Foundation Seed Stock-ECOS
Since 1979 I discovered, rediscovered, planted and created from scratch many useful food plants and timber trees for agriculture, horticulture and forestry. I planted everything from seed and started a repository of seedling fruits, nuts and timber plants from around the world. Instead of cultivars or varieties I focused first on the population of species and hybrids from seed rather than the individual selection. The result of that experimentation lead me to develop populations of many woody plants that are genetically diverse that can be grown from seed in a wide variety of environmental conditions. This was the beginning of my ECOS foundation seed stock to draw from and now yours to grow from seed as well. Since I no longer produce plants, the seeds are easily propagated following the instructions in each of the on-line descriptions.
The ECOS foundation stock represents some of the most healthful, versatile woody perennials and perennial vegetables along with several types of wild annual crops and other food plants not normally cultivated. My focus is to find plants that require minimal care yet provide a high level of nutrition as well as unique flavors not found in cultivated plants. Each plant that I harvest seeds from is selected for its high yields, disease resistance as well as its ease of use as it finds its way to its culinary end. The plants grown from my this seed can provide both a living population to breed cultivars from or to use as is and reproduced ad infinitum from seed as a population. Reproduction by seed allows the population to adapt over time due to climate changes or disease pressures. This makes cultivar development or use as a single 'strain' a field of possibilities that can never become genetically stagnate. This is the ECOS Oikos Tree Crops Foundation Seed Stock always expanding.
Cultivars are sometimes offered with the seeds including scions, cuttings and roots. This will allow you to continue the varietal selection that I created here at my farm as well as make it available to others. Seeds are shipped immediately along with the scions or cuttings during the dormant season. It varies from year to year on what crops are available. No international seed shipping is available including Canada. There is no pick up direct from the farm or phone orders. No small packet sizes have been discontinued but samples are included in each order.