On Sun, 24 Aug 2003 23:25:37 -0700, (Glenna
Rose) wrote:



Oh, well. Lesson learned. As always, your mileage may vary. Obviously,
some people must have been happy with them and their products or they
wouldn't still be in business. Just count me not among those.

Hopefully, others have better stories to relate.


I certainly do. I've been ordering seeds from various
suppliers for many years (maybe about 30 years now). I've
never really had a problem. Never had a late shipment.
Only ordered once from Shumway (this year) and received the
correct seeds promptly.

The only seeds I've ordered which did *not* have a good rate
of germination were Golden Beets from Pinetree and they very
clearly state in the catalog that the Golden Beets have a
low germination rate. Fair enough.

It's true, however, that I start almost all seeds indoors -
I find that I get *tremendously* better results by starting
the seeds indoors (controlled conditions: no weeds, no
driving rains beating them up when they're tiny, etc.) and
then transplanting the young plants. I direct seed green
beans outdoors, and that's about all. I even transplanted
carrots and beets this year.

Local suppliers cannot begin to match the number of
varieties available from seed companies. Local suppliers
almost *never* have the varieties I want.

Local greenhouses/nurseries (selling started plants) most
certainly never have the varieties I want. What a
difference there is to the plants I start from seed and
those from nurseries! Just no comparison at all.

Pat


--
"Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of
supply and demand. It is the privilege of human beings to
live under the laws of justice and mercy." - Wendell Berry