Comments regarding TomatoFest.com

My order for seven packets of tomato seed was made online with ease. I promptly received an email confirmation of the order, listing the varieties ordered. The order was sent promptly, and the varieties sent were correct.
When I received the order, I had a question about one of the packets, emailed the company, and received a prompt reply.
As this is my first time to order from this company, I cannot comment on quality of seed. I will post again later in the year when I see how well the seeds grow.

I ordered 9 varieties from tomatofest. Of those 9, 1 was incorrect (Wisconsin 55 vs Wins All) and what I figured was an honest mistake since they are so close alphabetically. The intial order arrived very quickly.

I had email exchanges with Gary Ibsen personally who takes customer service very seriously. In the end, he made it right and I am quite satisfied. From the time he personally handled the situation, I had the replacements within 1 or 2 days.

In the case of an honest mistake, I think the judgement should fall on the end result rather than the mistake.

I like the selection of interesting and some hard to find varieties and look forward to further tomato tasting adventures next year too. I will be a repeat customer.

I placed an order with Tomatofest,the order never arrived. I sent them a simple e-mail inquiring of my seed. I was contacted within 24hrs. Gary made sure I hadn't thrown the package away by mistake. He promptly sent me another duplicate replacement. They tracked the order and even called to make sure I hadn't received the first missing package. I wished everyone was so concientious about customer service.

I emailed for Gary's opinion on tomato varieties and he answered in a few hours. I ordered last Friday and the seeds were here in KS. in Monday's mail. Will update after planting about germination. The service has been second to none so far.

Ordered 10 varieties of heirloom tomato seeds. All germinated well except Hawaiian Currant, which was promptly replaced by Gary at no charge (different lot #) . Second batch germinated and we love them . They are our favorite tomato-- Tiny but very tasty. Everyone should have these in a pot or garden.

I recieved the seeds in just a few days and all seem to germinating quite well.

Wow, excellent and fast service. I ordered seeds on 1/26/06 via TomatoFest's website and received my seeds two days later on 1/28/06! Got all 5 of my selections and a freebie too. The seed count looks great also with at least 40 seeds to a pack.

I will definitely order from TomatoFest again and would recommend it to anyone looking for heirloom seeds.

Several years ago, I became tired of the same old tough supermarket tomatoes, and so, I tried to grow tomatoes in my own home garden. I had mixed results, but the main disappointment was that the tomatoes I harvested, were simply more plain old red tomatoes. Better, fresh, yes, but I wondered where I could get seeds for some of the exotic 'foreign' tomatoes I ate during my travels in South America.

Imagine my delight, to find the Tomatofest.com website, with so many exotic varieties of heirloom tomatoes! I was determined to succeed in growing these, so I ordered some interesting seeds and also, Mr Ibsen's excellent book.

I love those exotic tomatoes! My family and friends
are asking me if I am going to be growing a garden
again this year, because they can't wait for more of
those colorful exotics. Who would have guessed that
tomatoes could taste so different?

My orders have continued, every year, and I am getting ready to plan my garden for this spring. I have seen some new varieties on the Tomatofest.com website, and my plan is to make the red tomatoes the minority this year, and grow more of the exotic and colorful varieties that I have 'grown to love'.

I admit I have a fondness for Mr Ibsen and his carefully tended heirloom seed business. He has been very dependable, every order filled and shipped like clockwork. I have tried to make time attend the annual Tomatofest shindig, maybe I can make it this year. It is amazing how many, many pounds of incredible tomatoes can come from one seed, so tiny.


'It's all about the compost!'

I ordered several (8, I think) varieties of heirloom tomato seeds and have had germination problems with only one variety. The other seven are growing - strong and healthy. Ordering online was easy, descriptions and pictures were fantastic, and I received my seeds promptly with a bonus package included. Will definately order from this company again. Now...what to do with all those tomatos this summer....?

I have ordered seeds four times from TomatoFest and my experience has always been great.

Huge selection, prompt delivery, always bonus seeds with a personal note from Gary.

Recently, one of my orders got probably stuck at customs (I live overseas). Once notified about the delay, TomatoFest immediately sent me a new order without any charge, although this was not their fault.

A public thank you to you guys!

What a fantastic assortment of tomato seeds. I have never had so much fun looking at seeds and so much difficulty
deciding what to buy. I ordered the Marianna's Peace tomato that was advertised as being exclusive to Tomatofest. When I later found it on another site I emailed them to let them know. I received an immediate reply stating that they had just found that out, had reduced the price and would change their ad. When my seeds arrived I just had to see them and noticed that I had way less than 30+ seeds offered. I emailed again and received a quick reply that a new packet would be sent out immediately. Apparently when the tomato was exclusively theirs only 6 seeds were offered and I got one of those packets. The new packet arrived in less than a week with a hand-written apology. How much better can you get than that? This is a great company.

An outstanding collection of heirloom tomato seeds with nice writeups about each. I ordered some 30 varieties last spring. One was missing and Gary personally responded to my email and sent not only the missing variety, but 3 others for me to experiment with. Germination rates were excellent and all were true to variety descriptions. Minimum order requirement, but this is not a big issue because tomato seeds can keep for years if stored properly.

I love this site! If you are a tomato love don't miss this site.

I ordered seeds from TomatoFest last spring. Very prompt service. Very good support! And some very good heirloom tomatos are offered including the Julia Child tomato -- excellent! I will definitely be ordering my tomato seeds from them again this year. Lots of other info on the site as well including local business in Carmel area and some good recipes.

The owner, Gary, when he has time, is happy to answer any email. Just don't write in late September when they are getting read for the TomatoFest in Carmel.

Incidently, some friends in LA drove up to the festival and had a wonderful time. Based on their comments, I'd recommend anyone in the area to make the road trip to the festival. Mark your calendars -- September 12, 2004. Lots to do and see including the "Miss Hot Tomato" contest.

So far so good! This is my first time ordering from Tomatofest.com and out of the dozen varieties I ordered, all arrived with more than the 30 seeds promised. I now have about 400 plants out of the expected 360! Some are still sprouting after 3 weeks in the growing medium, so I don't know the germination rate exactly. Now, if I can find space to plant all of them...

I ordered several packets of organic heirloom variety tomatos last month (2/2002). The seed packets arrived quickly and they threw in a bonus packet of seeds. The variety selection is vast and ordering is easy. I am very pleased with this company.