I'm not in the habit of leaving bad reviews... But I found my experience with this company extremely frustrating. I called today to get a little reassurance as to whether or not I had been sent the correct corn seed. What I received in return was a demeaning and critical attitude regarding the well known practice of pre-germination. Customer service seemed to have never heard of it. Obviously, corn is best direct sown. But even then, in a small garden situation, seed is often soaked for 8 hours or overnight. Sometime, when weather has been unfavorable (cold and wet), seed is started inside. Rather than answering my question about whether the seed was correct, the message relayed to me from the horticulturist was that I had made Hominy by soaking my seed. (I've never seen sweet corn seeds the size of dime requiring 24 hours of hydration before...Half of which were floating right out of the packet!) Obviously, the Horticulturist has never made Hominy, as I had no wood ash nor lime in my water. What is more, the pericarp remained intact on every single kernel. I tried to explain this to customer service who continued to speak to me with a superior attitude. I told her that I had 2 other flats of other types corn that had already been stared in this way which had happily sprouted and were ready to go to other people's gardens. She sounded skeptical. She did say she would send me another pack of seeds and evoked the horticulturist again. I confess that my frustration got the better of me and was a bit off color in my expression of my confidence in his knowledge. Considering the lack of common courtesy, condescending attitude, and failure to answer my actual question, I don't believe my remark rated being hung up upon. Regardless, I went ahead and planted the corn. I will not be a happy camper if it is not sweet corn. I will try to update regarding germination, growth and results.

I was a little hesitatnt to order here given all the recent negative feedback, but frankly I was desperate--seeds are sold out everywhere and I haven't been able to find some varieties I wanted, so I ended up here, where they had most of what I was missing. Fortunately, everything worked out just fine. Got my order relatively quickly (impressive given the pandemic effects on all seed companies), and packaged well. I can't speak to germination yet, obviously, but I'll come back to update later if it goes sideways. Otherwise, assume all went great.

Negative rating for absence of timely communication. Ordered seeds 4/16/20 and received confirmation. No ship date promised; said "as soon as possible." Contacted the company requesting an update - don't have date but I think it was a day or two before I canceled so maybe 4/26?. When I received no response, I found the seeds locally and canceled (i could not tell if the company was actually still in business and was alarmed at zero communication after they took my credit card info.) The same day as I canceled the notification the seeds were shipped was sent. Customer service said: "After checking further, see where an email was sent on 04-27 at 11:44. Due to the high volume, did not get to the email but the order had already shipped. Tracking shows the order shipped on 04-27 with expected delivery date is 05-01 by the postal service. If you are not able to use the seeds they may be returned for a refund." I report; you decide.

I received a small order from this company just last week. Ordering was easy and I received an email showing my order very quickly. Not being able to track my order became annoying as the days passed. I was about to call to check when my package arrived. I had ordered 4 packs of seeds I got 1 with 3 on backorder. I won't be ordering from them again.

I've quit ordering from Vermont Bean Seed. In the past I had very poor germination on many bean seeds (same soil, very near others' similar varieties that gave me more plants than were supposed to be in the packet. Too many were not true to variety also. (Example: "Maine Yellow Eye (which they no longer carry) were 1/3 dark red from top (white below) small short seed, not at all like ME Yellow Eye beans I subsequently bought from other companies for planting, or in bulk for eating.) I didn't see anything in the 2108 online catalogue I couldn't get elsewhere, usually for less per seed and less for shipping. They seem to have become just another tacky company like Gurney or Jung -- though considerably tarted up in appearance from those.

Posted on February 7, 2015, updated February 7, 2015 Posted on February 6, 2015, updated February 7, 2015 I have loved the seeds of this company. I grow many kinds of beans, and theirs do well. However, my order of 10 days ago has not been shipped, and this early in the season I would expect them to get here quickly,

Received my order of veggie seeds the other day, everything i ordered arrived in good condition and very fast.

I have ordered seeds from VBS for a long time and have had no issues but in recent years, several gardening catalogs have consolidated their ordering address to JW Jung's address in Randolph, WI probably to save on overheads through centralized management. This is where the problems have arisen. Those answering queries are not knowledgeable or helpful. A classic case in point, their most recent catalog has a bicolor Corn pictured on p.21 but they cannot tell which one of the three varieties listed below depicts the actual photographic portrayal. This sort of a 'customer service' is quite inadmissible in this country and this information-intensive age. I will take my shopping elsewhere as I have done with other companies that have relegated their ordering to JW Jung.

Horrible, Horrible, Horrible I went to their website to request a catalogue. It directs one to an external website. After a long "click trail" one is told that the next mailing is NOVEMBER 2013. Really, they are not interested in doing business with anyone for a year. I am 56 years old and this is the worst example of disdain for customers I have encountered. At the least, instead of sending you on this wild goose chase to the external website, VB should just put - NO, we don't won't your business, we are not sending our catalog out and not waste people's time. Does VB really think that will motivate one to order a pig in a poke from its website since they refuse to provide product literature?

Ordered beans & 'taters from this company. Everything arrived on time and grew true. I will order from them again for my summer 2013 garden.

I've been buying dry, green and yellow bean seeds from them for several years. I've never had any problem with germination. I plan to continue to using them.

I placed my first order with Vermont Bean this year and was very pleased. Everything was sent in a timely manner and their customer service is great. Will order again.

I ordered seeds Sunday and had them by Saturday that same week. Haven't planted them yet so I can't report on germination rates. Also had a very pleasant experience with customer service. I never received an email notifying me of shipment (as i did from both of the other companies I placed orders with) nor did the order status on the website ever show anything (just stayed blank) but an email to customer service late one night was answered the next morning telling me the seeds had shipped two days previously. So far a good experience. Also all seed packages are labeled with all pertinent planting info which is a little lacking on their site. Also liked their selection though they didn't have a few the more exotic vegetable plants I was looking for as their main focus is on beans.

Have been buying from this company and their sister companies for a number of years and have been very impressed with the company since Jung Seed took it over. I have only ever purchased dry beans for shelling from them, but have been well pleased with the quality and true-to-type seed.

Note from the Garden Watchdog editors:

I have ordered from this company for several years and have gotten good service. I like the diversity of crops offered and the array of varieties. The seed I ordered came promptly. I also ordered Irish and sweet potatoes, but they won't be shipped until planting time.

I ordered twenty-nine varieties of beans from the Vermont Bean seed company around January. Their prices are low and the amount of seed in each package high. Shipping is reasonable even for large packages. Seeds from all twenty-nine varieties were planted out in July. Every one of the varieties had excellent germination rates.

I ordered horseradish roots from them and they were in great shape and have took off very well. My experience has been very positive. I will update later if anything changes. Highly recommend.

I ordered tomato and pepper collections (live plants) and although I received my order in a timely manner, the plants had been shaken out of their flimsy plastic containers during shipping and everything was in a jumbled mess, the majority of the plants having broken stems. As the plants were no longer in the containers, I couldn't tell what variety was what! They need to re-think their shipping/packing methods. I sent an e-mail to customer service one week ago and have still not heard back. I will not be ordering from this company again.

First time I ordered from this company. Fast delivery, good seed quantity. Will add to this review later regarding germination / seed quality.

Have dealt with this company for several years and always been please with their service and seeds. This year, 100% correct in 8 days from order

I actually got my seed orders in early this year (Feb) and Vermont did their part as well! Complete order, received in one week's time...I was a bit startled at how fast I got it. Have used their seeds before and they have always given me great results! I love the selection of beans and herbs!!

Although ordering just before the company's professed busiest time (a day or two before Feb.1), I received my order in five days at my home in Seattle! The freebies tossed in were a nice touch, and the prices were good. Will report back if having problems with germination or other plant failure, but all looks good to date!

I ordered the seeds and had very nice experience. The quantities were generous, quality and germination very good. I was pleased with my order and will order again.

I ordered seeds from this company, and received them quickly. I like that they have seeds in lb sizes not just packages. I haven't planted them yet, but I'm sure they will be fine as all companies have to meet germination standards.....

The peas, pole beans, lima beans, and bush beans failed to germinate at all or in some cases at a rate of less than 20%. A total of 5 varieties were ordered and planted at least once and in several instances twice or three times. I also noticed that they did not put the year for which the seeds were packaged and that makes me suspicious that I am receiving older seeds. For a company named Vermont Bean, this is totally unacceptable.

This company had a good price for Wall O' Waters, a product I have used for 5 years and been so happy with that I ordered 12 more from Vermont Bean Co. What they sent me are not the well-designed, name brand WOW's, but a cheap knock-off that is a poor imitation. I discovered their shoddiness after taking 2 hours just to set up 9 of them last weekend. In that process, I broke 3 of my plants when the products - heavy with water - fell over on them, this despite being careful not to overfill any particular side which would cause the product to lean. Since real WOW's have an actual foot to stand on and the water is self-leveling inside the WOW, I have not had this problem with WOW's. Additionally, the substituted products do not form the protective teepee shape of a WOW unless you follow their suggestion to use a rubber band to close the top. What jerry-rigging! If VBC had sent me the advertised product I thought I was ordering, I'd have been happy. It has been 4 days since I e-mailed them requesting a resolution; but I have not heard a word from them. It is inexcusable to substitute such a crummy product for a well-known product.

I ordered from Vermont Bean company and checked to be shipped early. After a few weeks I called and asked where my order was they said Ohio is late ship....I said look at my request and the woman told me I had early ship checked. I said yes where is my order.She did expediate my order and I received it 10 days later with the 2 Garlic collections backordered. Today I received the 2 Garlic collection and 2 of the 3 kinds were soft and moldy. The Elephant and the California. I cannot believe they would even ship this garbage. The bag is clear on one side and you can see the mold and feel they are mushy. I am really disappointed in the seeds and plant material I received from them. I was a first time buyer from them and now I am a last time buyer.

I placed seed order on February 15th along with many other orders to other seed companies including Seymour Seeds and Vermont Bean Seed Co which are related to Jung. I had not had problems in the past with Jung. In early March, I rec'd my credit card statement and was billed for the items but the items had not arrived. Meanwhile, all of my other seed orders came in about 7 days of ordering. I emailed Vermont Bean Seed Co on 3/3 and no one responded. I sent a second email on 3/5 and was told they had shipped weeks earlier. They said if I didn't receive by 3/9 to email and they would express mail replacement. I emailed on 3/12 and got no response. I emailed on the 13th & 14th and received no response. What horrible service. I am so angry that I have missed the deadline to plant many of the seeds ordered. To make it worse, I ordered product from two different web sites Vermont Bean Co and Seymour Seed Co and neither of the seeds have come. I will never again use this company for seeds or materials. It is frustrating to deal with customer service who obviously are understaffed and lack training. It is more frustrating that this company bills before they ship. ALL of the other items I ordered from various companies Pinetree, Select Seeds, etc.. -- over 70 packets of seeds -- were billed upon shipment - not upon order. So now, since they are not communicating anymore I will have to contact my credit card company to refute the charges. If you are a serious gardener please buy from this company at your own risk! They get an A+ for the catalog but a complete F for service and customer support.

This is the perfect opportunity to remind everyone that with internet ordering please watch the auto fill cities. If your zip code has more than one city listed in the directory please check that you have not just entered through the field, but that you have picked the correct city for us to ship your order to.

I plant a lot of dry beans. For a number of years my experience with this company on "dry bean seed" has been good. Many varieties offered are a plus here. Germination, growth and yield has been good regardless of the variety of the bean. I pick and choose seed companies based on the factors above. However I don't buy all my garden seed from this company. BCS

Ordered orienpet lilies at a very good price but they back-ordered them. When they finally arrived, they were sealed in a plastic bag & very moldy & mushy. They gave me a partial refund when I complained but only 3 came up & they were tiny little things, too small to ever bloom. Also, poor germination with some of the seeds (Delicata Squash, Mixed melons, English cukes). Several items back-ordered. On the positive side, they gave me free pea seeds that came up like crazy!

Nice company to work with. Cust service was polite & efficient. Seeds were packaged in very nice printed paper packets, an ample supply of seeds were included.

Ordered seven different types of beans. Received my order in a very timely manner and have had excellent germination with the seeds. Also ordered Datura seeds and had 100% germination rates with those. They may not be in Vermont but a great place to get a nice selection of bean seeds.

This was my first time doing business with this company. The catalog is very nice and my order was filled promptly and everything arrived in very good shape. All products and seeds seem to be of very good quality. When I called customer service on the phone they were very nice and polite. I plan on doing business with them again.

I placed small seed orders with Vermont Bean Seed Co. both last year and this year. Both times my order was shipped within 10 days and both were accurate and professionally handled. Seed count is generous, and their germination rate is good. I will order again from them.

I have ordered from this company for years. My orders have always been shipped promptly. The seeds I have received have had excellent germination rates and excellent productivity.

I ordered seeds from this company in Feb.2004. They arrived in a decent amount of time 2 weeks. When I planted 25 of the seeds only 4 of them grew. I found out that the company is owned by Jung Seed Co. so I went to there store in Sun Prairie, WI spoke to a guy by the name of Jeff who refused to give me a refund or to replace my seeds. He told me that all the companies that are owned by Jungs, the seeds are all packaged in the same place in Randolph, WI Just put in different packages. I will never buy from these guys again.

Was going to order from them until I saw that they weren't even in Vermont...using the good name only. I emailed them asking why they called themselves the Vermont Bean... when they weren't even in Vermont, it seemed deceptive. I never heard from them, just ignored me.

I have ordered from this company a few times in the last several years. Overall, the delivery and quality is good enough so I do not throw away their catalog like some other companies. One of the reasons that I order only every couple of years is the fact I order too much. I guess I did not need 5 lbs. of bean seed...

I have used VBS for several years now. I find it a good source for bean and pea seed. Shipment times have always been acceptable (but I usually order early maybe that is the secret(. seed quality, germination, and packaging have always been superb.

I made an online order with this company. Seeds were shipped to my door just days later. The prices and shipping costs were a good deal. I looked in the seed packets and it seems that in all of them there were more seeds than what was stated in the catalog. I think I once read something in their catalog about them just recently making some service improvements. They must have done so, because I will be a returning customer to them. I really reccomend that others should give this place a try.

Our story is similar to that of others. We ordered from this firm based on advertising in a "country" journal we subscribe to. We ordered various vegetable and flower seeds. When I tried, after several weeks, to find out where our order was, I learned the company was shipping from the midwest, not Vermont. I got a man who indicated, after I complained, that our order would be sent out immediately. This was after waiting about four weeks for any piece of the order. (Needless to say our money had already gone through their till.) The rate of germination of the seeds was the poorest we've had in over twenty-five years of gardening. We also bought plants that were clearly stressed (long leggy, light-starved appearance) and did not survive more than a couple of weeks. We will not order from this company again. (I wish I'd known about this WEB site before we ordered the first time! Thanks for a great service fellow gardeners!)

I ordered all my seeds, from 3 different companies, on the same day. The 2 other orders came within 10 days. After a month of waiting for Vermont, I called and was told my order hadn't even been processed yet, and would be sent to the order-filling department in 10 days to 2 weeks. After another 3 weeks had gone by I called again and was told my order would be sent to the order-filling department in 10 days to 2 weeks! At that point I cancelled. Under no circumstances would I recommend anyone use this company!!!

Plants ordered never arrived. Customer service says shipped 10 days ago - but can't track shipment because they didn't chosse to use UPS or Fed Ex. For seeds, some packets ordered not included in shipment. Avoid at all costs. Excuse by customer service, "Overwhelmed by orders." Shouldn't be a problem next year. This misjudgement on my part to be resolved through the credit card company.

Each year I order seeds from a variety of companies. This year I ordered from J.L. Hudson, Select Seeds, Park's, Seymour's, Johnny's Selected Seeds, Cook's Garden and others. The yields were anywhere from 80 to 100% except for one company: Vermont Bean Seed. The yield was 0%. I sowed a second batch. 0%. Given that I germinated the same seeds (just different colors) from other companies at the same time and same conditions I would have to say that this is not a company I would order from again.

I placed an order in January, and a lot of the seeds I wanted to order were already out of stock. It also took 2 mos. for my order to arrive. When it did arrive, the order was correct. I probably won't order from them again unless there are some seeds I cannot find anywhere else.

This used to be a good company. I hesitated this year when I saw their address as I recognized it as associated with another company which had disintegrated into a very poor company to deal with. I should have listened to my instincts as I have been unable to acquire a refund or my seeds well past the time when they should have been shipped.

Placed a vegatable seed order in early February. Here it is almost mid-April. No seeds, no notification. Going back to my reliable sources, Pinetree and Stokes.

Vermont Bean Seed Company may have a wide selection but their service is very bad. I placed our order on February 21, 2003. To date, I have received two partial shipments. The last shipment billed us for two items (thermometer and ties) which were not in the box. We have called, spoken with a rep., and sent an email but have not yet received the items or been credited the charge. In addition, I have recently sent an email requesting information on a number of backordered items and some plants that are on hold. I wanted to know when VBS expected to receive the backordered items and when is the anticipated ship dates for the plants. After waiting over five weeks, this is not an unreasonable request. I received a very short answer stating "Thank you for your order, It is in the filling area along with most of your backordered items. " Well, a lot of good that does me for planning purposes. I haver sent off another request asking for specific information. All I want is basic information about my order. I have purchased from three other seeds companies this season, including Johnnys Seeds. All the other companies provided prompt shipping and were very helpful in answering questions. Vermont Bean is the worst. I will not purchase from them again.

This is not the same company I ordered from back in the 70s & 80s. It took almost a month for our seeds to come this season & with backorders. Being a small Farm, we depend on getting the right seed that is offered for sale. Their site is a mess & needs updated. I called for 2 weeks & wrote 6 e-mails, none of them were answered, that's right even the telephone. Well for those of you who were growing back in the 70s, you will recognize their partners today are those seed houses we did not order from even back then. It seems like a lot of the great seed vendors out of the 70s, have the same name but the people who made it like that then are gone now. I ordered from Stokes the same day, & got my seeds in 2 days. Stokes will call you when there is a back order. Don't waste your money on whatever this has become, it's not Vermont Bean & seed any longer. I even took them out of my favorites.

35 DAYS since I ordered and nothing has arrived.I have called three times in the past two weeks and unlike a previous comment, I received the same excuse "your order is in the shipping room now and will be going out in the next day or two" same operator?. NEVER AGAIN