What Seed Catalogue to Use?

I live in New England. It is time to order seeds. The seed catalogue people are aware of this. And so I get far more than I can handle. It is confusing. So this year, I tried to be systematic. I ended up writing an article about what are the best catalogues. It is too long to post here (11 tables). I focused most of my efforts on seed price. I only wish there was some way to measure seed quality. In any case, the article can be found at http://www.morssglobalfinance.com/which-seed-catalogue-to-use/.

I hope readers find it helpful.

I've been market gardening for 25 years. Also reading seed catalogs for all of them. I did what you did years ago. Listing companies & trying to find the best prices, etc. We used to raise 1000's of flowers & sell them as bedding plants.
So after all that experience, I now order most vegetables from Johnny's. Flower seeds from Harris & certain tomatoes & peppers from Totally Tomatoes.
Most seeds from these three companies grow well. Sometimes I had a bad germination. All were very good replacing seeds for no charge.
Have a Great Gardening Season!
Bernie

Great article. Thanks for sharing.

That's why I always use
http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/

I too recommend Johnny's Selected Seeds.
The service and products are both great.

Paul

I have found that alot of the times,when you find a lower price on something,you just get a smaller amount of seed.Edge

Oh my goodness! I love your analysis! Now can you do each vegetable? How am I going to choose between 10-15 different beet varieties - and then multiply that by all the vegetables I'm growing! ha.

I was listening to NPR the other day, and the interview with author Jonah Lehrer, who wrote a book called How We Decide, has been on my mind ever since. It's a book on the neuroscience of decision making. One of the things he said that we're bombarded with much more information than the brain can really process. Here's a link to the transcript. http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=122854276 if you're interested. Your approach to making these decisions made me think of this.

Anyway, when I saw your location, I thought of High Mowing Seeds because they're in your part of the country. Actually, Fedco is in your part of the country, too, and I didn't see them on your list. I also like the Territorial Seed catalog for the good information it has on growing their products. I still have so much to learn.

I struggle with who to buy from as well, but favor the companies that aren't aligned with the big guys. If they give information on how they collect their seed or who they do business with or their attitude toward organics and preserving heirlooms, that resonates with me. It's a much less analytical approach, but sometimes we just have to go with our gut.

Elliott! That is quite the amazing analysis! and I thought I was a bit "anal" over my seed ordering...

The one thing that has particularly struck me this year is the cost of shipping. I ordered a few seeds, along with my trellis netting and "floating row cover" from Gurneys because they offered me free shipping.

If I want a smaller number of seeds and a low price, I order from Pinetree. If I want lots of seeds (I use and give away quite a few plants), I like HPS. For various other reasons I love Johnny's, Cook's Garden and John Sheepers. I order from Burpee because that is the only one that has "4th of July" tomatoes, which I could live without but the friends and family that get plants from me particularly want. (and I also really like the "Sugar and Spice" marigolds) For garlic, Territorial.

Johnny's also has wonderfully informative articles on their website.

No wonder the shipping is killing me... I'm seriously thinking that next year I need to rethink my plan and find more of what I need locally.

Sandy

Hi, I always end up buying my seeds from Pinetree seeds in Maine. They're econimacal, I've never had a problem with the seeds. I get a few seeds from Bakers Creek and others but Pinetree is my favorite.

I like Pinetree as well.I like Thyme Garden for herbs.Usually order a few things from Seeds of Change.Edge

Try Stokes Seed Co. I have used them for years. Some object to the $6.95 shipping charge. They have an excellent catalog and web site. You can purchase packets or grower quantities.

Others are charging way more than that for shipping. A few small packets of tomato seed cost more to ship than a big box of cabinet parts. In fact twice as much!
Bernie