Our mission at Farmacie Isolde is to foster health and a love of gardening, and to that end we offer an evermore expansive selection of useful and unusual seeds.

In 2015 we moved from rural northwest Iowa to the Hudson Valley in New York, where we have spent much of our time engaged in a fierce battle with the local pestilence of white-tailed deer. We've dabbled in market gardening and the nursery business, but have since determined that our passion for seeds and gardening should be our primary focus.

Though our farm is not certified, we employ only organic and biodynamic methods, and many of our seeds are produced by select Certified Organic and Biodynamic growers in the United States, Canada, and throughout Europe. Supporting these growers in their continued preservation of rare and historic varieties, many of which have little or no commercial value, is almost solely the responsibility of home gardeners and small scale growers serving niche markets. Farmacie Isolde seeks to facilitate the dissemination of these unique species and selections.

We are passionate about permaculture and biodynamic methods, though we are hardly fundamentalists. We encourage beginning gardeners to pursue whatever means make the most sense to them, and in most cases a reliance on locally available or industrially-manufactured inputs is unavoidable. On our website you will find a growing selection of perennial edibles, as well as easy-to-grow annuals and perennials that are suitable for biodynamic preparations that increase soil fertility and help mitigate disease without the need for excessive and expensive commercial solutions. We're big fans of flowers and the insects they attract. We never use pesticides, organic or otherwise, and strongly discourage their use in general.

Many of our seeds are packaged to order. This allows us to better maintain the viability of the seeds, but does require a bit more time than it would to simply pick a dusty packet from a shelf. It also allows us the opportunity to feel genuinely connected to our customers, which is ultimately why we do what we do; it is through this modest little retail business that we congregate with a worldwide community of gardeners and seed savers. We believe that this simple exchange is an act of compassion and conservation.

Marianne, our humble seedswoman, is also a Licensed Massage Therapist and has practiced herbalism for decades, having graduated from the National Holistic Institute in Emeryville, CA in 2000. The daughter of a farmer and a gardener, she believes that having your hands in the dirt is perhaps the most essential aspect of holistic living, and especially in the pursuit of plant-based health and healing. As tens of thousands of new gardeners have discovered in 2020, gardening is an inimitable comfort in uncertain times.

We are happy to answer almost any question about our seeds and how best to germinate and cultivate them. If you cannot find the answers on our website, please don't hesitate to contact us.