Seed Suppliers in Costa Rica
Getting good seeds in Costa Rica is difficult. If you live in one of the hot and humid beach areas, the seeds seem to go bad very quickly… far before the expiration date.
Most local ferreterias and cooperativas don’t carry a very good selection, and you’ll almost never find organic seeds there. In our part of Costa Rica, few local farmers have many of their own seeds beyond a handful of common species such as ayote (squash) or passion fruit. Most of the locals here grow plants that work from cuttings or shoots, such as sugarcane or yuccha, and root vegetables like sweet potatoes.
Many people resort to smuggling seeds from U.S. seed suppliers, which is technically illegal, but common since the country doesn’t have a good variety of organic seeds. The authorities at the airports don’t look very hard for these things and in the rare cases they do find them, they just take them away.
Here’s a list of U.S. suppliers that have seeds for tropical climates: https://ranchodelicioso.com/seeds-tropical-climates/
There are a few places you can get good seeds in Costa Rica, and here’s that list:
Casa de Semillas Criollas Atenas
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/casadesemillascriollas.atenas
Granos Paz
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Granos-PAZ/179713225466572
La Casa de Las Semillas
This is a small place in the center of San Jose. We have found that their seeds grow very consistently here. They’re not organic, but they work for organic gardening. They don’t have “exotic” vegetables like kale, but they do have basics like lettuce, carrots, beets, radish, cilantro, celery, etc
Phone: 2223-2501
New Dawn Center
Organic, local seeds that do well in Costa Rica. Tomatoes, lettuce, squash, sesame, and more.
Phone: 506-2770-4229
Email: thenewdawncenter@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.thenewdawncenter.info/blog.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-New-Dawn-Center-of-Costa-Rica/223761531000285
Semillas para el Futuro LEM
Wide variety of seeds, specializing in seeds for hydroponic growing. They also have a large assortment of materials for hydroponic growth such as shredded coconut and anti-aphid screen material.
Phone: 2274-2414
Website: http://semillascr.com/semillas.html
