About Us

At Baker Creek, we believe seeds belong to the people. We offer an extraordinary selection of non-GMO, heirloom, and open-pollinated varieties to gardeners, homesteaders, and growers around the world. By preserving and sharing these remarkable seeds—and the history and traditions they carry—we help protect seed diversity and food security for future generations.

Our seeds can be saved, shared, and traded, empowering gardeners to carry varieties forward from one generation to the next. Through seed saving, we celebrate greater independence, sustainable growing, and the simple freedom to grow and share your own food.

Every seed has a story—and so does Baker Creek. What began with a curious little boy exploring his family’s garden grew into a lifelong passion for discovering, saving, and sharing the incredible diversity found in heirloom seeds. Follow Jere Gettle’s journey from his earliest days in the garden to the founding of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, and discover how a love of unusual plants, faraway places, and the stories carried in seeds helped grow a small Missouri seed catalog into a community reaching gardeners around the world.

In The Beginning …

Jere Gettle’s Passion for Heirloom Gardening

Jere’s love of gardening began at an early age, inspired by his grandmothers, Bertha and Opal, who lived nearby in Idaho’s Boise Valley. Their influence sparked a lifelong passion for growing food, collecting seeds, and preserving the traditions and stories connected to heirloom varieties.

Jere planted his first garden at just three years old. After his family moved to the Missouri Ozarks when he was 12, his fascination with rare and open-pollinated varieties continued to grow. He began collecting and cultivating unusual seeds from around the world, laying the foundation for what would eventually become Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company.

In 1998, Jere published his first Baker Creek seed catalog, transforming his childhood passion into a mission to preserve and share heirloom varieties.

Jere Gettle as a child gardening with his grandmother
Jere Gettle with his grandmother

A Family Effort

The Gettle Family: Growing a Legacy

Jere and Emilee Gettle, along with their five children—Ella, Sasha, Malia, Cyan, and Levi—share a love of gardening, family, and sustainable living. Their entrepreneurial spirit extends beyond Baker Creek, with Emilee leading Home Folk and The Bulk Herb Store.

These same values guide Baker Creek’s mission to preserve heirloom seeds, strengthen gardening communities, and encourage healthy, sustainable food. Through humanitarian, gardening, and educational projects, the Gettle family continues to share seeds, knowledge, and a love of growing with communities around the world.

The Gettle family in the gardens
Baker Creek Seed Store at the Ozark-style village in Mansfield, MO
Visit Our Ozark Village In Mansfield MO

Our Farms And Facilities:

At our main farm in Mansfield, MO, we are dedicated to advancing heirloom seed preservation and sustainable farming through comprehensive research, plant breeding, and seed production. Our farm serves as a hub for trial growing, plant selection, nutritional evaluation, and photography to showcase the beauty and diversity of heirloom varieties. Visitors can also explore an old-timey village, featuring a seed store, plant-based restaurant, display gardens, and a variety of heritage breed animals and poultry.

Throughout the year, we host festivals in the spring and fall, offering entertainment, speakers, local vendors, food, and greenhouse tours. These events are a celebration of sustainable gardening, heirloom varieties, and community.

In addition to our main farm, we operate growing facilities in Jamaica, California, and Kenya, where we produce selected heirloom seed varieties and conduct trial growing to evaluate potential crops for future sale. This global reach helps us expand our offerings and discover new, resilient heirloom varieties that thrive in different climates.

Our Seymour, MO facility is home to a 105,000 square-foot warehouse, where we meticulously pack and ship heirloom seeds and gardening products. Here, we implement rigorous quality control testing to ensure that every seed we send out meets the highest standards. Our live plant division propagates a range of top-quality live plants, including berries, figs, and sweet potatoes, helping gardeners grow nutrient-rich, heirloom crops.

We take pride in fast and efficient shipping, offering free shipping in North America on all orders, ensuring that our customers receive their heirloom seeds and plants as quickly as possible.

We Are Rare Seeds

At Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, we believe our dedicated staff are just as rare and unique as the heirloom seeds we offer. Each team member brings their own diverse talents, passions, and deep-rooted knowledge of gardening, sustainability, and seed preservation. Like the rare seeds we nurture and protect, our staff are committed to fostering growth—whether in the garden, our community, or our mission to preserve biodiversity for future generations. Together, we cultivate a vibrant, thriving company that values individual uniqueness and the importance of nurturing every seed, human or plant, with care and respect.

Baker Creek staff collage