Seeds of Hope
Seeds of Hope: The family behind Kids Seed Co. nurtures a deliciously bright catalog of plants from WNC and beyond
Months before sowing the first seeds of spring, Thomas Stern longs for a taste of summer. “Six months of the year, you’re not really eating tomatoes, which makes the first ones you harvest that much better.” As the purveyors behind Asheville’s Kids Seed Co., Thomas, wife Laura, and their three children harvest all the seeds they sell from flowers, herbs, and vegetables that they raise on two acres of gardens. With more than a quarter of the 165-plus varieties in their online store being tomatoes, the crew grows (and eats) a good many of the fruit.
Classics, like Cherokee Purple and Brandywine, anchor the collection, while showstoppers include varieties like Blue Goldberry, with cherry-sized morsels splashed in gold, red, and deep purple. Theirs is also the first seed company chosen to sell the new Red Trash Panda, massive tomatoes boasting a uniquely sweet and umami flavor.
New for 2026, the Hurricane Helene Tomato showcases Kids Seed Co.’s first in-house breed. The variety crosses Hungarian Heart Tomatoes with a nameless heirloom tomato from a local friend. The storm delayed the release of these seeds, originally slated for the 2025 season. As a tribute to those helping the area recover, the company donates profits from their Hurricane Helene Tomato seeds to MANNA Foodbank in Asheville. “The foliage on these is very wispy, and they don’t look like they’ll put out much, but then they surprise you,” Thomas explains. “That’s pretty true for all heart-shaped tomato varieties—the plants look wimpy but then produce big, beautiful tomatoes.”
Cultivating relationships with global growers (from Hungarian pepper producers to a Japanese okra gardener) allows Kids Seed Co. to offer quite a colorful catalog. But they’re also proud to save regional heirloom seeds, like those of the Buncombe County Greasy Bean, ensuring the genetic preservation of plants adapted to this area. This particular variety’s origins in mountainous Sandy Mush predates the Civil War. “Greasy beans are pretty typical in the Southern Appalachians, but this one’s special, because the variety has been stewarded by a farming family for many, many generations.”
Kids Seed Co.
@kidseedco, www.kidseedco.com