Johnny's Selected Seeds

My time working at Johnny’s Selected Seeds was disappointing and frustrating. Despite the company’s positive reputation among customers, the internal work environment was far from professional or inclusive. I experienced discrimination during my employment, and it was clear that management prioritized certain viewpoints and identities over fair treatment and merit. Favoritism was rampant, and management often played favorites while targeting others, leading to a toxic and uncomfortable workplace. There was little respect for individuality, and I felt like I was made a fool for not fitting into the prevailing culture. The environment was filled with drama, gossip, and a lack of professionalism, as noted by other employees. HR was unhelpful, and there was more focus on personal matters and identity politics than on actual job performance. The workload was often unfair, with some employees coasting while others were left to pick up the slack. If you’re considering working here, know that you’ll be expected to do as you’re told—regardless of whether it’s in your job description—and tolerate an environment where respect and fairness are not guaranteed. Unless you’re comfortable with being undervalued and working in a place where management’s priorities are questionable, I would not recommend Johnny’s Selected Seeds as an employer if you want your hours messed with cutting the hours you worked.

I have been ordering from Johnnys Seed since 2021. I find the quality exactly as promised the germination rates are very accurate and extremely high. If on the occasion I had issues, they were always ready and willing to find a remedy or rectify the problem. I have never been disappointed with Johnnys Seed and they are my first go to, for all my flower and vegetable seed needs in addition to their product being as described and very high-quality. They have an amazing technical support team behind them. I can highly recommend Johnny’s to anyone whether they are a professional grower like myself or a home gardener.

Growing butterbaby squash from Johnny's seed. 1st time growing these. My 1st one is almost ready. They are so cute. Will grow these again. Zone 10A Fl.

Thus spring I ordered Agave and Queenie Orange Lime Zinnia seeds--they are spectacular!!

What happened to Johnny's???? They used to have impeccable service as well as quality seeds. Over the past few year their quality has gone to absolute crap. I contacted them regarding a 2023 purchase about a package with stickers on top of stickers showing % germination and for what year. They had a 2021 sticker under a 2022 sticker and the response when asked if this was old seed was it passed the germination requirement. I don't care if it passed the germination requirement, you are still selling years old seed and no it does germinate well. Much better sources for seed than Johnny's.

Not that a 4.1 needs help, but I've harvested many pound bags of Johnny's, and they've all been exactly as advertised. They are the gold standard of seeds for row-croppers, 5/5. Fantastic variety and great information and service. No complaints. Buy their wheel seeder, seriously, if you have a small country garden.

Great seeds, priced at a premium. I only wish their shipping rates were reasonable. Being a small farmer, most of what I produce is grown for those less blessed. Shipping rated at a 1 , seeds rated at a 5

Very poor quality seeds. Am a seasoned gardener, with very good soil….. the greens are sparse, the carrots failed and the beets…. Good greens, but poor fruit. Won’t buy them again,

Perfect? No. But waaay better than most. I've purchased raspberry, blackberry & blueberry plants. All thriving, unlike my experience with Gurneys, Burpees, Jung, and others. I now avoid Gurneys regardless of their claims. Last year I purchased 250 Erasmus, purple asparagus seeds that I started under lights and got 200 into the garden. AMAZING. I'll attach some photos. Also a myriad of seeds from Johnny's, including many flower and vegetable seeds. Jonny's is reliable and responsive.

2/2/25- Purchased online a while back - three years ago-.. Tried in the past was unsuccessful.. Fast forward to 2025- Educated a little more and more patient- Started in the garage with the Early Girl seeds- Two weeks later, they stated to germinate- Moved them into the house and purchased a grow light- Now they are growing! Trick will be when to plant ... But so far I'm a happy and lucky Gardner. .. hehehe..

They say they have same day shipping. That is a lie. Second year in a row they have done this to me. This year I have had several orders and everyone of them did not ship same day. I ordered on Friday before their so called cut off time yet it only shows in processing 3 days later. They don't ship same day and never have. They send items when they feel like it. Don't have a shipping policy you can't fulfill. Pure BS. Johnnys, are you confused about what same day shipping means? USPS tracking shows what I need to know. You create a label and consider that shipped. Wrong! You should simply remove that complete bullshit shipping policy. You don't ship same day.

Update June 2024: 2nd year buying these seeds, and I really expanded the selection to 17 different veggies! I can't wait until I can create great recipes with these yummy goods!

Just made a large purchase and realized one of the items I purchased was listed for $32 on Johnnys and for $12 on Amazon. I also received some seed packets with less seeds than the minimum listed. Contacted their support and they said they aren't in the business of price matching. There are plenty of better options out there. You'd think they would want to try to keep business.

I love this site. I have learned so much about what I'm growing, how to grow, and beyond. I have always had great service, wonderful germination rates and I'm totally satisfied. They are expensive. But I don't mind paying more for quality seeds.

they sent me garbage seeds when I complained to them about the seeds not germinating they told me I didn't know what I was doin. my family has been farming in this country for close to 300 years . I germinated there seeds the same as I did for years . I purchased seeds from a different company Hometownseeds. same variety of acorn squash and in 8 days under the same germination conditions I have plants ... it was the first time purchasing seeds from Johnny's seeds and it will be the last

I have been purchasing johnny seeds for a couple years. They are great the first season however if you have left over seeds the germination plummets. I have leftover spinach seeds and I bought in bulk. I planted a bunch of it and only 3 sprouted. Did it again in another spot and again only a couple in each row sprouted. To me, it's a waste of money. You buy in bulk to save money but if tgey aren't going to last what's the point. I've had other companies seeds and I continue to use them for years, so what's on these seeds that's preventing the same thing. I'll not be buying from them again.

Fifteen dollars for a 1.6 ounce envelope holding 8 thin envelopes sent USPS GROUND? Fuck you.

I'm pretty disappointed with my favorite seed supplier - it's the 2nd season of sales restrictions. Johnny's has always been my go-to for seeds. It's now the SECOND year of restrictions for "home gardeners". I understand last year with all of the COVID chaos. But they should have solved their supply problems by now. The other major companies don't seem to have any sales restrictions...Gurney's, Ferry-Morse, Burpee, Burgess, and Harris Seeds. I've also turned to getting seeds from Walmart, Amazon, and some specialty seeds from reputable sellers on Ebay. I'm a small-scale farmer, mostly heirloom tomatoes, for several local farmer's markets. Reluctantly, I have turned to other seed sellers. Normally I'd give a 1 star review for going 2 years without being allowed to order anything from these guys. But I'm going with 2 stars because they've been good for me on previous years. I don't think I'll be back as a customer. Bummer! -Daddy Maxx Retro

Yes the seeds are pricey, but you get what you pay for. I didn't experience any of the delays or shipping woes that other customers refer to. Everything I have ordered (especially zinnias) have germinated and were exactly as described. The zinnias are spectacular.

Never deal with this company. I receive emails daily. I have unsubscribed at least 20 times over the last couple of months. I will never buy anything else from this company.

I've ordered twice. my last was 2,000 zinnia seeds. Weight 2 ounces. My post office said the most they paid to ship to me was $5.35. They charged me $15. That's my last order.

I have only ordered from them once and had a small issue with what I ordered. I reached out to the company about the issue and I feel like they have gone above and beyond to help resolve the issue. I will definitely be ordering from them again in the future.

Difficult to return, Couldn't cancel an order before it was shipped. I just gave up and kept seeds I can't use. To much of a hassle.

This is more so a comment about the shipping prices as opposed to the seeds. I found it baffling that the moment I spent $50 dollars; shipping automatically went to $15 dollars. I ordered 8 seed packets which weighed no more than a pound and were delivered in a small envelope. Essentially you could buy 1 seed packet and still pay $15 dollars for shipping if the total is $50. It just seems like your punished for spending more on this site, which is the complete opposite of what other companies do. I have ordered flower bulbs online which weigh so much more, and have never paid this much for shipping. Plus, my location is not even far from where these seeds come from. I hope the seed germination is at least good.

Poor Customer Service Within 90 minutes of placing a large order, I called to see if I could cancel or get a gift certificate instead. (I had just discovered that another family member had ordered the same items for my daughter -- so the gift I planned would've been duplicated.) Their office was closed, so I emailed them this request. I called the next morning (Saturday) -- office was still closed. Sent another email because their website said they were open on Saturday. No response. Called first thing when they opened on Monday AM only to be told the items were already on the truck and could not be retrieved. If they'd answer their phones, this wouldn't have happened.

I feel very bad about having to make this review, but it is important for customers to know the truth. The seed quality of Johnny's used to be very high, but it has really gone down the last several years. Germination well below 75% has been much more common when I order large lots of seed and I have lost hundreds of dollars as a result. I called Johnny's and asked them if they have any better germination, but when I talked with someone in the customer service department, they say that they'll let them know about the bad seed lots, but they continue to sell the bad seed. This has occurred more than once with different seed. How can they knowingly sell poor quality seed? I really don't know what to say. It doesn't matter what incredible varieties or what incredible seed people advertise, if the quality is poor. Sorry Johnny's, but you've lost my trust for good.

I placed my first and last order on March 30. In stock items that would arrive in early april. They didnt. A few days ago, sent an email inquiry, and got a boilerplate reply about how they were backlogged. Today, April 15, I got an email stating further shipping delays due to COVID. My March order now rescheduled for first week of May! Seems they arbitrarily decided to priotize commercial growers over residential, and the rest of us can go to hell. Nice! I get that they want to help commercial customers, but I'm out hours of time, plus now waiting for a refund. Called credit card company to dispute the original charge, as I no longer trust these folks. Neither should you. Lastly, if they changed policies in the middle of the stream, thereby hurting smaller consumers, it shows they really dont care about our business. Buyers beware.

Horrible customer service! I made an order back in the middle of March and was told it may take 3-5 days to ship because of virus concern. The next day, my credit card was charged. After waiting 7 days and no indication that shipment occurred, I sent email inquiring. Return email said it could take another few days. I waited another week and no shipment. Sent another email asking to cancel order. They would cancel order, but promised shipment with 5 days. I waited a week. Still no shipment. Sent one last email stating that I wanted to cancel order. They refused, and this time said that shipment would happen but cannot say when. I understand that things are hard now for everybody. However, if you charge someone's credit card, then fail to ship, and then refuse cancellation, that is negligent business practice and poor customer service. I called credit card company to register disputed charge. I will never order from them again, and I will share my experience on social media wherever I can.

I placed an order over $50 so that I would get free shipping. After ordering (said item were in stock) I received email stating out of stock so I was then sent only in stock items and charged shipping. It is their ribem I di not get $50 merchandise so I should not pay shipping. Told them I wanted to send product back so they said okay, pay shipping both directions! Terrible company, this is now two years same crap. Do not buy from them, they use the folksy apprach employee owned etc. Horrible company

The quality of these seeds, the customer service, and generally the entire Johnny's Selected Seeds experience has been nothing but wonderful for several years now. As others have stated, the seeds are a bit pricey, but they are high quality and in my opinion well worth the money. I highly recommend this company.

Placed order from Johnny Selected Seeds online, $50 order, on 3/24/2020 for our family garden. 4/3/2020 seeds still had not arrived. Call Johnny Selected seeds. They could not tell me when the seeds would ship, reported some were backordered, and refused to refund my money. Mind you no where on their website did it list there would be a shipping delay nor did it say any of the seeds I ordered were back ordered. I never recieved an email reporting this either. Their excuse was COVID-19. Funny I ordered from other seed stores on the same day and they arrived THE NEXT DAY without issue. BUYER BEWARE!!! JOHNNY SELECTED SEEDS is not a company I would recommend buying from. Hopefully I eventually get my seeds or my money back... https://www.johnnyseeds.com/

Maybe I expected too much, since the price was higher than others & it is located in Maine. I was so disappointed that I will never order from them again or recommend them to anyone. The majority of seeds I ordered from them failed to produce. In prior years I planted the same type, ordered from Urban Farmers, & had great results. The straw flowers had to be my biggest disappointment. I ordered strawberry roots, but emailed 2x's to delay sending, and still received them too early & they were a disappointment - as was their response. I will stick to Urban Farmers, where I know the seeds will produce & the service is excellent. Sadly, I can't say the same for Johnny's "Selected" Seeds.

Ordered a bunch of seeds in March. Now they are telling me that my order is not a priority and that I have to wait till may. What kind of business is this. Spend your money at a local shop or store and not this place...

2-24-2021 POOR customer services filled with lies about how they will fix and ship my order. Stole my money, would not send me my complete order. Would not refund my money. Can't get into management to complain. Lots of excuses. Buyer be ware. Apparently not the same company as years ago.

Johnny's has a nice selection but items are pricey. My experience is that seed germination is no better and some cases far lower than other sources. I recently ordered items for a fall crop and items were back ordered until mid September. Now 4 weeks have passed from the given date and items have not yet shipped. I suggest looking at other options...you will be happy with better results, better customer service and you will save money.

Paid$50 for seeds 1 packet for 250 seeds(I received maybe 50) Second packet was supposed to have 1000 seeds and only got maybe 100. Website never updated from order submitted. This was my first and last time ordering from this company.

The most pricey out of some of the other popular seed brands but the quality is fantastic and the germination rate is extremely high. You pay for what you get. I do appreciate that they put the germination percentage on each packet (I buy the single packets for my home hydroponics garden) and the date that it was tested. Other seed places that you could buy from may or may not do this, but this is a good indicator of knowing if you're buying quality. One other nice things about this place. I had forgotten to add in Jalapeno seeds to my order. They were kind enough to ship it for free to my location without me asking. Buy with confidence! Johnny's is awesome.

I placed my order in late March. Every item I ordered was in stock, and I received a confirmation email thanking me for my order and listing all items as in stock and showing my payment submitted, etc. A few days later they announced any new orders after that point would be delayed a few weeks for shipping (which still would have shipped about a month ago after that delay). I had previously emailed customer support with no responses, and today got them on the phone. She acknowledged that my order was received but said that "about that time" they decided to stop taking orders. Not delay shipping, to completely stop taking orders. She also said it looks like a few of the items may have been out of stock and that their website is not accurate (she later admitted even if I reordered today she would have no idea if things are actually in stock or not). So, my order was accepted and confirmed...but then they decided to cancel it without ever telling me. I've waited two months for seeds that honestly should have been planted six weeks ago. I know with everything going on in the world today you can't keep up with supply and demand, but seems pretty logical to at least tell customers when you aren't going to fill their orders...in fact that should automatically be built into their order platform to kick out a cancellation email whenever they change it in their system. To be fair, the lady was very prompt and polite so I didn't want to get mad with her on the phone but I'm certainly not happy with the company. To top it off I was told to have a "good season" with my garden this year...kinda hard to do without seeds!

Placed order in early Feb (pre-pandemic) ...charged me for total order, only received partial order. Contacted customer service 2x and they assured me item would be delivered. Come April order still not fulfilled 100%. Received email that they can not complete order this year and to contact customer service again if I want a refund. If you can't complete my order the refund should be automatic... or better yet don't charge customers until product ships. First/Last order...

Yikes! Stay away! My experience -- Ordered garlic online on a Saturday night, website allowed it. Evidently Johnny's inventory was wrong, because they couldn't fill the order. So far, annoying and inept, but not that big a deal. This was my first ever business with them. As it turned out, Johnny's pre-authorized my debit card Saturday, which places a hold on the funds at that time. Let's be clear on that -- without knowing they can fill the order, they pre-authorize my card. 2 days later -- Monday -- they get back to me: can't actually fill my order. I think, okay, I'll order somewhere else. Boy, was I wrong! Now it's the following Thursday and not only do I not have my order, I can't get at my cash to reorder either -- the amount of the original order is still on hold because Johnny's did the pre-authorization. I go to my bank -- small-town bank -- and talk it over with them. They say it's hard to tell what the issue is, but it isn't on their end and probably has to do with the way Johnny's runs their credit transactions. Johnny's could still put the transaction through. So I call Johnny's, 5 days after the transaction. They're very polite and do exactly nothing. Worse, they ask me who the primary account holder is (it's my wife) -- information they already know, because its in the billing info. They tell me it's all between my wife -- not me -- and the bank! Never again.

First time ordering from johnnyseeds.com... the variety and availability of seeds was great! The website was easy to navigate and the growers library is a welcome resource. I placed an order for a few types of seed (mainly herbs) for testing and received everything within a few days. I like the packaging with germination info which at this time has proved fairly accurate as the majority of all the seed I set has come up. I expect to make additional purchases from johnnyseeds.com.

Beware of their 100% satisfaction guarantee. They will ship you a shoddy product with a long growing time, almost two weeks later than promised and think you are 50% satisfied.

I submitted my seed order online as I have for the last ten years. I never got a receipt for my order. After waiting a month for the order, I contacted customer service through the form on the website. Again I never got a response. Four days later I called customer service and I was told that my order was in shipping and could not be cancelled. I complained that they still had not shipped it and I wanted it canceled. I was told to return the order. I did not get the order for another eight days - Maine to Massachusetts. I will never order again.

I ordered parsnip, tomato and beet seeds early summer for fall planting in south florida. They arrived in a rain drenched box. The parsnip seeds were soaked. I dried them out and repacked them. I have planted 3 times and nothing has come up. A ten cent sealed bag could of prevented this. I will not do business with your company again. Tim Kircher.

I pre-ordered seven tulip varieties in February to be shipped in September. I only received four varieties at the end of October because they had forgotten to put two in the box (plus one variety didn't meet QA- out of their hands) despite everything being listed in my shipping confirmation. Now all the bulbs are sold out and I have no way to get what I ordered until next year. While their selection is great, Johnny's has terrible business organization and I won't be shopping with them again.

The shipping is terrible. I payed for shipping yet it is still delayed I bought seeds from Stocks seeds after the order I made from Johnny seeds and I received them in an instant. We are going back and forth with tracking the seeds and it's just taking too long It has delayed my work!! They should have better shipping!!!

I've used Johnny's for years but quality is going down and price on product and shipping is steadily going up. Sourcing other outlets for seeds.

Ordered seed from this company 3/25/20 for the family garden. Called on 4/1 and was told the order would ship on 4/6/20, called on 4/6/20 and was told the order would ship by 4/10/20. I called on 4/10/20 and was told that the order might ship by 4/17/20. Refused to commit to shipping date! Refused to cancel my order! A company with questionable business practices. Buyer beware!!! I will be contacting my credit card company to attempt to get my money back

I have bought seeds and other products from Johnny's for years, but I believe I will no longer give them my business. The most recent disappointment was some sweet potato slips that I purchased. Even though I know slips bought online and sent through the mail don't look particularly good upon arrival, these slips from Johnny's were just not acceptable. Even after placing them in water for a few days, most of them did not perk up and upon planting, 6-7 did not make it. 6-7 out of 25 is too many in my opinion. I will be using a different company from now on; there are better and more responsible ones out there.

Not being given accurate shipping dates. Just being placated each week with inaccurate timelines. Horrible customer service experience.

My family has been ordering seeds from Johnny seeds for the past 3 years. We have spent a lot of money on their seeds and seeders. I have just bought a Jang jp series 1 from them, and during purchase, I was not aware that a $400 product does not come with its own rollers. Not adding that the rollers are sold individually (by themselves) for $25-$40 each. Saying that, if I wanted to plant smaller seeds, I would have to buy a roller for small seeds, viscera. After purchasing a $400 product I don't want to be spending another $100 on rollers. Especially that when I do receive them, they won't work for the seed size that I'm going to use. Here's the worst part, I called in to return the damn product fresh af, not even used, and they are going to take 10 percent off my total because of restocking fee. The 10 percent didn't anger me as much as when they are telling me that I would have to pay for the shipping cost. The product weighs a hefty amount because it is metal. During the purchase phase, there was nothing to show that I would be getting a 10 percent deduction nor that I would be paying the return shipping cost. This is a terrible business. Damn near a scam if you ask me. I was going to give this review a two star because of our history, but after a careful reevaluation, a one star will do it for the amount of money that have been scammed out of my pockets for a company I relied on.

i posted a 1 star for johnny select seeds that did not germinate. i did NOT pursue a refund or replacement. i was ticked after all the work and water bill. site states satisfaction guarantee. i received email today they were returning my payment. kudos to them for standing behind their product and guarantee. for this you deserve a 5 star rating.

Put in a big order of potatoes we were counting on for a garden at our nonprofit for charity during covid-19 and the economic issues. Hadn't seen any notice of lack of availability, just a very mean spirited sounding email dumping us because I listed as primarily a home gardener, using my own funds for the charity. Have had to run around at the last minute finding other sources. I switched from Territorial to Johnny's some years ago, and now switching back and leaning on others for seed potato. All the seed companies are slammed right now, but Johnny's is the only one that treats customers badly if it is running short, in my experience. Just ramping up with a second walk behind tractor and definitely was offended at the treatment. Who needs that right now when we're trying to help.

I've ordered seeds and germination equipment from Johnny's Selected Seeds this year. I've had a great experience with the company and excellent germination rates. When they ran out of organic clover for my large order 650 lbs) they tracked down additional seed and had it shipped directly from the grower. I'll definitely be ordering again. My only caveat is that their prices for some equipment is higher than the same items sold by others.

The seed costs are really high. But the shipping is insane. Its based on cost, not weight. 2 packs of 15 seeds was $10, 3 packs were $12.50. The cost to ship 2 pack vs 3 packs shouldn't change. It doesn't cost more at to ship them, the handling is the same, grabbing 2 packs from stock vs 3. I really like their selection and detailed information, but i find their costs such a turn off, i frequently looks elsewhere after research on their site. I was going to buy 50 tomato seeds, it was going to cost almost $77!! I just can't justify that expense. Honestly it would be cheaper to just find some produce vendor online and have them ship me some tomatoes and use the seeds from them. I did order some seeds recently from them, for my $12.50 in shipping, they couldn't bother to get me a tracking number. Apparently the seeds where shipped directly from the supplier

For many, many years Johnnys was one of my main go to seed suppliers. We are not a big farm but we do spend hundreds of $$$ on seeds every year. A few years ago when the push was started to collect state sales taxes for on-line sales Johnnys jumped on board like so many other seed companies. I have found though, that Johnnys cares more for their retail customers than their farmers. They make hardly any effort to straighten out this on-line sales tax mess but instead just charging everyone tax and putting the burden on the customer to go to great lengths to prove they are a farmer. In my state (Washington) farmers pay no sales tax on products purchased for their farm such as fertilizer, seeds, spray materials, etc. I just thank my stars that there are still local seed companies in my area that I can purchase from. Big companies like Johnnys are just making it harder and harder for the small farmer to compete.

The "hula hoe" is the best weeding tool! We have a third of an acre around our house with gorgeous flower beds which are protected from most weeds with compost. We also have a bit of land growing wild with pine trees and no mulching is possible down there. I used to clean that huge surface on my hands and knees several times during the spring when we bought our house 16 years ago. I have discovered the "hula hoe" recently on YouTube and bought a 7 inch first! It works wonder, no more sore knees or back, in a short time, I cleaned all our back yard effortlessly. It worked so well that I purchased a 3 inch hula hoe for the flower beds. The Johnny seeds hoe are very well built and really handy! Do not hesitate to order one if you want to defeat the weeds without chemicals, you will save yourself time, aches and pain!