Before placing your order online or filling out a seed catalog order form, be sure you are making the best buying decisions. In this week&#;s episode, I&#;m sharing tips to help make you a more informed seed shopper.
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Below, I explain what to do before you start, how to process the plethora of seed catalogs arriving at your home or in your inbox, and the types of seed to look for to meet your needs. I&#;ll also get into the differences among the various seed companies, large and small, and other sources where you can get seeds for a very low price or even free.
Everyone&#;s heard by now about the overwhelming demand for seeds and gardening supplies in that arose due to the pandemic and the desire to get back to the basics. Seed companies, despite their best efforts, struggled to keep up with the pace of orders and many eventually sold out of all their stock. Well, seed demand is poised to be even higher for the growing season, and the time to plan your seed orders is now.
As you look ahead to seed starting, know that my joegardener Online Gardening Academy Master Seed Starting course is relaunching at the end of January . The course covers everything you need to know to start your own plants from seed. You can sign up to be notified when enrollment begins.
When shopping online, it&#;s easy to fall down a rabbit hole. If you have ever gone on Amazon to buy one thing and found yourself adding more and more items to your cart because of all the enticing related products that were suggested, you know what I mean.
Gardeners buying seeds online or from a catalog can find themselves in the same situation rather easily. That&#;s why it is important to have a plan before browsing seed offerings.
Some of us keep a notebook or online document to track varieties that we know we&#;ll be needing more of or that we want to grow. If that&#;s you, pat yourself on the back, because that&#;s a huge advantage coming into seed shopping.
For those of us who haven&#;t kept track of what we want and will need more of, the next best thing to do is to take inventory of what we already have. The old seed packets that you never got around to planting or that you only used half of may still be good if they have been stored in cool, dry, stable conditions.
Some seeds last longer than others in storage before their viability begins to diminish. You can check their viability and germination rate by performing a simple test at home with a paper towel, water and a plastic bag. But this test takes time, and the window to get all the seeds that you want before they sell out is beginning to close.
To quickly give you an idea of whether seeds are worth hanging onto and planting, I&#;ve prepared a seed inventory chart and a seed longevity chart that you can download as PDFs and hang onto for your reference. A link within the seed inventory chart PDF will bring you to a Google Sheet that you can customize yourself.
You can also text SEEDGUIDES to to receive the free download links.
When you take inventory and determine which seeds are still good, you&#;ll likely realize that you have a lot more seeds than you thought. But that&#;s not a bad thing because, as mentioned above, they can keep for several years. You can also give away the seeds that you no longer want to grow or have too many of. That&#;s good karma that runs both ways, because someone else may have seeds that you are having trouble finding.
Not only does taking inventory shorten your shopping list, it also reminds you that you should exercise restraint when ordering. That way, you won&#;t wind up with an overabundance of seeds and nowhere to plant them.
Seed catalogs make us want things that &#; until we saw them &#; we never knew we needed. So let&#;s talk about seed catalogs and how to minimize the damage to our wallets.
The majority of catalogs show up between Thanksgiving and the week after Christmas, and that is no accident. It&#;s the perfect time for companies to put their products in front of our faces, as we begin to wind down for the holidays and kick our feet up.
Seed catalogs can be very educational with a lot of great information. In addition to details about the species, cultivar or variety of plant you are looking at, there is often advice more broadly on gardening practices. Seed company websites will have even more useful resources and information that could not fit in print.
If you don&#;t get all the seed catalogs in the mail that you would like to browse, you can visit a seed company&#;s website to request that a seed catalog be delivered. Another option is to do all of your seed shopping online.
The paper-free option is great, but if there was ever a time to make an exception and receive something in print, it&#;s hard to beat a seed catalog.
Whether browsing a hardcopy catalog or online, be conscious that the images you see are probably the best those varieties will ever look. Those are professionally done photos of vegetables, fruits and flowers grown in ideal conditions. Plus, the descriptions by professional copywriters really make us want to buy those seeds and have those plants.
Don&#;t make the mistake of just buying with your eyes &#; use your brain too. Exercise as much restraint as you can, know your growing limitations, and don&#;t order more than you need.
Many seed companies are generalists, selling a little bit of everything. They are one-stop shops where you can get all of your seed shopping done in one order, if you choose.
Others are specialists that excel at just a few crops, like certain species of flowers or vegetables. Specialists should be the authorities on their focus crops and on the cutting edge when it comes to diversity and pest- and disease-resistance. So there&#;s a lot to be said for dividing up your buying among companies that specialize in certain areas.
In some cases, a seed company&#;s specialty is that it is local: It&#;s raising seeds that are adapted for your region&#;s growing conditions. As opposed to big companies &#; which source their seeds from many farms from all over, including from overseas &#; small companies are often small-farm-based. These small companies grow out and save seeds right on their own farms or in cooperation with other local farms and regional growers.
San Diego Seed Company, for instance, trials and grows seeds on a 1-acre farm and partners will nearby farms to produce even more of their Southwest-adapted seed varieties. (You can learn all about San Diego Seed Company and the importance of regional seed companies to seed diversity by listening to my recent conversation with founder Brijette Peña.)
Many smaller seed companies specialize in organic seeds, which are raised with the same practices used to grow organic produce, free of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. (For more on the process behind organic seed growing, and insights into why buying organic is better for the environment, you can listen to my conversation with High Mowing Organic Seeds founder Tom Stearns.)
When I want to know if a seed company that I have never ordered from before is a trusted source, I turn to experienced seed starters and my trusted gardening friends. I ask them where they get their seeds, garlic bulbs and certified seed potatoes from. You can&#;t go wrong tapping into their wisdom.
I don&#;t intend to dissuade you from buying a seed variety that really has you excited. If it is suited to growing in your region and you have the space to plant it, then, by all means, go for it.
It&#;s easy to get stuck in a rut and to just grow what we know. But if we don&#;t expand what we grow, we don&#;t grow ourselves. As Niki Jabbour recommends for garden planning: Grow something fun, something new, and something tried and true.
If you are planning on saving seeds from what you grow to plant in future seasons, it&#;s important to know the difference between heirloom and hybrid seeds.
A hybrid seed is one that comes from the first generation of an intentional cross between parent plants of different varieties to produce that specific outcome. If you plant out the seed from that first-generation hybrid, it will not be true to seed. That is to say, it will not be identical to its parent plant. That is not a bad thing, necessarily, but it&#;s worth noting, to manage your expectations.
Hybrid seeds can be a great choice if you are looking for certain qualities such as disease resistance, heat or cold tolerance, uniformity, large harvests, and consistency in how or when they ripen.
Heirloom seeds come from plants that have been passed down for multiple generations and have a story behind them. Typically, an heirloom variety is around 50 years old &#; though some say it takes more or less time to qualify as an heirloom.
Heirloom seeds are open-pollinated, which means saved seeds grow to be true to seed. Saving seeds from open-pollinated varieties is fun &#; and it saves you a lot of money.
The reasons I love heirloom varieties are the stories, the color, the flavor and the diversity. However, heirlooms do not have built-in traits that make them more disease resistant or uniform, like hybrids, so they can be more challenging to grow.
Certified organic seed must comply with U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines for organic growing. Raising organic seeds is a much more expensive and labor-intensive process, but when you buy that seed and put it into the ground, you&#;ll know that it is free of the synthetic inputs that are typical of non-organic seeds.
I happily pay an extra dollar or so more per pack to support organic seed companies and their efforts to provide their products in a more environmentally responsible way.
GMO stands for &#;genetically modified organism,&#; and a GMO seed comes from a plant with genes that have been modified in a lab. GMO seeds (such as Roundup Ready soybeans and corn) are produced exclusively for commercial agriculture.
Many companies state in their catalogs and on their seed packets that their products are non-GMO. Others don&#;t say so, but you can rest assured that the seeds are, in fact, non-GMO. That&#;s because GMO seeds are not available to home gardeners. For now, at least, gardeners don&#;t have to give GMO seeds any thought.
Social media: If you put the word out on social media that you are looking for a certain type of seed, chances are, someone will answer your call. Gardeners are givers, and we love to share our seeds, plants and cuttings.
Seed libraries: Many traditional libraries have embraced seed libraries. With your library card, you can &#;check out&#; seeds to plant in your garden the same way you would check out a book. Some libraries ask (but don&#;t require) that you save seeds to bring back to contribute to the seed library.
Seed swaps: Often held at county fairs and expos, seed swaps are events where seed savers share and trade seeds. You may also find seed swaps by mail in the back of farming newspapers and gardening magazines, or on Craigslist. You can exchange your saved seeds for something you&#;d like, but if you don&#;t have any to give, that&#;s fine too. Many seed savers are happy to share if you supply a self-addressed stamped envelope.
Save your own seeds: To ensure you&#;ll always have seeds of the open-pollinated varieties that you love to grow, you can learn to save seeds. As I&#;ve mentioned, seed saving is a fun activity that saves a ton of money. You&#;ll have more seeds than you could possibly grow, which means you&#;ll have extras for seed swaps or to give away.
Don&#;t just think about the upcoming season when ordering seeds &#; think of what to grow once spring-planted crops have run their course.
Succession planting keeps garden space in production full time: Every time a plant is harvested or removed, fill in the gap with something to take its place.
You don&#;t need to put off ordering seeds that you intend to plant in summer or fall. If stored in a cool, dry place, the seeds will keep until you are ready to plant.
If you wait to order, the seeds you want may sell out before you can get your hands on them. Also, placing one big order will save you money on shipping costs, which can add up if you place multiple orders over a year.
When buying seeds, you can benefit from economies of scale: The price per seed or the price per ounce goes way down the more you buy. For example, a certain variety of seeds that costs $2 for a pack of 20 may cost just $3 for a pack of 100.
You don&#;t want to end up with more seeds than you need, but you can benefit from bulk buying if you plan ahead. If you know a seed variety will store well for years to come, you can buy in bulk once and be set for several growing seasons. Or, you can get together with fellow gardeners to make one big order, saving on shipping costs and then divvying up the seeds.
You can make a bulk order of seeds last even longer if you store the seeds in a refrigerator or freeze them.
Growing what you like to eat starts with ordering seeds of varieties you know you&#;ll use in your kitchen. Seeds quickly pay for themselves when you grow the produce that you otherwise would be buying from the grocery store.
While vegetables and your edible garden may be top of mind while placing a seed order, don&#;t neglect herbs and flowers. If you go back another time to order herb and flower seeds, you&#;ll be paying for shipping again and you may miss out on discounts offered when placing a large order.
If you can&#;t find the answers that you are looking for on a seed company&#;s website, don&#;t hesitate to call and ask. Seed companies are usually staffed by passionate gardeners who are happy to help. And if you are unsure about a particular seed company, getting someone on the can give you a better impression of whether the seed vendor is a reliable source.
What are your seed shopping tips? Let us know in the comments below.
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Episode 33: Savvy Seed Catalog Shopping
Episode 45: Succession Planting: Practical Tips for Growing More Food
Episode 78: Why Buy Organic Seeds: Fixing a Broken Food System, with Tom Stearns of High Mowing Seeds
Episode 110: Why Mulch Matters in Every Garden
Episode 125: Saving Seeds: The Basics, the Benefits and Beyond
Episode 182: Organic Urban Seed Farming, with San Diego Seed Company
joegardener Seed Starting Charts
joegardenerTV YouTube: How to Know if Seeds Are Still Good
joegardenerTV YouTube: How to Save Tomato Seeds
joegardener Online Gardening Academy&#;: Three popular courses on gardening fundamentals; managing pests, diseases & weeds; and seed starting!
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Master Seed Starting: Everything you need to know to start your own plants from seed &#; indoors and out. Relaunching at the end of January .
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This is a seed buying guide for the value conscious. First of all, value is very nuanced. In order to get the most from this guide, it is important to read all the way through to find cases of exceptions. In order to assess the value of the packet of seed, we will first need to know the variables that affect the value. They are: quality, uniformity, quantity, price per packet, cost of procurement (shipping,) rarity, amount of effort to seed save, and other individual preferences.
The first variable is Quality. Quality is first determined by the freshness of the seed. On paper, seeds can remain viable for a long time. However, I found that planting with recently saved seeds yielded far better results. If you are growing from seed, you are going want something that starts strong right out of the gate. Generally, I like to work with quality seeds within 3 years from the time that they were first collected or bought.
This quality factor helped me realize that a large seed collection is not practical. My seed collection has been reduced to the number of types and amount of seeds that I can plant or rotate into planting within 3 years. In other words, one of the keys to a successful garden is to grow with quality seeds. Unless seeds are planted and replenished, a large seed collection will contain less desirable older seeds. More likely a large collection will contain seeds that have very low germination rates. As a general rule, plan to use seeds within 3 years. Note that allium seeds (onion, shallot, scallion, chive, garlic chives) are generally viable within the year collected or purchased.
Therefore, the seed packet with the greatest value for me is the packet that prices quality seeds with the amount that I can use up within the year. Another way of saying this, if my garden has room for two squash plants, I would rather have 5-7 quality seeds than to pay 30% more for a packet with double or triple that amount.
A quality seed does not automatically ensure success. In the right hands, any viable seed can lead to success. Where an ordinary seed differs from a quality seed is the difference in the effort needed to achieve said success.
Uniformity. With certain kinds of plants, seed uniformity is an important quality characteristic. Not all plants produce uniform seeds. With the way seeds are cleaned, some types have more runty seeds mixed in. Later on, I will get into cases where uniform seeds are important. For now, it is important to recognize that uniformity can be an important characteristic of quality.
Quantity is an often overlooked aspect. Here are the following combinations to select from:
Novice seed starters may be better off selecting quantity over quality. The strategy at this level is to sow 3-4 seeds per cell or container and thin out the weaker sprouts. Additionally, novices tend to sow extra plants as backup. This sowing method uses more seeds.
Experienced seed starters will eventually discover that a seed packet will often have enough or more than enough seeds to get them through the growing year.
What then determines the value of a seed packet? Because value is so nuanced, it is best to dive right in and share with you my thought process when I am in need of seeds.
First of all, I am a big fan of the brick and mortar method of seed shopping. Across the United States you can find Burpee Seeds, Ferry-Morse Seed Company, and maybe Botanical Interests seed catalogs at a store. While these companies have an online catalog, the advantage of a physical catalog is saving on shipping costs. Furthermore, you are able to handle the seed packets to have a physical sense of what you will be working with in terms of quantity and type of seed. There will be a plant type new to you and discerning the physical characteristics of its seed will let you know if you have the means to sprout it. Honestly, the rattling from the seeds inside a packet is pure joy for our sensory.
In Southern California I will find Burpee and Ferry-Morse at Home Depot and Lowe&#;s. For the longest time these two major retailers carried the complete catalog of these two seed brands. Things have changed a lot and it pains me to have to point the following out. It appears that retailing contracts have changed with changes to local demand. The depth of the seed catalogs can vary by location. Lowe&#;s consistently carries the entire Ferry-Morse Catalog and they will display the seeds indoors (where the temperature and humidity are more constant.) Home Depot, on the other hand, may locate their seed catalogs outdoors. At one location I witness the seed packets get wet from the rain and remain on the shelves for the rest of the season. It is therefore important to know your brick and mortar.
These two historic seed companies are nearly identical in value. They are close in price, amount of seed per pack, and catalog depth. I am have little reservation going between the two. They both carry heirloom and hybrid tomatoes, flowers, herbs, peppers, squashes, melons, etc. Sweet corn is one of the few exceptions where I would prefer Burpee because of their exclusive &#;Triple Crown XP&#; variety. While I grow many other types of corn, I have settled on &#;Triple Crown XP&#; as my go-to summer time sweet corn. Not to be out done, Ferry-Morse carries &#;Early Sunglow&#; corn; an old fashion sweet corn variety that can be grown early in my climate.
If my memory is correct, there was a time when the big box retailers carried the seed catalog of at least three seed companies; and I vaguely remember that Botanical Interests was among the three. These days, the complete catalog can be found in an employee owned garden retail chain called, &#;Armstrong Garden.&#; Botanical Interests was originally found by a husband and wife duo who believed strongly in excellence. Their iconic seed packets feature hand painted illustrates with detailed information about the variety. Their business model was one of value&#; high quality with low prices. (Note: In the sale of their company, the owners found a buyer that they felt was best to continue the company&#;s values. The Botanical Interests was sold to Epic Gardening in .)
The per package price was never shockingly more than their competitors. While you pay a little more and may get a little less, the quality was high and the seeds were very uniform. In other words, at the end of the season, you may actually get a more plentiful harvest with fewer seeds of higher quality. I always felt that seeds are not different than most commodities in that there are recognized differences in grade on the wholesale market. My belief is that Botanical Interests carries &#;farm-grade / farm-variety seeds.&#; When it comes to my success with &#;difficult to grow crops&#; like broccoli seeds, my most consistent yields have been from what I believe are farm-grade seeds.
Pro-tip: when reading the seed packets, pay attention to the price of the seed packet and the amount of seeds per pack. Farm-grade seeds tend to be higher priced when it breaks down to price per seed or price per gram. With this caliber, Botanical Interests, will sell by the fewer than 10 seeds per packet or lower amounts by weight (e.g. by the milligram) to make the packets affordable.
While it may seem like this is not enough seeds, for the average gardener this is easily a year&#;s worth of seeds for that particular variety. For gardeners that can plant more than the average amount, they can find these farm-grade seeds in larger quantities online at Johnny&#;s Selected Seeds (more on them later.)
As a flower enthusiast Botanical Interests was one of the few carrying unique varieties and colors. Touching on rare and unique, they were also one of the first to make rare/speciality varieties available. Imagine my elation when I ran across a seeds for a vegetable that is culturally significant to me. For me that was finding garlic chive seeds at the Denver Botanical Gardens in .
As mentioned earlier Burpee, Ferry-Morse, and Botanical Interests have their entire catalog online. Every now and then online stores will run promotions that range from discounts to free shipping. Without promotions on free shipping, purchasing online can quickly diminish value. To amortize the cost of shipping, I like to make fewer orders but larger and planned out orders. Two of my favorite online retailers are Johnny&#;s Selected Seeds and Pinetree Garden Seeds (both located on the East Coast.)
As I touched on earlier, some types of crop seeds have greater value when purchased as &#;farm grade.&#; These are often Asian vegetables, broccoli, and cauliflower. While I can find smaller quantities from Botanical Interests and Pinetree, I grow at an amount where bulk pricing would be the better value. This is where Johnny&#;s earns my business. Their seeds have very high uniformity. This is especially important because I am less likely to be planting with runty seeds. When I sow with this grade of seed, I sow one seed per cell. Too often with Asian vegetables like bok choy and gailan, seed companies do not include enough seeds per packet.
Because of the grade and quantity (seed packets often are 100-250 seeds per,) the per packet price is higher but reasonable. The shipping, however, is among the highest. With good planning, I am able to reduce my order to every two years. With an infrequent ordering schedule, when I do order I am more likely to hit their higher free shipping cut off. Sometimes when people ask me about where I purchase my seeds, I will tell them that I order from Johnny&#;s but to check Pinetree or Botanical Interests first for smaller quantities (lower per packet price.)
Speaking of quality and smaller quantity, Pinetree Garden Seeds is my go-to online retailer. They epitomize the main purpose of this article&#; value. Pinetree carries an extensive catalog of flowers, herbs, vegetables, and cover crop. They provide quality seeds and the per packet price is among the lowest because they tend not to over fill it.
Saving my own seeds is one of the best ways to save money and ensure quality. However when I grow the amount and diversity that I do, the seed saving effort can really take effort. I often grown different varieties of corn, squash, pumpkin, and melons through out very long growing seasons. These crop are more susceptible to cross pollination and extra planning and manual effort is needed to ensure the purity of the genetics of the seed.
When the packet is priced the way Pinetree does, the value of saving my own seeds falls.
When it comes to rare or speciality seeds there are a few companies that I like to go to. If it isn&#;t listed here, it is probably because their prices and or shipping rates steal from the value.
Trade Winds Fruit, the per packet is on par with industry prices. They have an extensive catalog of rare fruits and vegetables. When my seed collection was larger, they were my source for Aji (peppers.)
Speaking of peppers, Sandia Seed Company is my go to for peppers of the Southwestern United States. Especially the Anaheim/Hatch peppers.
With the popularity of gardening at its highest ever, many seed companies have expanded their catalog to meet this need. In some cases, there is a particular variety that is hard to find and it is only available at the most recognized source for rare seeds, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company. Packet prices range from $3 to $4 and shipping is free. Sometimes, there is a seed that I need and it is only available online. In these cases, it is hard to beat $4 for a packet of seeds shipped.
On the flipside, the Baker Creek per packet of seed is higher than their competitors. At these prices, the free shipping is an offset and the value diminishes. While each packet is fat with seeds the quality can range. Furthermore, the quantity is more than I can use.
Kitazawa Seed Company was sold to True Leaf Market in . The brand can be found by either name. They specialize in Asian vegetables and package them with a good amount. While the bulk of my Asian vegetable seeds are purchased through Johnny&#;s, Kitazawa may still be the only online source of niche vegetable seeds like gai choy (giant Chinese mustard.)
There are certain types of plants that grow like weeds and the best value will often be the packet that costs the least. Tomatoes and herbs are those types of plants. Unless it is a variety that I cannot find elsewhere, I prefer to source these &#;weedy&#; plants from the retailer that charges the least. This brings us into the seed companies that get an honorable mentions. A couple are budget and economically accessible companies.
American Seed can be found at discount brick and mortar. However, the catalog is very thin. Said a different way, the selection is very limited.
SeedsNOW.COM At the time of this writing the economy is all over the place. Their current pricing is not reflective of their historical relative price different. Depending on how things shake out, SeedsNOW.COM may revert back to being a discount retailer with an extensive catalog; that offers smaller quantities as a price savings. Or they may continue their current status of minimally discount retailer.
Renee Garden used to be available for me at an Orchard Supply Hardware brick and mortar. After OSH&#;s closing my access to the catalog is though the Renee Garden online catalog. They are a good company but I do not order enough to offset the shipping costs. In this way, it is difficult for me to be a regular customer. Note: they carry &#;Early Jade&#; gailan (with approximately 285 seeds per packet) and &#;Nickel&#; filet bean (haricots verts.)
To end this article, I refer you back to the beginning where I mentioned that among other things, value considers other individual preferences. For me, I also consider the cost of the product with relation to the size of the company&#;s ecosystem. Where I can, I prefer to support companies with a healthy and diverse ecosystem. In this ecosystem, many types of hands were part of the creation of the product and/or they place high value on their workers. The hands of illustrative artists, photographers, graphic artists, seed procurers, testers, quality assurers, packers, and other behind the scenes bodies.
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