Comments regarding Amishland Heirloom Seeds

Per the website, she is no longer in business.

Ordered several seeds from Amishland of Feb 18. A week goes by and no seeds had arrived considering that I only leave 5 hours away, I decided to sent an email to get some info on the seeds if they were shipped or not, but got no response back from the seller. After few days I decided to sent another email and again no response. Waited 2 weeks and no seeds. Decided to open a claim on Paypal and sure enough the seller responded within an hour stating that the shipment has been lost!!! What a bad experience, I needed to open a claim, for her to respond back.

Same time I had ordered seeds from Tomatofest, Marinas Heirloom Seeds and Urban Farmer and I receved the seeds in less then a week.

Great selection of heirloom tomatoes that I have been looking for. Service was fast, ordered on 15 Jan 2016 and were in my hand 20 Jan 2016. Will be starting next week in my zone 8a area. I will be ordering from this company again.

Great selection, many rare varieties. Very high germination rate. If you have not tried the White Rabbit Cherry Tomato, you are missing out. This is my absolute favorite, they taste like candy! I can only find this variety here at Amishland.

HAVE ORDERED FROM AMISHLAND FOR 3 YEARS NOW....GREAT GERMINATION .... PLANTS WERE JUST AS DESCRIBED.... 100% HAPPY....GREAT SERVICE...KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK...LISA... thank you......Dave

I love the commitment to purpose of this company--one person CAN make a difference. My order arrived in a timely manner and the seeds are clean and clearly marked. I would definitely recommend this company to others looking for rare and unique varieties. I will order again for certain.

Posted on April 25, 2010, updated February 19, 2013
Posted on January 30, 2010, updated April 25, 2010
If I could give an A++++ I would. The day I sent my order I received an email explaining shipping would take a bit longer than the time frame on the web-site. I already expected this from other posts on DG. The seeds arrived within 10 days, beautifully labeled and packaged ( with extras), and a well chosen freebie.

Having experienced similar medical tragedies in my life this past year, I am amazed that Lisa is still able to maintain her business. Her determination to find and save these heirloom seeds is evident in her product presentation and packaging. The careful way she tends her plants, separates her seed, and provides detailed history and propagation information for each variety is a gift for all.

Lisa, I also want to say thank you for being such a responsible and dedicated steward for these fragile,rare, and rapidly declining connections to our country's past. Your gifts are invaluable in providing a link for future generations to their ancester's horticulatural and dining experiences.

I will be back soon to further expand my own gardening
horizens!

Just got an email saying that she no longer ships to Canada, (warning to all you Canadians who want to buy from here!)and my order has been refunded. This is very sad, as I was looking forward to trying the extremely rare varieties she has on her site. I can find most of them in other places, but not all of them. Well, Amishland Seeds, our relationship was brief. I wish it had been longer.

I ran across a mention of this company from a friend who likes heirloom beans. What an amazing selection! I have never seen so many pole beans, including runner beans.

This is very much a one-woman shop, and when I placed my order, I received an email saying that the orders were all delayed a bit because of the busy season and the owner's health issues. That was fine by me--I found the cozy style charming, but those who expect to get formal 'corporate' style correspondence might not care for it. I like knowing my seeds are being grown by a real person--just depends on what you like, I think.

The seeds themselves arrived in a timely fashion for me, because of my zone, and I was pleased with the packaging. You get exactly the seeds mentioned on the website, and I also got a free seed packet of a new-to-me tomato. Yay! The seeds are in small clean clear plastic, with the variety name. For growing instructions, you should look at the website, which has tons of helpful info. I liked that she did it this way, as I find other companies' seed packets with growing info for generic 'tomatoes' in general not very helpful, as they often neglect to mention whether it's a determinate or indeterminate, etc, and I have to look it up anyway. Her instructions are very very thorough.

I have planted the tomatoes, but haven't yet planted the beans, so I don't know about germination rates. I'll update when I do.

first time buying from this company after finding it during a search for heirloom tomato seeds on DG forums.I was intrigue by the selection of other heirloom seeds especially the pole beans.I ended up up ordering 15 different packages of seed.Order came in 5 days later,everything shipped 100%.Can't wait to grow the Amazon Chocolate heirloom tomato.Website was awesome

Thank You Lisa (Amish Heirloom Seeds) for the prompt service. I was impressed with how the ordered was packaged, very professional. This is my first time ordering from this company , I will order again soon. By the way excellent website and information you provide to your customers.

Posted on February 6, 2010, updated January 17, 2012
Posted on October 20, 2008, updated February 5, 2010
I have the utmost respect for Lisa and her seed company. which offers fabulous varieties from around the world, many which can't be found anywhere else. Bite into a delicious Amazon Chocolate tomato and your eyes will roll back in your head.

Since I am in the business of selling tomato plants, I rely on her seeds for their excellent germination rate and have never been anything but thrilled with the outcome.

This is my 4th year ordering from Amishland Heirloom Seeds; I have just placed an order for our 2009 season and will continue to order from her for as long as she is there.

The pleasure of doing business with Lisa is highlighted by her delightful, well researched website, her enthusiasm for the heritage varieties and all things organic, her great customer service and knowing she is hands-on with all her seeds. This wonderful personal service is rare and welcome nowadays in the world of impersonal big-business shenanigans.

Laurel Garza

Shipment delayed. Did receive notice. Finally arrived about 3 weeks later. Neutral since I was noticified of the deplay. Note when she saids 5 or 10 seeds that is exactly what you get. Started germination. Germination rate is poor so far. About 20% so 1 out of 5 seeds are germinating. I compare these to the other OP heirlooms from other companies i am germinating and they are doing much better 75% -100% gr To be fair I have not contacted her on the germination yet since I want to see what all the different ones do I am giving a negative because of germination rates I am seeing.

Great service, good people

Posted on September 23, 2006, updated July 18, 2010
Lisa answered questions very quickly and throughly. She was willing to share her suggestions on varieties that might work for me. The order was filled and shipped very quickly. The seeds all look ok with more in the packages than stated. I'm very satisfied as of now. Will see how they germinate next spring and if they grow true to description.

I've been ordering from this company for years now and have always been happy with the seeds I received. All her tomato seeds germinate very well and often times I have to pull volunteers out next year they self seed so vigorously. Literally last year I pulled out 50 Matts Cherry Tomato volunteers and gave them away on craigslist and got word from several people the plants outperformed plants purchased from greenhouses.

Amishland Heirloom is absolutely a top shelf company. The website is chock-full of helpful descriptions, photos, personal experiences and seed histories that I devoured, having decided to plant all heirloom varieties in my garden this year for the first time. I am thrilled to be growing the same cayenne pepper that Thomas Jefferson grew in his garden over 200 years ago.
I first corresponded with Lisa in Nov. 2009 during what I am sure is a very busy time for a one woman operation. I can't imagine the work involved in getting seed from over 100 varieties of tomatoes processed, dried and ready to fill orders! She responded promptly and answered all my questions in addition to recommending a terrific reference book- Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth- which will be my seedsaving how-to from now on.
When I placed my order in Jan. 2010, I receiv ed an email that shipping would probably be delayed a couple of weeks. I was quite willing to wait. If I had wanted huge and impersonal, I would have ordered from one of the well-known catalog companies. To my surprise, the order came right on time, along with a note apologizing for any delay due to a family medical emergency. Having been up close and personal with a family medical emergency myself a few years ago, I would have understood if the order hadn't come for several weeks.
Everything was correct . Every seed pack had extra seeds in it and even an extra pack of currant tomatoes thrown in for free. Now I have tiny green life popping up everywhere. My tomato and pepper seedlings look great and the direct-sown items are looking good too. I had 100% germination with the Capucijner peas , Ukranian Sabre Tomatoes and Thomas Jefferson Cayenne peppers. In fact, my only problem with germination is with Eva's Burgundy Lettuce and I blame that on a heavy rain washing out part of the seed.
If I need anything new for next year, I will order from Amishland Heirloom Seeds first before looking at any other company.

When I placed my order with Lisa, it was after 6pm on Friday, Mar 19th. I received an email on Sunday, telling me they would ship within two weeks. Instead, the seeds were sent on the 24th of March and arrived in rural north Ga (from rural PA) on Sat 27th of March. Total time was a week between ordering and receiving the seeds. And most of that time was tied up in a weekend and dealing with the Post Office getting mail from a rural town, into a larger city, shipping it to another large city, then getting it back out to my rural town. Can't complain about that, especially during the gardening rush season!

Then, I inventoried my seeds Sat. afternoon and emailed her that evening that I was missing one of the seed packets I had ordered. Later in the evening, I received an email telling me she'd replace the seeds and apologizing for the inconvenience.

On Sunday afternoon, I found the packet under an envelope on my table and let Lisa know that I had found the "missing" seed packet. She was unperturbed that I was the one at fault for the missing seeds and was very gracious in her reply.

In all my interaction with Lisa, she was prompt and professional.

I've been reading about a few people having some germination problems. It seems to me that those whom are having the problems have disdained her instructions - opting to do their "own thing" instead. They then complain that the seeds haven't germinated. The question is, did they not germinate or did they just not break the soil? There is a difference and I think that if they had followed her instructions, they would have known immediately if there was a problem with the seeds and the "whole season" would not have been "lost".

I plan on following Lisa's instructions. If they don't germinate after carefully following her instructions then, I will notify her and post a comment after I've given her a chance to reply. But I have a feeling that "following the instructions" will result in positive outcomes. (Usually does!) For SURE I'll know if they've germinated or not. Now, whether or not they do well in my Ga climate in my Square Foot Garden, is a different story. Will the cultivars I ordered survive cold/heat and rainy weather, I don't know, but hey, I'm the one that chose them. They "should" if I watch the weather.

I was part way through an order when I had a few questions and emailed Lisa at Amishland Heirloom Seeds, because the answers were not on her site. I almost instantly received a defensive, unprofessional and rude email back. She states she has no time for questions and went on to state how she is alone etc. etc. etc. and that she is currently 2 weeks behind in filling orders and then the medical problems of her family and back to saying she has no time for me. I have stopped my partial order, I am sure there are countless other companies willing to answer questions, act professionally and not be so rude and defensive. I mistakenly thought I would like to order from a single woman home-growing her own plants and seed collectings for sale.. Turns out she didn't even grow these seeds. A friend by the name of Cliff did. It sounds like HE collected the seeds as well on his property.Yet she is still behind in filling orders. I did suggest she hires a kid to help. It would be better than losing her customers old and new. I will NEVER order seeds from this place. Lisa is unappreciative of orders and customers. Rudeness rules her day. She does not grow her own plants nor collects her own seeds!

Eileen

"On Jan 15, 2010 9:28 PM, Amishland Heirloom Seeds responded with:

Amishland Heirloom Seeds prides itself in personal and polite service. I am a small seed company catering to the home gardener with small amounts of carefully sourced and grown seeds, primarily vegetables . I am not a huge megalithic company with computer generated shipping and emails. I answer each and every email I receive through my website. Most of the emails are just quick gardening questions. Sometimes a person is looking for some old time seed variety that they may remember from their past. I always answer these questions and if I don't have the seed someone is searching for I even send to them other reputable seed companies which might stock them . Eileen sent me 4 emails which arrived minutes apart. She asked appoximately 5 or more detailed questions in each of those 4 emails. Since most of her questions could be answered by reading my detailed growing tips , my seed descriptions or reading the gardening books I highly suggest, I answered her with this email which I quote word for word below. I certainly did not mean to sound unhelpful.
---------------
" hi,
I'm sorry, but this is the very busiest time of the year for me as I have
just updated my website to reflect my new selections from this year's
growing . I suggest you read my website desciptions carefully as I just
plain don't have the time at this time of year to make individual
recommendations or to answer gardening questions at this time. So I hope
you will understand my time contraints.I write everything I know about
every single thing I sell, so hopefully that will help in your
selections.I have very detailed growing instructions on the website as
well,please look at the seed growing link.

Also, My sister who had just survived a brave year with
breast cancer has brain cancer in 90% of her brain. As her days left are
few I am dealing with this . I have nearly finished updating my website
with the new items I grew out thisseason .
I am also trying to keep up with my packing and mailing for my seed
business.
I am selling all year round and I ship in the order it is received. I am
currently about 2 weeks behind in shipping due to my family issues.

happy gardening,
lisa
http://www.amishlandseeds.com "
----------------
I would also like to correct the misapprehension she seems to have about how I grow, save and offer my seeds. I am currently offering for sale on my website 203 varieties in total . I have 124 kinds of tomatoes, 7 kinds of eggplants, 16 peppers, 15 assorted other rare vegetables not in these catagories and 7 flowers. Every single seed of these varieties in this list are collected by me. They are all from my own organically raised plants grown from my own original seed, in my own gardens. This past summer was the worst weather wise in all my years of gardening. The entire Northeast United States was hit by Late Blight, a devasting fungal disease, among other weather related diseases. I was able to control it totally for all my peppers and tomatoes but the melons and cucumbers (cucurbits) were hit hard and I lost those plants or did not have fruit of the quality I needed for good seed saving purposes. My friend, Cliff in Idaho offered me his seeds of those same plants I had grown to make up for my devastating lost. I clearly state on the website that the seeds being offered for those are his.

The difficult season also affected my bean growing as the pods never dried on the vine for proper seed saving. So again , this season, Cliff came to my rescue, on many of the beans I normally am able to grow by myself . So this year 13 of the 28 beans I am offering were grown by Cliff. So out of my entire inventory for 2010, of 203 varieties, I grew out totally by myself 186 varieties , with 17 grown by Cliff. I hope this clears up the confusion regarding my seed saving work.

Like nearly all the seed sellers this past year and going into 2010, I am swamped with orders from people wanting to grow their own food. This is partially due to the economy and food safety issues among many reasons. I sold 5 times the quantity of seeds in 2009 as in the previous year and this season appears to be increasing even more. Most seed houses were unprepared for these huge increases. I had planted extra to be ready for the surge but Mother Nature wasn't so helpful. I have just recently hired a very capable and caring employee to expedite orders and I believe that this will enable my seed business to keep up in a timely manner for this season.
I am delighted with the amazingly strong customer response to my offerings, but my business has grown so fast
that I must graciously accept some of Eileen's concerns. So my apologies for appearing to her as less than helpful.

I am in a process of adapting my customer service to reflect that sharply increasing demand. I want to continue to help all my valued seed customers to grow their very best garden ever, with Amishland Heirloom Seed's rare, organically grown offerings. Happy Gardening, Lisa
"

Lisa at Amishland heirlooms is a one person operation! It is hard to pay someone when you are not making much money yourself. Heirloom Tomatoes require alot of attention and are not for the ameture gardener. If you are not sure of what you are getting into ,you may want to get plants from home depot, they are easy and made for the less experienced hybrid grower. You too may have a " BEEFSTEAK " plant suitable to you limited needs! If I have to explain the word beefsteak we are already lost!!!!

Dr.Dean Slater

Very exciting website with many different varieties to choose from. Shipping was delayed for 3 1/2 weeks, and was stated by the owner. Several e-mails later, the seeds came. I thought this odd since they were post marked after my mails. I find it more troubling that after reading this site, people have been told the same thing over the years.

Seeds looked great and almost every seed that I started grew, which was a major plus. What was not a major plus, and actually my only real complaint, was that out of six of the Brandywine tomato seeds that I started, only four of them had potato leaves. This means that out of my pack of ten seeds, at least a 1/5th of them were not Brandywine tomatoes. I grew and planted the "Mystery Tomatoes" and they are doing great and the fruits look great, so that's cool, but the fact that such a small amount of seeds got mixed up is not.

I would order from this company again because the varieties are staggering and the germination rates were good, but I will do it early. And if my Mystery Tomatoes taste pretty good, I might just be growing them again as well.

Indeed, I received the email that others talked about, although mine also said she had hired a few people to help. However, my seeds arrived in about a week, despite her warnings that it could take two or three weeks. I am very pleased with the seeds and the service.

Shipping from this company is unfortunately slow. This is the second time I have placed an order with her only to receive an email telling me she is so far behind on orders and won't be able to ship for three weeks. I don't remember if it was three weeks last year or not, but it was some number of weeks. In addition to saying shipping will be delayed she follows it with a defensive anticipatory response saying that this is normal for the seed industry. It isn't. I have ordered seeds for many years and most seed companies have my order to me within the week or by the next week at the latest. i have never done business with anyone who takes three weeks to ship. I ordered something from china recently that came quicker than that. She says that she has so many orders that she is overwhelmed. I can appreciate that. Hire a kid to help you pack orders. Don't make your customers suffer for your good business. We are the reason you have that business.

My first experience growing my own seeds was from this company in the spring of 2008. I ordered 2 varieties of tomato seeds, two varieties of flowers and some runner beans. I've never grown my own seeds, so I followed most of the directions provided on the website. All but one seed germinated for me and none of my transplants died. I grew these seeds as gifts to give for mother's day and my mothers and friends were delighted with the tomatoes and the printed histories I gave them with their plants. Everyone reported they were a lot of fun and did very well for them. Sadly, all my flowers were eaten early on by the local bunnies, but they were doing well until then.

I've returned this year for more tomatoes and flowers because I love the idea of doing old fashioned neighborly business with small companies. I also love reading the very colorful descriptions of the seed origins and the history behind them. It makes the plants seem more precious to me.

Great selection of some very rare heirloom seeds. So far, I've only germinated some of the radish package, and I'm near 100%. Perhaps 95% to be fair. The seeds did take a little longer than I thought they would to arrive, but there was an email sent out to clarify.

We'll see how the rest comes up, but I have high hopes.

The website is informative and warm. I especially enjoy the availability of vegetables from Africa and Asia, many of which I had never heard of before. My seeds arrived in small packets with handwritten labels and notes. I deeply appreciated the personal nature of transaction; this sort of business is a rare breed. I will surely order from Amishland again.

Product was as stated
Seed count was as stated

Email response was stellar
Packaging was excellent

Free pack of seeds!

Would buy again

I am pleased with the service of this company...shortly after I placed my order, I received an email from the owner stating that she had been ill and my order might be delayed....she also stated that she would be including extra seeds for my inconvenience. As it turned out she managed to get my order to me on time and also included extra seed plus a new variety of tomato as a gift. This is very gracious and professional and I am happy with my experience with this company.

I am neither an amateur, nor a first time gardener. I am a professional market gardener, who saves most of his seed. I live in Lancaster County, where this seed company is based, and I assume this companies seed is grown. Anyway, the germination sucked, period. Plus, she wouldnt let me come pick my seeds up, and I live not 10 miles from this person. Not very neighborly by Lancaster County standards. I mainly ordered from her because I was trying to buy local, and get some stock seed. I never contacted her because, I was too busy tending to my one measly Amazonian Chocolate that I did successfully nurse some fruits out of for seed. Tell Martha I said whats up lady.
Peace to the gods.................

I ordered eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers. They arrived promptly with excellent instructions, and I had over 90% germination rate. The Lil Darling eggplant were extremely prolific, and after first frost of the season yesterday, I harvested 32 eggplant from three plants! I'll definitely order more, and I love the surprise mixes that I bought-what fun.

2006 was the very first time I ever attempted a garden. I grew 100% hybrids from a coop here locally. I had a somewhat positive experience but I wanted to save my seed back. I planted my saved seed and had really bad results. I had also bought heirloom seed from two companies. One of which was Amishland. Being only my second year of gardening, I followed the instructions provided and everything germinated exactly as was printed out in the instructions. 100% germination rate. I wasn't really impressed because I did not know what to expect. Due to my in-experience, I killed many of my little seedlings. Over-watering. Then after I had all my plants in the ground, we had a late frost that killed everything I had planted, EXCEPT my Amishland seedlings. Now, I wont say that Amishland claims frost immunity, but I was blown away that it was only the Amishland seedlings that survived. I ordered the Zapotec, Ukrainian Sabre, and Red Ruffled. I might add that the Red Ruffled are pumping out tomatoes like mad. Everything else is performing just as described.

Lastly, I have never seen the varieties at other sites. Amishland has alot of unusual items, and alot of Ukrainian varieties. I am definitely ordering much more seed for a much larger garden in 2008, God willing. As an IT major I know one thing for sure, always, always, always follow the directions. I expect the people who had poor results probably did not read the documentation. I am a big fan, and will keep ordering as long as the company continues to ship.

Anyone who wants to contact me regarding my testimonial may do so.

-Robert C. Mullins M.S. IT
mullins@gaelicmysts.com
Arkansas

I ordered from this company for the 2006 season and I was very disappointed. The service was fine: prompt and professional, with a very nice website. The product was less than stellar. I ordered multiple varieties of tomatoes, and had a very poor germination rate. (The company offers an elaborate set of germination instructions, including overnight soaking and what not, but I did what I always do with all other tomato seeds and got poor results...when I've always had good results from other seed suppliers, including heirloom tomatoes which is mostly what I grow). What's more, the variety I was most interested in ("Togo Trifle") did not turn out as pictured or described. I've described my results on Plant Files elsewhere on this website, and am still not sure if it was the cultivar or the company at fault.

To be fair, I made no effort to contact the company or seek a refund. Basically I am a backyard grower who orders very small quantities of seed each year. Even if I'd gotten my two dollars (or whatever) back for each packet of non germinating or poorly maturing seed the season was lost by that point. You can't put Humpty Dumpty back together again. I adopted a live and learn philosophy, and simply ordered from other suppliers this year and have been quite happy thus far. Perhaps my experience with Amishland was an exception, but I'll simply offer the warning: let the buyer beware.

Clearly a labor of love. Amishland offers fascinating varieties. Good looking seeds, fast service. BUT, the owner missed two items in her initial shipment, and it took a couple of rounds of e-mails (and weeks) to straighten things out. Quick response once we got in contact, so a positive rating.

Seeds were sent promptly--the two types of heirloom tomato seeds I purchased have a great germanation rate. Overall--I would rate this company top marks. Excellent seed starting techniques on their web page.

I ordered the Lil' Darlin' eggplant seeds which are a miniature or edible ornamental variety. The packet came with more seeds than advertised and I had a remarkable 100% germination rate (I followed the advice on the website). A few plants did have a variation in bloom and fruit color which ended up being a welcome surprise. I had direct contact with Lisa by email and she was polite, efficient and curious about my results. I plan on ordering from her again.

Very poor germination rates. When presented with this information this person was defensive and un-professional. Poor customer service. Uses the term "organic" very loosley. Is not certified organic so how do we really know what her growing methods are? She should not be advertising that she is organic per USDA regulations. There are many other seed sources out there with great reviews. Stick with them.

I found a Fabulous and large assortment of rare, heirloom, and hard to find seeds, many that are Amishland Heirloom Seeds exclusives or can't be found anywhere else in the USA! I only know of three seed companies to grow all their own seed stock (all one woman owned and run in the USA) , from their own plants.I have bought from Amishlandseeds several years in a row, and have always had great 99-100% germination with the seeds, following the specialized, detailed growing tips on the website. The plants grew strong , true to type, and disease free, as the owner uses organic methods and is very careful about isolation and proper seed saving techniques. I am an experienced grower, but even a novice grower will have no trouble having a great gardening season using Amishland Heirloom Seeds. She carefully packaged the seeds in large padded mailers. The owner answered all my emails immediately over the years and was so helpful when I had questions. She is an honest ,small, one owner business that puts you, the gardener, first! I was treated cordially like a real person not just some number like the big seed companies. I recommend this company highly to anyone seeking quality unusual vegetable and flower varieties, as well as tried and true favorites. The selection of rare eggplants and tomatoes is truly amazing, plus she carries super rare veggies like Skirret. Amishland Heirloom Seeds is absolutely my favorite seed seller on the internet!

Not a bad company... you will get what you ordered but pretty pricey for what you get not a ton of seeds and I got alot of chaff.... stuff was also packed adequately but not the most perfect I've seen..... On the other hand their selection is good and my order arrived very promptly.... so its safe to order from here but not my favorite company or list of top few.... favorites.....

"

What a shame this person did not contact me when she first suspected she was having problems, rather than leaving unpleasant, anonymous comments here. If she had contacted me I could have helped with the common problems that many new or inexperienced gardeners have when first planting. I send a link for my detailed seed starting instructions on my website to each and every customer and ask them to read them and ask any questions they might have. I give my own special tried and true tips, such as my own presprouting instructions for many seeds that saves precious days and weeks of growing time. I answer every single customer email and freely answer all questions that I receive.I clearly state the quantity of hand grown, hand packed, and hand selected seeds you will receive next to each and every seed description and always give a few extra seeds in each pack as well.

I have found that many new gardeners make the common mistakes of overwatering seeds, planting too deeply and not providing proper heat for the seed's germination needs. They often don't provide adequate lighting ( putting flats by a window is not enough, for instance). Or they don't use sterile soiless mixture as I suggest. Following my simple instructions will do a world of good for your germination.

I have been selling my own home grown, rare heirloom organic seeds from all of my own plants for about 5 years. I started first on ebay and also have been selling seeds for the past 2+ years on my new website. I have over 3,500 positive feedbacks given through the ebay system. Many of my customers come back year after year to puchase all their rare garden seeds from me . I have satisfied customers the world over. For example, one Finnish customer told me of all the seed companies she had bought from in England, Europe and the USA, mine are the best. This is her 3rd year puchasing $100+ in seeds for her yearly vegetable garden. I give specialized instructions for my customers according to their climate as well.

Please take into consideration all of the factors I have mentioned when considering the validity of comments left here. I am a small , one woman operation with no mechanical help and I try my best for all my customers to have the garden of their dreams.

Dear readers of Dave's Garden Web and Garden Watchdog: May I reiterate that the comments of this one customer certainly do not fully reflect the quality of my home grown, heirloom, organic seeds? Had this person contacted me in a timely manner, when she first suspected her growing problem, I would have replaced her seeds. I stand by my seeds and Amishland Heirloom Seed Company.

I am a small one person, one owner company. My company name, my real full name, address and phone number are clearly available on my website. Dave's Garden Web provides a link to my website as well as a link to email me at the top of this very page.

Regarding my "professionalism": One of my very first Amishland Heirloom Seed website customers was Martha Stewart, who purchased over $ 50.00 of my seeds, and was so pleased that she contacted me personally about appearing on her TV show. Unfortunately, her legal troubles came soon thereafter and the show appearance was postposted . Martha Stewart is also happily and sucessfully growing vegetable plants this season in her Bedford NY home garden from the rare colored vegetable seeds that she received from me this year.

Another recent customer is the manager of the production company planning a new 13 part PBS TV series to begin early next year called "Cultivating Life". She did not inform me of that when she ordered my seeds. She was so pleased with her rare seed selections from me and with my website, that she asked me if I might consider being featured on the Vegetable segment of their new PBS TV show, which is scheduled to air in another year.

I give free walking tours and lectures on historic gardening associated with two Pennsylvania German/Dutch Farming museums in my area. I have donated my own seeds ( amounting to over 15% of my annual profit) yearly to various museums,
schools and botanical gardens, with reports of great success from the recipients.

I am one of the last of a dying breed, a woman owned, one owner ( and also only employee) seed company battling it out with the "big boys" in the seed business world. I grow out each and every one of my own plants for my own seed stock. I never buy other company's seeds to sell as my own. This is a labor intensive business with little monetary profit. It is truly "a labor of love". In my own small way I help the dedicated home gardener find the old fashioned, open
pollinated seeds that are fast being dropped by the big commercial operations as being "unprofitable", ( therefore they stop selling them). I search the world over to find unusual and rare garden seeds for my customers, many of which have never been available to American gardeners before. Now, several years later, I grow out and offer garden seeds to my customers from 5 continents.

I work with a variety of dedicated seed savers worldwide, who are concentrating on keeping their own family's or country's heirlooms from being lost forever. I originally starting my little seed business by swapping seeds with my local Amish and Mennonite neighbors, and inquiring about their family's heirloom vegetable seeds before they are lost forever. Sadly, even these traditional conservative Old Order Amish and Mennonites (people who still farm with
horses/mules and drive buggies) are purchasing and growing hybrids and GM, (genetically modified) seeds. Heirloom seed saving is fast becoming a lost art even here in Lancaster County ,PA where I live.

I document as much history as I am able with each seed I acquire. I then grow these seeds out in my garden. It can take years to grow out enough plants to make seeds available to sell to my customers. I even grow out biennials like carrots, which few small seed growers even attempt to do anymore.

Please take into consideration that I also do germination tests on all of my varieties of seeds before I even consider selling them. Those with low germination, (and this can sometimes happen due to a poor growing season and bad weather) I will not sell to my customers. I grow all my seed stock plants organically. I srictly apply the specialized growing methods and time consuming, sometimes complicated seed saving instructions advised in the
"bible" of seed saving: " Seed to Seed" by Suzanne Ashworth.

For even better germination, I highly recommend my practice of presprouting nearly all seeds, (as detailed in my "garden tips" link on my website). This works splendidly even for stubborn germinators like carrots. I got 99-100% germination on my newly acquired foreign seed stock of rare colored carrot seeds this growing season, for example,even though some of these rare seeds were,by neccessity, years old

To all of Dave's Garden Web readers,I urge you to please visit my website and feel free to contact me with any concerns or questions or just to "talk gardening". I happily answer every single email, and phone query."

Great stuff here! Very home done, and nice looking seeds. And I had a special request and got a quick response. Nice person. Web site is LOADED with information.