seed quantity by weight?

I was wanting to buy some seeds & when I ask the seller how many are in there, he tells me the weight like I should know what that means. But I don't, and wonder if I should? LOL
So I have searched on google for some kind of chart that shows me approx quantity for weight by seed size, but I guess I am not wording it correctly. Would appreciate any info as I guess this would be a good chart for future reference. Oh, and he also mentioned they use spoons too, so I am guessing there is a chart for that out there too.
Thanks
Donna

Donna -

Gosh I've not run into this before but went searching on Google. I found this site which is from the UK that lists a bunch of flower seeds and the number of seeds in a gram. You'll have to convert grams to whatever the measurement he is giving you (ounces?).

http://www.seeds-by-size.co.uk/fltoc98.htm

Here's a good conversion site I use for almost everything (if you can stand all the flashing ads).....
http://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/weight

Thank you very much for the links. I will go there now & see if I can convert it.
Donna

SilverFalls seed company out here sells flower seed by the pound. They might have some information that would be of use .

http://www.oregonflowerseed.com/

Some of the better seed catalogs usually has a table in the back that tells aprox how many seeds per oz or 1/4 oz.

Paul

Thank you everyone! :~)

PudgyMudPies, I dealt with this the last time I was ordering seeds. Stokes Seeds offers seeds by the package or by weight. They also let you know about how many seeds are in a certain weight. Every type of seed had a different amount per unit of weight. Under Onions, they list a packet as having 600 seeds and an ounce (28 grams) as 6000 seeds. Nasturtium are listed as having 25-30 seeds per packet and 175 seeds per ounce.

Of course, many catalogs don't tell you how much seed you are getting, but usually list the number if it is especially limited... such as Wave petunias. If you know what kind of seed you are looking for, I can try to get you a ballpark amount per ounce.

As Weezingreens mentiioned above, many seeds are so small that it is more practical to measure in grams rather than oz. Territorial Seed catalog gives the amount of seeds in oz or grams too. It makes sense. I might order corn by the pound but an ounce of tomato seed is enough for a small farm. If their is something in particular you need to find the quantity per oz,gram or pound, perhaps I could find it in one of my seed catalogs.

Yes, I figured that the chart would break it down into seed size if I could find one. The seeds I was looking at were pansy seeds which are really tiny.

PudgyMudpies, Stokes lists pansies at 17,000 to 28,000 seeds per ounce. That seems like a wide variation, but the larger the amount, the wider the gap. They also list them as 40 seeds per 1/512 oz/0.11g. They sell open-pollinated pansies in packets of 50-200 seeds and hybrids in packages of 20. As you can see, hybrids are always considerably less per packet, and the newest hybrids are usually more expensive. If you shop around, F2 hybrids are usually similar, but much cheaper.

I order lots of pansies every year. Stokes seeds are always cheaper in quantity. What type were you going to buy?

Yes, I forgot all about Stokes, Carol, but you are so right. They are a wonderful source for all kinds of seed and quite reasonable too, I think.

Yes, Lenjo, for a small time grower like me, I can buy smaller amounts by weight or by the thousand & get a better deal. They also offer individual colors rather than mixes only. Most of their marigold seed is 'detailed', and they germinate so well that way. I heartily recommend the hard copy catalog since it contains lots of good information, as well. Here's the website: http://www.stokeseeds.com/cgi-bin/StokesSeeds.storefront

Well this has been helpful! Thank you.
I am headed over to the Stokes site now. The seeds I was looking at were just an ebay auction & to be honest, I do not even remember which variety they were. I just had such good success with pansies from seed this year that I knew I wanted more.

I grow many kinds of pansies and violas, and I buy many of the seeds from Stokes. Be sure and order their hardcopy catalog so you can get the additional info. I have a real fondness for the little violas, and they have a nice selection of those, as well. If you have a special type in mind, send me an email and I'll see if I have it.

Tell me,.Carol, how difficult is it to germinate pansy seed? If I wanted a fall crop when would I need to get them going? July? The local garden store I like in a nearby town has had such pitiful pickins for pansies this fall so far. I would love to get some Jolly Joker plants but so far locally here I have not been successful.

You lucky dog... fall pansies! I've got one shot in the summer, then the snows come. Pansy and viola seed are eeeeeasy! The seedlings are sweet and easy to transplant. If I'm teaching someone to transplant, I use violas. I don't think I have any Jolly Joker seed at the moment, or I'd send you some. To tell you the truth, I've decided that I find them disturbing... all that purple and orange... I don't know, it's like a Tim Burton film. Stokes seeds suggest 14-18 weeks from seed to sale. They germinate in 8-15 days. This fall planting is an unknown factor for me. Maybe I should start mailing you my violas at the end of my season. They end up in the compost pile since we consider them annuals here.