Local Business T&T Seeds One of the oldest catalogue seed
suppliers in Canada By James Mathew
G ardening roots go back
a long way in Manitoba. As an agrarian economy for many, many years, in-
novation in growing techniques and the development of new plants was one of the province’s many claims to fame. Along with that came a love for gardening, a challenge to many of the newcomers to this land. Tat didn’t discourage them, though. When gar- deners want to grow a lovely specimen, they find a way. One of the longtime companies in the field has been T&T Seeds. Over the company’s 73-year history, it has been one of the leading garden-supply, mail-order houses in Canada. It is the first catalogue out each year in this country, appearing without fail in late November, early December. Te company was started in 1946 by
Jerry and Paddy Twomey, who operat- ed T&T together until 1967. Tat year, Jerry sold to Paddy, who continued to run it until he was joined by his eldest son, Kevin, in 1974. Kevin took over the management in the late seventies and has been the general manager ever since. In 1981, he was joined in the business by his younger brother, Brian, who acted as the silent partner, doing much of the work on the catalogue and other projects behind the scenes at the store. Together, they have made a very effective team. T&T Seeds specializes in mail-order business for early-season garden seed and nursery stock for the home gar- dener. Te bulk of the business has come from the Prairie provinces, with British Columbia and northwestern Ontario being a steady source of cus- tomers. Since 1993, eastern Ontario
16 • Summer 2018
Kevin and Brian Twomey.
has contributed heavily to its growth. Last year, Kevin and Brian sold T&T Seeds to Jarrett Davidson, for- merly president of World of Water, a Winnipeg supplier. “Jarrett is the per- fect match for us,” says Kevin, who will be staying on for the next four years as the new owner learns the business. “He has the same values as we do. He
has lots of new ideas and will be able to take the business forward.” T&T have recently added the sale of home greenhouses to their list of products, as an example. When it started out, T&T Seeds
was located in the Exchange District of downtown Winnipeg. Te first lo- cation was 120 Lombard, where the
The Hub
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