20 Best Seeds For Winter Sowing (2023 Updated)

I ordered this simply to help fix /cover an area of invasive autumnolive that we deforested. It went way beyond my expectations! I planted in the fall, zone 6a. Sprouted quickly and looked nice. The radishes definitely helped break up the soil.

I was surprised when some of the plants overwintered. Now it late spring and my bees are all over the beautiful field of flowers, mostly the yellow mustard seed and some hairy vetch. I plan on letting them go to seed and hopefully make mustard.

I can see the clover, winter wheat and field peas in the mix so I would definitely say this mix has a very high germination rate. Very low maintenance, does well without need to water, and my two crazy dogs frolic within the taller plants, so they are somewhat resistant to traffic.

This product suited our needs greatly. We are not using this cover crop seeds for agricultural/farming purposes, but for aesthetic reasons only. The seeds were sown into our forest (pine, fir and oak trees) in early April.

They germinated within 4-5 days already and even survived a couple of snow/frosty days. Currently they are about 3-4 inches which is perfect for us so far. We are at zone 9 and this cover crop seems to be a good alternative for ground cover in the forest floor.

This is a good snow pea to grow that I have grown before. I had trouble with germination but that could of been due to the unusually wet fall here in Florida. Right now my yard is soggy from hurricane Eta.

I may buy some more seed and try again in early winter. I regularly buy seed from this vendor and it is almost always high quality seed. So this is not a criticism of of the vendor. Just reporting my results.

I planted the entire packet in a space about 2’x8′ of well nourished garden soil. I added inoculant. Most seedlings emerged within 6 days, and now are about 6″ tall. I do not expect further germination.

Germination was roughly 80%, with a nod to the possibility that the missing seeds were removed by birds or met other mishap. I like this variety and it is useful in my microclimate to have them at least a foot tall before the coolest wettest spells of winter.

I’m new to growing microgreens and baby greens (although I definitely have a green thumb when it comes to houseplants), so I started with Dun Peas based on the description and reviews I read. They did not disappoint! These Dun Peas are easy to grow (even for a beginner), with a high germination rate and a dense output.

I grew them inside, in soil, in a 1-inch-deep tray, in a south-facing bay window. I followed the instructions given, although I also put them under a weighted tray for a couple of days after they germinated and before they were exposed to the light, and that seemed to give them some extra strength.

They were delicious, with a sweet and crunchy taste, and it seemed like at least some of them regrew after I’d done the initial harvest. I’m about to order more of them!.

I am a newbie microgreen farmer. I tried doing these without substrate on a microgreen tray with lots of holes. I had a 75% germination rate. This was completely on me. I didn’t water it enough. Once I altered my watering, they did well.

I then tried cocoa coir and had 99% germination and they came out strong and healthy. I think I will be using the cocoa coir method in the future. The peas seem to like the extra moisture around them.

I have made 4 trays so far with no rot or fungus. I do use food grade hydrogen peroxide and water mix exclusively in the germination stage so I think this does help. The flavor is subtle and sweet, awesome seeds.

Will be ordering again.

My first time growing microgreens. I purchased five pounds of Pea True-Leaf seeds after watching several videos on growing microgreens. So far very satisfied in your product and I will definitely being purchasing more.

I don’t know yet if I am going to grow commercially as yet but thinking about it seriously at the moment. I planted on February 13th, 2021. I put my first crop under lights on February 18th 2021. I am adding a picture of my first microgreen crop of pea shoots.

I bought this a couple years ago. Accidentally had an oops with one of the dogs so had to put into another container. I did try planting a few. Had 7 to 8 out of 10 seeds grow well. Word of advice, look up what zone you live in and find out what time during which months you should plant them, and Write it down.

Just in case write down the best temperatures and if they need shade, partial shade, or full sun. Reason why I didn’t give it a 5 star is that. Also, you will need at least wise, 1 pack of these seeds per person per family.

maybe 2packs in case of really bad weather or growing difficulty. Also best to write down what plants work best for companion planting. You will need a pack of herbs and spices (which can help boost the yield) and a couple of flowers to plant around or near your plants from this packet or they will get eaten by bugs or rabbits etc.

This is a good kit. Only needs the zone lists and when to plant what with who or it will fail. If you have a greenhouse you might not have to worry about that at all.

Great kit! Seeds germinated on paper towels in 2-7 days. Most had a 90% germination rate. Zucchini had 33% You can’t beat the price point! For >$17 I got 32 varieties of heirloom seeds. It would’ve cost that just to get 6 seed packets normally.

The guide that comes with it is great. The only improvements would be to color code the seed bags by planting date and to include a garden plan in the guide to improve value as a survival garden.

Saving these for the future, or going to try to. As soon as I get my dream home and 100acre spread in the Sierras I’m going to grow and raise my own food. Arrived quickly and in perfect condition

This was an experiment for a fall/winter temporary ground cover for a slope. The grass seed germinated in 3 days the first time and 5 days the second application; second application without watering in but on moist ground.

I am happy with how fast it germinates and think that it will help with erosion over the winter. I bought too much but will continue to overseed for the next couple of weeks.

I can’t say enough good things about this mix – it’s just stunning. While it’s listed as being plantable in the fall, I didn’t around to prepping the area early enough, so I planted in spring once the temp was just right.

I tilled the area four times over the course of a few months to beat the weeds and grass back first as this replaced part of a large yard. Once planted, they shot up fast and bloomed within a couple of weeks, and I’ve been fawning over the meadow ever since! Despite our SW Washington (zone 8b) summers getting hotter and hotter, the plants have been hardy and prolific.

I constantly battle moles and the meadow has resisted the damage caused by the underground tunnels, as well as daily rabbit nibblings. The bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds love the blooms, which started as soft whites and pastels in spring (perfect), transitioning into more yellows and oranges now in late summer.

See the before/after photos of the meadow on my IG account @shimmermist_meadows 🙂 I just bought another pound to plant in another field next spring. Gorgeous mix, thank you American Meadows for being so dependable! The planting instructions are excellent and lead to great results if followed closely!.

This was year one of this wildflower patch and we combined the northeast pollinator, fall maximum, and Northeast Wildflower mixes. It’s offered us a gorgeous variety of color and types that provide a beautiful visual as well as lots of flowers for cut arrangements.

We’re anxious to see how the rest of this year’s season grows. It’s been a wonderful solution to our yard which gets SO WET in the spring that we can’t mow it till late May. We have a free compost program in our town.

So, we put 5 dump trailers full of lovely compost down on top of cardboard (to cut down on weeds) and planted these seeds in the compost. It’s been so fun to watch our garden grow!.

I spent days digging out a large garden completely overrun with black eyed Susans. I put down black plastic for two months to make sure everything was gone. After spreading these seeds, the only thing tgat came up was a lot of grass that had never been there before.

Now I’m about to the point where I’m going to round up everything and start over. I’m worse off than I was with the Susans. I even bought an extra bag of poppies to spread in because I LOVE poppies. Not a single one sprouted.

I’m so disappointed.

I have only one food plot over 1AC. I planted the front part in Buck Forage Oats and the back half in the Fall and Winter Seed Mix in late Oct. 2020. I saw deer every time I hunted this plot in the Fall and Winter Seed Mix area and killed four deer.

I never once saw a deer in the Buck Forage section. They came out late in the afternoon and the Hancock Seed Mix was the first area they entered so maybe later they would filter to the Buck Forage area but I never saw one during daylight.

I am a believer in the Hancock Seed Mix and will use in 2023.

We planted our food plots in SW Georgia in early September. Soil moisture was perfect and we had about 1 inch of rain the next day. Within one week all cameras showed beautiful, lush green growth. Then nothing, no rain for three weeks.

I expected brown fields for opening day, and was greatly surprised. Everything, especially the radishes, is in great shape. The wheat and oats are thriving in spite of heavy browsing. Only the peas seem to be adversely affected by dry conditions and browsing.

Really good food plots this year.

I was ordering this as a gift. It arrived not in the nice bag shown online but in a clear unmarked plastic pouch with a white sticker on it. Also, I was surprised on how much dirt/inert matter (11%) and ****/crop seed (1%) you allow in the bag.

The total seed germination was only 80%. This means 88% was seed and only 80% of that will germinate at best so my 10lb bag was only good for 7lbs of usable seed. That’s a far cry from others I have purchased elsewhere.

I love to make “calabaza en dulce” with butternut squash from the store. I can’t wait to make this recipe with home grown squash!! Just waiting for the weather to warm up to plant them outside! The envelope is nicely sealed.

However the seed doesn’t have information like plant spacing, seed planting depth, approximate days until sprouting which an OCD gardener like me appreciates. Luckily you can find most info with a google search but it is nice to have it all on the seed packet itself.

We love these squash. I gave this review 4 stars because when the order was originally made a snafu happened and they didn’t get sent. A quick call and 3 days later I planted the seeds. Can’t wait for fall now which s early September in Montana.

They arrived safely and look like they will grow well. I don’t know yet, though, because it is not the correct time of year to sow them.

I have yet to plant, but am in the process of renewing my garden beds with these awesome alfalfa seeds to enrich my soil! The packs are full and fresh, and delivery was quick!

Germination rate is very high, growth is very uniform (Even canopy in my trays), sheds seed hull after first true leaf (8-10 days). Highly recommend for micro greens or sprouts. I’ve used Alfalfa seeds from other sources and they do not compare to Trueleaf’s when it comes to growth, texture and flavor.

Looking forward to covering my yard in this soil enriching product as well as enjoying the healing herbal tea from its leaves. Pretty ground cover.

I would purchase from this seller again; they communicated when an item was out of stock and offered options. The item arrived timely and I can’t wait to see how they grow!\n\nUpdate. I have lots and lots of these guys that are happily growing in the garden.

Especially happy with my purchase now that I see them growing. \nThanks again!.

amazing, as usual . . . . . . . . . . . .

I gave 4 stars because I just got them. They did start sprouting. And I will change to five stars with an update if they grow. The seeds from here are always fresh and seem to sprout well.

I started 8 plants using the XL 50 mm Jiffy Peat Pellets (squirrels kept digging up my outside mounds) and placing 1 seed in each hydrated pellet. Each one sprouted and are growing insane! Planted 2 weeks ago and already have true leaves and need transplanting.

Awesome germination! I bought the seeds late winter and have started them indoors now(Spring) Very pleased overall with all of their seeds. I’ve tried squashes from other companies and true leaf has the best germination rate.

My package arrived fairly quickly, almost 2 days earlier than expected!.

I grew this pretty little squash one year and it is now one of my garden favorites. It climbed along a chain link fence and looked so pretty. A good number of fruits were produced and they cooked up creamy and sweet! Great taste! Really easy to grow.

It s a keeper for our garden.

seed is great quality and packaged well. To early to say how it will germinate but weather will be the big question mark. Over all I always have had success with Handcock Seed Co.

This was the first time I ordered from your store. My order got majorly messed up. It felt let down and as if y’all didn’t know your job. But then, the cavalry came. A team of people bent on a solution.

And, a relentless team. Once the problem was discovered, your team stayed focused until my remaining seeds were delivered. Unforeseen situations occur. It’s the recovery that counts. Count me a continuing customer.

Hairy Vetch is growing great, it was hard to see it at first because it looks to delicate, but I see more and more of it. I planted it in 2 locations, and seems to like both. Thank you!! Elizabeth Skibo.

Ordered these in April of last year and immediate sowed. I mixed some seeds with yum yum mix and soil and raked in by hand. I only put down about 1/2 the seeds around my yard (I’m on an acre in the low desert, but at about 2000ft so 9a/b), I wanted to reserve some seed for this year is needed.

Nothing came up at all last year, however this year it started with the bluebells putting on quite a show, then a few lupine. I’m now seeing some other flowers poking through. I’m finding this a really effective way to discover the microclimates around my yard.

The pic is the first area to bloom, and this was a small handful of seeds scattered around a lonely penstemon. Very exciting to see what’s poking through, and now the hummingbirds have no use for my feeders.

Took advantage of a spring rainstorm last week, to scatter the remaining seeds in new areas. Very pleased!.

Love the beautiful and bold colors. This is a very good mix as far as flower succession (bloom schedule), too. There isn’t a lot of down time at all during the growing season when “nothing is blooming and it all just looks like ugly/dead weeds” I planted a quarter pound of these seeds in the late fall/early winter at recommended density.

They are on a slight (and very exposed to wind, sun, reflective heat and rain!) slope, so I roughed up the lean dirt and construction waste pretty well with a hard rake before planting, in order to create little pockets and ledges/tiers for the seed to lodge.

The rake lines ran perpendicular to the slope incline, so that the seeds couldn’t wash away as easily. They seedlings sprouted and started blooming very early in the spring! Dispersement was pretty even so I think the planting technique worked.

I heavily interplanted these with perennial potted plants from American Meadows and their sister company, High Country Gardens. The idea being that the various plants would shade each other and provide some insulation from the harsh elements.

I tried to go with a variety of heights, growth habits and bloom times to create a shielding phalanx against the elements. Companion plantings included everything from small desert trees, bushes/shrubs, tall thin plants such as sunflower, and then lavender, yarrow, desert grasses, wildflower tulips, on down to groundcovers such as ice plants and poppy mallow.

It’s going well and that horrible spot is slowly becoming an oasis! During the first growing season, after the spring moisture was all gone, it’s been helpful to provide a layer of water up to twice a day depending on weather severity and size of seedlings.

Basically if it’s super hot, windy and sunny, and some of the seedlings look small or stressed, then I might bring the watering can out twice a day. Normal days, once a day while everything is getting established.

And on cloudy, cool or wet days, there isn’t a need to water.

I live in rural Arizona on a hill that has wild chia, lupine, ragwort, Phacelia and desert marigold. I figured this mix would add to our wildflower season. A lot of seedlings sprouted early spring and I was quite happy with that.

But then came the rabbits and hares – eating any seedling they could excepting a few California poppies, a ton of bluebells, maybe 5 Five Spots and two Tidy Tips. I LOVED the Bluebells and poppies. But it broke my heart the hundreds of different seedlings that germinated never had a chance against the wildlife.

The good news is they reseeded and I now have even more bluebells (and Poppies) than I did last year. I will order more California Bluebells. But for MY rabbit filled area, that is all.

My grandparents were famous for their peas. Green Arrow peas was their secret. The peas are easy to grow and their taste is unmatched. I’ll let you in on my grandparents secret. You can plant these peas THICK.

I just throw them in rows side by side pretty much touching. A blanket of pea seeds. And they didn’t trellis them. I am 50/50 on the trellis. You can grow a large amount of peas in a smaller area with this technique and in 70 years my family has never had a issue with it other than to many peas!!!.

Good afternoon, I am a farmer in The Bahamas and purchased seeds recently via order #____. I am a repeat customer but was so disappointed to learn that out of ALL of the pea seeds we planted our results have been less than 40%.

This is considerably less than the variety we got in the order before this order. We support you guys and enjoy your other products since we started growing. Please let us know if there is anyway to correct this unfortunate experience.

We would be grateful for a refund or in the alternative seeds of a better germination quality. We prefer short leaves with long tendrils. Please let me know if you would like to discuss this further.

Kind regards, Tony.

I am a beginner gardener and live in the TX heat which makes it difficult to grow peas let alone get to harvest. I had great success germinating the seeds direct sowed and have harvested 10 pea pods from 2 plants so far before this summer heat hits us.

For TX growing that’s pretty awesome!.

This was our first food plot so we didn’t want to invest a lot of money into it. The no plow was the cheapest with a great variety. We did not do soil tests but followed the instructions on lime and fertilizer.

Three key factors 1) I did some samples to see what seed was what. Proper bedding is the key. The seeds on the surface still germinated but took 4x’s the time to establish. 2) timing is everything. You want to try your best to plant this right before a rain.

My dad did a separate plot and his got rain the next day. His germinated instantly to where it took some time for mine to get rain and took about two weeks to establish and weeds started to come into the plot.

3) Make sure to stir the seeds before spreading. During transport the seeds tend to separate and you’ll end up with sections that are more dominant of one plant. The overall downside to this plot is even though the bag says it’s 24% rye grass.

That grass will soon overpower the rest of the plants. I don’t have a large plot so I try to top the grass with a weed eater at plant height but it’s not enough.

I can tell anyone that THIS STUFF GROWS and it grows without a lot of prep and ground work. I’ve planted NO Plow about 5 times. Old corn fields, power lines, cut bean fields ect ect. The stuff grows, if you kill weeds fertilize and just break the surface of the ground.

The problem though is here in the south some southern deer DO NOT eat this type of brassica in no plow. Theyll eat some of the grasses and other stuff in it but I’ve planted this stuff in 2 different counties.

Waited until hard frosts and freezing temps. The deer didn’t touch it during or after hunting season. I think its a product best for deer up north. I don’t think the brassica blend it what deer eat “in my area”.

I purchased two 25 lb bags. I have a few stands in very remote areas. Spent over a hundred hours this spring planting fertilizing liming. Bottom line. If there is any forest canopy this will not grow.

It needs more than four hours of sunlight a day. The plot I planted with full sunlight grew well. However, it’s basically a stand of tall grass. The various fescues dominate the plot choking out any other forms of seed.

This is essentially just a very expensive way to purchase grass seed. Furthermore the full sunlight No Plow plot is planted immediately next to a plot of clover and chicory. There is no question that the deer in my area strongly prefer the Clover and Chicory, hardly ever showing any interest in the No Plow.

I thought after a hard frost things may change but they haven’t. I wouldn’t waste your money on this product.

I’m an avid gardener and start my seeds early February in my small greenhouse. It was great being able to purchase my starter mix from Tractor Supply when no other store had it in stock. This was the first time using Burpee’s starter mix.

I love it and will be using it in the future. Great texture and water absorption is fabulous! I’m done with other brands. Thank you Burpee and Tractor Supply.

I bought a bag of this seed starter mix at my local Tractor Supply a few days ago. Once I got home and poured some in a bowl to start some seeds, I noticed the mix had an AWFUL, strong, musty smell. My son even came out of our room to ask what the smell was.

Our house smelled badly of it a day later. It made our house smell like we had a big mold/mildew problem even AFTER I had put it all outside. I went to my other local farm supply and got a different product.

Maybe this seed starter works and I just got a bad batch, hence the reason I at least gave it two stars, but I certainly am not risking buying it again.

I am a newbie tiny-plot vegetable gardener. This size bag is perfect for my seed-starting needs, probably lasting Spring thru Winter growing seasons. I like the fact that it is mainly sustainable coir and contains food to nourish the seedlings until they go into the garden.

I like the loose texture. Almost all of my seeds have sprouted.

Quick delivery. Like the instructions. Great to have for future gardens or for doomsday peppers. Good price for organic seeds. My nickname is not Scooby doo.

Grinding the seeds into flour for bread was easy. The quality of the seeds are 100% without any contaminants such as small rocks or extra husks. The seeds where pure and clean. I was very impressed. Vacuum packed the entire bucket for longterm storage.

I am a “hands on guy before I buy” but True Leaf Market has proved to me that the products you sell is 100% legitimate. Thank You.

This is the first time I planted a cover crop. I didn’t realize they would sprout so quickly-up in 1 week! So that must mean the quality of the seeds are excellent! I had weeded my garden the week before and weeds were already starting to grow back in.

I scratched the ground a little and threw the seeds on top of the ground, covered with clean straw then watered and rye was growing that very same week! I will definitely be return customer! ~ Thanks True Leaf Market!.

I planted the envy carrot for the first time this year and was very impressed. The germination was great and it produced large tasty carrots. I am sold on these and already ordered seed for next year.

The carrots were large straight and very impressive and very good tasting. My first year so I am not sure how they will keep but we will see.

I ordered 3 15′ seed tapes. About 4 carrots came up. We have planted a garden for nearly 50 years, and last year had beautiful carrots from seed tapes (not Gurney’s). Not happy.