From Butter and Sugar sweet corn to Thumbelina zinnia, thousands of seed packets owe their existence to Gwen Stefani and Boris Karloff. Gardeners, it’s winter and still a bit early to plant seeds.

Starting plants from seed can make vegetable gardening both less expensive and more interesting. “You can buy seeds for a much wider range of plant varieties than garden centers sell as transplants,” ...

At Rohrer Seeds, packaging seeds for the next growing season starts in August, around the time gardeners are still harvesting their crops.