It’s not just toilet paper: Seed suppliers having trouble keeping up

It’s not only toilet paper that’s in short supply these days as seed suppliers struggle to keep up with demand from so many more people growing their own food while in isolation.

West Coast Seeds General Manager Alex Augustyniak says this is usually a busy time supplying many well-known garden supply retailers in Kamloops and the Okanagan, including Art Knapps in Kelowna and Kamloops, Swan Lake Nursery in Vernon and GardenWorks in Penticton.

“March and April are our heaviest months. This year we are seeing five to seven times the usual orders,” Augustyniak says. “We’re 30 days behind on our orders, and we aren’t normally that far behind.”

The company has refocused on its internet and retail orders.

“It’s tough to get orders out while obeying social distancing protocols. We’ve gone to a 24 hour shift to spread everyone out, so there is a fraction of the people we would normally have in our warehouse,” he says.

Augustyniak says garden centres are going crazy too. He’s had to stop his employees from going into stores after the delivery men were mobbed by people wanting seeds.

“It was like a scene at Costco in the toilet paper aisle. We’re now just delivering to the stores and letting the employees put the shipment away,” he says.

Normally business is made up of 60 per cent of return customers and 40 per cent new, but this year the business make up has reversed, to 60 per cent new and 40 per cent return customers.

“People have decided they are going to try gardening, take the kids and learn to grow, which we think is fantastic. We’re excited that way, but right now it’s tough to keep up with demand,” Augustyniak says.

The company has ‘blown through’ its supply of pre-packaged seeds and is now packaging from bulk stock.

“We’ve exceeded our forecasts,” he says.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to tips@infonews.ca and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.