Which is better to buy flower seeds locally or order them from Jungs or someone else?
seeds from local nursery?
I don't think one is better than another. They should all be for the 2007 planting season and, if not, should have already been tested for germination rates. Buy the varieties you like and don't worry about the source. I don't buy the really cheap seed packages, though, but that's my choice. I always fear they aren't as good - hope I'm wrong.
Jen, All the "local" seeds I've seen are not really local. Catalogues give you much more choice.
Last year, my entire vegetable garden with the exception of the tomato plants were Burpee seeds packaged for 2005 I bought at the dollar store. I think I paid maybe 20 cents a packet. Their germination rate was over 80%. I still have some left over that I stored in the fridge in dry containers recommended by more experienced members here that I plan on using this year. Most seeds will usually remain viable for several growing seasons.
This year's tomato and pepper seeds are a mixture of seeds I collected myself from last year's harvest and seeds I purchased from the Tomato Grower's catalog. The only reason I didn't just buy locally again is that I was looking for specific types of tomatoes and they were definitely the best source, but certainly not the cheapest. It's all about personal preference. Unless you're a large scale commercial farmer, I don't think there's much of a difference other than price and possibly how the seeds were handled prior to sale.
This message was edited Feb 15, 2007 6:07 PM
I agree with jjpm74 about the cheap seeds. They tend to have a longer shelf
life than indicated. My friend had great results with vegetables 10 pks for $1.00 a
few years ago he purchased at the hardware store.
Park seeds is where I will go from now on. Great prices, products and I
was very satisfied with germination results and the quality packaging.
We received our order from Park's - it was a two page list!
I have had success with 1/2 price seeds from the Christmas tree shops. A lot of the time they will have varieties I haven't seen elsewhere. This year they have Italian vegetable seeds.
Tamberlin
We used to get seeds, through a neighbor, from some type of "Fulfillment Center". The germination rate was so poor it cost too much in Pro-Mix, space, lights, food, attention and then with the terrible germination rate we just threw out any more she gave us.
Thanks so much to you all for the info.
Hi flowerjen,
If you go to the Philadelphia Flower Show in March there is usually a vendor there that has a whole booth of seeds from many companies.Their display is a seed buyers heaven. I try to buy organic if possible and even then I have a few choices of companies.
There are quite a few seed suppliers that I have ordered from..
Swallowtail
Parks
Thompson & Morgan [who have a very informative catalogue]
Select Seeds
Value Seed
Burpee
Vesey's
I would add: Johny's
Territorial
Cook's (good for shallots, too)