Seed Catologs

[deb4o]

o.k. it's getting to be that time of year and the catalogs are rolling in.

So who is your favorite seed company to order from?

I have only used Bugress and then only for flowering plants.This year I would like to order seeds for my veggie garden, in the past I just got them at the local stores.

I notice that with shipping the price of seeds from this catalogy are kind of high.

My second question would be: is the quality from catalogs better than the quality of seeds I get locally,thus the cost of shipping is worth it.

Thoughts Please

 

[Iceblink]

Ohh, seed catalog po%^! I love it.

I order most of my seeds from Seed Savers exchange, and I think it's worth the price. Last year the seed potatoes, tomatoe seedlings, and celery, corn, carrots and one type of green bean seeds that I bought because they were cheap were all mislabeled. I ended up saucing cherry tomatoes, since all my 'Romas' ended up being cherries, the 'Tenderpick' green beans were late and stringy, and the celery was hollow and bitter.

My 'expensive' seeds, on the other hand, grew well, were delicious, and because they were open pollinated, I saved the seeds and myself some $ at the same time.

This year I am also ordering from Bountiful Gardens, they have some great grain and forage crops. Their prices seem pretty reasonable, and their shipping wasn't bad at all.

 

[sylvie]

I like Baker Creek, The Cook's Garden, Seed Saver's, Territorial.

I also buy sale seeds from last year where ever they are set out for pennies on the dollar. We have a few stores that do this. Never buy carrot or parsnip unless they are fresh and new with this year's date because they aren't viable past one year in most instances.

I buy some seed from the feed mill, especially bulk.

Some open pollinated pricey seeds have been a flop for me in the past. I'm sure it is the suppliers, but I returned to some hybrid after numerous losses. That's why I have a certain degree of comfort with sale seeds and feed mill.

I would love to shop around the seed catalogs, because there are so many unusual offerings, but the shipping costs can be outrageous when only ordering one specialty packet.

 

[GardenWeasel]

I get the bulk of my seeds from Pine Tree seeds. Their prices generally beat out most of the competition. For special seeds I go to Seeds of Change. But I personally spend hours pouring over seed catalogs and often find new recipes or uses for plants I already grow.

 

[hwillm1977]

I buy most of my veggie seeds on Ebay (they are .30 a package or 6 packs for a dollar), I have for the last few years... The guy I bought from owns a greenhouse in Wisconsin and saves his own seeds so they aren't commercial packs. I fill in anything else with local packs of seeds.

I do spend hours and hours going through Vesey's and Halifax Seed Co. catalogues which come to my house...

For heirloom seeds I like www.cottagegardener.com and www.annapolisseeds.com

Annapolis Seeds is run by an 18 year old who started the company when he was 16... he grows acres of plants for seed... 360 varieties... I think that's fantastic

 

[Wifezilla]

I order from Baker Creek. I have also found some good ebay sellers. I also get a lot of seeds through www.TheEasyGarden.com and www.Backyardchickens.com ...sister sites to Sufficient Self.

Both have active seed swapping threads (a little slow now but will pick up in the next few weeks). It's a great way to get a small variety of a bunch of different seeds. Last year I got a small pack of dragon tongue beans and they were awesome! So this year I ordered a whole pack. Someone who took my offer of a sample size of those same beans is going to try them and see how they do so she can decide if she wants to place a larger order.

Here are the two threads...
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=250742&p=1
http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=24786&p=1

 

[deb4o]

Thanks everyone for the input, I can tell now not only will I be busy with the catalogs, but I have alot of sites to check out.

Thank goodness for long winter nights and the internet.

 

[onebuggirl]

I love Seed Saver Exchange! I ordered my seeds and got them in 4 days! Gardens are all planned now if the snow would melt and it would suddenly be May!

 

[Iceblink]

I have read that Monsanto owns Territorial, and several other seed companies. They try to keep it pretty quiet though. Just an FYI.

 

[hwillm1977]

I have read that Monsanto owns Territorial, and several other seed companies. They try to keep it pretty quiet though. Just an FYI.

Monsanto doesn't own Territorial, but they do own Seminis, which supplies seeds to Territorial... if you email Territorial they will supply you with a list of the seeds they get from Seminis.

Edited to add: that was just the last I heard, but that was last year, or the year before?