Did you know that Monsanto owned 40% of the garden seed market? That’s right, the maker of that premier Agent Orange product, Roundup, crept into the home gardening scene a few years ago. Already known for it’s development of genetically-modified organisms and for developing (and owning the patents on) a large number of vegetable and grain varieties), Monsanto sought not only to gain control of the seed genetics, but of the market itself.

In 2005, the chemical and agricultural giant bought Seminis, then the largest developer, grower and marketer of fruit and vegetable seeds in the world for $1.4 billion.

Last year, the chemical giant Bayer bought Monsanto for $66 billion. Bayer, as you may know from your history, used slave labor during WW2, and conducted medical experiments on female prisoners. Of course, that was 80 years ago, and we all tend to forget.

Bayer now controls the seed for 55 percent of the lettuce, 75% of the tomatoes, and 85 percent of the peppers in U.S. groceries. The company also holds a significant portion of the markets on beans, cucumbers, squash, melons, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, and peas. Interesting food for thought, not so interesting for our bodies and health.

In the list below. You’re sure to recognize the names of some important and popular seed sellers.

Here is a list of companies which are owned by Bayer (Monsanto), or sell seeds from them.

American Seeds

Asgrow

Audubon Workshop

Breck’s Bulbs

Campbell

Cook’s Garden

Dege Garden Center

DeKalb

De Ruiter

Diener Seeds

Earl May Seed

E & R Seed Co

Ferry-Morse

Fielder’s Choice

Flower of the Month Club

Fontanelle

Gardens Alive

Germania Seed Co

Garden Trends

Gold Country Seed

Hawkeye

Heartland

Heritage Seeds

Holdens

Hubner Seed

HPS

icorn

Jung Seed

Kruger Seeds

Lewis Hybrids

Lindenberg Seeds

McClure and Zimmerman Quality Bulb Brokers

Mountain Valley Seed

Nichol’s

Osborne

Park Bulbs

Park’s Countryside Garden

Peotec

Poloni

R.H Rea Hybrids

. Shumway

Roots and Rhizomes

Rupp

Seeds for the World

Seymour’s Selected Seeds

Snow

Specialty

Spring Hill Nurseries

Stewart

Stokes

Stone Seed

T&T Seeds

Tomato Growers Supply

Totally Tomato

Trelay

Vermont Bean Seed Co.

Wayside Gardens

Western Seeds

Willhite Seed Co.