Garden

[Reconnaissant]

What company do you buy your seeds from?

What company do you buy live plants from?

Suggestions for keeping soil watered if the garden isn’t on your property. 

Other gardening tips and tricks?

Thanks

[Reconnaissant]

Ordered or downloaded these catalogs

#1

Park Seed

One of the most popular garden seed catalogs is Park Seed.  They always have a great selection of both flower and vegetable seeds, and some great herbs as well.  Prices are affordable, and seed packets have plenty of seeds. Seed is always fresh, and we get good to excellent germination rates from them. Shipping is fast, usually just a couple of days from order to in my mailbox! Highly recommended. They also offer some live plants as well.

#2

Burpee Seeds

Burpee has always had one of the most colorful catalogs, and a wide selection of seeds. They are especially good at their vegetable selections, so all you veggie gardeners, take note! Their new varieties are the ones to beat each year!

#3

Annie’s Heirloom Seeds

Annie’s has over 600 varieties of Non-GMO, organic heirloom seeds. They carry both flower and vegetable seeds, and have fast shipping if you are anxious to get started! We are big believers these days in organic foods, and we love anything that carries a history with it.

#4

Johnnys Select Seeds

As recommended by a reader, this company needs to be added to our list! Not only do they have an extensive seed catalog, they have lots of tips and resources there as well. Johnny has a longstanding reputation as a quality company in the gardening community! Oh, and it’s an employee owned company!

#5

Pinetree Garden Seeds

Pinetree Garden Seeds was one of the first garden seed catalogs I ever used. They specialize in smaller packets for the average home gardener, at smaller prices. Most of us will never need the hundreds of seeds in the average seed packet, so why pay for it? They have a good selection, fast shipping and good customer service.

#6

Renee’s Garden Seeds

Renees Garden has grown into one of the most trusted suppliers of seeds for organic and heirloom varieties… So if you crave a little history with your salad, this is the spot for you!

#7

Select Seeds

If you grow flowers and want antique varieties your grandmother grew, this is the place. I love the idea of nostalgia in the garden…so did Thomas Jefferson, one of the most eminent gardeners in our country’s history. This is one of our favorite garden seed catalogs!

#8

Seed Savers Exchange 

Seed savers is a non profit company that is a wonderful source of information on heirloom and open pollinated seed, as well as one of the top sources for such seeds. Not only does the free catalog list all their seeds, their sites educates us on why it is important to save heirloom varieties. This is a time honored company and trusted company worth looking into if you wish to preserve our heritage plants!

#9

Seeds Of Change

Going organic in the New Year? Seeds of Change is a one of the best seed catalogs for your veggie garden. Great selection of 100% certified organic seeds.

#10

Fedco Seeds

Fedco is a seed cooperative, meaning it is owned by gardeners and employees, not an individual. It also happens to specialize in cold hardy seeds… So all of you who live in the Northeast, (or a cold climate like it) here is your resource!

#11

Nichols Garden Nursery

This is a family owned business that has a stellar reputation for quality and customer service. They do not sell any seed that has been genetically modified, and they specialize in fine and rare seeds, herbs and goods for the gardener cook. Love their amazing selection!

#12

Seeds For Italy

Our last selection is a specialty seed agent in the U.S. for the oldest family owned Italian seed company. They sell gourmet vegetable seed for those who want authentic Italian cuisine. They have over 500 varieties, many of which are certified organic. And best of all, they have recipes for their vegetables too! This is a great choice for any gardener looking to “spice it up” a bit this year.

[PA Mom-mom]

@Reconnaissant I use Burpee and Gurney for seeds. For live plants, I go to my local greenhouse - not the "big box store." I like using the local greenhouse because they raise all the plants themselves.

[gardenman]

I use Park Seeds a lot. They're sending me sweet corn seeds today as a matter of fact. The seeds weren't supposed to be in stock until 4/18 but they shipped them today, so that's good.

I also use either Harris Seeds or HPS Seeds, but I'm likely dropping Harris Seeds after this year. I placed a seed order for my impatiens way back on their Black Friday sale and was told they'd be in stock on 1/03/2020. They weren't in stock then. I told them I absolutely needed the seeds by mid-February and they didn't have them. I finally gave up on getting those seeds and asked if I could substitute another pack of impatiens that had the same seed count, the same price and were in stock. I was told they wouldn't do substitutions for online orders. The only way they could do that would be if I called in, cancelled my existing order and then reordered. It took over a half-hour on the phone to get all of that done and the person I talked with made it very clear this was a big bother for them. That kind of customer service has pretty much cost them me as a customer. It wasn't my fault they never got the seeds in stock that I wanted and paid for two months earlier. They had my money for over two months and then wouldn't let me simply substitute a different seed for the one I'd ordered? No thanks. They're not one of my seed companies any longer.

I use Harris and HPS because they sell seed in larger quantities and I use a lot of impatiens and some other plants. Most impatiens seeds come in 30-50 seed packs but those two companies sell them in 250 seeds or larger packs, and that's perfect for me. The cost for 250 seeds is often about what I'd pay for 100 seeds through other vendors. HPS is neat also in that they send out the earliest seed catalog (August or September) for the next growing season.

[Reconnaissant]

@gardenman 

I read HPS is associated with Jung Seeds. 

I’ll look at their offerings.

Thanks

[Kroppie]

Jung Seeds.    They honor commitments to send out plants and seeds that didn't grow.    I am very satisfied with them.  Been ordering for years. 

[wagirl]

I buy starter plants from the local nurseries in my area as well as my local grocery stores too--I plant in big pots on my back deck-----

[Catlady Nicole]

Hi @Reconnaissant ! 

I like a LOT of choices for my tomatoes so I buy my seeds from Renaissance Farms.  They can be found on the web at renaissancefarms dot org and also on Youtube if you search for Tomato Pictures.  He also has a VERY informative and helpful group on Facebook called Heirloom Tomato Seeds and Pictures. 

I got more into peppers this year and had excellent germination with all the seeds I ordered from Pepper Joe's

I also found a nice local source for seeds, Sheffield's Seed Company.

As for the watering question, do you have access to water on the site?  Like a hose connection?  Or is it just land, no water/electric?

[Reconnaissant]

@Catlady Nicole 

We have found garden land and the person uses organic products for his garden. He will water our plants for us. 

I’m allergic to nightshade vegetables but I love them nonetheless.

 Thank you for the info.

[fresh kitty]

Well it's planting and potting season. My question is if I'm planting tomatoes and blueberries in pots what soil do I use? Is it potting soil or garden soil because in the past I haven't had success and it's probably the soil. I have been using Miracle grow but it doesn't seem like healthy soil. I'm only doing pots now that I'm old and I keep on trying.