US: Oregon based nursery starts shipping tomato / potato plant in April

Territorial Seed Company is an Oregon-based company specialised in seed distribution. It collaborates with many renowned breeders in the area, with projects supported by Oregon State University. Aaron Jeschke affirms that “we generally target the home gardener, but we’ve also been trying to chase after the commercial market. We want to make sure that whatever seeds we are offering in our catalogues are of the highest quality.”

An interesting option for both hobby and fresh market growers are double-grafted plants. “These are two varieties on one SuperNatural® rootstock. As far as using two different scions, you just have to graft them to the rootstock when they are both the appropriate age and do a little side grafting or cleft grafting,” explains Aaron. “This allows home growers to get a lot more production; we’ve had great feedback from both double and single grafted plants.”

The new Ketchup 'N' Fries™, which produces both tomatoes and potatoes, are not GM crops, but simply the result of a natural process. “Some people are still confused, as the topic is hotly debated, but I think the more we explain it, and also by keeping the process transparent enough, they will realise it’s just a tomato that works really well with a potato rootstock,” states Aaron.

Aaron Jeschke at the lab of Territorial Seed Company

Ketchup 'N' Fries™ is currently still in the propagation stage and will be shipped in April and May. Aaron affirms that “customers can pre-order what they want to be shipped to them and everything will go out on the same day. We do this to ensure they receive nothing but high-quality plants.”

Another product worth mentioning is the Ghost pepper. “This one has a bit of a cult following; it is an extremely hot pepper, close to a million Scoville units. We are in a maritime climate, so we don’t get a lot of heat during the summer; that’s the reason why we decided to graft it and hopefully we’ll see an increased production for partners in this area,” says Aaron.

The company does seed distribution all year-round and ships live plants at different times, depending on the seasons. “We place a lot of effort on trial work, and we know we are offering the higher quality seed. We make sure that our buyers, from any demographic, have a good experience,” concludes Aaron Jeschke.

For more information:
Territorial Seed Company
Aaron Jeschke
Horticulture Development Director
ajeschke@territorialseed.com
20 Palmer Avenue
Cottage Grove, OR 97424
541-942-3056 ext. 215
www.territorialseed.com