« Excited about my new Soil Blocker! | Main | Green Thumb Super Bowl Sunday! »

January 31, 2008

Comments

Nicole

This is my first year starting a veggie garden.. I looked up the extension office for varieties that grow well in my area and the first name that was listed was burpee... and that happend to be the same company I saw when I went to the store to pick out seeds and so it was easy to match the varieties! Maybe next year I will venture out and try different ones.

A couple of companies I like that I didn't see in your photos are Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and Nichols Garden Nursery. I've ordered from them in the past and plan to order from them both again this year. Nichols is not sending out catalogs this year (cutting down on costs and carbon footprint), but I think they'll still send one on request.

I like Southern Exposure, too. Personally, I shop exclusively online. I like looking at the pictures, and it's also very easy to search for the variety and see what other people thought about it. But then again, I've never received a seed catalog in the mail, so I don't really know what I'm missing.

Green River Hill

I love these catalogs as well! Particularly, Fedco and Turtle Tree Biodynamic seeds. We've just started a small business www.greenriverhill.biz, offering collections of organic seeds especially for new gardeners or as gifts....would appreciate any feedback or ideas from fellow garden seed lovers [email protected]

I like a couple of companies. Park seeds and Burpee seeds.

I have ordered from Parks many times and bought Burpee seeds from the store.

Now that I have read this post I am looking at Tottaly tomatoes and Baker Creek. I am looking for two heirloom tomatoes. Cherokee Purple and Black Krim.

Looks like I need to check out Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Nichols Garden Nursery and Green River Hill.

I buy some Burpee seeds from the store as well, Curtis. I grew Black Krim last year and they were great! Black Krim and Cherokee Purple are both good choices!

I will be posting my complete tomato list for 2008 very soon. I'm having trouble narrowing them down to under twenty different kinds!

Patrick

While I always buy a few seeds every year, mostly I save my own seeds and trade with others. Since you can't save seeds from commercial F1 varieties, almost by definition what you save is heirloom, higher quality and more interesting. Among other things, when you save your own seeds the varieties become acclimated to your garden and become more productive.

In fact, if you want cheap seeds, there are many seed savers around willing to send you seeds from their garden for the price of postage alone.

Since I save my own seeds, when I do buy them I only buy them from companies that sell exclusively heirloom or open pollinated (OP) seeds. Companies that sell both F1 and OP varieties are normally bound by marketing agreements not to clearly distinguish between the two kinds, so you never know what you are getting.

Of companies located in the US that sell OP or heirloom varieties, Baker Creek is probably my favorite. Their prices are good, the selection is very good and the quality of their seeds is high. They are also very honest and friendly people. The only negative thing is I find some of their seeds a little boring sometimes (which isn't always bad).

For more exciting seeds, I like the Seed Savers Exchange website. Be prepared to pay for exciting, because their seeds are a lot more expensive. They have some excellent tomatoes by the way.

Other excellent places for OP/heirloom seeds are The Victory Seed Company, Bountiful Gardens and Sand Hill Preservation.

I like Southern Exposure, but I think their prices are too high and packet size too small to make them a good value. I buy things from them when I can't find them anywhere else.

I had to smile when I saw your "top 6" as they are some of my favorites as well. Have been ordering from Pinetree for many years, as I like to try new things and their small packets (and small prices) allow me to do so. I also love Gardens Alive.... I get lots of comments on my healthy tomato plants, which I attribute to their 'Tomatoes Alive' product.
This was also my first year to order from Baker Creek. I was disappointed that there were no growing instructions on the packets ....you have to go to their website to get them. For tomatoes that would be no big deal, but I grow quite a few heirloom flowers and they all have specific needs.
I also place a good sized order each year with Nichols and have always had good success with their seeds, both flower and vegetable.

tbalch

You should try High Mowing Seed company - they carry some really great tomatoes and other veggies that aren't in other catalogs... I love High Mowing Seeds!!

Jean

I love Swallowtail Garden Seeds. Their selection is fabulous and their seeds are AMAZING!!

The comments to this entry are closed.

  • Burpee.com - Garden HP Image

  • Gardener's Supply Company
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

  • Compost Products for Organic Compost