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night_stalker

Cheap vs. Expensive seeds

Night_Stalker
12 years ago

Is there any reason I should pay $2 for packs of seeds at the Gardening Store, instead of just paying 20� at Walmart?

I can understand if it's some fancy heirloom variety, but otherwise, is there any difference between cheap and expensive seeds? The seed count and the plant seem the same.

Comments (5)

  • mytime
    12 years ago

    I bought seeds at Walmart one year, and ever since, don't even look at the seed rack there. I had very poor germination rates from them compared to all the other brands I had. Could have been a fluke, but not worth my effort to find out.

  • zzackey
    12 years ago

    I've had trouble with Ferry Morse seeds not being what was on the label and their plants don't produce like the label says they will. I only had 1/2 of the English peas come up this year. Very few seeds in the envie for $1.99. I bought more because they were half price last week. I don't like paying for shipping but the amount of seeds I got and the great germination rate I had really impressed me with the seeds I ordered from Richter's. You can always trade your extra seeds on here.

  • Astroknot
    12 years ago

    I really only get seeds from Botanical Interests now. They're reliable, I know they're good seeds, and they also don't sell any GMOs. They can be on the pricey side depending on where you buy, but I know where I can find them for cheap (at the little hardware store down the street, which has an extensive collection of seeds surprisingly). But I get quality, and I care more about that in the long run.

    Plus, I always have leftovers anyways. I rarely use up all the seeds in a Botanical Interests packet.

    (I agree with Zackey about Ferry Morse -- I had a packet of Cosmos that clearly said they would be yellow and gold flowers, but they all came out purple and pink. Lame!)

  • booberry85
    12 years ago

    I've had no trouble with the cheap seeds. I actually tested the cheap seeds compared to the same Burpee seed and got better germination rates with the cheap seeds. For variety, I do order seeds from a number of places: Botanical Interests, Bakers Creek, Seed Saver Exchange, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Fedco, Sandhill Preservation and Territorial Seeds.

  • poisondartfrog
    12 years ago

    Ditto on Ferry Morse. I grew Zinnia's from them last year that were mislabled. When I complained to Ferry Morse, I got the run around about which department I should complain to, so no more Ferry Morse.
    I have no problem with cheap seeds for something like ordinary marigold or zinnia varieties, but they don't typically offer any of the kind of seeds I am looking for.

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