vibrant magenta-violet petiole and veins that characterizes the Vibrant clan. Plant this for the coldest seasonal salad. Farm Original Variety!
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Eclipse Mustard: Pungent
Dark green deeply incised leaves with broad white petioles and spicy flavor. Not mossy frilled, more whole in outline with deep cuts from the margins to the midribs. Cold hardy winter greens for stir fry or salad mix. Still some variation here, but beautiful in form and useful from fall through spring. Farm Original Variety!
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Stoplight Bell Mix Peppers
Independent breeder Doug Jones of North Carolina gave me a packet of F2 pepper seed a couple years ago from the cross of our 'Little Bells' by an orange bell. The color range from this cross is a spectrum with light and dark greens, bright yellow, tangerine, true orange, crayola red-orange, and red. They range in size from little bells to grand bells. A lot is going to come of this diversity. Farm Original Variety!
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Red Savonese Onion
Italian red salad onions with fine growth rings that create delicate slices for topping summer salads. Mild sweet flavor, beautiful lavender color inside. These will reach 3" diameter for storage, but I prefer them when we can get 2" bulbs by closer spacing. I love these on tomatoes with basalmic vinegar and olive oil.
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Hungarian Landrace Parsley
Part of our search for better flat-leaf parsley includes finding resistance to Xanthamonas, a common bacterial disease of umbels. We have seen this Hungarian parsley resist infection in the greenhouse, and have it overwintering in a disease-prone test field now. Very sweet flavor, one of the parsley taste-off winners.
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Ivory Quinoa
Selected out of Brightest Brilliant for resistance to downy mildew and head sprouting, better stem strength, and white seed color. White panicles help prevent seed staining from rain at maturity. This selection has endured 4 days of rain/dampness at maturity without head sprouting. Farm Original Variety!
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Blackberry Lily Belamcanda
These are suitable for fresh cut or dried flowers. Put them in a sunny location. Honeybees are strongly attracted to the 2" miniature-lily-like flowers that are born in loose heads. Cut for dried harvest when the pods have opened.
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Radio Calendula
Clear bright orange petals are rolled lengthwise into quills for a "cactus dahlia" effect. This variety was new back when the radio was a new home entertainment center. Introduced ca. 1930, this 'pot marigold' became a common form for a generation, then faded from production.
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Crazy Daisy Chrysanthemum
These are Shasta daisies with new hairdos. Each plant has a slightly different perm to its petals. Quilled, rolled, twisted, shortened, and lengthened variations. Plants also vary somewhat in height and blooming time. Shasta daisies are also edible in salads, the best leaves being long, tender and succulent.
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Fancy Pants Daisy Mix Chrysanthemum
Commonly called tricolor or painted daisy, these Mediterranean natives make good cut flowers and "meadow" flowers, naturalizing with a little help. Plants are 2-3' tall with flowers in 3-color combinations of white, burgundy, yellow, scarlet, orange, lavender and pink. Has the visual appeal of Cape Daisies like 'Zulu Prince,' where striped petals create concentric circles of color around an intricately patterned eye.
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Aloha Rose Centaurea
An annual Centaurea with the appearance of a longhair thistle, but perfectly spineless and silky to the touch. The lavender-rose heads are 3-5" across, opening from ornately imbricated buds that resemble intricate baskets. Highly attractive to bumble bees and butterflies. 3-5' tall, individual blooms borne on stout 36" stems. Long lasting as cut or dried flower. Full sun. Native US species.
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Strawberry Fields Gomphrena
One of the older varieties in the gomphrena trade, but still one of the best for its color-fast strawberry-red heads, stem length, and productivity. The intensity of the red makes this a standout in the garden or bouquets.
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Heavenly Blue Tweedia
An improved introduction by the famed plant explorer K. Sahin ca. 1986, useful for cut flowers, potted or patio plants. Germinate with available light, consistent moisture, and bottom heat. Growing support will help keep plants upright in windy or greenhouse situations. Pinch to encourage branching. Rare in the market.
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Jim Baggett's Choice Mix Zinnia
These brilliantly hued and diversely formed zinnias come from the great Oregon State vegetable breeder Jim Baggett, who made zinnias and dahlias his backyard avocation. Huge heads on long stems in spectral extremes of orange, yellow, red, magenta, and pink, with long, sometimes rolled or quilled petals. Spectacular.
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Thoroughwax Bupleurum
A classic item for fresh and dried bouquets, with 2-3" leafy yellow umbels in pleasing contrast to the stem-clasping round green leaves. Strong wiry stems to 2' tall. Well adapted to poor dry soils.
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| Remember to check the New Products Page for all 100 of this year's introductions, and our Collection Of Flowers! |
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