Seed Companies

[AbbysMum]

Hi,

can I ask which seed firm you all use? I ask because I know there is a percentage of people unhappy with Diggers so I have avoided them, but this morning I fell across 4Season Seeds but can not remember reading anything about them. Any reports about which companies to use and avoid would be appreciated

Thanks Susan 🙂

[Pixieb]

I use Diggers and I find them to be ok, can be a bit slow to deliver though.

[crumbsinthekeyboard]

I have stuck with Eden Seeds for many years and they are great people. Green harvest have very good service and speedy delivery but not as many varieties. Slightly more expensive too.

[porgey]

I mainly use Diggers & The Lost Seed in Tassie. I live close to Diggers and find there whole operation really good. Heronswood is a lovely garden to visit and I have had great success with there seeds and plants. What grows at Heronswood will grow at my place so I have a virtual guarantee of good F&V. Clive Blazey (co-founder with wife Penny) has built a really good business with a strong theme of environmental protection.

I also buy from the The Lost Seed because I think its important to geographically diversify Australias seed growing and support small independent seed companies. In addition my somewhat unproven belief that what grows in cooler Tassie should thrive in warmer southern Victoria.

I only have praise for both companies and as you live fairly close I am sure you will have good success with there seeds. Happy gardening, cheers porgey.

[weaver]

I buy from Eden Seeds, Cornucopia seeds and Southern Harvest.

[mountainmum]

I have tried a few and settled on The Lost Seed which I have used for a few years now.

They offer a huge choice of heirloom and organic seeds. They are extremely generous with their seeds, often doubling what other companies offer for the same price. They are very quick to deliver and cost of seeds and postage is very reasonable. They also have far more info on the packets than other companies, including germination rates and seed saving info.

Also depends what region you are in, I also use them because Tassie climate is pretty similar to mine so they tend to grow more reliably.

[mistyhollows]

I have used Diggers in the past and have found their seeds don’t germinate very well (the only veg I had any major success with using Diggers was lettuce and cherry tomatoes) whereas the new ones I have bought for last summer from Green Harvest have nearly all germinated and grown beautifully. I have also used Eden seeds before and my local veg grower uses them too.

[gremmbles]

I have used Diggers but found the germination was very poor. I bought Greenharvest this year and germination is going great. I have used eden seeds as well and they are very good. I also buy seeds off ebay and have been pleasantly surprised with the germination rates.

[porgey]

Another great benefit of The Lost Seed is the on packet information. I especially find the companion plant details really helpful.

[busybee]

I was given seeds from The Lost Seed for Christmas (thanks to our awesome friends) and have found that they have germinated really well. I would use them again.

[kimble]

eden seeds and greenharvest almost exclusivly

[Gigi]

I purchased The Lost Seed seeds last year and got excellent germination. This year I went ahead and got Yates as I didn’t want to send away for my seeds. Very poor germination. Sent away for more Lost Seed seeds and got them last week. So I’m using them from now on.

[geminisc]

i have bought from 4seasonseeds and they were fine. you get a whole bunch of seeds. i think i spent $20 on tomato seeds and i have enough to do maybe three year’s worth of planting?

[Bel]

I have used mainly Diggers or Eden Seeds in the past and both were really good. I recently bought some harder to get seeds from Green Harvest and they were also really good. Now I try to save as much seed as possible and swap with other kind ALS’rs. What seeds are you after? I have lots of saved seed and would be happy to send you some if it’s what you’re looking for.

[AbbysMum]

Bel,

that is a really kind offer, you so typify the people and the spirit of this group of people who are joined by this forum.

Thank you to all who have responded and I have to say the responses have been interesting. What I find a tad more difficult since the forum format has changed is having a rough area you all come from, but I found it interesting that there maybe a school of thought which says buy seeds from an area slightly harsher than your own to get better results. Part of my reason for asking where people got their seeds from was to have a gauge as to people choosing locally sourced seed as I have always thought that locally sourced and grown seeds would give better results or seed sourced from similar areas. Any thoughts on that issue?

Thanks Susan

[Author]

Posts