Seed Shopping on a Budget

I love saving seeds and using them year after year to grow my own vegetables, not just because it's free, but because I'm perpetuating a genetic line. And sometimes I get surprising results and hybridizations, which always makes me feel a bit like Gregor Mendel. But even saving seed, I always need to buy some seed, too. Some varieties I use, like Winterbor kale or Sungold cherry tomatoes, are hybrids, so I can't save their seed. Sometimes I just want to try something new.

When I do go shopping for seeds, I'm always surprised by the final bill. 20 or 30 packets of seeds at $4 each adds up fast! This year, I carefully checked across several catalogs for the lowest prices on seeds. I found that well established companies like Johnny's Selected Seeds, Territorial Seed Company, and Seeds of Change charged about a dollar more per packet. Now, one argument I've heard is that the amounts differ, so I also checked the amounts in the packets. Here's a comparison on some common seeds I priced. SoC = Seeds of Change, NGC = The Natural Gardening Company, SESE = Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

Seed Variety	Johnny's	SoC	NGC	Territorial	SESE
Arugula (Roquette)	$3.95 (500 seeds)	---	---	$2.80 (1g (~660 seeds))	$2.25 (1g (~660 seeds))
Chioggia Beet	3.95 (350 seeds)	---	---	3.85 (5g (~385 seeds))	2.50 (3g (~230 seeds))
Oregon Giant Peas	3.65 (250 seeds)	$3.49 (~50 seeds)	$2.75 (125 seeds)	2.05 (1oz)	2.50 (28 g)
Garlic Chives	3.65 (200 seeds)	3.49 (200 seeds)	2.50 (225 seeds)	2.35 (225 seeds)	2.25 (175 seeds)
Veronica Cauliflower	8.95 (100 seeds)	3.49 (50 seeds)	4.50 (25 seeds)	4.30 (25 seeds)	---

Quantity can matter. If I'm planning to plant a lot of beets, buying 5g from Territorial Seeds makes better financial sense than 3g at Southern Exposure (in this case, only SESE has organic seed, so I'll buy there). But I really, really do not need a ton of garlic chive seeds. I fact, I want about five. So buying the minimum amount for the minimum price from SESE is the clever plan. And why on earth would I pay nine bucks for twenty times as much Veronica seed as I need?

So I've done my shopping and made my choices. More on that when I can figure out how to get it from csv format to HTML without breaking Blogger.