Vermont-based Homecoming Seeds offers seeds suited to northern growing season
NORTHFIELD, Vt. —
Now that it’s April, many gardeners in Vermont and Northern New York will be getting ready for the growing season.
One new local business is hoping to make it easier to grow your favorite plants despite our region’s short growing season. The seeds from Homecoming Seeds are better suited to the growing season in our area. They mature faster, and they can withstand the cold.
“The seeds that we’re growing at Homecoming Seeds are bi-regionally adapted, meaning that they fit Vermont’s cold, short growing seasons really well,” said founder Charlie Watts. “They’re early maturing, cold-hardy, and they’ve been grown in this place and in similar places, so that generation after generation, there have been selections made for these traits to help them grow well here.”
Homecoming Seeds launched their catalog in January, but it’s taken years of work to get here.
“I started farming full-time last year, and it was many years in the making. I met my mentor seed keeper back in 2019, and he was the one who kind of sparked the idea for me,” Watts said. “It’s been visioning and stewing for quite a long time, until everything lined up for me to go for it.”
So far, the community support has been great, Watts said. Orders can be placed online and shipped anywhere in the United States. Watts said that while the seeds are suited for northern growing seasons, they can also prosper in warmer climates.
Gardeners can also find him at the Montpelier Winter Farmers’ Market.
“Everyone who’s learned about us has been really excited to know that we’re here. I think people are really excited to have a local seed company, garden seeds that are going to grow well for them,” said Watts. “This is a state with a lot of gardeners and a lot of agricultural interest and pride.”
In the years to come, Watts said he wants to partner with more farms to expand what Homecoming Seeds can offer.
He said he hopes that the work he’s doing can start a conversation about where our food comes from.
“I think it’s important to keep talking about these seeds and the history of the varieties and the stories that they carry. It’s also really important to grow the food and eat it and share it,” Watts said. “The best thing you can do is grow these seeds and harvest the food and cook them and share them with your friends and family, neighbors, people you don’t even know.”
The seeds can be sent anywhere in the U.S. You can visit Homecoming Seeds here for more information.
Comments are closed.