Comments regarding Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co.

Ordered thrice from Baker. Good communication when I have a question, well laid out website & pretty solid germination rates are why I shop here.

I have ordered from them for a few years. Good germination rates, accurate orders, fast deliveries.

Ordered 11 packs of seeds. $31 free shipping 2/28/2021. Order was received in 3 days with tracking. So far the seeds/plants are doing fine. Would order from them again.

I have ordered many seeds from Baker Creek but most have poor germination rates. I will go back to local purchase for seeds.
This year I ordered Fall Gold and Glencoe Thornless Raspberries. I received them in good time. The plants were barely rooted plugs. The special shipping bags are not special. Three out of 5 plugs were not alive. Why are you shipping plugs? For the cost, the plants should be at least rooted plants. Not fresh out of the plug trays.
I requested replacements which arrived dried out, leafless and plants dumped out of the bags.
Will not be using Baker Creek again
I also did not appreciate customer service person Leah's snark in the emails. I understand it can be difficult during a busy shipping season but we still need to enforce "filters" on our comments to others.

"On Apr 22, 2021 7:48 AM, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. responded with:

We are so sorry to hear you had trouble with our products. We always germ test all lots of seed before we offer them for sale, but there are many things that can happen to the seed after it leaves our warehouse that can affect germination, including irradiation by the postal service. This is one reason why we offer a 2 year guarantee on our products. I do see that you emailed us about the plants you received, and Leah immediately replaced those for you. When you wrote back that you were not happy with the size of the replacements, she apologized and issued you a refund for them. "I am sorry you are disappointed. We try to give a complete description on our website so that customers can be informed consumers.
I have refunded the cost of your order back to you at this time.
Have a good day." "

Excellent seeds and service. Fast shipping even during the covid situation. Amazing selection of seeds including some very hard to find varieties.

Wonderful people and excited about adding them to our Homestead Garden show and podcast. Their seed product will be a wonderful addition and excited to see it enjoyed by our community and family. #MagnoliaCreationandHomestead #FarmFreshParenthoodPodcast
MAIN WEBPAGE: [HYPERLINK@linktr.ee]

Posted on February 10, 2020, updated April 11, 2021
Woo Hoo! Seeds came today! This is only my second year ordering from them, but most did well last year & those that didn't did do well for a friend I shared with, so I think I may not have planted them in the best location-my mistake! Haven't planted the seeds that I saved from last year yet, so I can't comment on that yet. Love the catalog-My camera fed me for a few years & I know you're not buying pretty pictures, but I love the pics of the veggies. Someone has a good eye! Free shipping-Thank You! I wanted to place my major spring order, but I know I'll need something later & won't hesitate to place another order since I won't have to spend $4 shipping for a $3 package of seeds! Customer service-I asked for gift certificates for the holidays & receieved WAY more than my garden can grow in one season (such a problem-right?) so I called to see if they are good for more than a year (answer-yes!) I spoke to a very helpful person. Trying really different stuff this year-we're experimenting with more oriental veggies. So far a positive experience!

Although they had to temporarily shut down their site a few times I got my order in. My shipment came in about a week and a half. I ended up making a second order too. There was such a huge selection of black flowers I couldn't help myself.Also a shout out, thank you for the free packet of dinosaur kale. It looks really cool and can't wait to see what it looks like.The seeds look good and plentiful. I wintersowed many of them and will start some indoors this week in case I have any failure as it's my first time wintersowing and it could be a me thing.

In spite of the high demand and impact that Covid-19 has placed on Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds' company, I received my order (including free gifts) in less than seven days. However, there was one packet of seeds missing. I sent them an email and Leah apologized for the oversight and on that same day I received a shipment confirmation email for the missing packet of seeds. Within seven days, I received two packets of the missing seeds as well as a free gift. I am so grateful to be able to procure my seeds from a company with such an impeccable reputation.

Posted on March 9, 2021, updated March 9, 2021
I have both ordered online and purchased at their seed stores many times in the last five years and am always satisfied. I've gone from beginner gardener to an experienced one with their seeds. My first tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, watermelons... in fact, almost every plant I've grown has come from Baker Creek. I'm not sure I'd be the gardener I am today without this company. I love the bizarre and interesting varieties they offer, the reliability of germination, and the reasonable prices (free shipping? Yes, please!). I recently have taken to purchasing a few seeds here and there so I have something to help cheer the winter blues, makes checking the mail exciting. Thank you, Baker Creek! As for the one silly negative review, I'm certain he didn't bother checking their website before complaining, because all of their "missing" varieties are still available online, they just don't have room to put every variety in their already huge, free catalog. Seems like their complaint was directed at someone's opinion who isn't even affiliated with the company. People will whine about anything these days. Ignore that ridiculous review and order your seeds from Baker Creek. You'll be glad you did!

I was looking for some particular seeds and I found them on the Baker Creek website. The ordering was easy and I was pleased and surprised to find that there was no shipping charge. The seeds arrived promptly. I was was so please with the service at Baker Creek that have already placed a second order.

This was my first year ordering from Baker Creek and it was a good experience. I intended to just fill in a couple of varieties I couldn't find elsewhere, but ended up adding a couple of additional interesting looking vegetables. The website said it could take up to 30 days for them to process and deliver the order because of Covid-related issues, but I'm in New England and my seeds arrived 8 days after I ordered them. Good service.

I have ordered seeds from Baker Creek for many years and never had any issues. This year, they made one small mistake on my order. I sent off a quick email with the seed packet I was missing. Due to COVID, it took them a little bit longer to get back to me. I expected this. Once they did, they said it will be taken care of. I got my missed seeds today. I can't wait to take my kids and visit their farm in Missouri one day soon.
Great company, great customer service, great products.

This is the second year that I have ordered from Baker creek and I am very pleased. They have the seeds we needed, plus a few new ones we decided to try this year and the shipping was expedient. We received our order within a week. Their website is top notch, the You Tube videos are great as is the mail order catalog.
Baker Creek is our first and only go to seed company.

Love the selection and variety of seeds, as a novice gardener I especially like that each seed variety had a complete description including ease of growing, yield and customer ratings. It was really hard to limit myself choosing seeds! My order arrived quickly despite current USPS shipping delays and it was well packaged (and included a free seed packet, mine was Tomato). Will definitely be ordering again!

I have ordered from Baker Creek a few times and have had much success with their seeds. I really like the variety offered. Their catalog is gorgeous! Free shipping and free seed packs keep me coming back. Thanks to seed companies like Baker Creek I have a wonderful garden sanctuary and no lawn!

I have had two great experiences with Baker Creek Heirloom Seed company. I originially came across them while searching for sweet banana peppers, and found they also carry many kinds of really interesting seeds. There is Kalugeritsa pepper from Macedonia and Thousandhead Kale from England. Their seeds are beautifully packaged and usually arrive before expected. Orders include a free packet of seeds that seem to complement the seeds in your order, seeds that you will actually want to plant. So what's not to like? I will order from them every year!

I placed my 2021 seed order, understanding that there might be a delay in shipping due to all the postal slowdowns and other things going on. To my utter surprise, my order arrived just 4 days later! And they included a free package of Kale seeds. This was the first time I've ordered from Baker Creek, but it won't be the last. I really appreciate that they have free shipping.

Posted on March 7, 2018, updated January 29, 2021
I order from various seed companies each year. I start thousands of vegetable and flower seedlings under lights each year. I placed three orders this year with Baker Creek. I called and talked to their customer service on one occasion recently. They couldn't have been more pleasant. All my orders arrived within a couple of weeks.

I want to say it is disgusting to read the rude, vicious, and almost hysterical comments some people make when leaving negative reviews.

First of all, people with complaints should CALL THE COMPANY FIRST. Don't rely only on emails. If you are still unhappy and without a resolution, THEN they should post the facts here and their rating. NO ONE should jump to wild conclusions and accuse a company of being a cheater, liar, or deliberately fraudulent.

All companies post their shipping costs and no one is twisting your arm to force you to buy from a company whose shipping costs you don't like. If you don't like it, then don't order.

We received our order very quickly. This was our first order with them and I am looking forward to seeing how the seeds grow. They have some very interesting varieties.

I was amazed how quick and efficient their service is! A wonderful job my seeds arrived promptly and are beautiful! Thank you so much!!

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds is a gem. They have an incredible offering of rare and heirloom vegetables as well as flowers and fruit. They are beyond committed to saving and sharing heirlooms and getting them in the hands of everyone. As a bonus, their catalogues are absolutely stunning and beyond inspiring. Though they may make it look easy, one cannot begin to imagine their commitment and dedication to preserving heirlooms in an environmentally friendly manner. Also, I have ordered seeds and plants numerous times and have never had a bad experience - always professional and timely.

I've ordered from Baker Creek a few times now, and continue to be delighted with the selection, value, germination, and speed of delivery.

This year, I'm even teaching young gardeners how to start from seeds, and we plan to use Baker Creek's tomato varieties as a starting point.

Amazing variety. Good value (especially if you save seeds at all) and unique selections that I haven't been able to find anywhere else. Not only will I order again, but I'll keep them at the top of my list to suggest to others to order from as well.

In ordered several times from Baker Creek. The whole experience was positive - from order processing and delivery to seed quality. I value wide range of seeds they carry.

However I'm not excited with free shipping policy they offer for North America regardless of order value.

First, this ist reflected in price of a single pack, as they calcuted / included shipping & handling cost in the price of goods.

Second, it is not environmental friendly to ship so many orders and this policy clearly contributes to increased nr of orders being shipped out.

Third, it is clear that they struggle to manage increased Nr of shipments as they need do close down Web site for several days already several times.

This increased Nr of small value orders are a big burden for the environment and employees and I see no reason to encourage this trend of "one pack orders" by offering free shippment regardless of order value.

I ordered seeds online. The seeds arrived in a week. I was delighted with my free seeds. This is the second year I've ordered from them and I will order again in t h e future.

Posted on November 23, 2020, updated November 27, 2020
Baker Creek website has many "glitches" in it. Will not let me log in, does not send me an email to create a new password. I emailed the company 3 weeks ago, to either remove my account info, and I will create a new account, or perhaps fix what is wrong on their end. I have tried 3 times to place an order, and it will not go through. I tried using a different browser, same issues happened. I tried calling the company telephone number and got a useless recording, to send them an email, which they never replied to. I will not be ordering any seeds from Baker Creek....I am seeing comments from other customers, the same issues are happening to them also. A quick way for a business to down the tubes real fast.

"On Nov 24, 2020 12:04 PM, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. responded with:

We're sorry to hear you've had trouble with our website! Our phones are currently down, as we have a large number of our customer care team working from home, so we do not have enough people on site to run the phones. We do have a large number of people working on responding to emails, it may be that we did not receive yours. If you will email lisa@rareseeds.com I will work on getting your issues dealt with as quickly as possible.
"

I have placed several orders with Baker Creek in the last three months and have been very happy with their service and selection. My recent email was responded to the next day. My last order was placed on 11/12/20, through their website, with no issues.

I will definitely be doing business with them again in the future!!

I love Baker. Their catalog is wonderful. I look forward to purchasing the expanded catalog every year. I have always been pleased with their customer service and the quality of their seeds. This would be a great review, except for their website.

Their website is a point of great frustration every time I go onto the site, or try to. At first, I thought it was a chrome issue but it's an error in every browser I have tried. This is a big deal for a busy business and I am looking seriously for the first time for another go-to seed vendor.

"On Nov 24, 2020 12:05 PM, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. responded with:

We're sorry to hear you had trouble with our website! Please email us and let us know what the issues are, so we can have a tech look into them. Our email is seeds@rareseeds.com"

Baker Creek is one of my favorite seed companies. The germination rates are wonderful, their selection is phenomenal, and every order comes with free shipping and at least one free pack of seeds. They will always be one of my go-to seed companies!

I love this company for rare finds, greens, beans and corn!! They give back so much to the global gardening community through their offerings, the heirloom expo and donating directly to groups/businesses promoting heirloom gardening. On June 10th, they donated all their sales to organizations ( and my order arrived FAST). A few years ago, they allowed me to load two trucks full of hundreds of pounds of winter squashes for our north country food bank after the heirloom expo. The rest went to the local Sonoma County food bank.
As a professional gardener and farmer for over 25 years, I have tried lots of seeds! My experience with Baker Creek for the past ten years has ranged from pleased to astounded.

This is my go to place for seeds!

Overall I'm very satisfied. Even I got the warning before I placed my order that they are gonna be slow because of COVID, it only took 1 weeks for they to show up in my mail box. Germination rate is very high.

Ordered giant spinach, cylinder beets, blue tomatoes, four o'clock, Chinese radishes( I'm so excited to find those in Bakercreek, I'm from China and my grandma had the exact same kind radishes when I was little) , sweet alyssum, Okra, west indian burr gherkin cucumber, lemon basil and salpiglossis.
Radishes, sweet alyssum, blue tomatoes, four o'clock, salpiglossis, west indian cucumber, basil sweet alyssum and okra germination rate is almost 100%. I directly sowed giant spinach and cylinder beets in the garden. Germination rate is average, I think this is my garden soils and caring problem.

My seedlings are still growing, shared some seedlings with my neighbor. We are waiting for the surprise!!

Overall, I'm very happy with baker creek.

I placed my first order this year. I received it promptly even while others were suffering unannounced shipping delays. First set of seeds are starting to sprout. So far, very pleased with my first order.

I've ordered seed multiple times from this company, with mixed results. The heirloom varieties tend to be interesting, but in some cases they're over-hyped and do not perform as well as claimed in the catalog copy. Baker Creek has also cut back on some of its vegetable lines, including eggplant.

More disturbingly, Baker Creek has tried to give a platform to people with dubious agendas. They've invited Cliven Bundy and RFK Jr. to speak at their spring festival. RFK Jr. has compared vaccination to the Holocaust and is prominent in antivax circles. Apparently his fervent and misguided opposition to GMOs was enough for Baker Creek to overlook his dangerous antivaccine advocacy, and Bundy's actions were approved of (or ignored) because he grows heirloom melons (!).

There are plenty of other sources of heirloom seed (like J.L. Hudson Seeds) that I will be using in the future instead of Baker Creek.

"On May 11, 2020 7:51 AM, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. responded with:

We're sorry to hear you feel that way. We always germ test our seeds before offering them for sale, and we offer a 2 year satisfaction guaranteed on all of our products. We did offer a bit of a smaller variety of seeds this year for several reasons, including eggplant, though we do still carry 24 varieties. As for speakers invited to speak at our events, we try to look for information that would help our customers with gardening, and that is what we ask them to speak on."

I have ordered 3 times from Baker Heirloom and have been thoroughly impressed each time. Great variety of interesting heirloom seeds with speedy delivery!

Most of my garden seed was ordered back in January, but, I forgot a few things, figuring that I’d pick them up at my local garden supply. Now that we are deep into the Covid19 pandemic that isn’t a choice for me. Six days ago I placed a seed order from Baker Creek, expecting it to arrive too late for spring planting. Low and behold my spinach and snap peas came today and included a pack of free cosmos. Under extremely difficult circumstances Baker Creek came through with flying colors! Thank you

Baker Creek was the first seed specialty company I ever bought from 9 years ago. Normally it was Wal-Mart. I was at first upset because there wasn't many seeds for the price I paid in my opinion. I grumbled and planted like I normally would, several seeds per hole. Not long after I was shocked. Almost every single seed sprouted. I had 5 or more corn stalks coming out of every spot! They were gingerly spread out and most survived but it was like that through my whole garden! I saved seeds from everything that grew. The only things that didn't was from my own ignorance of the growing needs. I haven't ordered in a couple years and decided I wanted to add to my varieties this year. Right before corona was here I placed my order. Kept waiting, was getting garden itchy waiting to get my hands on shiny new seed packs. Then learned they were down on staffing, too. Ok, I can wait. Got them today! And because of the wonderful, committed to customer service company they are, they sent me several packs of free seeds! For MY inconvenience. It didn't inconvenience me at all. So, thank you for the beautiful extra seeds, and thank you for your commitment to heirloom varieties, that's how you got me the first time. Would highly encourage everyone to buy from them

I've bought quite a big variety of Baker Creek's seeds. I have to say it's truly amazing. Quality, speed, customer service... You can't go wrong buying heirloom seeds from them; from tomates to beans it all meets the expected standard.

I strongly recommend going though their extensive and rich catalogue, you'll be amazed.

Fast delivery. Great germination rates. Wide variety of unusual plants. Amount of seeds (and consequently the overall price) is less than some other seed categories -- which makes it a good source for buying seeds to test and to give as presents.