Consumers may encounter vegetable seed shortage

Barbara Melera, owner of D. Landreth Seeds in New Freedom, Pa., told the Baltimore Sun that consumers may have a hard time finding some kinds of vegetables seeds this year, particularly cucumber and onion sets. She said the reason is that 2009 was one of the worst growing seasons ever. The loss of crops due to excessive rain and disease resulted in major losses.
“We are being told that many, many varieties simply won’t be available,” Melera said.
The newspaper reports that a poor harvest in Europe has compounded the problem since Europeans bought vegetable crops from the U.S. reducing the domestic seed supply.
Melera told the paper that word of possible shortages may be reaching consumers because retailers told her they saw a major increase in seed sales during December. She said that even though gardeners have been ordering their seed earlier, the recent increase is likely due to shortage concerns. She said the shortage might discourage some of the young consumers who are just starting to have a real interest in gardening. It will be interesting to see if a seed shortage results in an increased demand from retailers for vegetable transplants this spring.