Alternatives to Kokopelli

I don’t want to start yet another political thread so I shall do my best to avoid comment here but…

As some of you know, I have been an enthusiastic supporter/customer of Kokopelli seeds for some time. They don’t use/sell F1 hybrid seeds; they encourage sustainable seed production; they distribute seeds in places in the world where there are shortages/difficulties; they help grow/encourage others to grow old/heritage varieties of seeds to promote diversity and to fight against the restrictions and monopoly of some of the big companies and law making bodies.

Sounds good? So it is… but…

I have just read their newsletter and it is clear that the newish, youngish person now running the organisation has conflated those ideals with other anti-corporate ideals that are a bit more extreme and has adopted and is promoting across the country, a libertarian stance on some topics that I most definitely cannot agree with and certainly am not prepared to support financially.

So… does anyoneone know of any organisation in France or elsewhere in the EU that is similar to the original aims of Kokopelli? I came to them originally from the Real Seed Company in Wales, once I could no longer buy their seeds after Brexit. I am doing my best to harvest my own seeds but you have to get new items from somewhere :thinking:

I know Baumaux have started promoting seeds that are “reproductibles” but their range is mainly that of a normal large seed company. Are there any others? Germany perhaps?

You could try contacting, the magic seed company, (I think that’s their name), they get heritage seeds from all over EU and may be able to suggest who you try.

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Got it wrong it’s , magic garden seeds, sorry my brains still recovering from grand children!

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Thank you VERY much @Debby_Wade . They look like just the sort of place I was looking for. Have you used them? Are they any good?

I haven’t used the recently but going to try them again this year. I don’t like the big companies and had a few disappointing results from Real Seeds, last year, so shopping around for this year. Looking forward to going through their collection :slightly_smiling_face:

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Hi Angela, We use a company called Bingenheimersaatgut.de/en. Their seeds are bio and brilliant, we’ve used them for the past few years and they are the best we’ve found. You can also ask for a catalogue which makes it much easier!
Regards T

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Thanks very muchfor the recommendation @Toovey27 . I have a list of various sites I’ve looked at for seeds and that isn’t on it. I shall go and have a look now!

I agree with you about Real Seeds - loved the concept but the last time I got anything from them, the germination rate was very poor. I was really happy with Kokopelli until they changed their modus operandi as their germination rates were astounding so I’m very much up for exploring new companies -especially smaller ones!

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Get a few bean seeds, might be a laugh :smiley:

Hi Angela, that’s great, let me know what you think.
regards T

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It looks pretty comprehensive - quite impressed! It doesn’t have the range I’m used to but then I don’t really expect that. What’s your experience with the germination rates?

Hi Angela, they are very good and we rarely get any problems. We are hoping we can afford a polytunnel this year so we can have earlier & later crops. We’re also hoping to try their wildflower seeds also. We previously bought from a few companies but these are the (for us anyway) so this year we plan to only use them. Let me know how you get on! regards T

Thanks a lot! I shall certainly let you know. Our polytunnel has been sitting in bits in the barn for the past 5 years so this year we really do have to install it! When we had one in the UK, it made a massive difference to the length of season - salads at Christmas for example! Good luck with yours - such a good idea :smiley:

I’ve got some I’ll swap for a cow.

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perhaps this would be a site to browse

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Thank you @Bettina - that one looks very interesting! I’m just off to have a browse :smiley:

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Hello again @Bettina. Your suggested site looks spot on - a not-for-profit association with very siomilar aims to the original Kokopelli ones. Thank you so much for telling me about it!

I have not ordered from them yet but they have interesting varieties. I tend to get my seeds from either Baumaux or ask my mom to send them from Germany…
But some of the Italian seeds might be better for my French veggie plot.

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Hello again @Toovey27 - just letting you know that the Bingenheimer Saatgut catalogue arrived today. Very impressive! I shall order some seeds and let you know what i think!

That’s excellent news! Hope it all goes well - keep me posted & maybe we could compare notes,
Regards T.