WHILE MANY OF US MILLENNIALS are opting out of having children, we’ve found another way to nurture life: becoming plant parents. This spring, why not take your green thumb to the next level by starting from scratch? Or, more literally, from seed? According to the Environmental Protection Agency, only 15 percent of farms and agriculture-related businesses are women-owned and operated, so when you’ve decided which vegetables, herbs, and flowers you want to grow, get your goods from these woman-owned companies.
San Diego Seed Company
Brijette Peña launched the San Diego Seed Company in 2010 and now offers more than 120 varieties of sustainable, urban-produced, hand-harvested veggie, herb, and flower seeds that are adapted to Southern California’s microclimates so local growers can really crush the gardening game. SDSC is the only certified-organic urban seed farm in the U.S., and works with a number of community gardens and non-profit organizations to spread the ethical gardening gospel.
Hawthorn Farm Organic Seeds
Based in Ontario, Canada, Hawthorn Farm is owned and operated by Kim Delaney and sells seeds from select fellow organic-certified farms, in addition to growing, harvesting, and distributing their own open-pollinated vegetable, herb, and flower seeds. The company is built on the ethos that “good food comes from exceptional seed,” that healthy food should be accessible to all, and that seeds are essentially humanity’s storytellers, giving gardening a whole new gravitas.
Renee’s Garden
At this non-GMO seed company, founded in 1998 by Renee Shepherd, the packets are almost as pretty as the plants they produce—each features a watercolor portrait, a personally written description, growing instructions, a quick-view planting chart, harvesting information, and, on the veggie seed packets, even suggestions for how to eat or cook them. All their varieties are guaranteed for every major U.S. climate zone.
Fruition Seeds
Established in 2012 in upstate New York, Fruition Seeds, co-owned by Petra Page-Mann and Matthew Goldfarb, cultivates over 300 varieties of certified-organic vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Growing 60 percent of the seeds they sell (the rest come from partner farms), the varieties are selected for flavor as well as early maturity, cold hardiness, disease resistance, and other essential traits that help plants thrive in the Northeast region of the U.S.
By Bry’onna Mention
Illustrated by Katie Hicks
This article originally appeared as “Botanical Bae” in the Spring 2020 print edition of BUST Magazine. Subscribe today!
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