How to Get Free Seeds for Your Garden
Learn how to score free fruit, vegetable, tree, and flower seeds for your home garden.
Want to save money on groceries? Eat healthier? Relieve stress? Would you also like to do it all for free? Then starting your own garden may just hold the key. Whether you're an avid gardener or a novice, I'll walk you through all the ways you can get free seeds to start your own garden or build on your existing one.
1. Visit a Seed Library
Seed Libraries collect and store seeds to share them with members of the community for free. They are a valuable resource for finding free vegetable seeds, fruit seeds, herb seeds, tree seeds, and flower seeds from other local gardeners. Check with your local libraries, gardening centers, food pantries, food banks, community centers, seed exchange groups, and local gardening groups. Do a quick Google search for local seed libraries to help you find locations in your area. After your plants start growing, collect seeds from them and donate those seeds back to the seed libraries to help other gardeners continue to grow their own plants for free. To get started just search "seed libraries" + your state or county to find the ones near you.
2. Check Your Own Kitchen!
Your kitchen holds one of the best-kept free seeds secrets. It has almost everything you need to be your own private grocery store. Every time you buy produce (tomatoes, blueberries, squash, lemons, cucumbers etc.), be sure to save the seeds and plant them in your yard or a pot and start growing your own fruits and vegetables. It doesn't have to just be seeds though. Did you know when you cut the top off of a pineapple you can put it in some dirt, and it will grow a plant that will give you another pineapple? How cool is that? This trick works for a variety of fruits & vegetables, so next time you're going to throw out those scraps - plant them instead. Pretty soon you won't have to buy those items, and your pocketbook will thank you.
3. Keep a Lookout for Dried Flowers at Gardening Centers
Have you ever walked around your local gardening center and seen the dead, dried flowers on the plants? Did you know, there is a wealth of free seeds inside of each one? Just pop off the whole dried flower head and once you are home you can get the seeds out or just plant the whole thing. You'll be surprised how many gorgeous flowers and herbs you can get this way. Most stores don't even mind you doing it and it's totally free!
Looking for more free stuff? Check out our huge list of freebies and free samples!
4. Ask Your Friends & Neighbors
A huge resource for scoring free seeds is your friends and neighbors. Does one of your neighbors have a beautiful garden or are they always working in their yard? Stop by and chat them up. Ask them about their plants, tips for new gardeners, how to keep pests from eating your plants, and of course, if they have any seeds, seed packs, or cuttings they could share with you. You may find a wealth of knowledge and free seeds from a fellow gardener who is only a stone's throw away from your own home. Then, when your plants start producing you can share your fruits, vegetables, herbs, and seeds as a way of saying thank you.
5. Sign Up for Gardening Catalogs
Another method for getting free seed packs is by signing up for gardening catalogs. The catalogs don't always include free seeds, but sometimes you'll find a surprise stuck in between the pages of the catalog - an entire pack of free seeds. It's free to sign up to receive the catalogs and you'll also score a wide range of information and tips inside of each catalog (as well as plants you can order) that can aid you in your journey through gardening.
Some of these catalogs include:
- Gurney's
- Spring Hill Nurseries
- Rare Seeds
- Johnny's Selected Seeds
- Botanical Interests
- Annie's Heirloom Seeds
- Harris Seeds
- Burnt Ridge Nursery & Orchards
- Sow True Seed
- Burpee
- Seed Savers
- Burell Seeds
Free Seeds You Can Get Right Now
The Free Seed Project offers around 10,000 (sometimes more) free seed packs to individuals every year. It usually includes a large array of vegetables, greens, herbs, and flowers. They've already sent out the free seed packs for 2023, but right now you can sign up for their waitlist. I'd also suggest signing up for their newsletter (scroll to the bottom of their website and enter your email), so you know when they open up the form for the free seeds for 2024.
If you're growing on a large scale - community gardens, seed libraries, schools, or small non-profit farms etc., you can sign up to request a free Community Pack. The Community Pack includes around 22 varieties of hearty vegetables, greens, tasty herbs, and a mix of beautiful and fragrant flowers.
American Prairie currently has an offer showing up on social media that allows you to order a free pack of American Prairie Wildflower Seeds. Follow these tips for your chance to get free seeds. Follow American Prairie on Facebook and Instagram. Like a bunch of the posts on their social media pages and leave a comment on those posts (I usually try to do at least 10). Finally, search for the brand and product in Google and scroll down through some of the results. Then just keep an eye on your newsfeed when you're scrolling through social media. If you spot the free seed offer, you'll want to click it and fill in your mailing address to order your free seed packs.
Live Monarch offers 15+ butterfly garden seeds including milkweed and growing instructions for free. If you can afford to send a small donation, they do appreciate it since it helps to help offset their costs. However, it is not required. Just mail them a self-addressed stamped envelope to the address listed on their site. One per household.
Deals on Seeds
There are several stores where you can grab some really good deals on seeds right now, both seasonal and annual.
Dollar Tree has packages of seeds for only $1.25 each and others come in packs of 3 and 4 for $1.25. This includes many kinds of seeds for your garden including vegetables, fruits, and flowers.
Walmart has deals on seed packs in-store and online. Prices usually start at $0.50 in-store and $2 online, but right now you can score some seeds for under $2. They have strawberry seeds for $0.89, sugar baby watermelon for $1.50, kale for $1.99, multiple types of sunflower seeds for $1.99 and so many more. So, whether you're looking for vegetable seeds, flower seeds, herb seeds, or something else - they should have everything you need for your garden.
Target has a Back to the Roots Kitchen Herb Garden Kit for $14.69, Collections Etc. Roll Out Flower Seeded Mats for $15.98, and Window Garden Microgreens Hydroponic Grow Kit on sale for $26.99 (normally $84.98). You can also pick up plant stakes, soil, and gardening tools, so you have everything you need.
Home Depot has vegetable seeds, fruit seeds, flower seeds at herb seeds available online starting at $1.35. Get a pack of nasturtium, an edible flower that's gorgeous to look at and great in salads for only $1.35, carrot seeds for $1.99, a pack of kohlrabi seeds for $1.59, and a pack of rosemary seeds priced at $1.69 each.
Lowes has a huge garden center, and you can always find almost every seed you're looking for. They currently have tomatoes for $2.19, broccoli seeds for $2.99, lavender seeds for $2.19. Just enter your zip code to get the pricing at your local store location.
Amazon has so many seeds, seed packs, seed starter kits, and more available. For under $25, you can get a garden kit that includes 16,000 seeds. Maybe you're looking for a great deal on flowers, for $10.99 you can get over 1,000 different types of sunflower seeds or grab a wildflower seed kit that has 30,000+ wildflower seeds to hummingbirds and butterflies for only $14.99.
By choosing cost-effective methods for scoring free and cheap seeds you'll grow your garden on a budget quickly and efficiently. For more savings tips follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram.