Did Michigan Ban Selling Seeds?

For the last few weeks people all over the country have been upset by Governor Gretchen Whitmer's Stay Home, Stay Safe executive order because, among other things, it bans selling plants and seeds. According to Politifact, that's false. But is it?

Politifact is splitting hairs here. Stores larger than 50,000 square feet are required to cordon off sections that the Governor declared non-essential. This specifically includes the garden department. Stores smaller than 50,000 sf are still allowed to keep their garden departments open.

But..., and here's he flaw in Politifact's reasoning, garden centers and nurseries by themselves are not allowed to be open. There's a fairly narrow list of what is allowed and they are not on it.

So, that still leaves stores less than 50,000 sf that are allowed to keep their garden departments open, right? Just try to find one. I was at my local hardware today. It's a small establishment that's been around for decades. They sell a bit of everything. Their garden department consisted of one aisle that's maybe 20 feet long that was all weed killer and fertilizer plus 1/4 of the next aisle that was grass seed. That's all they have room for.

This is a process of elimination. Garden centers are closed. Big box stores that are big enough to have a decent garden center are not allowed to sell anything from them. Smaller stores are too small to carry seeds or plants. So there's no place left to buy them.

Politifact is being obtuse by claiming that there is nothing banning the sale of certain products, just the sections of the stores where those products are kept. How, in heaven's name can you buy seeds if you are not allowed into the garden department where seeds are kept? Do they expect people to buy seeds from the dairy aisle?

I rate Politifact's ruling Pants-on-Fire.