Ordering Seeds

[Boron Elgar]

This is the time of year all the lovely seed catalogs arrive in my mailbox and I scour the online companies to comfort me in the cold month of January. I order all over the place, but often find the shipping charges daunting.

Granted, the things I order are not likely to be available locally, as I tend to crave the unusual, but I just placed an order with

and was charged only $3 on a $50 order. That is by far the cheapest shipping I have gotten among the other seed houses.

I cannot vouch for their products yet as this is my first order, but this shipping cost was a very nice surprise at checkout.

Boron

This is my order:

Description: Item:1 - Qty:1, (O209) BABY BUSH LIMA BEAN- CERTIFIED ORGANIC, Price:2.50 Item:2 - Qty:1, (238) CHRISTMAS LARGE SPECKLED POLE LIMA, Price:1.50 Item:3 - Qty:2, (204) BLACK VALENTINE BEAN, Price:1.50 Item:4 - Qty:2, (241) FIN de BAGNOL (Shoestring Bean), Price:2.50 Item:5 - Qty:1, (6041) MARVEILLE de 4 SEASONS LETTUCE, Price:1.15 Item:6 - Qty:2, (67) TOM THUMB LETTUCE, Price:1.15 Item:7 - Qty:1, (6059) BLENDS - PREMIUM LETTUCE BLEND, Price:1.85 Item:8 - Qty:1, (6018) BLENDS - MESCLUN MIX BLEND, Price:1.15 Item:9 - Qty:3, (JF25) JIFFY 7 SEED STARTING PELLETS - 25 pack, Price:3.69 Item:10 - Qty:2, (WF-1) STICKY APHID & WHITEFLY TRAP, Price:3.50 Item:11 - Qty:1, (WFM11) BIRD LOVERS MIX, Price:5.99 Item:12 - Qty:1, (WFM3) HUMMINGBIRD/BUTTERFLY MIX, Price:5.99

SubTotal: 48.50

Freight: 3.00

Tax: 0.00

Amount: 51.50

[sherwindu]

Hi Boron,

Your shipping costs are attractively low. You should do a follow-up on how well these seeds germinate and what are the yields.

I looked at their website and although the descriptions are adequate, I miss the pictures of the items, especially on varieties I have never seen or grown.

It is true that many of the seed and plant outlets have raised their prices for shipping, of which only a small portion can be justified by the rise in fuel costs. It seems like a way for them to make hidden profits and force people into buying at least a large minimum amount. I have been avoiding ordering from these sources. If I see an item or two of interest, I am not going to pay almost an equal amount to have them shipped to me.

For rock bottom shipping prices, I would recommend Pinetree Garden Seeds who charged a measily $1.95 in 2005 for any seed order. I have had fairly good results with their seeds. I find even the best suppliers are not consistent across varieties and years, but show advantages, on the average.

Sherw> This is the time of year all the lovely seed catalogs arrive in my

[Boron Elgar]

Excellent idea.

snip

I will give Pinetree a try.

Boron

[Wild Bill]

I have had excellent luck with Heirloom Seeds. Their service is fast, and the seed packets are very generous and first rate in quality.

[Kathy]

I too have been pleased with Pine Tree seeds for an Idaho garden. I've had great results on everything they send. Their packets are a bit small, though. I have to check the seeds-per-packet and occasionally order two packets of some things even for my small garden. Even so I find the overall price considerably lower than Gurneys and Henry Fields, and much less than the gourmet seed catalogs and hardware-store seed racks. The selection is good too.

Kathy

[Jan Flora]

I placed an order with Pinetree (not just seeds, but some books and other stuff, too) last week and the order got to Alaska in

5 days. (!!) Heck, it usually takes 3 days for a letter to go from my house to Anchorage -- some 250 miles total.

Jan

[Jan Flora]

Pine Tree packs small packets because most home gardeners can't use so many seeds in one or two years.

I like their concept of packing mixes of things like cabbage, broccoli and greens. Instead of buying three different packets of, say, cabbage, you can get a good assortment in one packet.

I'll be ordering a bunch of their mixed packets this year for my veggie garden.

I'm trying to fire up a "cut flower" garden to sell flowers at our local farmers market. Almost all of our local vendors sell broccoli and salad greens, but very few sell flowers!

Jan Zone 3/4 depending on the year

[Kathy]

My vote goes for zinnias, celosias, and cosmos - my favorite annual cut flowers.

Kathy