Where to Find Heirloom Seeds When Everywhere Seems Sold Out

With the sudden revival of home Victory Gardens, amid the continuing supply shortages, it can be increasingly difficult to source garden seeds - especially open pollinated, heirloom varieties that are suitable for seed saving.

Here's a list of seed companies that are currently still taking orders - I hope it helps as you source seeds for your home garden!

My own garden plans have more than tripled over the last 6 weeks. I made my garden plans and placed my seed orders back in January, and thought I was all set for planting season. But with the supply issues that may linger for some time, I'm feeling the need to grow and preserve more than ever, and needed to source a few extra varieties of seeds to follow through on my expanded garden plans.

Usually I'd just run to the feed store, but I'm trying to be faithful about only traveling into town once every two weeks. So I thought I'd place another online order. BUT - I quickly discovered that several of my favorite seed companies were not currently accepting new orders, due to extremely high order volumes. Eeek!

That set me off on a search to see which heirloom seed companies are still accepting orders, and I thought I'd compile and share these leads with you, in case you're running into the same issue. As of the time of writing, here are several great companies that are still taking orders and can probably get your seeds to you in time for planting.

Heirloom seed companies that are still taking orders

Prairie Road Organic

One of my favorite little seed companies. This family run business breeds many of the varieties they offer right on their farm. They have a smaller selection than some of the big companies, but they're still accepting orders, and their shipping is always super fast.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

Baker Creek probably has the most beautiful website and catalog of any seed company I know. Ordering from them is such a pleasure. I do find them to be more expensive than the companies I order from on a yearly basis, but they now have free shipping so that helps! They are currently accepting orders, and though many varieties are sold out, there's still a pretty good selection. While they do say to expect an additional 7 day shipping delay, I actually stopped to order a few seeds from them while I was researching this post - and they shipped my order less than 12 hours later!

Botanical Interests

I really love the carefully curated selection of seeds carried by Botanical Interests, and I love their beautiful seed packets! This is the brand I usually buy when I need to pick up a pack of seeds at my local feed store - but I've reduced my trips to town, and am glad to see they're still accepting orders online. They do say to allow an extra 10 days processing time for new orders.

Restoration Seeds

These folks are just great, and they have a wonderful selection of seeds. I have huge respect for their dedication to selling only savable, open pollinated seeds, and for their commitment to supporting the small farmers and growers who steward this important genetic heritage. They're truly a mission-oriented company. They're currently accepting new orders, and have at the time of writing this, have no alerts regarding extended shipping times.

Buying open pollinated seeds helps small farmers.

Saving and sharing your seeds helps everyone.

Restoration Seeds

Annie’s Heirloom Seeds

Annie's is a good little company, and they're still open for online orders. They note that they will substitute for out of stock items, and orders are currently being shipped about 7-10 days after ordering.

Peaceful Valley

I really like Peaceful Valley. They have a great selection of seeds, and some really helpful how-to gardening videos which you can watch here.

To bring the volume of orders down to manageable level, they've instituted a $100 minimum order for the time being.

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

I love this company, and everything that they stand for. I kind of think of them as the southern version of Fedco. Like most seed companies, they're experiencing an extreme volume of orders. Their site currently says that they open the site for orders each day around 11, and close it when they reach the number of orders they can handle processing for the day. So if you're hoping to order but find the site currently closed, it may be worth checking back after 11 the next day.

Heirloom seed companies planning to reopen for ordering soon

Johnny’s Selected Seeds

Johnny's offers a wonderful variety of seeds and supplies. They currently have paused accepting new orders, but plan to resume taking orders from home gardeners on April 28^th.

Fedco

I just love Fedco. A year never goes by that I don't place an order with them, and I'm glad I got the bulk of my seed order placed early this year. Right now, they're closed to new orders, but I read on their site that they're planning to reopen May 1.

High Mowing

They're slightly more geared toward the professional grower, and they honestly carry a pretty high percentage of hybrid varies, but - that said, High Mowing always carries some great heirlooms as well. I've also alwasy appreciated the excellent growing notes in their catalogs. Currently closed to new orders, they anticipate reopening April 28.

Mary’s Heirloom Seeds

Mary's is actually still currently accepting orders, but their site says to expect 21 days for new orders to ship. Because of the long wait time, it seemed right to list them with the companies reopening soon. Mary's has a very loyal following, and carries some wonderful heirlooms. They're also signers of the Safe Seed Pledge, which I appreciate.

I really hope that if you've been running into frustration with getting your hands on good heirlooms seeds, that this list can be a help!

Still can't find the seeds you're looking for? The Open Seed Source Initiative has an excellent list of seed company partners. Many of them are small, and are also plant breeders and dedicated growers. That list is just full of more great leads!

Do you have another great seed company that should be on this list! Let me know and I'll add it!

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