vfem
Garden Addicted
Awww... yes, heirloom! Good choice, and you'll be saving money for years to come if you are happy with your varieties. I am going to give Seed Savers Exchange a try this year I do believe.
All Heirloom Seeds This Year!
- Thread starter bigredfeather
- Start date
Rosalind
Deeply Rooted
Seed Savers Exchange did pretty well for me last year. OK, anyway, most things grew with average germination rates (50-75%), and the descriptions of the veggies were accurate--more accurate than I've ever gotten from Burpee et al.
I've not had as much luck from Seeds of Change. Found their stuff had low-ish germination rates, some of their things didn't grow at all, descriptions in catalog did not match the resulting plant very well. Not that they sent me the wrong stuff, just that they over-sold the merits a bit, marked some things as "part shade" that should have been "full sun," indicated less watering and fertilization requirements than were really necessary to get any crop, had things down as many fewer days than they actually took. I know some things are not going to grow in slightly different climate, but when something is marked as "60 days" I rather expect to get some veggies before, you know, October. So I rarely buy from them now if I can help it. Only thing of theirs that I really like is the bread seed poppies and carnation poppies, and I have now found a better source (JL Hudson) for the bread seed poppies. Tried to seed my carnation poppies around last year, hope they take.
Best germination rates I have found for the usual veggies came from Sand Hill Preservation. They are a giant pain in the tush to order from, everything is old-fashioned paper order forms, they take for-freakin'-ever to update their website with inventory, but completely worth it for the best germination rates and most accurate descriptions. If something takes 55 days to fruit, by cracky, 55 days it is. So will be ordering from them as much as possible this year.
Other favorite for flowers and the really odd stuff is JL Hudson. Also a bit weird to order from, but they have the odd stuff you'd never find elsewhere. Not so much for veggies, but for flowers, herbs, cacti, anything out of the ordinary, they are great. I have a lot of shady areas that are good for bugger-all except hellebores and Alpine strawberries, and they've got those. And excellent germination rates and germination instructions.
I've not had as much luck from Seeds of Change. Found their stuff had low-ish germination rates, some of their things didn't grow at all, descriptions in catalog did not match the resulting plant very well. Not that they sent me the wrong stuff, just that they over-sold the merits a bit, marked some things as "part shade" that should have been "full sun," indicated less watering and fertilization requirements than were really necessary to get any crop, had things down as many fewer days than they actually took. I know some things are not going to grow in slightly different climate, but when something is marked as "60 days" I rather expect to get some veggies before, you know, October. So I rarely buy from them now if I can help it. Only thing of theirs that I really like is the bread seed poppies and carnation poppies, and I have now found a better source (JL Hudson) for the bread seed poppies. Tried to seed my carnation poppies around last year, hope they take.
Best germination rates I have found for the usual veggies came from Sand Hill Preservation. They are a giant pain in the tush to order from, everything is old-fashioned paper order forms, they take for-freakin'-ever to update their website with inventory, but completely worth it for the best germination rates and most accurate descriptions. If something takes 55 days to fruit, by cracky, 55 days it is. So will be ordering from them as much as possible this year.
Other favorite for flowers and the really odd stuff is JL Hudson. Also a bit weird to order from, but they have the odd stuff you'd never find elsewhere. Not so much for veggies, but for flowers, herbs, cacti, anything out of the ordinary, they are great. I have a lot of shady areas that are good for bugger-all except hellebores and Alpine strawberries, and they've got those. And excellent germination rates and germination instructions.
Lavender2
Garden Addicted
Just thought I would report back on Pinetree Garden Seeds - superseeds.com
I received my order in 7 days, 32 items, 1 item back ordered ... looks good!:happy_flower
Go away snow!!
Pinetree doesn't have a fancy catalog with big glossy pictures, but that's okay, I can't plant it ...
They also have smaller packets on some things, but if you order 2 packs it's usually still cheaper than many other seed companies.
I like the smaller quantity if it's something I just want to try a few of.
Baker Creek looks like a good one also ... and the many others mentioned on TEG !
Thanks for sharing your sources and experience!
I think my garden is full ... I have to stop ... or move the swamp ... :tools
I received my order in 7 days, 32 items, 1 item back ordered ... looks good!:happy_flower
Go away snow!!
Pinetree doesn't have a fancy catalog with big glossy pictures, but that's okay, I can't plant it ...
They also have smaller packets on some things, but if you order 2 packs it's usually still cheaper than many other seed companies.
I like the smaller quantity if it's something I just want to try a few of.
Baker Creek looks like a good one also ... and the many others mentioned on TEG !
Thanks for sharing your sources and experience!
I think my garden is full ... I have to stop ... or move the swamp ... :tools
boggybranch
Deeply Rooted
Recieved the new "Seed Savers Exchange 2010 Catalog" just today in the mail. Believe I'm going to go all heirloom this year, also......from them.vfem said:
