Best/Worst Vegetable or flower seed companies?

[Red Fang]

I am interested in knowing what veggie or combination veggie/flower seed companies are the best, and worst. I have been gardening for over 20 years, some small and some almost commercial size, but always a veggie garden.

This is my take:

Burpee has quality seeds and a few things I desire. They were never cheap but once were affordable. Now, ouch, $5 a pack?! Seems like they are catering to the hoitie toitie connosseur gardeners who don't care about price, and the seed company no longer cares about the small orderer on a budget. The seeds I ordered way back germinated well, in fact I still get almost 100% on pepper seeds I am still using from 2000!

Park has been in the top 3 in my book forever, well since about 20 years ago at least, when I started mail-ordering seeds. They actually seemed more pricey back then, and lately seemed to offer the best combination of value and quality and reasonable shipping rates around. This year, I tried to order from them, and never got an order confirmation. I tried sending a message on their complaint page and it was frozen. I tried the next day, and it went through, and I sent at least 2 e-mails to them as well. All this over like 3 days, and after a full business day had passed since my weekend order. They have yet to respond! I went onto Dave's Garden and it seems lately they have gone way downhill but I want people here to confirm or refute this.

Stoke's had the best germination rates and wonder hybrids of anyone, but the germination had slipped a bit the last I used them 5 or 6 years ago. Seeds can be pricey in the packets, but larger quantities are quite reasonable and the reason why I don't need to order from them often. They recently hiked their S/H to an outrageous $6.95 or was it $8.95?

Harrris and Gurney were good way back when, haven't ordered there in at least 12 years.

There are a whole host of eco-friendly, heirloom and other small companies lately and I can't keep up. A lot of them seem to have outrageous S/H rates and mediocre open-pollinated strains (not all OP's are mediocre) for high prices.

I tried "Totally Tomatoes" this year, they get mixed reviews but the seeds all arrived fairly promptly and we will see how they germinate.

oh yeah (edit) and Pinetree is my favorite of late, really reasonable and for the last 2 years I have been using them, good to great germination and vigor and excellent prices on seeds and S/H. Johnny's is a little pricey but has a few things I want and have by far the best customer service, willing to do whatever in their power to help you out. I may overlook the price a bit more and order more from them in the future as they are that nice!
How about you? Which have you had good or bad luck with?

 

[DocLeaf]

There are a whole host of eco-friendly, heirloom and other small companies lately and I can't keep up. A lot of them seem to have outrageous S/H rates and mediocre open-pollinated strains (not all OP's are mediocre) for high prices.

fritillary collective

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=135915

veggie seed multipacks are available at seedbay for $10. There's also a an FRT Pepper and Ganja combination seed pack for $30.

100% organic,, collected from heirloom, ibl, and heritage seed stocks...

please click the butterfly below for more info.

 

[Red Fang]

To be honest, I thought you were being a jokester/wiseass at first! I'm thinking "yes I like growing THOSE seeds too, veg and flower I get it they have both cycles, hahaha" but then I checked the links and realize you really do have veggie seeds! Most interesting, I have to register at seedbay and check it out! I did register but don't remember the name or password now!
I am glad you care about cannabis and even more glad you care about more than JUST cannabis. I hope that holds true for most people here and then I have more faith in the future path of the world. peace

 

[DocLeaf]

There's plenty GOOD people aiming to do a GOOD thing around here.

peace n flowers

 

[Clackamas Coot]

Red Fang

Nichols Garden Nursery in Albany, Oregon has been in business for over 60 years. They specialize in heirloom seeds, organic, non-GMO, etc. They also have some herbs that are only available in a rooted cutting.

You can peruse their catalog to see their offerings. You can also download the catalog in PDF format and you can also request a printed copy.

I've done business with them for over 20 years and it's the first company to check when looking for this or that.

HTH

CC

 

[pearlemae]

CC, Nichols is great. I like Territorial seeds in Cottage Grove, Oregon nalso

www.territorialseeds.com

 

[Clackamas Coot]

CC, Nichols is great. I like Territorial seeds in Cottage Grove, Oregon nalso

www.territorialseeds.com

Pearl

The founder of Territorial Seeds was Steve Solomon - a great writer who focused (in part) on gardening west of the Cascades.

His COF (Complete Organic Fertilizer) is still posted all over the web and is a very good base from which to start for amending your raised beds, etc. I strongly disagree with some versions of this mix to include cottonseed meal. That's probably the worst choice an organic gardener can make. Lots of reasons why on that one.

He now lives in Tasmania and runs one of the better research sites for organic/sustainable farming - Soil & Health Library

Good web site to peruse if you have questions about composting, worm bins, mulch, soil amendments, rock dusts, etc.

HTH

CC

 

[Clackamas Coot]

Peace Seeds - Corvallis, Oregon

Very limited selection but what they do have is very interesting for those that want to grow some exotic cultivars of various plants. Their legume selection is my favorite.

They're associated with other groups around the world trying to save plants of all types. Good links at this web site if you're interested.

CC

 

[Amber Trich]

Johnny's is a little pricey but has a few things I want and have by far the best customer service, willing to do whatever in their power to help you out. I may overlook the price a bit more and order more from them in the future as they are that nice!

Johnny's is my favorite for seeds that need stratification... they give very specific and detailed germination info on each packet.

horizonherbs is really good too, especially if you like herbs

 

[ronbo51]

Fedco Seeds from Maine is the best. They have co-op pricing, no GMO, proven strains and a large selection of gardening supplies. They supply large organic farmers as well as small home grows. Anything they don't have Johnny's does. For northern growers these two companies are the ticket

 

[WasntMe]

In addition to a couple that Coot already mentioned, I have also had great experiences with www.seedsofchange.com (great variety,excellently organized website and catalog with lots of pics and info), they ship seeds and seedlings. Retail and wholesale options.

 

[Red Fang]

Red Fang

Nichols Garden Nursery in Albany, Oregon has been in business for over 60 years. They specialize in heirloom seeds, organic, non-GMO, etc. They also have some herbs that are only available in a rooted cutting.
HTH

CC

thanks man! I heard about them in the past but assumed they just had, well, nursery stuff like live plants which tend to be costly. But I checked anyway, and they do have veggie and flower seeds and from what I saw, they are reasonable too! Thanks for pointing that out! Territorial and seeds of change are some of those I referred to when I said they cater to "hoitie toities". $8 for a pack of brussels sprouts from SOC? Ouch! I believe in supporting good causes, but also believe in keeping that separate from my seed business. For the longest time, my finances were in a deep freeze and before that my mom used to get seeds for my birthday present. And she too was on a budget. Things may finally be thawing a bit, but I still can't bring myself to pay $8 for something I can get for $2 or 3 elsewhere for the same quality. I grow more for sustinence than hobby, and when things produce as they should I supply most of my own vegetables for the year, growing a little of almost everything. There are just a few things I DONT grow. My gardens aren't huge, but not small either, usually a little plus or minus a quarter acre or at least 40 by 40. Check Pinetree and Park for what I mean by "reasonable prices".

 

[Red Fang]

Fedco Seeds from Maine is the best. They have co-op pricing, no GMO, proven strains and a large selection of gardening supplies. They supply large organic farmers as well as small home grows. Anything they don't have Johnny's does. For northern growers these two companies are the ticket

Fedco, thanks for reminding me! They do seem reasonable and good for us northern growers. Johnny's I said was a little pricey, but just a little, really not too bad at all. Good suggestions! I did not mean to knock SOC or Territorial, they look like they support good causes and if my finances continue to "thaw", I may check them out. I do think I will still look for value for the majority of my purchases though. In all fairness, I must say that despite very poor customer service, Park shipped my order in full and amazingly quickly too. As someone on Dave's Garden mentioned, one of my packets had a sticker on it saying "packed for 2011" and underneath you could see "packed for 2010". If they were trying to pass off old seeds as new as that person suggested, I would think they would be a little smarter and less obvious than that. It's much more likely that they just screwed up the date on the package and printed 2010 instead of 2011 and the sticker is meant to reflect that. We will see, once I start the seeds. As far as organic or GMO, many of the seed companies I listed offer organic and they all say they don't have GMO seeds. They are larger companies and I do believe in supporting the little guy so I probably will once finances allow me to disburse money here and there and everywhere. all great suggestions, keep them coming!

 

[HighDesertJoe]

Good Luck Red Fang in your quest for seeds andI hope you have a very successful growing season I think every able body person should grow fruits and vegetables.
More Power To you.

 

[mean mr.mustard]

Great thread!

 

[Kcar]

Renee's Garden seeds are awesome!
http://www.reneesgarden.com/seeds/seeds-hm/seeds.html

 

[danabis]

Ed Hume Seeds in Wa. state has good prices. http://www.humeseeds.com/ but not the largest selection.

 

[Red Fang]

Good Luck Red Fang in your quest for seeds andI hope you have a very successful growing season I think every able body person should grow fruits and vegetables.
More Power To you.

thanks dude! I want to be more and more self sufficient, getting into like bean and wheat production and all that. A homesteader sort of. I want to preserve more veggies for the winter months. I don't eat much meat. I can never see giving it up totally but would like to eat more vegetarian dishes. Hunt whatever meat I do eat (turkeys and deer pass through the yard frequently), fish my own fish to some extent and eat more fish in general. Trade my produce for fish fresh off the boat if I could!

 

[Clackamas Coot]

Trade my produce for fish fresh off the boat if I could!

Red Fang

I/we buy our seafood direct from the boats at Newport Bay on the Oregon Coast. Fresh salmon runs $3.00 per lb. and you end up with about 50% after filleting and such. Still - $6.00 per lb. for fresh, ocean caught salmon is definitely a killer deal.

Then there's the halibut catch, Dungeness crab, etc. Not a bad way to spend a day - driving through forests and forest to hit the coast and have this kind of product available?

Almost as much fun as living in Long Beach, California - at least it's 'Cali' eh?

CC

 

[PuReKnOwLeDgE]

Thanks for the thread, I am giving a try at growing some veggies this year. I will be planning it all out soon and this thread will help me get the ball rolling.