Seed Catalogs – How to Get Them for Free

When I think about starting my garden for the coming year, it always starts with the dreaming of what it is going to look like and what it will have in it. The ultimate place to start this dreaming is right on my couch with a cozy blanket, a mug of something warm, and a nice stack of seed catalogs. Read on to find out how to get yours for free.

When I was a beginning gardener, I didn’t think about gardening in the winter. I usually started thinking about the planting season when I saw plants arrive at the local stores. That’s because I didn’t yet know about the magic of the seed catalog and what it can do to jumpstart your garden dreaming in the long winter months. And I certainly didn’t know I could get seed catalogs for free.

Years later, when I received my first seed catalog from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, I was giddy with excitement. It was beautiful, full of amazing varieties of plants I had never seen, and it came to me free in the mail! What? I couldn’t believe my good luck.

That was the beginning of my winter garden planning and searching out other seed catalogs. Since then, I have found that there are many other catalogs that I can receive in the mail or download to my computer.

My Criteria for Seed Catalogs

I am going to list the companies that I enjoy receiving free catalogs from. There are so many more than I am going to list, but first I will tell you my criteria for the ones I ask for.

Companies that sell certified nonGMO seeds, organic seeds, and also a great variety of heirloom are my top requests. These are three things that I hold onto as important when planting in my garden.

Normal gardeners can’t even get GMO seeds and companies that sell them only sell to farmers in big quantities. But they are not natural and the health consequences are unknown. I try to buy organic seeds just as I purchase organic produce in the stores.

However, the heirloom varieties are what I really gravitate towards. I love the stories behind them and the fact that they are more rare and need more home gardeners to plant them for their varieties to stay around.

There is probably a whole lot more I can say on this topic, but I will stop there. Now you know why the catalogs made my list and why others did not.

Seed Catalogs In the Mail

1. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds is where it all started for me. They have a beautiful and original catalog full of heirloom varieties, many of which they have brought into the spotlight for the first time. They have a great story, test gardens in multiple states, and a few festivals you can also read about in the front of the catalog. The best part is that every single variety has a full color photograph. Plus they are offering free shipping for any size order. Other companies do not do this!
   
2. Johnny’s Selected Seeds – This catalog is so informative! There are so many charts and information on germination, sizes of seeds and plants, and growing tips. Johnny’s sells to the home gardener and larger farms so they have options to buy large quantities of seeds. Online version also available.
   
3. High Mowing Organic Seeds – I am in love with this catalog. High Mowing seeds are 100% organic and nonGMO. They have a great free shipping deal with orders over $10 so you can try out just a few packets of seeds your first time. But back to the catalog, they have a full color photograph for each seed listed, which I love. The catalog is also full of great information sprinkled throughout the pages. Highly recommend this one. Online download also available.
   
4. Seed Savers Exchange – I haven’t gotten mine yet in the mail, but am waiting to see what in in this non-profit company‘s catalog. They also have a section on their website to exchange seeds, which is exciting.
   
5. Botanical Interests – What a beautiful and informative catalog with a mix of photographs and sketches. They ship their catalogs out in January, but if you miss it, they have a very easy to use digital download you can use. Not as many organic options, but they are 100% nonGMO seed. Their seed packets are one of my faves because they have so much information on them (inside too).
   
6. Territorial Seed Company – I am only seeing the option for a snail mail catalog. Since I haven’t gotten mine yet, I am not sure what I will find. But I am excited to see what it is like. I do know that they offer seeds in various sizes of packets, which I do like.
   
7. PineTree Garden Seeds – Looks like these guys send their catalog out in November. I might have missed it this year, but I did glance at the online version. It is pretty straight forward with a color photograph of each of their seed offerings. They have a large selection and their prices seem pretty low.
   
8. Adaptive Seeds – I have not gotten my catalog from this company yet. I did notice when I peaked at the online version from last year that there are not very many photographs or sketches to show the types of seeds carried. Some may not mind this, but I prefer the visual.
   
9. Annie’s Heirloom Seeds – All of Annie’s seeds are at least 50 years old heirloom, nonGMO, and they also have a large variety of organic. You can request the catalog any time of the year or also download it to your computer.
   
10. Kitazawa Seed Co – Kitazawa is the oldest retail seed company to supply oriental vegetable seeds. They are all nonGMO and their seed catalog has a large variety. You can also get a digital download.
    
11. Seeds from Italy – These Italian seeds are untreated, most are open-pollinated, and many are certified organic. The catalog has nice full color pictures of all the seeds and also includes many other Italian garden and kitchen tools. You can download the catalog while waiting for yours to arrive.
    
12. Select Seeds – What garden is complete without flowers? This beautiful print and downloadable catalog specializes in heirloom flowers, fragrant flowers, open-pollinated annuals, bee-friendly flower seeds and plants, flowering vines, and rare annuals and perennials.
    
13. Southern Exposure Seed Exchange – This company specializes in heirloom seeds from the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. They have about 60% of their stock organic and also from small local farms. They have a nonGMO promise and support organic gardening, sustainable agriculture, and seed saving. Their catalog has color photographs of most if not all seeds listed and can also be downloaded.
    
14. Vermont Bean Seed Company – I love how many bean varieties this company has! Right up my alley. They have a large selection on heirloom and do not sell GMO seeds. Their catalog can be ordered for free or downloaded. They also have color photographs for each seed sold.
    
15. Wood Prairie Farm – This is an all organic small family farm in Maine that sells only their own seeds, specializing in certified seed potatoes. I have loved growing the potatoes I have gotten from them.

Seed Catalogs you Can Download

While I definitely prefer a glossy magazine to flip through, dog-ear, and pick up again and again, there are many companies that have great downloadable versions of a seed catalog that are worth mentioning.

1. Grow Organic.com – I love how there are hand sketches for each seed in the downloads. There are different downloads for several categories such as fall planting, bare roots, seed catalogues. I noticed, for example, that the fall planting had so much info on garlic and would be a good resource. Seeds are 100% organic and nonGMO.
   
2. Botanical Interests – see above – they have both the online download and the mail version of the catalogue. This one seems to have the easiest to use online catalogue I have found.
   
3. Seeds of Change – An entire catalog of organic seeds with full color pictures of each seed offered. This company actually is a seed and food company. You have probably seen many of their products in the store, from the 90 second rice and grain packets to marinades.

Other Plant Catalogs

1. Burnt Ridge Nursery and Orchards – Not selling seeds here, but they do send out a catalog for trees, vines, and shrubs that fruit or have nuts. Perfect for working on that winter garden planning for the long term.
   
2. Dixondale Farms – This farm sells onions, leeks, and shallot sets. I cannot find anything about organic, and I am pretty sure they do not grow organically. But I wanted to add them to my list as a resource for their vast knowledge of what they carry.
   
3. Strictly Medicinal Seeds – This company focuses on organic, open-pollinated and GMO-Free fall planted vegetable and medicinal herb seeds, live roots of forest medicinals, trees, shrubs and vines. Their black and white catalog is informational for those looking to learn about medicinal herbs. Also has a downloadable version.
   
4. Raintree Nursery – Oh man, am I excited for this one to come! I already mentioned Raintree Nursery in my popular blog post about Planning for a Homestead Orchard, but I didn’t realize they had a printed catalog. It contains all kinds of berries and their orchard trees. I am going to be using this to plan out the berries to add to the future homestead.
   
5. Stark Bro’s – Though I haven’t ordered this one yet, I am excited to get it. I also mentioned Stark Bro’s in my blog post on Planning for a Homestead Orchard. I think having the paper copy is really helpful in that planning. It is $5 to get the copy in the mail, or you can download it for free from the site.

Get to that Garden Dreaming

I hope you get some of these catalogs requested. Opening your mailbox to one will put a smile on your face, and help you start dreaming for your garden this next year.

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