Top 10 Tips for Buying Seeds Online        

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Are you looking to buy seeds online but not sure where to start? Look no further! In this article, I’ll provide my top 10 tips for buying seeds online so you can make the best purchase possible.

Buying seeds online is a convenient and efficient way to kick start your dream garden. However, with all the choices today, it can be overwhelming to choose the right seeds.

That’s where my top tips come in! I’ll guide you through my process of buying seeds online and help you to make the best decisions for your garden.

Whether you’re an experienced gardener or a beginner, these tips will help you navigate the vast world of online seed shopping. From researching reputable seed sellers to understanding the importance of seed quality, we’ll cover everything you need to know to make an informed decision.

Updated December 2023.

Is it cheaper to buy seeds online or in a store?

Local hardware stores and feed stores offer the basics when buying seeds, and they often stock seeds that grow well in your area.   

If you are just starting to learn how to garden, buying local may be the cheapest way to start. You can purchase basic vegetable seeds, such as green beans, beets, okra, and more, which are adapted to grow well for your region. If you can buy heirloom seeds locally, these could work better for you in the long run.

Local market prices often cost less for individual seed packets, but they don’t always have everything you need, causing the need to buy online. 

So, if you are a seasoned gardener and looking for those hard to find seeds, then ordering online will be your best option.

RELATED: Even if you’ve never gardened before, this Vegetable Gardening for Beginners Ultimate Guide is for you! Learn everything you need to know from over 60 resources, all in one place, to be a successful gardener, including improving soil, cover crops, warm and cool season crops, organic amendments, fertilizing, watering, garden pests and diseases and so much more.

Should you buy seeds or transplants?

Buying transplants costs much more, especially if you need more than one plant. But there are those times when we don’t get our seeds started indoors on time, and you need to buy from the local nursery.

Unfortunately, you are at their mercy if so. Nurseries often don’t grow and stock many different varieties, and what they do have may not be your favorite choice.

Buying seeds and starting your own definitely gives you more choices and varieties and you save on the budget.

Different Types of Seed Companies

Some larger companies are one-stop-shopping providing all your garden seeds, including flowers, herbs, cover crops seeds and more. These companies may sell all the vegetable, flower and herb seeds you may be looking for.

But then there are the smaller companies that specialize.  They may specialize in only selling only tomatoes and peppers that are organic, or they my sell only flowers and herb.

Most times, I find that need to order from at least two different companies to get everything I need for my garden. 

Best Tips for Buying Garden Seeds Online

Most seed catalogs begin arriving in the mail between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and this is not by accident.

They do this because it’s winter and we are able to be inside more. We have more time to kick up our feet and dream of gardening. 

Seed catalogs are full of beautiful, colorful images of vegetables, flowers, and herbs designed to entice our spending. But keep in mind professional photographers do these images, and more than likely, the vegetables and flowers we grow in our backyard gardens will not look like these. So don’t be persuaded.

Not all seed companies send out seed catalogs nowadays with online shopping being made so easy and it saves trees as well as keeps expenses down for the company. 

If you don’t receive a catalog that you may wish to receive, look on the seed companies website and request a catalog if they have one in print. They are free!

1. Plan for the Whole Year

Many seed companies have only a specific supply of seeds in stock, and once they are sold, there are no more available.

In recent years, since 2020, seed companies have struggled to keep up with demand.

Therefore, if you plan to plant a spring garden and a summer and fall garden, it’s best to order for the whole year at once. This includes not only vegetables but flower and herb seeds as well. If you wait until later in the year to order seeds for fall planting, the seeds you need may no longer be available.

2. Keep a Garden Journal

Now is the best time to start if you’ve never kept a journal. By keeping one, you can look back to see what seed varieties did well and what didn’t.

You can keep an inventory of how much you planted in previous seasons and how much you harvested. These numbers are handy when deciding how much to grow year after year.

I use a simple 3-ring binder with wide ruled loose leaf paper in it. The binder has pockets on each flap.These for various small pieces of paper, seed packets, etc. I may have over the garden season.

I keep a smaller journal in the kitchen drawer all season to record harvest weights, canning amounts, etc. These pages are then removed and placed into the main garden journal for when it comes time for next year’s garden planning.

Of course, you can find garden journals sold on Etsy and other places online, but I’ve never found one that works for me. Do what works best for you. Just be sure to have a place for keeping all your notes and small pieces of paper, seed packets, etc., that you will end up with.

3. Take Inventory of What you Have

I store my seed packets and organize them in shoe box-size totes in the freezer.

I keep them organized in groups by vegetables, flowers, and herbs, with cardboard dividers between each type. When I inventory, I spread each group out on the table and make a list of the varieties I have and their dates. If any of the packets are open, I make a note of how many are left in the package.

I then make a check mark beside the varieties I need to order.

RELATED: How to Read and Understand Seed Packets

You’ll likely realize that you have a lot more seeds than you thought.

You should also need to test older seeds. This article from the University of Florida is a great 8-step process for testing germination rate of older seeds.

Garden seeds can last for years if stored properly, so those seed packets with a few in them may well still be useful.

If not, don’t just throw them away. Take them out to the woods or nearby and toss them out and let mother nature do her thing with them. Worst case, you’ll feed some wildlife.

Taking an inventory of the seeds you do have not only helps with restraint of ordering too much, but it also keeps you from winding up with way to many seeds and no place to plant them.

4. Create a Garden Map of your Space

When shopping online, it’s easy to get caught up in gorgeous images and your dreams of gardening, but then find yourself with nowhere to plant all your seeds.

I am speaking from experience. In my early years of gardening, I often ordered way too many seeds for the space I had. So, I’ve learned over the years that creating a garden map of my growing space is best to ensure enough grow room.

Your garden map doesn’t have to be in detail or exact, but you will need to have an idea of where things will be planted. This article, DIY Garden Map is a great resource. Remember you are planning for spring, summer, and fall, as well as succession planting.

5. Decide What to Grow

Grow only what your family will eat. Look in your cupboards to see what you regularly buy at the grocery store that you can grow in your area. This zone map from the USDA will help you know what will grow in your area.

You can save money by growing your own or at least offset the budget by growing a portion of vegetables you serve often. Think of it as growing your grocery list.

In my book, The Canning Garden Workbook, I dedicate a whole chapter teach you how to decide how much to grow and what to grow to feed your family for a full year.

For example, potatoes are a staple at our house. We can eat them mashed, fried, baked or however, so we use a lot of potatoes.  In my workbook, there are charts and an easy plug-in formula sheet that tell me that each year, I need to plant 364 seed potatoes to have enough to store for the winter to feed my family. 

6.   Grow For The Pollinators

While vegetables are generally at the top of our minds when ordering seeds online, don’t forget to grow for the pollinators. Many flowers need to be planted in the spring time in order to feed them through your fall garden time.

Most vegetable plants require pollination from pollinators to grow and produce and you can make your whole yard pollinator friendly, not just the garden area. It is known that pollinators increase harvest yields.

Both flowers and herbs benefit pollinators and can be planted alongside vegetables to help control garden pests.

Of course, use the herbs in the kitchen, but many flowers are also edible. They can often be added to salads and such. And if you order flowers or herbs later, you will add additional shipping charges, so ordering them all at the same time is best.      

7. Order From Reputable Companies

There are many big seed companies that are well known. Some reputable ones are:

Sow True Seed – is located in Asheville, North Carolina. They carry open-pollinated seeds, heirlooms, and organic vegetable, flower, and herb seeds.

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange – is a cooperatively owned seed company specializing in heirloom and open-pollinated seeds that grow well in the southeast and mid-Atlantic areas.

Seed Savers Exchange – is in Iowa. It is a company that was started by a husband and wife that specializes in preserving heirloom seeds and the stories that come with them.

True Leaf Market – was established in 1974 and continues to be independently owned. They carry garden seeds as well as growing kits, supplies, microgreens, and more.

You’ll find a more complete list of my favorites seed catalogs companies here.

Smaller companies are more regional and often source their seeds from local farmers. This means their seeds could grow well in your garden if they are in your growing zone.

If in doubt about the reputation of a company, ask your fellow gardeners or ask in groups online for advice. Chances are, someone will have information they can share.

8.   Source Seeds Free When Possible

Gardeners are givers. Nature lovers are more often than not, happy to share excess of their excess of seeds. Places you can look for free seeds are:

• Social Media – ask in groups. Many seed swap groups can have what you need for less than catalog pricing or better – free.
• Seed Libraries – check with your local library. With the recent move to become sustainable, many public libraries are now loaning seed packets. We have one in our town. It’s done on the honor system. If you take a packet of seeds this season, then next season, you agree to replace that packet.
• Seed Swaps – many local extension offices are now holding seed swaps. It may be run through the local master gardener program or a garden club. But you bring extra seeds you may have to share and take home with you that others have grown.
• Save Seeds – if you grow with heirloom seeds, you can save seeds from year to year and save money every season.

9. Get Your Order In Early

As I mentioned earlier, in recent years, since 2020, demand for garden seeds has increased. More and more families want to grow their food supply and be more sustainable, and seed companies have struggled to keep up with demand.

The best time to order seeds is around Christmas, if possible. Doing so will help ensure what you need is in stock.

10. Buy In Bulk When Possible

When doing seed purchases, buying in bulk can benefit the budget. It often costs less to buy larger quantities than individual seed packets.

An example at my local hardware:  Green Beans in a seed pack cost $2.99 for a pack of 25 seeds, but they also carry a 4 oz package of green beans containing 300 seeds for $5.99.  Depending on how many bean plants you need to grow to feed your family, this may be the better option.

If you prefer not to have a lot of seeds left over, you can go in with a friend to share the cost. I do this often on certain seeds.

Maneuvering Heirlooms vs Hybrids & GMOs

When looking through seed catalogs or shopping online, you’ll come across some terms that may not be clear. This is to help you better understand. 

• Heirloom Seeds – are seeds that have been handed down or saved for generations. They are typically seeds that are over 50 years old. Heirloom seeds are open-pollinated, meaning they can be saved from year to year and reproduce true to seed. If you plan to save seeds, heirloom is best.
• Hybrid Seeds – are the intentional cross between two or more parent plants to produce a specific outcome. They are grown and crossed with other variety plants to be more disease-resistant, produce higher yields, resist heat and cold, etc. They have been modified to benefit you as the grower. This is good if you plant first-generation seeds. But if you save seeds from these plants, they will not grow true to seed.
• GMO Seeds – are genetically modified organisms that have been created in a lab. GMOs are not available to home gardeners. Many catalogs will advertise seeds as GMO-free, but you don’t have to give these seeds any thought.

Organic vs Non-Organic

Certified organic seeds are guaranteed to be grown without synthetic inputs such as herbicides or pesticides. Meaning they have not been sprayed with toxic chemicals that enter the plant once sprayed. 

Organic seeds cost more, but organic is the best choice if you are trying to give your family nutrient-dense, chemical-free foods.

Many companies sell certified organic and this is what I try my best to grow here on our homestead as well.

So tell me, what shopping tips do you have for buying seed online? Please share with me in the comments below.

Need More Garden Seed Help?

• How to Read and Understand a Seed Packet
• How to Start Seeds Indoors
• Best Seed Catalogs for Buying Seeds

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