Seeds

[Gardening with Rabbits]

There are plenty of seeds on line I think. Baker Creek running out so early, I am not sure if it is unusual or not. I don't think I ever had a problem buying kale, lettuce or squash there, but last year my local places I buy heirloom seeds was picked over and gone, even flowers. I did not want to order a lot on line last year because I had seeds and thought I would just buy local for things I ran out of, but that did not work so good, so this year I am buying extra. Just remembered also last year Walmart not getting plants in until late and I dropped that ruler on my toe and I had to have a hole drilled through to get the blood out and could barely wear a shoe and trying to plant. It was a crazy spring last year.

 

[Niele da Kine]

I noticed a lot of seeds already out of stock at Baker Creek, especially lettuce and summer squash. I remember last year and how seeds were being bought up and it might be happening again.

Last year their entire website went down from too many folks ordering seeds. I'd just wanted to look up how long it took for something to become ripe and the whole site was down.

We have enough seeds on hand but it's always fun to order a new variety. We've been planting heirloom seeds for years so most things are from saved seed. Stuff like carrots and beets, though, take a long time to make seeds so we frequently buy new seeds for those types of plants.

 

[Zeedman]

I noticed a lot of seeds already out of stock at Baker Creek, especially lettuce and summer squash. I remember last year and how seeds were being bought up and it might be happening again.

I hope that profiteering is not a factor for some shortages. There was a lot of expensive seed being sold online last year.

Quite a few years ago, it was the disappearance of a favorite bean that set my feet on the path to seed saving. Facing food insecurity for the first time, a lot of people who never really thought about gardening are considering it... and the shortage of seed may encourage some of them to begin saving seed as well. I've seen evidence of that in my own adult children; 3 of 4 have asked for help starting a garden. This crisis could bring about another "victory garden" surge in urban farming.

 

[GottaGo]

Does anybody deal with Seed Savers Exchange? I've bought from Baker Creek for a number of years, and tried Seed Savers for a couple of bean seeds last year, but was less than thrilled since what I ordered and what I ended up with weren't the same thing. A couple of others were fine thought.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Does anybody deal with Seed Savers Exchange? I've bought from Baker Creek for a number of years, and tried Seed Savers for a couple of bean seeds last year, but was less than thrilled since what I ordered and what I ended up with weren't the same thing. A couple of others were fine thought.

I haven’t ordered from Seed savers before but I have ordered from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange a few times and have been really happy with what I got. They are similar to seed savers but specialize in varieties the perform well in the southeast and Mid-Atlantic area. They also have a pretty good selection of organic seed.https://www.southernexposure.com/about-us/

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

Try MIgardener, the rusted garden, calikim, San Diego seed company, hoss tools , and local feed stores. The 3 or 5 companies in order from every year have been out of stock too but I've had good luck with smaller company/gardeners.

 

[Zeedman]

Does anybody deal with Seed Savers Exchange? I've bought from Baker Creek for a number of years, and tried Seed Savers for a couple of bean seeds last year, but was less than thrilled since what I ordered and what I ended up with weren't the same thing. A couple of others were fine thought.

Full disclosure... as an SSE member, most of the seed I order is heirlooms from the Exchange side of the organization, from other members (I'm sending a request out today for some heirloom cowpeas I've been looking for). Seeds from the Exchange are home-grown by members (including myself), and there have been occasional crosses in that seed.

I've ordered from SSE's catalog (or their website), but not recently. I visit their farm almost every year to observe & record their grow outs (though not last year, for obvious reasons) and sometimes purchase seeds or garlic from their gift shop while I'm there. I've never had problems with their seed, and the garlic stock is healthy & reasonably priced.

From Baker Creek, I've had mixed results. I appreciate the effort that they take to offer rare & unusual varieties, and their selection of Oriental vegetables is exceptional. I currently grow & maintain several excellent varieties originally obtained from them. However, germination rates have been unpredictable, one variety was mislabeled as to species, and one seed packet had weevils. When I've reported problems though, they have been quick to resolve the issue.

Both organizations are more than just seed companies. They are strong proponents of heirloom gardening, have annual outreach activities that are educational & well attended, and are well worth visiting for those within driving range. You can meet some prominent seed savers & garden authors at their gatherings.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Two others of interest I have ordered from in the past

Salt Spring seeds- They are in Canada, so are good with cold weather crops (though the fact they are in Canada can make getting the seed through customs if you are in the US iffy). They also have an impressive selection of alternative wheats and wheat relatives; if you need an alternative species of wheat, they probably have it (they don't have T. uratu but that is the only one off the top of my head I didn't see)

Kusa Seed society- Not all THAT useful, since they only sell seeds in collections (so you get a LOT of extra wasted seed if you are a small size grower). But again, they have some really good wheats, and their Chusi Gandruk barley collection did very well for me (I suspect the Tibetan Purple Barley some of you people grow is a seletion from Chusi Gandruk.

 

[Zeedman]

Two others of interest I have ordered from in the past

Salt Spring seeds- They are in Canada, so are good with cold weather crops (though the fact they are in Canada can make getting the seed through customs if you are in the US iffy). They also have an impressive selection of alternative wheats and wheat relatives; if you need an alternative species of wheat, they probably have it (they don't have T. uratu but that is the only one off the top of my head I didn't see)

Kusa Seed society- Not all THAT useful, since they only sell seeds in collections (so you get a LOT of extra wasted seed if you are a small size grower). But again, they have some really good wheats, and their Chusi Gandruk barley collection did very well for me (I suspect the Tibetan Purple Barley some of you people grow is a seletion from Chusi Gandruk.

I like Salt Spring Seeds, they are a great company. One of the beans I grow (Brita'a Foot Long) and one soybean (Manitoba Brown) originally came from there. The owner is a preservationist who is associated with Seeds of Diversity Canada (their equivalent of SSE) and has a lot of heirlooms in his collection. He also is a big advocate for home-grown soybeans, a topic near & dear to my heart. If it were possible, I'd still order from them, but as posted on their website:

"Foreign and US Orders. Sorry, we are not shipping to destinations other than in Canada for now."

 

[ninnymary]

I've only received the Burpee catalog and I only ordered a hybrid tomato package from them last year after they offered me free shipping. I had emailed them stating my disappointment with seed companies charging me more for one packet of seeds than what the seeds cost.

I always order from Baker Creek. Their free shipping I must admit has an influence on me. Plus it's always a nice surprise getting that free packet of seeds. Friends were getting their catalog and I still hadn't received mine. So I ordered on their website and the seeds came in 4 days! I don't like looking through pictures online. I prefer my catalog where I can mark the pages and circle the ones I'm interested in.

I only ordered 4 things. Two of them are new tomatos to try. The other is the Crimson clover which I wanted to try last fall but couldn't find seed. So I'm happy.

Mary