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I picked this up from Freyas_fire at LJ. Please read, order seeds &/or a catalogue if you can, and repost to spread the word. This company specialises in heirloom varieties. I believe it is very important to keep places like this open to maintain our access to heirloom varieties.
According to the linked article "Landreth now sells 900 varieties in colorful, old-fashioned seed packs, things like the "King of Mammoth" pumpkin, which dates to 1824, or the famous Landreth zinnias, which the company introduced to the United States from Mexico in 1798.
While Melera says sales have been growing by more than 50 percent a year since 2007, the recession has been painful. The turnaround she counted on taking three to five years took seven."
More from the article:
"When Barbara Melera took over the struggling D. Landreth Seed Co. in 2003, she was determined to turn it around. And she did.
With about $1 million borrowed from 20 friends and family members, and two outsider investors, she overhauled the company. It's finally turning a profit.
Even so, the nation's oldest seed house, which dates to 1784 and counted as customers every president from George Washington to FDR, is in trouble. While friends and family are waiting it out, the two outside investors, who lent $250,000 and $175,000, want to be paid back, and the money isn't there.
Debt could take this historic house down, but not without a fight from Melera. She's working 18 hours a day, frenetically trying to raise money to save Landreth, which is based in New Freedom, Pa., near the Maryland border.
"I knew this was a big undertaking," she says. "I'm not going to give up."
The crisis surfaced in May 2010, when investor Liz King of Petaluma, Calif., sued to recover her $250,000; the note was due at the end of 2009. A Baltimore judge ruled in her favor and, on Aug. 30 of this year, froze Landreth's accounts.
Without a reprieve, Melera says she cannot keep the business going beyond Friday.
Her immediate goal is to raise $150,000 to $175,000 by then from seed sales and advance orders for the 100-page, 2012 catalog. The hope is that this will persuade the two outside investors to negotiate payment schedules and allow Landreth to continue operating."
Follow link for full story.
As of 30/9, they were up to $121,000. http://www.philly.com/philly/news/130826193.html
All they ask is people order a catalog for $5 - but I guarantee that as soon as you start poking around their website, you'll order more than a catalog.
Order a catalogue here: http://www.landrethseeds.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5689
Website: http://landrethseeds.com/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LandrethSeedCo?sk=wall
ETA: There's a Chipin widget here you can donate at: http://landrethseedco.chipin.com/landreth-seed-co
Please feel free to copy and paste this to your own LJ's.
According to the linked article "Landreth now sells 900 varieties in colorful, old-fashioned seed packs, things like the "King of Mammoth" pumpkin, which dates to 1824, or the famous Landreth zinnias, which the company introduced to the United States from Mexico in 1798.
While Melera says sales have been growing by more than 50 percent a year since 2007, the recession has been painful. The turnaround she counted on taking three to five years took seven."
More from the article:
"When Barbara Melera took over the struggling D. Landreth Seed Co. in 2003, she was determined to turn it around. And she did.
With about $1 million borrowed from 20 friends and family members, and two outsider investors, she overhauled the company. It's finally turning a profit.
Even so, the nation's oldest seed house, which dates to 1784 and counted as customers every president from George Washington to FDR, is in trouble. While friends and family are waiting it out, the two outside investors, who lent $250,000 and $175,000, want to be paid back, and the money isn't there.
Debt could take this historic house down, but not without a fight from Melera. She's working 18 hours a day, frenetically trying to raise money to save Landreth, which is based in New Freedom, Pa., near the Maryland border.
"I knew this was a big undertaking," she says. "I'm not going to give up."
The crisis surfaced in May 2010, when investor Liz King of Petaluma, Calif., sued to recover her $250,000; the note was due at the end of 2009. A Baltimore judge ruled in her favor and, on Aug. 30 of this year, froze Landreth's accounts.
Without a reprieve, Melera says she cannot keep the business going beyond Friday.
Her immediate goal is to raise $150,000 to $175,000 by then from seed sales and advance orders for the 100-page, 2012 catalog. The hope is that this will persuade the two outside investors to negotiate payment schedules and allow Landreth to continue operating."
Follow link for full story.
As of 30/9, they were up to $121,000. http://www.philly.com/philly/news/130826193.html
All they ask is people order a catalog for $5 - but I guarantee that as soon as you start poking around their website, you'll order more than a catalog.
Order a catalogue here: http://www.landrethseeds.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5689
Website: http://landrethseeds.com/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LandrethSeedCo?sk=wall
ETA: There's a Chipin widget here you can donate at: http://landrethseedco.chipin.com/landreth-seed-co
Please feel free to copy and paste this to your own LJ's.