Comments regarding Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co.

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.

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!!

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 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.

I was very impressed with the amazing variety of seeds in The Whole Seed Catalog which my wife gave me for Christmas. I always like trying something different in my garden and found many interesting new seeds to order and am looking forward to ordering others in the future. I've been buying all my garden seeds at a farm store for years and have only ordered any seeds once before (sweet corn from a company that shall remain nameless) and was very disappointed that it took a month for the seeds to arrive, putting me 2 weeks behind in planting. I was extremely pleased that my seeds from Baker Creek arrived less than a week after I ordered! Not only that, but the prices are lower than the other company I ordered from, there is no charge for shipping, they came in attractive packets with descriptions and instructions on the back, and I received a few packets of free seeds as a thank-you! I am anxious to see how the seeds will grow. I am starting a couple types inside, but the rest I'll have to wait about 3 months when I plant them directly in the garden to find out.

There is a wonderful selection of uncommon seeds as well as standard offerings, fair prices, more than fair shipping costs (free), free seeds included with every order, and fast answer time if one writes with a question or problem. Seed selection does change over time. Seeds from Baker Creek have a good germination rate, even after a few years, and the plants grow well in my zone 5 garden. Give these people a try if you have not done so already.

I've ordered from them at least 10 times in the last 8 years, nearly all seeds but a few starts and slips. Shipping is fast, seed is productive, everything is high-quality. I've had only one dead seed packet in that time, and it was a real fluke (ordered 3 seed packets of a Peruvian chili; 2 had 75% germination; 1 had 0%). The only "negative" I can say about this company is that they describe everything they sell in very positive terms, and some of their descriptions turn out to be overly optimistic...some seeds are rare for a good reason.

My go to source for everything as long as they have it. I have spent hundreds on their seeds and have no complaints. They have great customer service, as you will see if you look at any negative reviews they get, they fix it.

I've rarely had issue with anything from them, and the one thing that didn't grow well was a difficult to germinate plant that I didn't baby enough. They also send out tones of freebies. In my most recent order they sent me more than they even listed, I was supposed to get 3 varieties and they sent 5!

Great company.

I only started ordering from Baker Creek this winter, but they are fast becoming my favorite. 1. Their seeds seem to germinate faster and more completely than whatever else is starting alongside them. 2. The seed counts always seem to be ample.

3. Free shipping! Realize you forgot something? No problem -- even one packet ships free.

This is my first experience with Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, but I am so ready to start them, both inside and also for direct sowing in the spring. Unfortunately, I will have to wait a month or two to do that. I asked for and received them as gifts from Santa. Since I have not had a chance to plant yet, I cannot give a review of germination and if the plants live up to their promise.

I am surprised at the prices of the seeds - very reasonable - and they arrived quickly and well-packaged in a beautiful padded bag.

Room for improvement: One thing was both a positive and a neutral: on the one hand, I received TWO free packets of seeds, which was a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, one of the packets was a duplicate of one in my order. I'm thrilled to try the free dark purple opal basil, but since I ordered cilantro, the free cilantro pack is a mixed blessing, especially since it requires cool conditions and I live in a hotter climate with brutal summer temperatures. It was free, so I can't really complain, but something different (like the basil) would have multiplied the excitement factor. If the free seeds are selected randomly, it's the luck of the draw; if they are chosen by someone filling the order, more care could be taken when including a free packet. Again, it is free, and I appreciate it. I will share with a friend. Also, I wish there were more information in the catalog and on the seed packages. This is not a huge deal because I can research planting specifics on the Internet. If most of the company's customers are experienced gardeners who already know this, I see why they might want to spend the limited space allotted to describe each plant, building up the wow factor.

If I have a good germination rate and at least 50% of my plants live and produce, I will be happy and a repeat customer. I am so excited about this purchase, it is all I can do to keep from ordering the 25 packet heirloom seed collection on page 145. I would have ordered it already but am afraid it might contain duplicates of the twelve packages I just received. The product description does not provide a list. Maybe the list is random or varies depending upon seeds in stock, so the selection varies?

I will not bore you by mentioning everything I ordered, but the SAXA 2 radishes (page 78) mature in 18 days! That is amazing. If all these heirloom seeds live up to their reputation, I will be asking for them for every birthday, anniversary, Christmas, and any other holiday that can conceivably elicit a gift from now until I am no longer able to tend a garden.

I almost forgot to mention: I totally appreciate that Baker Creek offers free shipping. That is value added to my already awesome purchase. That is the equivalent of another package of free seeds! Thank you Baker Creek.

My only complaint about Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (rareseeds.com) is that their catalog is too tempting. Every year I say I have enough and then I look in the catalog and I'm lost... So many new and unusual things to try. I can't just buy one, it's worse than Lay's potato chips.

Really no complaints here. Ease of ordering, shipping, communication are all good. Really wish I could get to one of the fairs they advertise.

I do not place a lot of orders, as my garden is small and I save my own seed from year to year, but when I do get new seed Baker Creek is my first go-to. Great variety, very prompt service, and with free shipping they are competitive with better seed offered at retail garden shops. Their seeds have generally performed well, with robust plants and good harvest. Had poor germination once and e-mailed them about it with the thought they might like to check out the seed lot, not really expecting anything back, but lo and behold, they sent along with their apologies a duplicate order with a pack of free seeds to boot. That second lot exceeded all expectations. I also like their company story and progressive attitude.

Very good seeds that grow into beautiful plants. Shipping and delivery is very prompt and typically earlier than estimated. They also include a free seed pack with every order, adding more the more seeds you buy. Affordable seeds that are great for sustainable farming/gardening because they're all open pollinated and the seeds are savable.

Fast shipping A+++++

Very pleased with my purchase of tissue cultured fig plants from Baker Creek. The price is fantastic and each plant is actually bigger than I anticipated. While shipping takes 2 weeks to process, customer service was very helpful in answering my questions.

Free shipping for everything in 2019, woohoo!