Board of Directors

President:
Renee Shepherd, Renee's Garden

Vice President/Treasurer:
Patty Buskirk, Seeds By Design

Secretary:
John Walhert, Wild West Seeds

Director:
Brian Markham, Hammer Packaging

Director:
Barbara Melera, Landreth Seed

Director:
John Hamrick, Ferry-Morse Seeds

Director:
Chris Faull, Syngenta Seed

Past President:
Charlie Hart, Chas. Hart Seed

Home Garden Seed Association (HGSA)
P.O. Box 93, Maxwell, CA 95955
Phone (530) 438-2126 | Email Us

The Home Garden Seed Association (HGSA) is a member driven organization made up of garden seed packet companies, seed growers for the packet trade and allied vendors. Organized in 2008, our membership is committed to promoting gardening from seed. Our goals include: communicating with the gardening media to promote and educate about growing from seed, providing a web resource with seasonal information about growing from seed for home gardeners nationwide, and providing a forum for packet seed companies to discuss issues of mutual concern. The HGSA website serves as a central location for its membership as well as a resource about growing from seed.

Why Have the HGSA?
 The garden seed business has been revitalized with significant recent increases in home garden packet seed sales, especially in wildflowers and vegetable and herb seeds. The economy, a concern for healthy food, the interest in organic gardening, the nationwide "Green" movement, and interest in container gardens and creating edible and sustainable landscaping have all come together to create new demand from both new and existing home garden customers.

Building for the Future
It is critical for the garden seed industry, separately from the bedding and vegetable plant starts industry, to build for the future. Bedding plants and vegetable starts have their place in gardening no doubt; but now with the tremendous revival of interest in seed gardening, the HGSA is specifically targeted to taking care of its own.

We want to build on the current growth to make certain that gardening from seed is strongly supported in both current and future generations of gardeners. Seeds are vital to the future of American home gardening in order to assure quality, health, variety and results to every gardener.

Productive Annual Winter and Summer Trials and Conferences

As a trade organization, our  Summer Conference and Winter Meeting for member companies create opportunities for continuing education, networking, and focused discussions about issues and concerns we all share. Our annual Summer Trials are an important member benefit, where HGSA member companies can send and evaluate varieties in different climate zones every season, and seed producing HGSA member companies can showcase varieties they offer. Our annual winter meeting and wine reception at the ASTA Flower and Vegetable Conference enables members to interact and network and get a complete update on HGSA.

Low Cost Trialing Program
HGSA offers members the opportunity to participate in our National Trialing program. This low cost program is a great benefit for companies that do not have the facilities to perform their own variety trialing. Each season, in conjunction with our summer meeting, members send in seed varieties for evaluation at our annual summer trials. The trials are carefully organized and coordinated each year through a qualified grower at our summer meeting location. Participants can send in either brand-new varieties or varieties for quality control evaluation.

Press Releases to Highlight and Educate about the Seed Growing Seasons
We create two press releases each year to encourage spring and fall planting on various topics to promote and educate growing from seed through the seasons. These are sent via "snail mail" and e-mail to the nations' traditional gardening media and social media that focus on gardening topics.

Garden and Seed Industry Participation

Member participation in the seed and gardening sector is another key factor for communication with all facets of our industry. Members attend and report about the Organic Seed Alliance meetings as well as and other grower conferences and garden center shows. We attend the Garden Writers of America annual conference to promote HGSA and gardening from seed with garden writers from all over the country. Because we are dedicated to satisfying the needs of the home garden seed industry, we welcome your suggestions on how best we can serve your needs.

2011 Summer Trials - Santa Fe, NM

Date: Monday, January 23, 2012
Time: 5 PM
Location: Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel Ballroom B

Our meeting will cover the highlights of our summer Conference and Trials in Santa Fe, review the past and upcoming year's member activities, and then finish with complimentary beverages and appetizers and the opportunity to see old and new friends in the packet seed and related trades.

Renee Shepherd, 831-335-8257; renee@reneesgarden.com

Patty Buskirk, 530-438-2126;  patty@seedsbydesign.com