Newbie! Need advice on where to order seeds from!

[elliebean]

Hello All!!

I just moved back home after graduating college (another unemployed college grad here....sigh!) and I have decided to start a garden as sort of a project for myself while I'm home. I would like to do a small fall garden even though Ive never gardened before.

My question is where do you guys recommend purchasing seeds from? Ive been doing a ton of looking around online and Im getting so overwhelmed...I would really like to do heirloom seeds Whats your favorite place to order those? Also, how long does it take for them to ship?

TIA!

[goldfinches]

For the first time I'm planning my garden a year before planting. I got my seeds from Seed Saver's Exchange. They have awesome varieties and shipped really quickly.

[lmonter]

Well, in the more "free" arena, local friends/neighbors (I know I'd be thrilled to share seeds with a neighbor interested in gardening!), local garden club, wintersown.org, seed swaps here and on other websites.

As for companies. I only buy open-pollinated heirlooms - so I can save seed from them. I'm weird like that. My fav companies so far are...

Irish Eyes Garden City Seeds (they specialize in shorter-season seeds - my local grocery store carries them as well, and I have yet to be disappointed in the 3 years I've bought from them)
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (they put a ton of seeds in their packets, shipping is nominal)
Territorial (again, shorter-season seeds to some degree)
Nichols (yup, you guessed it, a decent shorter-season seed selection)
Heirloom Acres Seeds (family run thing, slow shipping where it takes 2-3 weeks for them to package the orders, but the costs are among the lowest I've seen and the seeds have done well for me, and last year I got a mislabeled variety and Thom sent me a packet of what I *should* have gotten and another freebie of another variety - haven't been disappointed in the seeds in the few years I've ordered from 'em, and I order in January to make sure I get my stuff before I need to start seeds in Feb/Mar).

I've also ordered from Bountiful Gardens and... some other place I can't remember right now.