How to Read a Seed Packet & Sourcing Seeds

Take a dive on all things seeds for spring garden planning: seed types, seed sources and seed starting. 

They start as tiny specks in your hand, laid under small amounts of soil. Just a few weeks later, these tiny seeds feed us and amaze us. We love them! 

Growing them has become an integral part of our year. I say “our” because colorful seed packets and tiny objects are close to gold for little hands. Seed starting is a family event. Some of the verbage and steps in seed starting can be complicated, so we are here to simplify.

The Back of the Seed Packet

Not all seed packets are created equal, and many forget key information that is needed to grow any plant. In our day, the missing information is thankfully one “google” away. When I am looking at a seed packet, this is the information I am looking for, and what I would search for if missing:

Germination: days from seed planted to emerged

Seed Depth: indicates how much soil to put above the seed when seed starting, or how deep to place the seed when direct sowing. If a seed says “surface sow”, it means it requires direct light to germinate.

Indications: special information for the seed such as chill time, scarification (scratching), or soaking that helps with germination.

Direct Sow or Start Inside Date: the sowing date will often refer to your “last frost date” and how many days prior it should be sowed. To learn more about your growing zone and your last frost date, read HERE. The packet will also recommend which is a better fit for each plant: transplant or direct sow.

Sunlight/ water requirements: Sun information is much more necessary for flowers. Most vegetables and herbs require full sun. But some plants are more drought tolerant, or water sensitive than others making watering information critical.

Days till harvest: Not as much of a necessity when planting, but good for garden planning and know when crops will be ready.

Spacing: When you’re direct sowing, you have to anticipate the size of the mature plant in relation to its neighbors. The seed packet can instruct you how far to space plants apart to allow for proper watering, circulation and the sharing of nutrients.

What is the Difference in Seeds?

Heirloom: saved seeds, passed through generations, preserving traits & flavors

Open Pollinated: plants that can produce seeds with identical characteristics to their parent plant, all heirloom seeds are open pollinated

GMO: genetically modified seeds, lab based to produce resistance to disease or pest, created with the genetic material of two species that could not naturally reproduce (ie bacteria + corn)

Hybrid: two plants bred to produce an offspring with desirable characteristics, often done in nature, (ie seedless watermelons)

Organic: no chemicals used in growing the parent plants, but can be hybrid or open-pollinated

Places to Source High Quality Seeds

When I have shopped for seeds, I want all the wonderful things: for them to be from a reputable source, that produce good fruit with all the growing information I need. Maybe most importantly, they need to be cost effective. Here are some of the seed companies I have personally used and appreciate:

True Leaf Market (non-GMO, hybrids, organics, heirlooms) 

• Cover crops, microgreens, bulbs, growing kits, supplies
• Seeds range from $2.50-5.00

Baker Creek Seeds (charitable giving, heirlooms, non-GMO)

• Plant starts, seeds
• Always free shipping
• Seeds range from $3.00-$4.00

Johnny’s Selected Seeds (non-GMO, certified organic, hybrid, heirloom, open pollinated, enhanced, pelleted, 

• Same day shipping
• All encompassing farm & distribution needs for vegetables & flowers
• Seeds range from $5.00-8.00, with pelleted, specialty or some hybrids costing more

Botanical Interests (heirloom, non-GMO, organics)

• Seeds range from $2.70-6.00

Eden Brothers (non-GMO, organics, heirlooms, rare breeds)

• Bulbs, plant starts, seeds, wildflower mixes
• Seeds range from $5.00-9.00

Territorial (non-GMO, open-pollinated, heirlooms)

• Fruits, vines, seeds, etc.
• Seeds range from $5.00-6.00

Hoss (non-GMO, heirlooms)

• Known for their garden tools, but also sell cover crops, micro greens, etc.
• Seeds range from $4.00-6.00

Urban Farmer (non-GMO, organics, heirlooms, hybrids)

• Wildflowers, houseplants, cover crops and supplies
• Seeds range from $3.00-5.00

How Do You Time Seed Starting?

1. Seedtime: this is a great online program for seeding management! You can plug in your growing information, and then add plants to a schedule. The program will assign the seed starting date, transplant, cultivation, and harvest all based on the plant type. This allows me to print of “task lists” for each week so I can juggle a variety of plants and their needs in batches. I have also appreciated how this program keeps my garden full by helping me time successions for high producing veggies & flowers. Overflow of good things from the garden helps me share the bounty and make some dollars to pay for the garden itself. It’s the little things!
2. Clothespin method: this is the most simple way to keep track of seeding! First, sort your seeds by their direct sow or seed start date (ie. the # of weeks out from the last frost date). Bundle like seeds together by week and clothespin them together with their label.
   •  (This would look like clothes pinning my tomato, jalapeno, bell pepper, aster and viola seeds together with a “8 week” label.) When we are 8 weeks away from our last frost date, I pull out my 8 week pin and seed the corresponding plants!
3. Excel Sheet: once the seed starting process is second nature, it makes sense to take a deep dive into documentation. You can track your past seasons on Seedtime, and repeat the same crops as the previous year. But, you can document the year on an excel sheet as well. The benefit of excel is having all of your information in one place. Aside from each plant’s seed starting information, you can document dates, harvests, and weather reactions.

Our 2025 Seed List