NEW FOR 2023: FARM-ORIGINALS, HEIRLOOMS, AND COMMERCIAL STANDARDS
These are our New Additions for 2023, and as always they include our latest on-farm breeding refinements, and some good proven varieties that organic growers have found reliable and adaptive.
We have chosen not to seek PVP or other intellectual property protection for our original varieties. We have studied, argued, consulted, and meditated on the relative virtues and hazards of IP protection in the food sector of life. We've tried recently to contrive some variation on the use of Creative Commons 'Copyleft' or Open Source Software models to provide open forum use of crop genetics, without fear that corporate entities will Patent what others have freely offered. This turns out to be extremely complicated, completely untested in the courts, and fraught with real world differences between creative intellect, software code, and new seeds for food crops. To begin with, seeds are alive, and the rest is not.
On April 17th 2014, Wild Garden Seed joined with High Mowing Seed and public breeders at three Land Grant Universities (Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin) to release seeds of our own breeding under the auspices of the Open Source Seed Initiative, OSSI. The purpose of OSSI is to create an ethically bounded genetic commons. The OSSI Free Seed Pledge does by public intention what only endless contracts can do in law. See this OSSI essay more details.
Regardless, these new crop cultivars, their genetics, and the traits they express are freely offered to the Public Domain, and they are not intended for any kind of privatization or ownership by others, though others may use them in their breeding, farming, or garden-related enterprises. Wild Garden Seed appreciates recognition for its breeding work by those who use it.
New Vegetables for 2023
Classico Basil
We have finally found a great Italian sweet basil that will set and ripen seed in our climate. ‘Classico’ is one of many Genovese basil strains grown outside the Genoa region (and so, can’t be called Genovese), but this one stands out for flavor and aroma.?Leaves are waxy green and convex, like a turned spoon. These seemed to dry more fragrantly than other Genovese types we’ve grown recently. Vigorous productive plants are quick to regrow after cutting back.
Pricing and More Information | 
Zanzico Basil
  ‘Zanzico’ comes from a cross of 'Opalescent X Classico', a 4th generation family with large thick leaves up to 2 x 4” in size, convexly rounded, slightly savoyed with broadly toothed margins, somewhat bronzed in color, with light lilac flowers. The East African flavors of ‘Mrihani’ (the seed parent of ‘Opalescent,’ from Zanzibar) meld with sweet Italian ‘Classico’ in this large framed plant. The scent and vigor of this one suggests tea, cooking, and fragrant floral arrangements. Expect some variation for flower color, leaf size, and flavor between plants. There is also a possibility of resistance to downy mildew, thanks to that Zanzibar heritage. ‘Mrihani’ is the source of resistance in many of the new downy mildew resistant varieties, but its flavor has been bred away in favor of the pure sweet Italian profile. Here, the ‘Mrihani’ comes through in combination with the sweet Italian from ‘Classico.’ Farm Original Variety!
Pricing and More Information
| 
Morton's Secret Lettuce Mix 2023 Lettuce
Lettuce seed production took a break this year. I grew out only three on-going breeding projects, and tried one new variety production that didn’t turn out well. We met some new caterpillar pests along the way (lettuce seed army worm) and set a new record for low production. That’s farming. The Secret Mix includes lines from projects entitled “Buffon,” “Karen’s Fave,” “Fuzz Butt,” and “Twisted,” among others. Farm Original Variety!
Pricing and More Information |
New Flowers for 2023
Be sure to check out our entire collection of flowers as well.
Coral Clouds Corn Poppy
First selected from ‘Double Whoopee’ for its distinctive orange pigments, this mix blends in a little pink to create doubled poppy clouds of gorgeous coral, pink, and white. Taller than many poppies of this kind, these will reach 30” from an early spring sowing.
Pricing and More Information | 
Tall Triloba Rudbeckia/Black-Eyed Susan
Taller than ‘Triloba Macau’ by a foot or two, with longer stems and a sparser flora display. Leah Rodgers of Indigo Gardens (PDX) recently pointed out that she prefers the longer/sparser look for her cut work, and the denser floral displays for landscapes. This one’s for you, Leah! For any R. triloba, partial shade generates longer stems. This strain reminds me of the native species,growing to 7’ tall, but it is selected from ‘Macau.’ Farm Original Variety!
Pricing and More Information | 
Cherry Red Scabiosa
This is a very bright saturated red that comes out of Dynamic Mix. The camera can hardly get the color right, but if you know Mick Jagger’s favorite soda, that’s the color. I can’t look at these scabiosa without hearing him ask a waitress for his favorite flavor, Cherry Red, but they are all out of it. Can’t always get what you want, but these might be just what you need.
Pricing and More Information | 
Picotee Pincushion Mix Scabiosa
Now scabiosa is getting fun. I first saw a picotee pattern on a single plant of a dark red variety four years ago. This year the color range has expanded to include black, garnet, raspberry, lavender, and red with lacy white fringes adorning the petals. There are also now pink fringes in these colors, and some rare examples of lavender flowers with raspberry picotee, and white with red picotee. These are exceptionally beautiful and completely new to me. You can expect to see more of these bicolor scabiosa in the near future. Because this is still a breeding population, it is mixture of picotee and solid colors.
Pricing and More Information | 
OK Magic Mix Zinnia
From Oklahoma Ivory X Magic Bus, a mix of rose, magenta, apricot, coral, and cream. Doubled and semi-doubled heads to 3” across on plants 30” tall. This is a very nice beginning to a project combining the mildew resistance and sturdy heads of the Oklahoma series with a new color palette from the super-diverse Magic Bus.
Pricing and More Information | 
UV Bee Mix Zinnia
Bright fluorescing colors with a zinnia flower structure that bees prefer; a somewhat open ray petal architecture and more disc flowers providing pollen and nectar. Generally tall plants with long stems, in a wide range of colors from yellow and pink through intense reds, orange, magenta, and bi-colors in changing hues. Many plants exhibit a glowing violet ring at the base of the rays, creating a neon effect juxtaposed to the saturated colors. For bees, it’s like a sign reading, “Come on in, we’re open!”
Pricing and More Information |
|
