Quality affordable seeds are the backbone of every successful microgreen operation. I always say, “Good seeds can overcome bad environmental conditions, but good environmental conditions cannot compensate for bad seeds.” If you’re growing with low quality seeds, it won’t matter if you have the perfect watering regimen, air flow, temperature, and humidity levels. Buying your seeds from reputable sources is critical. Even then, you want to create a list of multiple suppliers in case one is out of stock or their supply of a certain variety is of poor quality. Lucky for you, I’ve done the leg work over the past four years. We grow 30 varieties at my farm, Piedmont Microgreens, and we source our seeds from 4-6 primary providers, with a few backups just in case. Since my farm is in Durham, NC, I only source seeds from North American suppliers. This article will focus on North American suppliers, but we’ll have another article for international companies.
| Company | Location | Percent of Sourcing | Domestic Shipping |
|---|---|---|---|
| True Leaf Market | Salt Lake City, UT | 79% | Free Shipping for Orders >$75.00 to Lower 48 States |
| Greener Harvest Seeds | Lafayette, LA | 1% | Free Shipping for Orders >$100.00 to Domestic U.S. |
| Seedway Seeds | Hall, NY | Backup | Not Mentioned |
| Mumm’s Seeds | Saskatchewan, Canada | 5% | Free Shipping for Orders >$40.00 w/in Canada or >$100.00 to U.S. Does NOT Apply to Bulk Orders |
| Sungrown Organics | California | 5% | Not Free, Order Dependent |
| Johnny’s Select Seeds | Maine | 10% | Free Shipping for Orders >$200.00 to Domestic U.S. |
| High Mowing Organics | Wolcott, VT | Backup | Free Shipping for Orders >$200.00 to Continental U.S. |
| Modern Grower | Boulder, CO | Backup | Free Shipping for Orders >$125.00 to Continental U.S. |
| Todd’s Seeds | Livonia, MI | Backup | Not Mentioned |
| Eden Brothers | Hendersonville, NC | Backup | Shipping Info |
| Urban Farmer | Wilmington, DE | Backup | Free Shipping for Orders >$200.00 to Continental U.S. |
| Harris Seeds | Rochester, NY | Backup | Free Shipping for Orders >$250.00 to Continental U.S. |
| Jaffe Brothers | New York | Backup | Shipping Info |
| Condor Seed Co. | Arizona | Backup |
“Percent of Sourcing” tells you how much of Piedmont Microgreens's seeds come from a particular supplier. As you can see, we get most of our seeds from True Leaf Market (TLM). TLM is a leading name in the industry for a good reason. They have the widest selection of seeds and their seeds are usually high quality. TLM offers some of the most affordable seeds on the market as well. We repeatedly source certain varieties from Johnny’s Select Seeds (JSS) because they are consistently cheaper than TLM or consistently in stock when TLM is out of stock. Those varieties include scarlet frills mustard, tendril peas, and field peas. We specifically buy our sunflower and cilantro seeds from Sungrown Organics (SGO). SGO grows and sells sprouts and microgreens using the same seeds they sell to other growers, which is always a good sign. You can’t buy seeds straight from their website. You need to reach out to their contact email and create a wholesale buyer account. Lastly, we specifically buy beet and sunflower seeds from Mumm’s in Canada. Mumm’s is the only place I trust for high-quality beet seeds. Mumm’s and SGO are the only places I trust for quality sunflower seeds. We should also give an honorable mention to Greener Harvest Seeds (GHS). GHS is a newer seed company started by a fellow microgreen farmer. They have steadily expanded their offerings, and I’ll go to them in a pinch. So far, they’ve proven they can be trusted. I know High Mowing Organics (HMO) is a trusted supplier for many market gardeners, but their selection is limited for microgreen seeds and their pricing isn’t as competitive. Seedway Seeds (SS) is another company I learned about at a CEA conference recently. I haven’t used their seeds yet, so I’ll have to report back.
There are, of course, other microgreen seed suppliers in North America besides those listed above. However, 99% of the online discussions focus on this list. I've grown my farm to 400+ trays per week with 30+ varieties by only sourcing from these brands. I've never had any major issues. If there are other suppliers you highly recommend, we want to hear about them! Let us know so we can improve our list.
Note: Microgreen seeds are not special seeds. Microgreen seeds and “regular” seeds are the same. Certain varieties are more conducive to high-density production that requires rapid germination and quick turnover, such as what is needed in microgreen production. Suppliers will identify these varieties and create a separate place on their website for them.
| Company | Location |
|---|---|
| Eden Brothers | Arden, NC |
| Everwilde Farms | Fallbrook, CA |
| Sungarden Seeds | Cookeville, TN |
| SeedsNow | New Jersey |
| Sproutman | Great Barrington, MA |
| Sprout People | Snohomish, WA |
| Todd’s Seeds | Snohomish, WA |
| Urban Farmer | Westfield, IN |
| Germina | Montréal, Quebec, Canada |
| Rainbow Seeds | Roachville, NB, Canada |
| The Incredible Seed | Bridgewater, NS, Canada |
| Sprout Master | Canada |
| West Coast Seeds | British Columbia, Canada |
Where to Buy Microgreen Seeds in Europe
Where to Buy Microgreen Seeds in Africa
Where to Buy Microgreen Seeds in Australia & New Zealand
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