About Adaptive Seeds

Adaptive Seeds was established in 2009 by Andrew Still and Sarah Kleeger. We are a certified organic, farm based seed company near Sweet Home, Oregon. We steward rare, diverse and resilient seed varieties for ecologically-minded farmers, gardeners and seed savers. Our seed is adapted to the Pacific Northwest and other short season northern climates. We sell only public domain, open pollinated (OP) seed, as well as diverse gene pool mixes. All of our seed is grown by us or a few regional farms who help with isolation needs. If we didn’t grow it, we say who did in the variety description. For more information about our growers, see below.

NONE of our seeds are proprietary hybrids (F1), patented, PVP, or genetically modified (GMO). All of our seed is grown without chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides, and NONE of it is treated.


For the Love of Farming Podcast

We had the honor of being featured in a 2022 episode of For The Love of Farming Podcast with our good friend Teagan Moran of OSU Extension. You can hear us talk about our Why, how we came to be where we are, some of our challenges and joys, and how we keep going (hint: kittens).

Free the Seed! the Open Source Seed Initiative podcast

Check out the Free the Seed! Podcast. Andrew was brought on to discuss his plant breeding process for Gypsy Queens Sweet Pepper. Now an OSSI pledged variety.

OUR LAND Episode 3: Adaptive Seeds from The Greenhorns.

This video is now many years old and we have scaled up quite a bit, but our ethos remains the same.


Organic Certification

All seed grown on our farm has been Certified Organic since 2013.

All varieties we currently offer are Certified Organic. We may occasionally offer other non-certified seed on our website, but we will only ever sell seeds that were grown using organic methods. We appreciate your understanding and if you ever have a concern, just ask. See our guarantee/certification page to find a PDF of our most recent certificate: Adaptive Seeds Organic Certification and Untreated Seed Statement.


Our Seed Priorities

– Rare and heritage varieties
– Oregon and Northwest-bred
– Public domain, modern varieties
– Diverse genepool mixes and landraces
– Open pollinated varieties for commercial growers
– Winter garden varieties
– Early maturing and northern adapted varieties
– Highly nutritious staple foods

We guarantee that every seed lot we sell is regularly germination tested and has been found to exceed industry and federal germination standards.

All Brassica family seed lots have been tested and found negative for blackleg (Phoma lingam) as required by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.


Why Open Pollinated (OP) & Regional?

Hybrid seeds are beneficial mostly as monocrops. It seems the goal of the corporate produced hybrid is to sever the seed’s relationship to the natural world, and profit from a corrupt short term economic model. We believe proprietary control schemes such as hybrids (F1), patenting, PVP, and trademarking are stifling resilient innovation and diversity. Proprietary hybrids are the single biggest contributor to the erosion of agricultural biodiversity regionally and worldwide. Open pollination encourages diversity and resilience. It is akin to open source. Unlike hybrids, open pollinated varieties become adapted to the area in which they are grown and have been shown to outperform imported seed. If we are to approach true food freedom, it must rest on a foundation of open pollination.


Open Source Seed Initiative

Open Source Seed Initiative

We are thrilled to be able to encourage open access to biodiversity as a partner seed company and participating breeder with the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI). OSSI is dedicated to maintaining fair and open access to plant genetic resources worldwide by offering a new way to save and exchange seed that ensures the seed will remain free of patents, licenses, and other restrictions.

Varieties that are registered as OSSI seed are accompanied by the pledge (see below), which prohibits the varieties or their derivatives from being patented or licensed in ways that can restrict use. The OSSI Pledge also requires that any subsequent distributions of OSSI seed, or of derivatives bred from OSSI seed, be accompanied by the pledge. In this way, OSSI intends to develop an expanding pool of genetic resources that are available now and in the future for unrestricted use by scientists, farmers, and gardeners. This pledge is a commitment to foster unfettered exchange of germplasm and the freedom to use the material for any purpose, with the single proviso that by accepting the pledged seed the user commits to allowing others freedom to use the material or derivatives of the material.

Varieties listed in our catalog with the OSSI logo have been designated open source by the people who bred them and are registered as OSSI-Pledged seeds. Breeders that participate include Carol Deppe, Frank Morton, Dave Podoll, and us here at Adaptive Seeds. Free the seed! For more information: osseeds.org

The Pledge: You have the freedom to use these OSSI-Pledged seeds in any way you choose. In return, you pledge not to restrict others’ use of these seeds or their derivatives by patents or other means, and to include this pledge with any transfer of these seeds or their derivatives.


What is The Seed Ambassadors Project?

The Seed Ambassadors Project (SAP) began as a small group of Oregon-based seed stewards with the principal goal to increase the diversity of locally adapted varieties in our bioregion and disseminate this resource in order to further local food system durability worldwide. We see locally adapted varieties as the foundation of the durable and resilient local food system that we are helping to create. Adaptive Seeds naturally evolved out of SAP as we found ourselves seeking more ways for our seeds to reach people.

A few of us Ambassadors spent several winters traveling through Europe and Asia sharing seed, collecting and exchanging varieties, and teaching seed saving skills. We have collected over 800 varieties of food plants, most of which were not available in the US when we acquired them. Many are now available in this catalog and others are grown in our preservation gardens. We also contribute to seed swaps, and teach classes on seed saving, winter gardening, and locally adapted seeds.

Please visit us at: www.seedambassadors.org


Our Seed Grower Network

Avoca – Hank Keogh and Jo Erikson are dedicated seed stewards growing a wide range of seed crops on their certified organic farm located outside of Corvallis, Oregon.

Deep Harvest Farm – Nathaniel Talbot and Annie Jesperson farm on Whidbey Island in northwest Washington, producing certified organic seed and vegetables.

Empowered Flowers – Adrianna Moreno and Jolene Jebbia grow a diverse variety of vegetables, fruits, herbs and seeds on their certified organic farm sites in Canby and Oregon City, Oregon.

Garlicana – Avram Drucker grows lots of alliums (more garlic varieties than you ever knew existed) and breeds True Garlic Seed on his farm in Douglas County, Oregon.

Ferryboat Seeds – Specializing in contract seed production with an ethic of stewardship in the San Juan Islands of northwest Washington.

Lonesome Whistle Farm –  Jeff Broadie farms just north of Eugene, Oregon. Famous locally for his popcorn and grain, which we offer here as seed.

Moondog’s Farm– Dan Schuler and Shelly Bowerman grow subsistence food crops, leafy greens, and certified organic seed along the Mohawk River in Mabel, Oregon.

Myrtle Creek Farm – Del Blanchard grows certified organic grains, beans, garlic, and specialty food crops on his farm in Myrtle Creek, Oregon.

The Organic Farm School – A teaching farm for next generation of organic farmers, whose programming includes the school’s Organic Seed Project on Whidbey Island, Washington.

Persephone Farm – Elanor O’Brien is a local leader in sustainable organic vegetable production who is using her veggie farming expertise to grow seed crops in Lebanon, Oregon.

Pitchfork & Crow – Carri Heisler and Jeff Bramlett farm 15 acres of certified organic veggies, fruit, and more for CSA in Lebanon, Oregon.

Sauvie Island Growers – Brian Wood and Jesse Olian primarily grow high quality organic produce for wholesale to local restaurants in Portland, Oregon.

Seven Seeds Farm – Don Tipping primarily grows seeds for Siskyou Seeds in Williams, Oregon.

Sunbow Produce – Yadira Ruiz and Nate Johnson grow certified organic vegetables year-round, plus grains, beans, and more in Philomath, Oregon.

Twisp River Seed – Anaka Mines grows certified organic seeds near the Canadian border in Twisp,Washington.

Uprising Organics – Brian Campbell and Crystine Goldberg focus on seed production, trialing and plant breeding in their fields in Lynden, Washington.

Whisper Hollow Farm and Nursery – Willis Ransom grows late season blueberries and collaborates with us on his farm in Brownsville, Oregon.

White Oak Farm – Alex Stone focuses on growing dry beans, Brussels sprouts, and dry farmed tomatoes for local markets in Albany, Oregon.

Wild Garden Seed – Frank and Karen Morton have been producing and breeding the finest organic seed for quite some time in Philomath, Oregon.