I am so ticked off that Monsanto owns such a large proportion of the world’s food supply seeds (and then “retires” them) that I want to avoid buying seeds from them at all costs. This is especially difficult now that they’ve bought Seminis, one of the largest garden seed wholesalers in the world.
I know that my favorite seed supply company, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, does get some seeds from Seminis/Monsanto, and was worried I’d need to boycott them to avoid the real Evil Empire. But as it turns out, only 40 of Johnny’s varieties (4% of their stock) comes from Seminis, and they are actively working to replace those with seeds from other sources. That’s great, because they also breed their own plant varieties the old-fashioned way and support small growers/developers. The sell absolutely no GMO seed and the quality of their seeds is very, very good.
Tom Eickenberg at Johnny’s kindly listed for me every single seed variety they get from Seminis this year. It looks like peppers, tomatoes, and squash are the biggest things to watch out for. Here’s his message, and the complete list (after the cut):
Hello Emily,
Thank you for your email. I have included a list of the Seminis varieties as an attachment.
If I can be of further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Tom Eickenberg
Customer Care Representative
Johnny's Selected Seeds
| 2003 | Xera |
| 224 | Fremont |
| 2954 | Cheddar |
| 240 | Hansel |
| 241 | Gretel |
| 2260 | Fairy Tale |
| 431N | Red Sails |
| 2024 | Cajun Delight |
| 103 | Seirra Blanca |
| 2026X | Mercury |
| 2872T | Super Star Treated |
| 2991 | Candy |
| 568 | Biscayne |
| 642 | Dulce |
| 2033 | Super Chili |
| 2033T | Super Chili Treated |
| 2034 | Cherry Bomb |
| 2038 | King Arthur |
| 2139 | Caribbean Red |
| 2309 | X3R Red Knight |
| 2830 | Sahuaro |
| 2894 | Serrano Del Sol |
| 2212 | Prizewinner |
| 2212T | Prizewinner Treated |
| 2365 | Orange Smoothie |
| 687 | Table Ace |
| 687T | Table Ace Treated |
| 2215 | Sunray |
| 2368 | Peter Pan |
| 2369 | Cornell’s Bush Delicata |
| 2369T | Cornell’s Bush Delicata Treated |
| 733 | Celebrity |
| 2063 | Big Beef |
See also their very thoughtful response to a customer letter about this at http://www.johnnyseeds.com/t-ownership.aspx .
Eat Close To Home 
Wow, that is absolutely frickin’ fantastic. With your permission, I’d like to pass this info along to my FB and blog friends. THIS is how businesses should work: pay attention to the customer and give them what they want with all the info necessary. Kudos to them!
Heather — Pass it on! I am ever-more impressed with Johnny’s and would love to send business their way.
Greetings:
Thank you for blogging about Johnny’s Selected Seeds. I am attaching an updated list of the varieties sent by Tom. Many have been discontinued. We are still working through inventories on hand so they might still be on our website but once depleted will not be reordered.
#2003 Xera green bean – discontinued
#224 Fremont cauliflower – discontinued
#2014 Tango eggplant – discontinued
#2024 Cajun Delight okra – discontinued
#103 Sierra Blanca onion – discontinued
#2034 Cherry Bomb pepper – discontinued
#642 Dulce pepper – discontinued
#2830 Suharo pepper – discontinued
#2033 Super Chile pepper – discontinued
#2215 Sunray squash – discontinued
#2369 Cornell’s Bush Delicata – discontinued
#687 Table Ace squash – discontinued
#241 Gretel eggplant – discontinued
#2954 Cheddar cauliflower
#2260 Fairy Tale eggplant
#240 Hansel eggplant
#2991 Candy onion
#568 Biscayne pepper
#2038 King Arthur pepper
#2894 Serrano Del Sol pepper
#2309 X3R Red Knight pepper
#2365 Orange Smoothie pumpkin
#2212 Prizewinner pumpkin
#2368 Peter Pan squash
#122 Beaufort tomato
#2063 Big Beef tomato
#733 Celebrity tomato
#2854 Favorita tomato
#2794 Geronimo tomato
#2700 Maxifort tomato
#2373 Trust tomato
Ben Sturtevant – Web/Marketing/Public Relations coordinator
Johnny’s Selected Seeds
The title of this post had me worried. Glad to know I can keep buying from them. Also, really impressed with their thoughtful response.
An updated list from Johnny’s
103 SIERRA BLANCA onion
224 FREMONT cauliflower
240 HANSEL eggplan
241 GRETEL eggplant
568 BISCAYNE pepper
642 DULCE pepper
733 CELEBRITY tomatoes
2038 KING ARTHUR pepper
2063 BIG BEEF tomatoes
2212 PRIZEWINNER pumpkin
2260 FAIRY TALE eggplant
2309 X3R RED KNIGHT pepper
2365 ORANGE SMOOTHIE pumpkin
2368 PATTY GREEN TINT summer squash
2894 SERRANO DEL SOL pepper
2954 CHEDDAR cauliflower
2991 CANDY onion
122 BEAUFORT tomatoes
2794 GERONIMO tomatoes
2700 MAXIFORT tomatoes
2373 TRUST tomatoes
To anyone who knows how Monsanto works, I’m sure they posted Johnny’s so that they would weaken their sales. That’s how they operate. I know several farmers and gardeners (including myself) who buy from them and wouldn’t if they believed Monsanto owned them etc. Thanks for the information, and keep supporting Johnny’s!
Thank you for this and thank you to Johnny’s for updating! I live in Maine and have been increasingly frustrated with GMO’s and the lack of knowledge given out when you buy seeds/purchase food about what is GMO and what is not. I look forward to buying my seeds from Johnny’s this year (minus the Monsanto seeds) for my garden so I can provide a HEALTHY alternative to my family!
I want to warn every smart grower to stay far away from, better yet, send hate mail to Jung Seeds for claiming that “they don’t knowingly sell any GM seed or plants”. (See page 46 in their latest catalog under Liability Statement and Philosophy on Genetically Modified Seed) Yet, if you go to their other site online, Jung Seeds Genetics, you will find plenty of scary stuff being released out their in OUR environment, including Roundup-Ready seed. How disgusting and deceiving of them!!!! Please beware and help me spread the word.
You are confusing J. W. Jung Seed Company http://www.jungseed.com with Jung Seed Genetics http://www.jungseedgenetics.com/
They are different companies.. Jungseed is owned by Dick Zonteg and family, NOT MONSANTO, a direct descendant of J.W. Jung who founded it >100 years ago. Jung Seed Genetics was sold to Monsanto by his Uncle and Cousin. They are different companies, owned by different people and sell and do different things.
Thanks for this. I just visited Johnny’s yesterday to see their field trials (well worth the 3hr trip!). And I asked why Xera (green bean) had been pulled from the catalog. All the person I said was that it had been discontinued due to supplier issues. Now I know why!
We are down to a small hand full of seed suppliers you can trust, Johnny’s, High Mowing, Bountiful Gardens, etc.
Get heirloom seeds and save them! It is the only way to preserve our food supply and protect it.
I am so excited that Johnny’s is not associated with Monsanto, and that they are weeding out the few seeds from them. My husband and I just moved to Maine and while we only have a small veggie garden so far, we dream of growing all of our own food. One thing we know we want NONE of is GMOs. We certainly will stick with Johnny’s!! Thanks for this post, and Johnny’s, thanks for the updated lists!
Thank you for the information. Related to this, I found out this morning that one of my favorites, J.W. Jung Seed and its subsidiaries (Totally Tomatoes, Vermont Bean, R.H. SHumway, Horticulture Products and Services, Edmunds Roses, McClure and Zimmerman, Seymour’s Select Seeds, Roots and Rhizomes, and Plants of Distinction) is owned by Monsanto. When you email them about this, they don’t respond to your emails and if you call they tell you that it’s none of your business. However, if you look them up by their corporate overhead name, Jung Seed Genetics, you find out that they are a part of Monsanto.
Also, don’t know if you have seen this article, but it is a good one:
http://horticulturetalk.wordpress.com/2011/09/24/who-owns-who-where-and-how-monsanto-has-their-sticky-little-fingers-in-the-home-garden-seed-industry-3/
A Heads-up! Note this previous comment…
Anonymous said,
March 20, 2013 at 2:49 pm
You are confusing J. W. Jung Seed Company http://www.jungseed.com with Jung Seed Genetics http://www.jungseedgenetics.com/
They are different companies.. Jungseed is owned by Dick Zonteg and family, NOT MONSANTO, a direct descendant of J.W. Jung who founded it >100 years ago. Jung Seed Genetics was sold to Monsanto by his Uncle and Cousin. They are different companies, owned by different people and sell and do different things.
Jim, thanks for info. I had no idea, but will no longer be supporting Jungs or any of their other companies. And it is all right there on Monsanto’s website. How sneaky!
http://www.monsanto.com/products/Pages/jung-seed-genetics.aspx
https://www.jungseedgenetics.com/Pages/privacy_policy.aspx
Thanks for the list too. Now I know what to avoid when I order from Monsanto/Seminis/Jung competitors. =)
Thx for this info. Johnnys is favoite of mine, Monsanto is not.
HAVE ALWAYS LOVED jOHNNY’S SEEDS, SO HAPPY THAT THEY ARE ENDING THE MONSANTO RELATIONSHIP. GREED HAS OVERLOOKED HUMANITY, HOW VERY VERY SAD.
Please tell me how I order from you.I’m having trouble requesting a catalog
Howard, you can request a 2013 catalog online at http://www.johnnyseeds.com/Catalog.aspx. You can also search or browse our offering from that page. If you have any other questions, give us a call at (877) 564-6697 or email customerservice@johnnyseeds.com.
Hi everybody,
Here’s list of varieties that Johnny’s will carry for the 2013 season:
DRO 138TX Rootstock Tomato
TRUST Greenhouse Tomato
MAXIFORT Rootstock Tomato
GERONIMO Greenhouse Tomato
FAVORITA Cherry Tomato
BEORANGE Orange GH Tomato
REBELSKI Greenhouse Tomato
SIERRA BLANCA Sweet white onion
KING ARTHUR Green to Red Bell Pepper
BIG BEEF Greenhouse Tomato
FREMONT White Cauliflower
FAIRY TALE Striped Eggplant
X3R RED KNIGHT Green to Red Bell Pepper
ORANGE SMOOTHIE Small Pumpkin
HANSEL Mini Purple Eggplant
GRETEL Mini White Eggplant
CHEDDAR Orange Cauliflower
CANDY Onion
BISCAYNE Specialty Pepper
CELEBRITY Determinate Tomato
PETER PAN Summer Squash
Cheers,
David Manson
Social Media Administrator
Johnny’s Selected Seeds
Why all the hate over Monsanto?
Steve R, many in the gardening, environmental, and food communities are concerned that Monsanto has a record of owning and then discontinuing an enormous variety of plants thereby reducing our choices and limiting biodiversity. Many believe these limits directly correlate to increases in our sensitivity/allergic reactions to foods as a population among other things. We have given them too much power and they actively use it to limit our choices and conceal information from both their customers and the general public. They, as yet, do not demonstrate the necessary business ethics that companies their size must in order to be trustworthy. Please google and learn what you can. It is surprising.
Monsanto also has a history of suing neighboring farms with non-Monsanto corn when their windblown seed is found in the fields and their corn seed has infected the Mexican Corn Bank.
Johnny’s Inoculant comes from: Verdesian Life Sciences http://www.vlsci.com
Kenneth Avery Chief Executive Officer.
Previously Mr. Avery was the VP Head of Global Vegetables at Monsanto.
More…
https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=23075181&privcapId=216870121&previousCapId=216870121&previousTitle=Verdesian%20Life%20Sciences,%20LLC