(Mansfield, MO) --  If you're looking to slash your grocery bills, one sure way is to grow your own food.
You may not have room for cattle or chickens, but even a small container of dirt can yield a ton of tomatoes.
Knowing that, it seems a lot more Americans are ready to do a little digging in the dirt this spring...
Just ask the folks at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  It's located just outside Mansfield, Missouri, and this year, it's practically seeing money grow on trees.


A small seed company, located in rural Wright County, is bustling this spring.  But most of the people filling the aisles are workers, not shoppers. And they need to fill a stack of internet orders that came in yesterday.

"Coming into work and seeing stacks and stacks of orders where last year you were able to get through them all in a week and now you're two weeks behind because of all the orders coming in...it's been really wonderful," says Baker Creek employee Davina Whited.

To say business is "growing" at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds would be an understatement.

"The demand this year has just been incredible," says owner Jere Gettle. "I mean, gardening companies, especially people that sell vegetable seeds, are reporting sales at least double.  Our sales this year have been over two and a half times what they were last year.  And last year, we doubled the year before."

In fact, business has been booming so much here at Baker Creek, a year's supply of catalogs actually ran out for a while in mid-January.

Now, a few of the shelves are actually bare as the most popular varieties have sold out.

Not only is the race on to fill and ship customers' orders, but in the warehouse, workers are counting seeds and filling packets, trying to keep ahead of the demand.  Gettle says he has one of the few businesses that does better in a bad economy.  Right now is his busy season, and he's employing about 95-people.  That's not bad for a man who started his business twelve years ago, when he was just 17.

In the beginning, a lot of home gardeners were attracted to his business, because he only sells heirloom seeds.
"Everything we got, the majority of it is at least 75 years old," Gettle notes.

A lot of people consider those old varieties to be better tasting, better for the environment and even safer.  But there's a penny-pinching attraction, too.

"If you save your seeds you can use your own plants the next year," suggests Whited.  "It's a money-saver."  With the economy, the way it is, it's very smart and wise.

"Many of the varieties at the grocery store are hybrid. So those, if you save seed from those you won't get the same thing," Gettle points out. "You might save seed from a big tomato and get a cherry tomato the next year."

But customer Jennifer Breitkreutz and her husband do have a lot of seeds saved from years of shopping their Baker Creek catalog.
"Everything we grow in our garden is from here. we grow a lot of tomatoes, I like every color. I'm a really big fan."

That's kind of an understatement.  Jennifer's husband is stationed in Ohio.  And this stop at Baker Creek was part of a bigger trip to visit family in Oklahoma.  The drive took them an extra day, but Jennifer says getting her hands on these seed packets is worth it. "Oh, yeah, it was like a dream come true.  I really, really wanted to come here today.

And, armed with her catalog, she is planning to spend some money. "We highlighted what we already have saved from last year and the year before and then we highlighted what we've already purchased for this year and then anything we or with a "have" by it, if I see it here today and I want it...I'll know what to get."

But despite the cash she'll leave behind, Jennifer says in the end, she'll save a bundle. "It's a very good deal for the money."

If you're interested in learning more about Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, visit their website.  www.rareseeds.com


You can also visit the store and old-time village during the annual Spring Planting Festival.
May 3rd & 4th
10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Just North of Mansfield off Hwy. 5
Store Open Sunday-Friday