Hello! It is getting to be that time of year. Gardener reviews are a significant factor I consider when choosing where I buy my seeds. In case you are anything like me, you may appreciate a first hand account of seed companies instead of the generic lists meant to get the clicks, written by people who haven’t tried half of the listed companies, if any at all.
There is nothing listed here sponsored nor compensated. I paid the catalogue listed price for all items, using only the typical discounts available to all consumers. None of these companies have any idea I am reviewing them. The information I am providing is current as of January 7th, 2023. Cost and shipping references the lower 48 of the United States. Placement on list does not indicate any ranking. Is Random.
Factors I consider:
-Speed of order from purchase to my mailbox
-Are the seeds true to type
-Quality i.e. germination rates, strong seedlings
-Communication/customer service
-Selection/Variety
-Cost/Cost compared to quality
Each company has different strengths and weaknesses. I hope sharing my personal experience in this review of seed companies gives you some information to help you make the best choice for your garden. As always, consider multiple sources as YMMV.
I garden in USDA Zone 4b/5a, Microclimate up to USDA Zone 6. Upper Midwest Prairie.
- Renaissance Farms – Seeds of Love
Purchased: Tomatoes, this year tomatoes and peppers.
Overall: Where I will purchase my tomato seeds from now on, if the quality remains the same. Why? QUALITY and TOMATO VARIETY.
Storytime. Fall 2020 -the summer 2021 garden- was the first year I purchased seeds from this farmer. I came across this vendor in a search for the Royal Hillbilly tomato, a hard to find red/pink tomato. The website was clunky and not streamlined, yet I was willing to try as I was intrigued by the VAST selection. Royal Hillbilly seeds were out of stock, yet I found a few other tomato varieties I wanted to try. The price was high for the amount of seeds you receive, but I reasoned that a small outfit with that many varieties has additional costs requiring that price, so I was fine with it. The average price for ten seeds was $2.50. Shipping not included, but the shipping costs for shipping in the United States is low. I ordered and did not receive an order confirmation or anything. Panicked yet oddly patient, I waited. A month or so after my order, I received my seeds in the mail. No email or text warning, just my seeds one day. So relieved!
I planted the seeds this spring and can I just say WOW. ALL the tomatoes were true to type. Including the free seeds he sent along. All the seedlings were healthy and strong. The flavor of these tomatoes was absolutely out of this world. This man is clearly passionate about what he does, selecting the best tomatoes from his farm to source his seeds. His product descriptions show a loving care and passion for tomatoes and his seed quality and flavor backs that up. He can charge me whatever he wants.
This year, last week as a matter of fact, I put in a large order. Most of my tomato garden will be Renaissance Farms seeds. I received a confirmation of order right away and a confirmation of shipping within two days, so looks like the communication issues were resolved. The seeds arrived in one week. Nothing was suddenly Out-of-Stock. The website has been redone and works superbly.
UPDATE MARCH 2023 re: shipping time and customer service: A fellow seed buyer has let me know that the communication/shipping issues I experienced year one have returned as of February 2023. While I received confirmation of my order immediately and received the seeds in the mail within a couple of weeks the past two years, it may be because I ordered my seeds very early in the purchasing season. I would like all reading to be aware of potential shipping delays and communication issues with Renaissance Seeds of Love, which is disappointing. Their selection is diverse, yet not responding to customer requests for information and order updates for weeks/months is not acceptable, in my opinion. Order from them if it is early in the season and/or you do not mind a silent wait time.
Note: Read the story of the Curtis Cheek seed and purchase it. The flavor of that tomato is sublime and you cannot get it from any other vendor. He’s going to hit it big soon; I say order right now. Only one tomato I wanted, Carbon, was out of stock.
Speed of Order Site to Door : GOOD
True to Type: YES – OUTSTANDING
Quality: OUTSTANDING
Communication/Customer Service: GOOD – this year
Selection- OUTSTANDING for Tomatoes
Price- OKAY, shipping is cheap (under 10$ in the States for my order) but I think seeds should always have free shipping for in-country customers.
Link to Renaissance Farms: https://renaissancefarms.org/
2022 Growing Season. The Goatbag Tomato was smaller than advertised. Yet the shipping was faster (within two weeks) and the communication by the vendor was greatly improved; I received a confirmation email.
2. Baker Creek – Rare Seeds – UPDATE 2024: IMO, the integrity of the company and the quality of the seeds and customer service has degraded to the point that I will never purchase from this company again.
2021: I have been ordering from this seed vendor for six years now. Why? Free shipping, many seeds for the price and high variety. Also, the catalogue is art. I have noticed in the past two years a reduction in the number of seeds per packet. I figured that was coming once they hit the big time and yeah, it happened. That said, the seed count is still good for the price on most items. I have had issues with a seed packet or two not having the seed true to type and that issue seems to be worsening as well. I am very particular about my seeds as I like to do comparisons and experiments, so a wrong type tomato ruins the whole thing I’ve got going on. They often have rarer varieties, and just as often pull them from the next year’s catalogue right when you get hooked (see Royal Hillbilly). I have had customer service emails ignored, so I think they are/were understaffed. Have never been told something is out of stock after I purchased it. If a product’s seeds have low germination, you will be provided many extra seeds.
Speed: OUTSTANDING, during Covid Very Good
True to Type: GOOD
Quality: GOOD
Communication/Customer Service: OKAY. Catalogue saves this from a poor rating.
Selection/Variety: VERY GOOD – for almost all product types. A great one-stop-shop.
Price: VERY GOOD plus FREE SHIPPING for the United States!! HECK YEAH!!!
2022 Growing Experience – Fewer seeds per packet, yet free and fast shipping the same.
3. Urban Farmer Seeds
I have been ordering from Urban Seeds for three years now. It is a newer seed company. I appreciated the prices and the selection, which is good for a smaller, newer company. They have garbanzo beans, tobacco and peanuts, and a nice selection of potatoes. They beat Baker’s Creek for overall produce varieties, for what I need. While they don’t have the largest selection within tomatoes, peppers ect, they do have the most well rounded selection of items overall. The shipping costs are free, if you order over a 100$ worth of seeds. That doesn’t include plants, even if you have a mix of seeds and plants that takes you over a 100$. You’ll still have shipping costs. I understand plants cost more to ship, but I was hopeful with a larger order maybe I’d get a break. Oh well, still like the company and they will continue to get my business. Their potatoes are of amazing quality, like much else they sell.
Speed: OUTSTANDING. Always less than a week from order. Fastest of any company I have experience with.
True to Type: VERY GOOD
Quality: VERY GOOD. Only one issue ever, the Ancho pepper seeds never fruited.
Communication/Customer Service: No Issues
Selection/Variety: VERY GOOD OVERALL, GOOD within single varieties.
Price: GOOD, would be very good if shipping costs for seeds were free.
2022 Growing Season – Same Great Experience
4. Pine Tree Garden Seeds
Well. I do not order from them anymore. Never will again. I am not telling you not to order from this company. I am simply sharing my personal experience.
They do not have seeds you can’t find elsewhere. But I was drawn in by the prices. The prices are some of the lowest I could find. That accompanies the lowest seed count, predictably. What was unusual to me is that the seed count is precise. Every other seed company gives you a few extra seeds per packet. Not Pine Tree. They are very accurate with the seed count. You get exactly what the packet says, no extra to help any potential germination issues. If the seeds all germinated, I would have no issues getting what I paid for. But I did pay for seeds that would germinate. Many did not. This year the Minnesota Midget melons, while half did germinate, they took a month to germinate, coming up as seedlings while my other melons were established and fully leafed out. The one bright spot is the Zephyr squash. The flavor is sublime and Pinetree is where I bought the seeds.
The only reason I ordered this year is because I received a $5 coupon towards an order to compensate for the huge cluster-f of my order last year. In 2020, Covid obviously caused an issue for many seed companies per the unprecedented volume of new orders. Some companies weathered the Covid storm well (Urban Farmer, Baker Creek) and some did not. Pine Tree seeds, in 2020, did not send me corn seeds until June, well after I got lucky and found some sale corn seeds at Urban Farmer last minute because Pine Tree was not answering phones, and not responding to emails. There was literally NO METHOD of communication for me to check my order, change my order or cancel my order. There was no email giving me an updated ship date. They were 100% no communicado with me as a customer. My delayed seeds just appeared in the mail one day in June, the corn too late to plant. The green beans I bought this year with the coupon? Two seeds germinated out of 25.
Speed: LOL NO.
True to Type: If they germinate, YES
Quality: POOR
Communication/Customer Service: LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL NO
Selection/Variety: GOOD
Price: POOR.
2022 Growing Season – Planted some seeds previously purchased, germination was damn near non-existent.
5. Johnny Selected Seeds.
Johnny Selected Seeds has the most informative catalogue. Save it as a reference for every year. They also have hands down the best variety of greens I have ever seen. Johnny’s also has the highest prices of places I have visited. If they offered free shipping for any size order, fine, but as they cater to commercial growers, there is no deal for home growers. As of today, November 20th, 2021, a minimum order of $200.00 is needed to potentially qualify for free shipping. The seed counts are not generous either. I think Baker Creek spoiled me. High seed count for the price and free seed shipping is hard to beat. I figured since Johnny’s is the costliest of the places I shopped, I’d think they would help out with shipping and/or seed count. They did not. The quality is average. For the price, I expect high germination rates and unfortunately I have had issues with some seeds from Johnny’s germinating as completely as other vendors.
Speed: GOOD
True to Type: YES – OUTSTANDING
Quality: GOOD
Communication/Customer Service: No Issues
Selection/Variety: OUTSTANDING
Price: UGH. High price per seed count and shipping higher than other companies I use as well. I hope they pay their staff far above industry average, then I’m definitely supportive of the costs.
2022 Growing Season -Limited purchases, no changes to review.
6. High Mowing Seeds
On my *(&$%&^*&* list. I pre-ordered from them in 2019 for spring 2020 as they had a particular type of potato I was looking for. I ordered early, months before the product would ship even to warmer locales. I order my potatoes, months pass, spring arrives. With spring comes an email from High Mowing seeds that the potatoes I order months ago are out of stock. They offer ONE variety as a replacement, and it’s a variety I already have from another vendor. It’s spring. Seed potatoes have been sold out for months. Plus Covid. Not only is it impossible to get the specific type of potatoes I wanted this late, but getting seed potatoes of any variety is difficult this late. So I asked for a refund. I got the refund in a reasonable time.
Speed: Who knows.
True To Type: No clue
Quality: No idea
Communication/Customer Service: Refund was in good time. Happy about that.
Selection/Variety: MEH
Price: GOOD
2022 Growing Season – Did Not Order
7. Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
Last year, 2020, was the first year I purchased seeds from them, so my experience is limited, yet wonderful! Seeds came quickly, were true to type and delicious. I purchased mostly winter squashes.
Speed: VERY GOOD
True to Type: OUTSTANDING
Quality: OUTSTANDING
Communication/Customer Service: No Issue
Selection/Variety: GOOD
Price: VERY GOOD, shipping costs are very low.
https://www.southernexposure.com/
8. R.H. Shumway
Been a couple of years since I ordered from R.H. Shumway. I tend to hit the companies with the best variety first, and variety is the only detractor for me personally. R.H. Shumway has some really great deals, double order for second order a penny (2020), and the old timey catalogue is unique too. Low prices.
Speed: GOOD
True to Type: VERY GOOD
Quality: VERY GOOD
Communication/Customer Service: No Issue
Selection/Variety: OK
Price: OUTSTANDING
2022 Growing Season – Did Not Order
9. Fred Hempel/Artisan Seeds
Seed variety limited. Limited to THE best tomato seeds, of course. I have purchased from Artisan Seeds for four years now. Fred Hempel can do no wrong in my eyes. Of my top three tomato varieties, his seeds claim two spots. Pink Tiger and Agi Red. My favorites are not only ultra sweet and flavorful, but have the longest shelf life of any tomatoes. I cannot recommend his seeds enough. I have also grown one variety of pepper from his shop, the Dolce di Minervino, is a sold sweet pepper with a small seed cavity. In 2022 I also ordered Aleppo peppers and some new tomato varieties. The variety selection expands yearly.
Speed: OUTSTANDING. I always have my seeds in a week or less.
True to Type: GREAT
Quality: GREAT
Communication/Customer Service: OUTSTANDING
Selection Variety: Low, yet highest quality.
Price: OUTSTANDING as free shipping!!
https://store.growartisan.com/
2022 Growing Season – Same Great Experience
10. Trade Winds Fruit – NEW REVIEW for 2022
I ordered a few varieties of tomato from Tradewinds Fruit, as they advertised some rare varieties of seeds.
Speed: GREAT, within about a week.
True to Type: GREAT
Quality: GOOD
Communication/Customer Service: Very Good. One of the seed packets was incorrected, they sent out the correct seeds with only an email, right away and with no pushback.
Selection Variety: Unique, GREAT
Price: GREAT
https://www.tradewindsfruit.com/
11. Renee’s Garden Seeds NEW REVIEW for 2022
The seed packet designs were lovely, how could I not try this company. A few varieties each of many different veggies.
Speed: GREAT, within a week or so
True to Type: OUTSTANDING
Quality: OUTSTANDING
Communication/Customer Service: No Issues
Selection Variety: GOOD
Price: GREAT
12. Botanical Interests
Roots and Refuge had a sales code for a discount for an end of season sale last summer at Botanical Interests. The seed packet design and info are one of the best I’ve seen. I was able to grow out a few items for fall to test quality. Glad I did! They offer a few varieties of many different types of veggies.
Speed: GREAT, within a week or so
True to Type: OUTSTANDING
Quality: OUTSTANDING
Communication/Customer Service: No Issues
Selection Variety: GOOD
Price: GOOD
https://www.botanicalinterests.com/
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Note: at the end of the 2023 growing season, I will add a review for MI Gardener and Heritage seeds as I am trying more seeds from different companies this year.
I hope you all found this helpful. I wish you all a fruitful gardening season!
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I’m in the middle of my seed ordering and this really helps. Big fan of rareseeds and now I want to give urban farmer a try too!
Pingback:Personal Experience Buying from Renaissance Farms - Seeds of Love 8th Deadly Sin
My seeds from Renaissance Farms were packed with disease and only half were true to what I ordered. Now, I have to dispose of over 200+ gallons of potting soil mix, buy new and sterilize everything.
Plus, 3/4ths of the seeds I purchased did not germinate.
I purchased in 2020 for year 2021.
Oh no! I’d be so annoyed. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I’ve had excellent experiences from David’s Garden Seeds out of Texas. Fair prices, quality seeds with germination rates listed and Excellent customer service.