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| Downtown Asheville, NC |
On the edge of Asheville, North Carolina's downtown, with its historic Grove Arcade boutiques and Gothic Revival architecture set against mountain views, is a growing store worth the visit. Sow True Seed is located on a modest section of Church Street, inside a repurposed building that now houses a warehouse, offices and a quaint retail outlet.
Buckets of seed are stored in climate controlled areas, while employees organize them into pretty packets. They send them out to several Earthfare grocery stores as well as some independent hardware stores, where more and more sales racks are popping up. The fun of visiting this retail location is access to every possible variety of open-pollinated/non-hybrid and untreated seeds they carry. Many seeds are organic, others are heirloom or traditional.
I was fortunate to have a knowledgeable member of the Sow True Seed team helping me plan our family's garden for this year. She knew we loved to grow tomatoes, but she didn't send us home with the average tomato seed. We'll be trying to grow the organic Cherokee Purple heirloom variety, which should look and taste exquisite. She challenged us to try something new for our garden: kale that we can use for making our own easy kale chips. We stocked up on several other varieties of vegetable seeds, and some flowers too. I'm especially excited about flower seeds called Bee Feed Mix, because we really want to attract and nourish those pollinators.
The company's co-founder, Carol Koury, sat down with me to explain a philosophy not often heard in agriculture these days. "Our little company sells only openly pollinated seeds because we really, really want people to know that if they buy our seeds and plant them they can replant them and have a harvest next year. Theoretically they will never come back to us again. We, of course, hope they will. Some seeds are harder to save than others. But, we're about food sovereignty, having control over our food supply."
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| Co-founder Carol Koury Sow True Seed |
Sow True Seed networks with several small farmers in the Western North Carolina area who provide seeds. It is seeking to have agricultural zones for these farmers that are free of genetically modified crops. The company also supports community gardens and school projects. When Koury agreed to provide the seeds for our family's garden, it was despite our lack of expertise -- but rather because if we can grow some of our own food, you can too. We're looking forward to sharing more about our gardening efforts throughout the growing season, and we'd love to hear about yours, too. Seeds are available for gardeners in all areas of the United States. Learn more about the extensive selection at www.sowtrueseed.com.