WATERVILLE – The last time Nikos Kavanya saw such a spike in demand for vegetable seeds was in 1999, when survivalists bought up all they could in advance of the catastrophic events some were predicting would come on Jan. 1, 2000.

Back then, many people turned to seed suppliers to prepare for a Y2K computer crash that some thought would wreak havoc on the world, said Kavanya, the seed buyer for Fedco Co-op Garden Supplies. The fears were misguided, and the chaos never occurred.

This time around, the increased demand for seeds comes from rising food prices, said Kavanya. Seed sellers say more people appear ready to plant their own gardens this year in hopes of saving money.

Food prices have risen 4.4 percent over the past year, according to the Department of Commerce. The price of some food staples showed even bigger increases, including a 14.7 percent rise in the price of bread and a 13.3 percent increase in milk prices in the past year.

“A lot of people are saying they are going to grow vegetables at home as best they can to help with the cost of everything,” said MaryAnne Bartlett, assistant retail manager of Longfellow’s Greenhouses in Manchester.

Fedco’s seed sales are up about 25 percent this year, Kavanya said. About 100 of the company’s 900 varieties of seeds have sold out, he said.

Sales are also up at Johnny’s Selected Seeds in Winslow, but there’s plenty of supply to go around, spokesman Rob Coburn said.

“There’s absolutely no shortage – there’s plenty of seeds in all categories,” Coburn said. “I think that some of the bigger companies like Johnny’s are better able” to deal with volatility in demand.

Charlie and Gail Kojigian are among those who recently started growing their own food again. They started gardening after a long hiatus when they purchased a farm in South China two years ago.

The startup price of gardening on a large scale – they have seven 40-foot-long beds – may seem exorbitant but will pay off in the long run, Gail Kojigian said.

“Besides, we know where our food is coming from,” she said. “We both love to garden and it just feels good to be outside and working in the soil.”