I'll have to see the others you've reviewed. Amy and Dawn got me onto Victory. I ordered about 1/4 of my seeds from them this year. Although they're in Oregon, I believe they're probably in a "Zone 6-8" (minus the heat!) (Beautiful country, too.)

I intend to support and buy from them as much as I can. I was very careful and picky about who I ordered from this year, using about the same criteria as you use in your reviews. Thanks for sharing this!

I will have to check it out. Thanks. There are some really good companies out there.
I did The Sample Seed Shop and Sandhill Preservation Center. On my "to do" list Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Native Seeds Search, High Mowing Seeds and Sustainable Mountain Agriculture. We are blessed to live in a time with such a wealth of resources. If I don't mention a company, that's not to say it's not a good one.

I will share something that Mike Dutton wrote me, when I was researching Victory Seeds. It made me think. I doubt he'd mind me sharing: (4 paragraphs)

"In regards to regionality, as a preservation organization, we have never attempted to establish ourselves as a regional resource. As you know, selecting seed for traits beneficial to a specific region changes the genetics of that variety and by definition, creates a new variety, or at the very least, a regionally adapted strain. This is NOT in harmony of our mission.

As a preservation organization, we work at maintaining the historical characteristics of varieties. Therefore, the only selection that we do is in an effort of rouging out off-types and selecting for historical accuracy. Interestingly, many of the varieties that we maintain are Southern ones and as a side note, the majority of our supporters (customers) live and garden in the South....

Something else to keep in mind is that there are very few “local” companies truly offer regionally adapted seed. Although they might focus on varieties appropriate for a specific region, they source it from elsewhere. Most seed seller either don’t produce any seed or they only produce a small portion. The rest they typically source from the commercial seed trade. Although a huge portion of our nation’s seed stock is grown out here on the west coast, many seed companies source internationally. Again, not really regional, and not anything that we are part of.

Anyway, we like to think of ourselves as everyone’s regional resource. People just have to read descriptions and determine if they think the species or cultivar is going to be suitable for their garden."

Great review, George!

I have loved Victory Seeds for so long now that it makes me feel old to think about how long it has been.

One of my favorite things about this company is their dedication to telling the truth about the known history of varieties they carry. They don't make up stuff but rather just tell us the documented history as it is known. They also don't needlessly hype every variety---instead, they tell the truth and let us choose whether we think a variety will perform well here. Other companies who sell rare seeds could take a page from their book in both areas.

I probably started ordering from Victory Seeds in order to try some of their older tomato varieties but I also like their varieties of other veggies, all of which have done well for me here in OK. Their selection of southern pea varieties is impressive considering that southern peas are such a.....southern thing and they have a nice selection of other veggies too.

Well, they're partnering with New Hope Seeds in Tennessee. So they can sell the best of both worlds.

I totally agree about telling it like it is. As a seed saver who writes, I've become very much aware about how I can sway people, by what I write about a given variety. It's important not to paint everything as "rosy," when it is not. For instance, I've seen "Tomato Rocky," my family's heirloom, listed commercially. They never mention that it doesn't set fruit well in hot dry conditions. I grow it quite a bit, yet I would never send someone off with a flat of "Rocky," expecting them to get enough to can, unless they live in the Northeast, Northern Illinois or Northern Indiana (perhaps then).

New Hope Seeds

George, the enabler.