Some seed companies may be getting low on inventory
I just noticed this at Baker Creek. Figured I'd give a heads up.
Thank you for your patience!
Due to an unprecedented increase in order volume our website and farm are temporarily closed to restock inventory and disinfect our workspace. We have scaled back our operations and staffing to ensure the health and well-being of our employees, our customers, and the community at large. We understand that during these trying times food security is more valuable than ever. Our remaining crew here on our Mansfield, Mo. farm is diligently working to deliver your orders and restock the shelves. We will be back online as soon as possible! If you have questions about your order email us at seeds@rareseeds.com. Thank you for your patience with us, and for the belief you share with us that gardening makes us all more human and more whole.
We will Be back online Monday 3/23/2020 at 4:00pm CST.
Comments
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I hope people have great luck with their gardens this year, and continue to plant good things going forward! If any good comes from this current situation, I hope that people take being prepared more seriously. And that they see the value in growing food and in some of the "old ways" that have nearly been forgotten.
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If you were late this year on starting plants like tomatoes, peppers, etc, try your local gardening clubs (or find their facebook pages). Some of them may have been growing since January and planned on having spring plant sales and then had to cancel. Maybe you can buy them using online payment and then pick them up on someone's front door step.
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Our high school has a greenhouse and does a spring plant sale. I have much better luck with started plants than seeds.
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Last week we were able to get tomato, pepper, and several other types of plants at Atwoods. We have seed, but it has been very rainy in our part of the country and not conducive to planting seeds. We have saved seeds from our strong plants for years, so we have seeds that are bred for our garden and environment. Hopefully we will dry out some soon, so we can get out in the part of the garden we planted earlier and get control of the weeds!
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I ordered seed from two Canadian companies last night and they didn't seem to be out of anything. That may change depending on how long the current situation continues. I ordered my usual supply of what I regularly plant with just a couple of newbies to my garden. Seed packets contain a lot of seed so there is no point in going overboard. Plants are not available here yet and won't be for at least 4-5 weeks so we'll see then what the supply is like.
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@judsoncarroll4 thanks for the heads up!
I am glad I ordered my seeds early. I am also planting a few extra things to be able to share some extra with my neighbors.
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This is the reason why I try to have open pollinated varieties and to save as much seeds as possible myself.
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Thanks for the head's up. I should order some more seeds.
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I am running into the problem where the seed company has been ordered into lockdown because of the virus.
Since the employees may not go to work, the inventory is not being shipped out. One more difficulty this virus is making for us consumers.
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greyfurball Last night a friend shared a snapshot of a form her daughter was sent. It was basically some kind of waiver for the lockdown. It was being issued to people working in "essential" businesses. In this case it was for "Food and agriculture" businesses. Daughter works in a grocery store. The seed companies (or employees if you know anyone, might be able to check into waivers such as these even if only for a small portion of their employees. I would consider folks being able to grow their own food during this crisis essential. Not sure how the powers making these decisions see it. But for folks who work in essential fields it might be worth checking into if your area is on stay at home orders.
I will try to post a copy of the letter later, IF this would be allowed. It does not have identifying information.
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Seesavers.org - is backed up too. Their site says they can't give an ETA on delivery.
Heirloomseeds.com - has temporarily shut down to process their backlog of orders and restock.
Johnnyseeds.com - still fulfilling and shipping their orders with expedited shipping. Regular shipping may see a minor delay.
victoryseeds.com - says to expect a 14 to 21 day delay
sustainableseedco.com - were saying a 8 to 10 day delay before they had the earthquake on 3-18-20
99heirlooms.com - a popup on their site says "Limited Supply Available, Quantities are extremely limited due to supplier shutdown, ....We still have bulk seed packages available." (bulk price for 1# pack of Kentucky Wonder bush beans is $15! and 1oz package is $4)
neseed.com - it may take a day or two longer than their normal next day shipping
marysheirloomseeds.com - shows shipping time 7-10 days
hudsonvalleyseed.com - says they are working diligently to ship all orders within 5 business days
strictlymedicinalseeds.com - doesn't show anything about delays or disruptions
heirloom-organics.com - doesn't show anything about delays or disruptions
superseeds.com (Pinetree Seeds) - doesn't have anything on their site saying they are backed up. However, they are in Maine so???
organic-heirloom-seed.com - doesn't have anything about delays or disruptions
heirloomsolutions.com - doesn't have anything about delays or disruptions
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That’s why I like to keep my own seeds as much ad I can!
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@vickeym what a wonderful idea someone has printed up if it is a generic copy.
Here in our area there is arbitrary stopping and checking going on and fines are being issued if you are on the roads for any "non-essential" reason. I can't blame them since the request to stay at home as been repeatedly asked and ignored by so many people. But then the virus has been spreading much quicker than normal than other areas all because people say they are bored at home or I won't get it...I'm healthy.
Having a form like that would actually make the people who need to be out and about a built-in level of proof as long as it details why they are out and who they work for.
If you do have a copy I'd appreciate it. Thanks
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@dottile46 also Migardener where I get some heirloom seeds from has been shut down. A chance for him to restock and get his orders filled. Should reopen today. He has great seeds and good prices. Hope things level out soon. No rhyme or reason to what is unavailable.
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I too saved a few seeds from last season; not enough. @dottile46 thanks for the listing of seed companies.
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Yeah!!!
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This year I am going to try to save my own seeds. I never in a million years thought seed companies would run out.
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Many thanks for posting this. Baker Creek is my fav seed company and I didn't know this.
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I ordered from Richter's Seeds which is a very well known company, primarily for its herb seeds but it carries fruit and veggie as well. Most have an organic option. A good line of accessories, books, dried herbs, etc., too. https://www.richters.com/
I also ordered from West Coast Seeds. When I checked this morning there is now a note on the website saying processing orders might take a bit longer than usual. But they are still open and doing the best they can. Most (if not all) of their seed is organic and non-GMO. They also have a selection of garden accessories. https://www.westcoastseeds.com/
Another company that I have ordered from in the past is Dominion Seed House (a division of W.H. Perron). Their website says they are also open with some shipping delays due to extra orders. https://www.dominion-seed-house.com/en/
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@torey I am hoping Richter's is without complications as they are the company I want to order the rose seeds from...I can rarely find them elsewhere.
Thanks I'm going to order them asap.
Can't wait to check out the other two companies as well.
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greyfurball the form was issued by the company she worked for. It just did not have the employees name on it. Although I have decided not to post a copy of the letter since it is for specific companies and employees. I have heard there were folks she shared this with who made copies and tried to use it to get away with travel in her restricted area that did not work for any company considered essential. Not implying anyone here would do that. But since the letter was not mine to share, I will be honoring her request not to share it any further.
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i ordered my seeds from terrotorial seeds about 4 weeks ago and they still didn't come
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I am still waiting for some seeds ordered just before New Year's. Many seed providers, as noted above, are now even slower, due to COVID-19 and supply chain complications.
Saving/using seeds from growing plants, and starting plants from rooting ends of purchased produce is giving my container garden a head start meanwhile.
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It took about a week for botanical interests to ship out my seed order and they are normally much faster than that.
yes, I agree that saving seed this year would be a good idea, I’ll warn you that it’s habit forming though. Once you get started you find yourself with jars full of seed, enough seed to last you for years. If you have need of seeds to get your garden started this year try touching base with local gardeners that you know and see if any of them have seed they can help you with. we’re all in this together
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The mail seems to be running slower, as well. I guess they are taking more precautions and maybe short staffed in places. I'd estimate things are getting to me about 4 days later than usual... sometimes a full week.
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@judsoncarroll4 I too have noticed slower mail delivery.
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A resource that may come in handy for anyone looking for seed is the seed company map put out by Seedlinked. The map shows regional seed companies around the US, so you can find out if any are close to you. Anyway, I thought it might be of interest.
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@silvertipgrizz Yes, Richters is very good. They have good information on their website & their catalogue is always a delight to read through. They have some very unique offerings.
I like ordering seeds from William Dam (damseeds.ca). Their product is good, lots of seed per packet, never treated, lots of organic. Their shipping rates, at least for in Canada, is very good. They are my top choice for the majority of my seed order. @torey Did you ever hear of them?
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@LaurieLovesLearning Yes, I have ordered from William Dam in previous years. They were very good to deal with. I think the only reason I quit ordering from them was that I was ordering from several companies to get exactly what I wanted and the shipping was adding up. So I have kind of narrowed it down to West Coast and Richters. I am usually able to get to a large nursery in the spring to get any other seeds, but not this year.
I am concerned about the availability of transplants this year. One of the larger wholesale nurseries in BC had to shut down because one of the workers came down with COVID. We'll have to wait and see how that will affect the market. Also, all farmers markets here have been ordered not to sell anything except food products. So our market manager isn't sure about people selling transplants at the market. Its a gray area. Are food producing plants food? There is some discussion going on between a few markets trying to decide what is allowable under the guidelines the provincial government just issued. I know one market member who usually sells bedding plants, had put in a lot of tomatoes instead and now might not have a venue to sell them from. There also has been talk of a virtual market, although not quite sure what that will entail.
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