I'm not sure about southern VS the rest of the country, but I would guess people are panicking about the virus and suddenly wanting to grow their own!

uhm, there have been seed racks locally here since mid-late February,. i'm not that far from you (southern CT). there seems to be plenty still available a month later at almost all the local chains..

i do not doubt that there are more seeds being sold this year (tin-foil hat people think the world is ending, hence buying stock piles of toilet paper and supplies - but i bet their refrigerator is empty and have no food, but hey, at least they have toilet paper to wipe?)..

could just be a supply/demand thing depending on the area.. i would guess there are far more places here to buy seeds from locally than Austria/UK. hell, there is six Walmarts here in a 10 mile radius, not to mention the various other local outlets selling seeds as well, and as I mentioned, all seem to have a lot of seeds still.

I assume this question is aimed at southern gardeners because northern gardeners are largely not direct seeding summer plants right now. I see racks of seeds all over the place, and they don't seem to be empty in the least. Lots of other market racks are empty though ...

My regular complaint is that these summer seed racks always appear around the time we'd be doing direct seeding. But I start many of my summer plants long before last frost, and raise the seedlings indoors. None of the seeds for summer plants are available then. So if I get my seeds locally, I need to remember to do so the previous year.

A lot of the online retailers are overwhelmed. I haven't been to the hardware store in a week and a half, but the seed racks were full when I was there! I don't think you can order seeds for pickup, is the issue, so you have to be ok with going into the store. I'm in zone 7 so a little ahead of you, but our seed racks were out in February so I imagine yours are too, by now.

I think it probably is panic buying. A lot of people will be very disappointed when they realize they have no clue how to even plant their seeds, much less grow vegetables.

I made a quick trip to Lowe's on Saturday and the seed rack there were well stocked, as were the ones at a couple of other places I went to a week or two ago.

While I live in a very mild hardiness zone, I am also very far north......further north than most anyone else that has responded!! Seed racks in nurseries and stores here are out as soon as the Christmas stuff gets put away. Hard to do much in the way of winter sowing without any seeds available :-)

Racks here are still fully supplied. A bit too early to do much direct sowing - peas and greens and onion starts. Everything else need to wait until the sol warms up more.

Everything else need to wait until the sol warms up more.

Typo or no? The soil won't warm up until the sol warms up. hahaha

LOL!! Yeah, that was a typo. I meant soil. Although we seldom ever get very cold in winter, for some reason soil temps are very slow to rise here. Not suggested to plant out warm season crops until at least Mother's Day.

Not clear what panic buying has to do with vegetable seeds. There is no shortage of vegetables in any of the stores I go to. Of course, people who are locked down may just be bored, and looking for something to do. Plant a garden? Why not?

dan, I'm not clear on why panic buying of any kind!! Other than TP and cleaning supplies - which are depleted simply because of panic buying - stores here have plenty of everything. I understand those who have been ordered to shelter in place but going to the grocery store (or pharmacy) as necessary is exempt.

Like others have said our local HD, Lowes, etc have fully stocked seed racks here in Va, and I'm getting almost daily emails from Burpee offering seed order discounts and/or free shipping on orders over a certain dollar amount.

Yes, so far the grocery stores are stocked with produce but seed seekers are most likely looking down the road a few months when they might be low due to a possible increase of virus related problems interfering with the production line.

I ordered my seeds in January; have already been eating the cool season crops and will direct sow the summer stuff any day now.

I've been growing about 60 flats of annuals all winter.....my garage growing area is in full color!

I've seen full stocks of starters and seeds in Southern California nurseries, doesn't seem local nurseries are doing too well but it's just my observation. Mostly TP, diapers, & cleaning supplies are out but food is still in decent supply.

I think it will be dependent on the area.

In my area, there no shortages of seeds or beginning veggie and herb plants at the locally owned nurseries or the chain nurseries or the big box stores that also have a garden center.

However, I would suggest that because some of the virus hotspots are in the North East and we don't know well contained things will be in a few weeks, you should prepare ahead of time since you know this is a possibility. But preparing means to shop wisely and early, not necessarily to stockpile seeds from other consumers!

An example: get your seed starter kits now while it's not in demand, compared to getting it later when the other people also remember to go get it and you might not find the supplies you want.

While you could start seeds with your own DIY craftiness, some people do like the seed kits for humidity domes, grow pellets, organized growing cells, etc

This would suggest that things may be changing.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/an-onslaught-of-orders-engulfs-seed-companies-amid-coronavirus-fears/2020/03/27/5a19ccca-6ec7-11ea-aa80-c2470c6b2034_story.html

To some extent southern gardeners have the advantage here, because we largley got our seeds long ago.

This is what's going on in the UK..

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/empty-store-shelves-spur-brits-040000457.html

If this goes into the summer as some models predict...we may be in for a rude awakening. It's planting time in California and they are shorthanded already. Mexico refuses to quarantine, so supply coming from there will be non existent.

https://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/covid--slashes-available-seasonal-workers-for-growers-in-napa/article_ffd14b2e-f915-5e83-b7a1-8903576906bc.html

Plant extra..your friends and family may very well need your help this year.