Author Topic: Seeds are so expensive (Read 8262 times)

angle shades · « **Reply #20 on:** December 15, 2006, 16:33:55 »

hi CC

I grow a baby plum called Auntie Madge which is out of the heritage seed library catalogue, it is very nice roasted :)/shades x

euronerd · « **Reply #21 on:** December 15, 2006, 21:27:00 »

Has anybody tried this site http://www.packetseeds.com/? They have tom seeds at a fraction of the price, although none of the five varieties offered seem to be familiar to me. Perhaps there's an expert out there who can enlighten us. I'm a mere enthusiast, but at that price I'm a bit tempted.

Geoff.

supersprout · « **Reply #22 on:** December 15, 2006, 21:52:58 »

Very interesting site euronerd thank you :)
Looks like someone has put together a new little internet business - I might give a small order a try, especially with some of the E. European bred melons 'for field cultivation' ::) ;D

Garden Gnome · « **Reply #23 on:** December 16, 2006, 08:49:31 »

Oooh, v. interesting: am tempted. Laaargge portions of seed, too, I see They look like the Legutko brand from Poland. Been buying and growing them for years, buying bags of the stuff when I go and visit my Polish friend.

Seeds in E. Europe are much cheaper than in the UK, and many of the varieties are well-known.

Have been hunting round on Polish eBay and Czech eBay equivalent for seeds, but none there. There is a Czech seed co. with a website, and Brocolli 'Cezar' is around 20 pence for half a gramme of seed. F1 seed costs 19 crowns, under 50 pence!

To give an idea of prices, Polish seeds in Poland are less than half the price for the UK equivalent, and Czech seeds are less than half the price of Polish seeds: I bought some courgette seeds last year reduced to 5 Cz. crowns, from 10 crowns, with over 41 crowns to the GBP. Now, the Czechs shop for cheap stuff inn Slovakia, so if someone can tell me the Slovak word for seeds...

Garden Gnome · « **Reply #24 on:** December 16, 2006, 09:45:29 »

Another fun one (I MUST get out more) that has free shipping, and a choice of seed packets from the UK, US and Canada, where you choose the brand from their range of seeds, is www.eseeds.com - my order arrived just now, 5 days after I ordered, complete with complimentary seed packet. I wanted an early melon, and chose the Lilly Miller (Canadian co.) 66-day Cantaloupe melon, hooray! AND I have got dozens of seeds for the Armenian cucumber, only £1.47; I chose the eseeds option of Botanical Interests, a Colorado firm.

supersprout · « **Reply #25 on:** December 16, 2006, 09:51:56 »

Really interesting Garden Gnome, wondered if they might be Polish but not too sure of my Eastern European langages. So presumably they would grow well in our climate too! VERY tempting site, especially with your added info.
Where do the Slovakians go shopping? ::) ;D

RSJK · « **Reply #26 on:** December 18, 2006, 08:30:32 »

I am with ValMarg cannot praise Moles enough, large packs I know but most seeds keep a year or two, and you can club together to share the seeds. Like Valmarg I have dealt with them for about five years now and find that they are very quick to put your seeds into the post for quick delivery.

Garden Gnome · « **Reply #27 on:** December 18, 2006, 13:56:30 »

Gosh, must try Moles...

supersprout, I am TRYING to find out where the Slovakians buy from: there must come a point - or country - where the customer starts getting paid to take the stuff...

I've been growing the Polish and Czech seeds for year: many of the varieties are identical to those on sale here, and I've noticed that many of the seed packets are produced/packed in that East European bastion called, er, Holland.

Ceratonia · « **Reply #28 on:** December 19, 2006, 09:37:08 »

Was talking to a friend's au pair ;) recently - she is/was a Polish agricultural studies student.

She reckons that seed legislation is very different there - the law only requires a germination percentage of 40% for example (although I was told that reputable companies like Legutko do much better) and often the seed packets aren't hermetically sealed. They have a certain grace period before they have to conform to EU legislation.

Also, a lot of the Polish produced seed (as opposed to that produced elsewhere and sold in Poland) is covered in fungicidal powder - be sure to wash hands thoroughly after sowing.

She also says that a lot of the seed imported to Poland from Netherlands/Germany is being sold below cost price at the moment, to try to bankrupt the weaker producers. So make the most of current prices!

budgiebreeder · « **Reply #29 on:** December 19, 2006, 11:46:35 »

I've bought my seeds whilst on holidays abroad .You get twice as many seeds for half the price and they produce xlently,including those lovely big beefy tomatoes,flowers and all my vege.

dchisholm · « **Reply #30 on:** December 19, 2006, 16:25:21 »

Thank you for your comments about packetseeds.com. I set up and run the website. Most of the seed comes from Poland / Legutko, some (flowers) from my own production and selections. The proprietor Wieslaw Legutko is a large scale producer of both flower and vegetable seeds. The website gives a full explanation about this.
Your interest is appreciated.

supersprout · « **Reply #31 on:** December 19, 2006, 16:32:55 »

nice to meet you dchisholm and welcome to the forum :) I put an order in a few days ago, looking forward to trying these seeds out in the New Year!
SSx

dchisholm · « **Reply #32 on:** December 19, 2006, 16:44:43 »

Dear Supersprout
They were mailed yesterday (Monday), they should be with you before Xmas subject to the Chirstmas post.
Thanks for the welcome.
Regards
D

supersprout · « **Reply #33 on:** December 19, 2006, 19:47:42 »

wow! thank you for that D :D
are the wild flower mixes your own?
SSx

dchisholm · « **Reply #34 on:** December 20, 2006, 10:07:48 »

Regarding the wildflowers, I buy them in as a standard mix from one of the UK wholesale producers. They make up the blends from separately produced species. The three standards - general, shaded, butterfly - are the most common. I can source separate species if the need is large enough.
My own breeding / selection work is on the hardy geraniums which go on the site soon (hopefully this week!), Adenophora, Mimulus - flowers rather than veg. I found the Caliente Red hot pepper and that is going well - really nice plants that can be grown on a windowsill.

valmarg · « **Reply #35 on:** December 29, 2006, 18:40:36 »

The Seeds of Italy catalogue dropped through the letterbox this morning. They do quite large amounts of seed at reasonable prices. Can recommend them as well.

supersprout · « **Reply #36 on:** December 30, 2006, 11:11:39 »

can't wait to get sowing now dchisholm, really liked the printout of detailed sowing instructions for specific plants ordered, VERY much appreciated ;D

dchisholm · « **Reply #37 on:** December 30, 2006, 18:04:01 »

we try to please! any issues, pls let me know....

Gillian · « **Reply #38 on:** December 30, 2006, 18:51:02 »

You could try eBay. When my local garden centre ran out of onion sets I bought some on eBay and they are happy sprouting as we speak. I can't vouch for the quality but the prices are good.

man of the land · « **Reply #39 on:** December 30, 2006, 19:06:00 »

My mum buys her seeds in bulk for the whole allotment society and sell them in the shop down there. ;) i think the company she buys them from is called mr.fothergills or something like that. :-\

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Author Topic: Seeds are so expensive (Read 8262 times)