America's oldest seed company - and most beautiful seed catalog ever! Heirloom and unusual varieties
http://landrethseeds.com/
Favorite Seed Companies
I would somewhat recommend Cherrygal.com,
Yes, she has many bad reviews because people have had some serious concerns with germination rates, professionalism, and lack of customer service.
Her website however, has a wealth of information, a ton of rare heirloom seeds, and the prices do not exceed $1.50ish. She is able to keep the packets down by offering just 20-30 seeds of each cultivar. At least check it out.
Amy, so glad you turned me onto landrethseeds.com, I'm navigating the website and not only is it beautiful but the prices are perfect! Thanks!
Tried to read through as much as possible, so sorry if this is a double post.
But my new favorite website for seeds is:
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds : www.rareseeds.com
Good prices, and a ton of rare cultivars.
I also have ordered from: Sustainable Seed Company many times ( www.sustainableseedco.com ) - They're absolutely wonderful. Classy website with wonderful navigation and great selections on heirlooms. They seem to really care about the quality of their seeds. Every time I get packets from them the vegetables grow to insane sizes and are always overly healthy.
This message was edited Jan 6, 2013 10:11 AM
This message was edited Jan 6, 2013 10:12 AM
This message was edited Jan 6, 2013 10:12 AM
Quote from 1lisac :
Blomma there are many ways to prevent cross pollination in O/P veggies ie: isolation, bagging the flowers, to name just a couple. Heirloom O/P veggie aren't hybrids that are hand pollinated to get a specific variety like Celebrity and Early Girl. The home gardener can save seeds from O/P veggies and expect them to grow true the next season, if the seeds are saved correctly. Not so with hybrid seeds.
I am well aware of all that. There is no guarantees if what you buy is true to name. I have seen that stated in website. I pollinate both iris and daylilies so I know how it works and how persistant bees are. Sellers that sell seed must have a huge volume of plants to isolate from sneaky bees.
You really have to take what sellers of seeeds state with a grain of salt.
Blomma I dont know anything about flowers but many veggies are self pollinating some are better at it then others due to the shape of the flower. I have had good luck with commercial seeds but I dont even bother with trades anymore, Ive ended up with too many crosses.
To be perfectly honest, most of our world's biodiversity is a by-product of billions and billions of cross pollinations.
I understand the passion involved in people wanting to keep heirlooms as pure as possible (it kind of reminds me of
hardcore dog breeders who find mutts absolutely disgusting in their opinion). But philosophically speaking,
I really don't care if I receive a seed in a trade that is a 'tad' different than what it's cultivar is 'suppose' to look like.
I just take joy in growing things, and as a gardener, I find beauty in all life. Just my two cents.
I agree too. My favorite animals are mutts, that somebody dropped off on my country road and they adopted me. However, if I pay for a pure bred I expect a that.
Also, I like the idea of keeping a genetic line pure. I realize that mutations will happen as a result of natural selection. But if I get a type of tomato that grows well, I like the flavor and it grows well here I want to be able to grow it again. Peppers are the worst, especially hot peppers as far as crossing goes. They maybe self pollinating but they cross easily too. It's frustrating to grow out a pepper, that I've wanted, only to have it set fruit....and it's not what I was expecting...less experienced growers may think it's what it's supposed to be, so it gets passed off as something it's not. Nobody wants to pay for a pure bred and get a mutt. I've been breeding horses for too long to do that. : )
I assume 2 dollars to trade a large sum of seeds is next to nothing. When trading, I don't have expectations. I also buy quality heirlooms from reputable distributors when I'm looking for them and have expectations. But trading has been an amazing medium for me to save the money and still try new things. If I find out it wasn't what I was hoping for, no sweat. No money lost really. =)
And yes, "experienced" growers. It's difficult to know who's who until you actually 'try' out their seeds. I personally will not trade my own seeds unless I know for sure I am trading the correct cultivar after growing it myself. I think the risk in trading is worth it seeing as it costs next to nothing to work out trades with people. It's a community effort, really.
This message was edited Jan 6, 2013 10:37 PM
I love Pinetree Gardens of Maine aka of late, Super Seeds. Very high quality, huge selection (some very rare) , very low prices and incredibly fast service. I have never been disappointed with anything I have purchased from there.
https://www.superseeds.com/