Get to Know T&T Seeds and its History that Spans Two Centuries

About Us:

T&T Seeds has a long history of supplying mail-order seeds and perishable plant stock across the Canadian provinces, from B.C. to P.E.I. Founded in 1946, and known for its commitment to providing Canadians with high-quality non-GMO seeds and unmatched customer care, T&T Seeds takes pride in the development of its employees and offers skills development training to all of its employees.

T&T is perhaps best known for its catalogue. Each year we put out an extensive catalogue that supplies a wide range of vegetable and flower seed varieties, plus I) starting accessories, II) a wide range of flowering bulbs, III) fruit trees from apples to strawberries, IV) a full range of shrubs, roses and the most extensive selection of hedging and windbreaks, V) garden accessories, fertilisers, and pest controls. 

T&T Seeds also operates a garden centre in Headingley Manitoba, just outside of Winnipeg. Attached to our main warehouse and offices, our garden centre has a garden supply retail store, two greenhouses, and landscaping bins. It also doubles as a venue for the various workshops we regularly host! Educating our customers is an important component of our business and therefore we are heralded for providing a great deal of educational content on our social media channels and website.

Over 75 years later, T&T Seeds still strives to uphold a country store attitude to our in person and online customers, that is – that people matter, whether they are a customer or not! T&T Seeds prides itself in providing good products at reasonable prices, and offering some of the fastest shipping in Canada! So enjoy a browse through our web-site, subscribe to our social media, request a catalogue, or stop by in person!

Our History:

The year was 1946 and seed packets ranged in price from four to ten cents. In the economic heart of Winnipeg Manitoba, the Exchange District, T&T Seeds was born. Launched as a mail order business by prized gladiolus breeder Jerry Twomey and his brother Paddy, T&T Seeds had a vision to supply seeds to all 500,000 farmsteads across the Canadian Prairies at the time. 

The business continued to grow out of its 10,000 sq. feet space at 120 Lombard over the next thirty years. However by the 1970s T&T needed more room and moved operations across the street to 111 Lombard Ave. Around this time, Paddy’s eldest son, Kevin, joined the company as the manager, a position he would hold until his retirement in 2021. A large upgrade to the facilities was made in the mid 1980s when T&T invested over $200,000 into expanded walk-in-coolers in order to directly handle and ship perishable items. The family business also expanded during this time, as Kevin’s younger brother Brian joined the company.

The 1990s saw T&T’s customer base expand both further West and East, into British Columbia and Ontario respectively. T&T also relocated to its current location at 7724 Roblin Blvd in Headingley MB just outside of Winnipeg. This site not only expanded shipping facilities, but also allowed for the creation of a T&T Garden Centre, equipped with two greenhouses, and a testing field for growing new varieties. 

Jarrett and Jackie Davidson purchased T&T Seeds off of the Twomey brothers in 2016. The Davidsons made some visible changes to the company but made sure to not sacrifice the values started by the Twomey family. Jarrett, coming from a family business background himself, was impressed by the business’ history and internal culture. The Davidsons made sure to modernise T&T’s e-commerce channels in an attempt to better serve customers across Canada formerly accustomed to mail orders. The Davidsons also developed the five-acre trial garden that is used to test new and existing varieties of seeds sold in the catalogue. 

The Davidsons are committed to sustainability and are proud to serve an industry that ensures the food security of Canadians. In the coming year they hope to expand their compost program, find more sustainable shipping solutions, and help employ more workers.

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