Comments regarding TomatoFest.com

This is the only place I buy my tomato seeds from now. Gary Ibsen abd Dagma Lacey have a vast selection to choose from, and Gary always answers my emailed questions about planting and growing tomatoes.

I have been ordering from TomatoFest for several years, and have been pleased each time, but especially this year. I live in Washington State, Zone 8 so we have short growing seasons. TomatoFest has some of the earliest and tastiest short season tomatoes available. Because there are so many choices and not enough room in my garden, I try new varieties every year (except for one or two favorites that get planted every year). I usually pick tomatoes that have a 65 day or shorter maturity rate, and one or two longer maturing ones just in case we have a good growing season. This year I chose Matina (small red, 58 day), Aurora (small red, 59 day), Salisaw Cafe (small red, 58 day), Zarnitza (large red, 60 day), Koralik (red cherry, 61 day), BrandySweet Plum (75 day), and Blondkopfchen (a yellow cherry, 75 day). Seeds started mid-March, all with excellent germination rates, transplanted out mid-May and by mid-August, I harvested enough of the non-cherry tomatoes to fill four large bowls (enough for 9 pints of salsa) with easily as much as that still on the vine waiting for the next picking; and the cherry tomato plants are so full, I feel like I have been in the kitchen all summer preserving my harvest. Even the 75-day ones were producing like crazy. The three heirloom transplants I bought from Costco and transplanted out at the same time (Black Krim, BrandyPink and Old German) have so far produced only one ripe tomato. Usually it is late September before any of my large tomatoes even start to ripen, and then they usually get afflicted with late blight and other disease before the crop is ready. . Not this year. Some of my tomatoes have been a bit stressed with our lingering drought and alternating hot and cold weather, but their production still makes me the envy of all my friends and neighbors, most of whom are still waiting for their harvests.
The best part is that these tomatoes are TASTY! Often early season varieties lack the flavor of their longer-to-mature cousins, but not in this case. I am thrilled to get real tomato flavor.
I whole-heartedly recommend TomatoFest.

My first order from Tomat Fest came today and I was so pleased! The seeds are wonderfully packaged and the instruction sheet was most appreciated. I will anxiously await mid-July to start my seedlings for a fall Florida crop. Also, I received a free seed packet as a gift! The extensive varieties offered by Tomato Fest, as well as the detailed and informative item descriptions, have prompted me to create a wish list and I will be ordering again soon!

I got 7 varieties of tomatoes from TomatoFest last year. Due to various circumstances, none of them did well. The only ones that set were the Azoychkas. Despite it being mostly my own fault, Gary gave me a complete replacement of my order plus two other varieties he thought might work for me. I did not ask for this, he simply did it. That is what I call customer service. He didn't treat me like I was just an idiot who couldn't grow anything like two other companies did. I would HIGHLY recommend TomatoFest and Gary Ibsen to anyone looking to grow tomatoes.

I had a shipping confirmation within 6 hours of placing my order. These people are awesome.

For tomatoes, no better vendor exists. I have never gotten mislabled seed. I have never gotten corrupted seed. Germination rates are almost always 100% regardless of variety. Personal attention to inquiries is outstanding as is knowledge of all things tomato. I have been gardening since 1970, Tomatofest is the only vendor I know in recent years which under promises and ALWAYS over delivers. Astoundingly excellent and rare service. There are not enough superlatives in the human language base to describe how delighted I am with the seeds, service, and prices. Gary Ibsen and Dagma Lacey will make growing tomatoes an event to make you anticipate every Spring. There are also some rare varieties which have been a delight for my palate to discover. Simply put, no gardener should buy tomato seeds from any other source. When it comes to tomatoes, the USDA can't beat Tomatofest.

I'm happy to comment on my positive experience with our TomatoFest order. The entire order arrived promptly, and we were delighted to find a surprise packet of Chadwick Cherry Tomato seeds added to our order with complements from Gary & Dagma.
After planting, I noted a somewhat less-than-expected germination rate on 2 of the 5 varieties we ordered, and wrote to TomatoFest with some feedback. I was really surprised to have a thoughtful reply from Gary within a few hours, both acknowledging my concern and advising us that we'd be receiving some replacement seeds shortly.
You really can't ask for better customer service than that!
Thank you, Gary & Dagma, we'll be certain to order again. :-)

I am writing this review to speak to the extremely high level of exceptional customer service provided by Gary at TomatoFest. When ordering seeds this year I experienced a problem logging in to my account. I am embarrassed to say I was very frustrated and sent a flaming email to TomatoFest. Within one hour I received an email from Gary at TomatoFest. He was very kind in his reply, patient and offered some ideas regarding the log in issues. He followed up with another email to make sure I was on the right track. I have to say there was nothing wrong with the TomatoFest site, it was all my own ignorance!!!
I have purchased seeds from this company many, many times in the past. The seed selection is exceptional and the order is usually shipped within one day.
I felt it necessary and the right thing to do to publicly recognize the extraordinary level of customer service I was provided.

I ordered several seeds from them, mainly the colder climate tomatoes. I have limited sun in my garden (4-5 hours) and thought having an earlier, cold weather variety would help. Everything was excellent. I loved the tomatoes. Everything grew very well. I was the first to have tomatoes in the neighborhood. Seeds from another company did okay, but not as good. I also got a free seed pack which was exciting. It turned out to be the best tasting one (Cherokee purple). I ordered again for next year and hoping it'll be a success.

When you just love a company you want to share your experience with everyone, and I just love TomatoFest.com. I placed and order for the short-season tomato collection and not only did it arrive in just a few days, Gary and Dagma included a lot of free packets of seeds! Who does that these days? Their kindness brought tears to my eyes, because living on a fixed income and alone on a little farm, doing all my own work, any act of kindness touches my heart. I've grown tomatoes for 45 years, from every company still in business, and I have never had such prompt service and never had a gift of free seeds that I actually need. I know from reading their web site that Gary and Dagma are true tomato geniuses, helpful and enthusiastic and I'm quite sure they've grown every variety known to man. They have created an amazing seed arc for the rest of us, working tirelessly to preserve and protect a most loved food. And I'm quite certain that if I emailed them with a question they would do everything to help. I encourage everyone to order seeds from TomatoFest.com. I checked the seeds upon their arrival and they were all big, plump, healthy and I cannot wait to start them in the greenhouse. Gary also sent an email with info on Purple Bumble Bee tomatoes which I will order, as they grow well in shorter and cooler growing conditions that I have here in Colorado. SO good to find expert seed suppliers/growers who are kind, compassionate, so intelligent and trustworthy and experienced. I will support them as long as I can poke a seed in the soil and I encourage everyone to do the same.

I've been reading Dave's Garden as well as other online gardening forums for many years. As a rule, I don't usually post. But this company calls for an exception to that rule.

My first garden was in 1968. Since then, I've purchased seeds from a variety of seed companies, large and small. In 2008, I first heard about "heirloom" tomatoes and found TomatoFest.com. I spent hours on the TomatoFest web site reading and learning about heirloom varieties. As I browsed farther on the web (hours turned into days), I realized that the more experienced heirloom tomato growers and experts were recommending many of the same varieties........... and Tomatofest seemed to have seeds and description for all the most highly recommended heirloom tomatoes.

Indeed, Gary Ibsen's TomatoFest had been largely responsible for my education about heirloom tomatoes. Now Gary had become my main supplier of tomato seeds, simply because he grew almost everything I wanted. He still does.

But beyond the vast selection at TomatoFest, I love buying directly from the owner of the company, especially when he is a real person, who offers personal service and direct communication. It's so much better than buying from a large company where my name becomes a number and I have little chance of ever hearing from the owner. At TomatoFest, when I ask a tomato question via email, I hear back from Gary Ibsen, the Tomato-Man. At TomatoFest, my seeds come from the owner, who with the help of his family grows all his own tomatoes, and produces all his own seeds from tomatoes that he has selected by growing and tasting each one of them.

But how good and fresh are his seeds? Last month I found an old packet of seeds I had purchased almost ten years ago from TomatoFest. I thought, "These are too old to be viable". But I did a viability test in a paper towel. Well, it took a little longer than usual (at room temperature) but 18 out 20 seeds sprouted. Last week, I did a viability test on seeds from another ten year-old packet of TomatoFest seeds, this time keeping them at 76 degrees. They started to sprout in only five days. WOW. I guess Gary's and Dagma's efforts in carefully sterilizing, washing, and drying their seeds themselves by hand pays off.

One of the things I like best about Gary Ibsen's TomatoFest is the honesty with which he writes his seed descriptions on TomatoFest.com. At the time of this writing his current description for "Blue Berries - Tomato Seeds" at TomatoFest.com reads something like this, ".... others report that the fruit is luscious, sweet and flavorful, however, my experience is that the fruit of this variety is acidic and tart. Its bitterness masks the sweetness".

That doesn't sound like a very good way to sell those particular tomato seeds, but it's honest. I've never seen that kind of honesty on any other seed company's web site.

For these reasons, and many more, TomatoFest is my favorite seed company, the one to which I compare all others. I am thankful that Gary and Dagma have continued to offer a superior heirloom organic product, and at some of the best prices on the web. Being a small businessman myself, I only wonder how they do it?

After spending hours poring over every tomato description and helpful articles on Tomatofest, I selected my choices - great prices! I received my seeds quickly, and was surprised to see Gary included a bonus tomato variety seed packet for free. I will definitely purchase from them again, and can't wait to see how my tomato garden does this year!

I am very pleased with the seeds I received from these people and when needed again I will purchase from them. A+++++++++++++++++++ service

I have ordered from Tomatofest.com for many years now. Their seeds are very price competitive, always delivered in a timely fashion and most importantly...produce incredible heirloom tomatoes! I'm a better than average gardener, but not an expert in any sense, yet their seeds always are productive for me. I annually have plants grow to above 8 feet tall from pin-head sized seeds! Selection of seeds is awesome and each year I find a few rare varieties that cannot be found elsewhere. I would strongly recommend using Tomatofest.com as your heirloom seed vendor of choice.

TomatoFest.com is a fantastic company to deal with. The seeds have a very good germination rate and if there is ever a problem, they will send you a new seed packet. Each year I order dozens of varieties of tomato seeds and, due to fabulous customer service, now get all of the available seeds on my wishlist from them. Each time I have a question or problem, Gary responds very quickly to help or resolve. It is rare to be helped by someone so knowledgeable about the product!

Posted on November 26, 2012, updated August 18, 2015
Their Henderson's Winsall seeds I bought this spring, was not the real Winsall. The plants from their seeds are tree like, with only 3-4 Mal-formed tomatoes per plant. I've raised winsall for years and those from tomato fest are not the real thing.

"On Nov 29, 2012 6:47 PM, TomatoFest.com responded with:

I'm puzzled by this posting. I tracked down this person's seed orders from us (1/2012 and 8/2011) and no Henderson's Winsall was ordered from us. (He did order the Winsall variety.) I've personally planted and harvested Henderson's Winsall for the past few years and found that the plants performed well in producing moderate to very good crops of fruit, that appeared to be true (and delicious). I've not seen similar plant/fruit qualities he has described. The seeds I harvested would have been the same seeds that would have been sent any of our customers this past spring. Upon seeing this complaint, I emailed jeffroky with this information and expressed my regret for his disappointment and reminded him that had he contacted me when he first thought our seeds were at fault, I would have responded to him immediately to respond to his concern. I also reminded him that I guarantee ALL of our seeds. If he was speaking of our Winsall seeds then I suspect that the seeds in his pack might have been damaged prior to planting (If he planted the Winsall he ordered 8/11, their vitality might have been compromised during storage before planting in spring of 2012. I sent jeffroky 2 packs of Henderson's Winsall with the expectation he will produce fruit to his satisfaction this year. I will also be tracking the performance of this variety in my 2013 planting. (Note: I do not question this person's expertise and appreciate that he has ordered many other varieties from us that appear to have been successful. BTW, I have had no complaints from any of the 912 customers who ordered Henderson's Winsall in the past 2 years.)"

Posted on July 9, 2015, updated July 9, 2015
I have used this company for 3 years now and will not use them again. I have had numerous problems with incorrect tomato seed varieties being sent. Gary at tomatofest has finally responded to my emails(after numerous attempts) and his final email was very sarcastic. I would say he doesn't care about his quality control when It comes to his heirlooms seeds. I even had taken the time to send him some pictures of the variety problems. And his response was that he couldn't understand my question. I clearly stated that my Red Brandywine tomatoes were small round and yellow, and my Prudens Purple were red with yellow streaks. Not to hard to understand that these were the wrong seeds sent out from his company. If he does respond to my negative comments. I will be reposting my reply with all of our emails sent to and from, so everyone can see his responses to my inquiries. NOT A COMPANY YOU WANT TO BUY FROM!

Excellent selection, quick shipping, reasonable prices, and a bonus pack of seeds included. I ordered 5 different varieties. All had a very high germination percentage and all seedlings have grown well.

I have ordered from Tomatofest for a few years. I love their selection and their service is very good. I have had generally great germination with their seeds. I only wish their packaging were different, with a description and photo of the tomato, but they always give a surprise pack and I have no complaints!

Excellent - If you are looking for tomato seeds, I don't see how they could do any better. Besides hundreds or individual packs, he sells a variety of collections for specific climates and growing conditions.

I bought one of the collections, tropical for container gardening - this is my exact situation. All of the varieties were new to me except one that I purchased elsewhere. I asked for a substitution from the other hot/humid collection. Not only did Gary provide the substitution, he also included the original pack and an additional free pack.

Reasonable shipping cost and fast shipping too. Received order in < 1 week.

You cannot find a website with a greater variety of heirloom tomato seeds. Over a 3 year run, I had about a 90% success rate from seed to successful transplant. You can spend hours lost among the tomato varieties, but can also just drop Gary an e-mail with your grouping conditions and he will make some recommendations.Spending time among the tomatoes is fun on cold New England nights. Like others, I always enjoy the bonus packet. I like surprises and the result is some very tasty tomatoes. The growing information on the website is great in terms of both content and presentation. I look forward to 2014's crop. By the way, I always distinguish between price and value. Tomatofest provides great values for the price. When 4 packets, plus the bonus can lead to 125 healthy tomato plants in the garden for around $20 for seeds, that is great value!! Yes, and service has always been first rate.

Posted on November 23, 2012, updated September 24, 2013
I can say unequivocally the I would recommend Gary Ibsen's tomatofest.com w/o any reservations whatsoever. Gary took my info and recommended, for example, that I try Chocolate Stripes and Amish Paste. They were outstanding!

I found the true Porter's Pride tomato and when the temps here in suburban Philadelphia hovered around the 97 degree mark for nearly all of July, I got tomatoes!

His quality control is second to none. I have never received any corrupted seed as has happened with other companies.

If you're growing tomatoes, get your seed from Gary Ibsen and tomatofest.com. You will NOT be disappointed!

Early this year (2013) I ordered seeds for several varieties of tomatoes from TomatoFest. I received them all very promptly, plus bonus seeds just for ordering! After I had sown all of them only one variety didn't germinate. I contacted Gary and asked if this variety (Lollipop) had a different germination time. He responded immediately and sent me another packet of Lollipop, PLUS more free bonus seeds. The 2nd batch did indeed germinate 100%. Now I've got Tomato City all over my property. I love the TomatoFest website and the service they provide. All the plants I ordered seeds for are growing well now and I look forward to future business with TomatoFest.

I an placed an order with Tomatofest.... naturally was like a kid in a candy store.. placed order.. then realized.. that did not order the centerpiece variety. I wanted.. contacted Gary.. he was so helpful. made my day and hopefully.. my tomato year.. In this world of computer generated service and corporate guidelines.. What a joy to get some good ole down home.. we really wanna help you service.. I sing his praises.. and am sure.. that his partner.. Dagma.. makes him that way..lol Thanks again.. was a pleasure to do business with you.. Dwheel Ky

I purchased seeds four years ago. My greenhouse collapsed in a record snowfall, so the seeds just stayed in the refrigerator in our basement, which is rarely used. I forgot they were there. This Christmas my wonderful husband bought me a new greenhouse. It did not get finished until April. I remembered the seeds and thought, what the heck, its so late now I can't start anything, so I might was well toss these seeds in soil and see what happens. I planted out the seedling today. Four years in the refrigerator, late start - many healthy plants. No, they did not all germinate, but I didn't expect any, and got at least 50% on both varieties. Impressive, I think!

This year I am trying to go completely sustainable and happened upon the Tomato-fest company. I have to say that their informational pages were great on the differences in starting seeds for heirloom varieties versus starting hybrids. I ended up ordering 9 packets of seeds and got the seeds in less than 4 days with an extra packet of seeds for trying them. I planted all the seed packets (25 to 30 seeds per packet on average). From the beginning I noticed that when the seeds came up they faded in the beginning but going back and looking on the website again I knew that the water needs for heirlooms was different than hybrids and was able to adjust accordingly. I had between 20 and 28 seedlings grow from each packet of seeds and survive their first transplanting into 6packs from the starter trays. The seedlings are thriving now in my greenhouse under full spectrum lights and are growing well. I am looking forward to getting the seedlings in the garden this year and seeing how they produce. Great company and a great product. I will definitely be ordering other varieties again.

I love this company! From the excellent and unusual varieties, a easy to navigate website with helpful subcategories and descriptions, fast shipping, superior germination, and bonus seeds to boot!

I ordered 8 varieties of old fashioned reds from Tomatofest, and had terrible germination rates. 3 varieties topped out at 50%, three had 20%, and the other 2 had 0% germination.

I emailed Tomatofest from their "contact us" link, and expected not to hear back for a long time. To my surprise, I got an email 3 hours later, stating that they would re-send my whole order no questions asked.

The second order came quickly, and the second batch of seeds germinated flawlessly. Gary suggested that the first batch may have been fowled during shipping or storage. I think he was right.

This is what customer service is all about! Now to see how the plants perform over the course of the season.

Bottom line, this is a top notch company that deserves your business.

When the first set of the tomato seeds had not been delivered by the Thai postal system after three weeks, they sent me a new batch without any hassle and refused any further payment when the two seed orders both turned up together.
Now after four days I am seeing the first seedlings germinate and looking forward to tasty tomatos from their Tropical hot and humid collection,

I have only great things to say about the customer service I have received from TomatoFest! My first order with them never made it, vanished into the US Postal System, but Gary at TomatoFest promptly and graciously re-sent my order without hesitation. I am very much looking forward to a bountiful crop and will order all my future tomato seed through them, just because they treated me so nicely!

Totally positive. Terrific Website, tons of information, great germination rate and plants, good seed count and good prices. Fast service and we live in Canada (shipped our first large order in 2 packages to get it across the border more efficiently). Ordered from them again this year same great service. Have recommended them to friends. They are total pros!

I ordered 5 exciting varieties of tomatoes from Tomatofest, they were shipped within a few days, and I received my seeds within a week. As I live in Canada, this is fantastic! And I got a free packet of seeds, amazing. I love the website, and the incredible variety of tomatoes available. The only downside is that I can't grow them all! If I have positive experiences with germination and growth, as I believe I will, I will definitely order from them again.

In 2012, I ordered a dozen freaky colored tomatoes from tomatofest, and several giant types. The germination was great, I was giving away seedlings to anyone whose car was unlocked. The plants produced early and well. This was a bad year in western Oregon, it rained and was cold until July, but 2 giant varieties produced several 24 to 30 oz tomatoes, the first time in 10 years at our elevation. Just big robust plants--good bloodlines. I hope for similar outcomes this year.

I was very pleased with my Tomatofest.com experience. I had 95-100% germination rates and my tomato plants are 7-8 feet tall. I was very pleased with the selection of tomatoes and the shipping was very quick. There is a $15 minimum order, but if you are ordering a several varieties, it is worth it. I will be ordering from Tomatofest.com again.

Excellent organic tomato seed source with equally great customer service. Tomato envy: there are so many offerings for tomatoes you have probably never heard of but wish you had the space to grow. Will go to them every time for quality seeds.

We ordered a lot of our tomatoes from these guys this year, shipping is quick and well pack. The germination ares were really well around 90-95%.

The only gripe I have is their seed packaging, they use all the same packs with the same photos which would be okay dealing with a few varieties but when dealing with 10+ its a hassle

They were very prompt and did a replacement in a flash, very graciously, and sent bonus packages we greatly appreciated.

I ordered from TomatoFest for the first time in the fall of 2011. I was very pleased with the enormous selection of heirloom seeds, plus the ordering process was easy and delivery time was good. Give this company a try.

Posted on February 27, 2012, updated February 27, 2012
Placed an order and it was delivered quickly and everything arrived as ordered! Great site to order from! A++++