It's started...Netto seeds 19p

[manicscousers]

Netto has veg and flower seeds in on 8th january, 19p per packet, country value seeds  ;D

[manicscousers]

[ACE]

I don't know! You all break your backs and work hard on your plots, then you go and buy cheap seeds with no garanteed germination rates.

I can see the posts in a couple of months time.

'why don't my 'so and so' grow? ???  ??? ???

Buy quality seed and increase your chances. You all know you don't get something for nothing.

[betula]

I agree,prefer the 50p sale packets from Blooms.

Dare say lots of peeps will post their successes with the cheap ones though ;D

[Borlotti]

My Morrisons seeds (4 or was it 5 for a £1) did OK.  Also my Brambley Apple tree from there is doing fine.  Buy the more expensive ones for something a bit unusual but the cheap ones are not always rubbish.

[RobinOfTheHood]

I don't know! You all break your backs and work hard on your plots, then you go and buy cheap seeds with no garanteed germination rates.

I can see the posts in a couple of months time.

'why don't my 'so and so' grow? ???  ??? ???

Buy quality seed and increase your chances. You all know you don't get something for nothing.

I've used Netto seeds (along with others, I hasten to add) for the last 3 years, germination rates have been as good as the others. That includes T&M, Alan Romans, Real Seeds, etc.

There's nothing wrong with them except for the varieties being limited, I presume they buy in surplus from the big producers?

Oh, and don't all seed have to satisfy a minimum germination rate by law?

[manicscousers]

I've used Netto seeds (along with others, I hasten to add) for the last 3 years, germination rates have been as good as the others. That includes T&M, Alan Romans, Real Seeds, etc.

There's nothing wrong with them except for the varieties being limited, I presume they buy in surplus from the big producers?

Oh, and don't all seed have to satisfy a minimum germination rate by law?

snap, okay they don't have the fancy ones, but basic are fine and their beans last year were 100% germination  :)

[ACE]

I would still question the purity of these seeds. Also the germination rates are not that great when old seed is mixed with new seed.  The germination rate which I understand is so low that if the seed has been proven at 90% they can easily and do, lower it with rubbish. I know you are not paying much and if you get a crop good luck. But why waste all that energy, just to save a few quid.

But as you are growing for the table and you can get a meal, all is alright. The plants I grow have to be above garden centre quality as they could end up being judged.

I cannot find the germination 'law' I expect it is a code of conduct and if a profit is to be made, don't expect too much.

[ceres]

I cannot find the germination 'law' I expect it is a code of conduct and if a profit is to be made, don't expect too much.

The relevant legislation is the Vegetable Seed (England) Regulations 2002.  You can read it here:

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2002/20023175.htm

Schedule 4 contains the purity and germination rates required for each type of veg.

[Baaaaaaaa]

Oh, and don't all seed have to satisfy a minimum germination rate by law?

Only commercial crops are covered by law, ie veg, but flowers are definitely not.

And exactly what would you do if you found you 19p packed was substandard and broke the law ?

If you wrote to the supplier (27p (30p in April) 2nd class stamp), they'd only send you a replacement pack and say sorry!

They aim to flog as cheap a seed as they can get away with and hope no one complains.

[RobinOfTheHood]

Fair enough, I wouldn't use them for showing!  Basic crops.

But for such as peas, beans, even most of the flowers, they're fine.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa humbug, you're splitting hairs!   ::)

[northener]

So whats the measuring stick then? If They're less than £2 a packet they're inferior. Like folk have said i've found the seed to be just as good as the top names.

[betula]

You could only ever know for certain if you did a trial :)

[ceres]

Which? magazine trialled the big seed companies in Sept 2007 and weren't too impressed:

"Forget about green fingers, it's poor quality seeds that are preventing gardens from growing, reveals new Gardening Which? research released today.

The results of a study of leading flower and vegetable seed brands show huge variation in quality, with only six of the 15 companies tested coming up to industry standard*. One supplier's delphinium seed packets were found to contain no healthy seed at all**

.Gardening Which? found Edwin Tucker and Sons Ltd to be the worst offender, scoring poorly across the tests. 99 per cent of its delphinium seeds were found to be dead, and a mere 15 per cent of lettuce seeds produced normal seedlings.

Popular brand Unwins also fared badly for flower seed germination, with as few as two per cent of its delphinium seeds generating healthy plants***. For vegetable seeds, Suffolk Herbs, D.T Brown, Mr Fothergill's and Dobies all failed to reach the minimum standard for both parsnip and lettuce germination.

Thompson and Morgan proved to be the best all-rounder, with 83 per cent of seeds producing healthy plants. Plants of Distinction also received top marks for seed germination, and Dobies flourished in the flower seed tests."

http://www.which.co.uk/about-which/press/product-press-releases/which-gardening-magazine/2007/09/sowing-the-seeds-for-success.jsp

[betula]

Would be good if they did the same thing with the cheap seeds :)

[ceres]

I suspect one reason they wouldn't is that they're not nationally available - no Wilko's in Scotland, limited regional coverage of Aldi/Lidl/Netto/Poundland/Home whatsits etc.

[manicscousers]

thank you, Ceres, I was looking for that article  ;D