What seeds are you starting for Zone 5 in January?

I ordered from jung. got order in 5 days and have tomatoes coming up.

When did you place your order?

Never had any issues with Territorial orders but then I can't relate to placing a "usual order". Or to ordering annually. So I must be missing something.

Even a packet of most seeds last for years unless one is a large scale or commercial grower in which case you order in bulk. So why would anyone need to order seeds annually much less order the usual things? Just curious but perhaps you need to consider bulking ordering? Saves money and time and you have them when you need them.

Dave

I contacted them, and they were holding up the order for one item. So now they are sending the balance of the order and will ship the single item when it's available.

This is general good practice with most mail-order companies, and I'm surprised they didn't follow it.

The only plants I usually start in January are onions, though this year I'm trying fall planting as an experiment. But by the time I start the earliest crops in February, I want to have my setup ready, the garden plan for the year finalized, and not be wondering where my seeds are.

Dave - many people change the veggies and varieties every year, so they can't buy bulk. Some lose % viability each year. And some seeds do need to be fresh each year.

many people change the veggies and varieties every year, so they can't buy bulk. Some lose % viability each year. And some seeds do need to be fresh each year.

Yeah I get variety changes but it was the "usual order" that got my attention. Implies same ole, same ole. :) And we often get posts here from folks throwing away all the seeds they didn't use last year as they don't realize they are good for several years. Waste of money to be buying new seeds each year but the seed vendors love folks who do that.

As to viability/freshness, very few vegetables (other than alliums) change that much from year to year assuming half way decent storage. Were that not true then all the efforts at seed saving would be a total waste of time. I routinely germinate seeds of most of the common vegetables that are 3-5 years old or more, even onions.

Dave

I must agree with digdirt on the rotation of seeds. I store mine decently, and have to because with what I trade in and out, sometimes takes a couple to a few years to really grow it all. Sheesh, I'm still growing out a huge bag of marigolds I got in 2012. My oldest seed I'm using this year is from 2009, some bean seed. My newest seed will be from my big "regular order" from Pinetree- two packets of strawberry seed, something I've never tried before.

For me with catalogs, nothing is routine. But I do routinely buy a few packets of something new every year. So routine for me might be trying a new squash or bean or something else every year, but I've never had to order the same seed years in a row.

Yeah, every year I place a seed order. As usual. Usually, from the same few vendors that I know to be reliable. It's not always the SAME seed order.

I order as much seed as I think I'll use in a year, and some more for contingencies. Usually, there is some left over, so I use that first.

This is why they send out new catalogs every year.

I have no desire to buy in bulk for a garden my size, just to use it up over the rest of my lifetime, then leave the rest to my heirs.

I never had any problem with late shipments from Territorial. But I don't use them anymore because they've lost their focus on regional varieties and are simply trying to sell everything they possibly can. Their catalog now offers a vast warehouse of useless nonsense. They'll sell whatever they think they can sell, and that's fine. But they are of no particular value anymore.

The small order I placed a few weeks ago just now showed up. I received an email saying the order would be delayed as they were preparing for their 2015 shipments. I was ordering some extra cabbage seeds and raishes, so I kind of wish they would have shown up back in December... but I'm not too upset by it. If I had missed a planting date however, that would have been annoying. I told them they should have a prompt prior to purchasing.