Midwest Regional Seed Buying Guide
Anyone who thinks gardening begins in the spring and ends in the fall is missing the best part of the whole year; for gardening begins in January with the dream. - Josephine Nuese
It’s that time of year to start rummaging through your old seed packets and flipping through various seed catalogs to see what you want to grow this season. As you’re getting your garden plans together, we encourage you to buy from local and regional seed providers.
When your seeds are grown and saved from a local source, they become more adapted to that area's specific microclimate. Each season the plants are grown and seeds are saved in the same region improves how well that varity's future plants grow in those specific condidtions. Eventually, the plants can (nearly) deal with whatever weather the midwest feels like throwing at it!
Check out some of our suggested local and regional seed providers below, AND learn about where you can access some free seeds at the end of the article. Happy seed hunting!
Regional Seed Providers
Meadowlark Hearth Farms
Scottsbluff, Nebraska | Website | Facebook
Meadowlark Hearth is a whole farm ecological seed initiative. They carry a wide variety of vegetable seeds. All seeds are open-pollinated and certified organic. Fun fact: we source the annual Seed of The Year from Meadowlark Hearth every year!
Mullein Hill Farms
Mullein Hill Farm is located in the Loess Hills of Iowa. The farm is dedicated to preserving native prairie plants and weaving interconnectedness between humans and plant species. They specialize in native pollinator plants and medicinal herb seeds.
Buffalo Seed Company
Shawnee, Kansas | Website | Facebook
The Buffalo Seed Company supplies growers in the Midwest with locally adapting horticulture and crop seeds to increase the resiliency and sustainability of our local food systems. They have lots of unique legumes, herbs, and flowers.
Seed Savers Exchange
Decorah, Iowa |