Kitchen Garden Forum

Anyone have any recommendations please? All suggestions gratefully received.
Thanks in anticipation

Hi Zena,
Assuming that you take the TKG magazine. In the September issue on Page 95 there is a complete list of Seed Suppliers.
I can recommend D T Brown, Edwin Tuckers, Kings Seeds and Home Garden Seeds.
The Websites and telephone numbers are all there but if you do not have the magazine come back to me and I will gladly supply them to you.
I buy my seeds mainly from Moles Seeds who are not mentioned because they are a Commercial Seed House.
If you want the run of the mill seeds those I mention will be able to satisfy your needs.
JB.

I cannot comment on Tuckers seeds or on Home Garden seeds. A lot depends on what you want in the way of seeds. No catalkogue will give you all possibilities, for instance not all will give you a choice of celery seeds if any these days. Kings seeds not only issue 3 seperate lists but also I understand the supply other\suppliers. D T Brown are reliable but since their big changearound in which Moles took over the commercial grower aspect the D T Brown list has become confined to varieties that are listed almost anywhere else. If Kings Seeds is your choice and on the retail side it is among the best with a wider than usual choice then by all means obtain their catalogue which is very useful on descrioption but bear in mind that if you join one of many allotent groups affil;iated to NSALG they will get you the same seeds without much of the fancy packaging for half price. The alternative is to pay £15 to NSALG and join as an individual member.
Personally I find that a high proportion of my order is with Moles seeds, the minimum price for a bulk supply is often so close to what you would pay anyway that it pays to buy them, use for up to 3 years but not parnip, onions, leeka or sweetcorn, and throw the remainder away! I have not encounteredany problem authenticating my status as a commercial grower, if you make it a worthwhile order and CWO you should have no difficulty, they have their fully illustrated catalogue in pdf fascimile online.
Don't spurn the likes of Unwin, Sutton, Thompson & Morgan particularly for the odd purchase with rapid delivery from online order, in some instances wth no postal charge and what could be better than that. I don't know of any major seed supplier that doesn't give value for money.
Allan

Allan,
Edwin Tucker also do a commercial catalogue.
They are very well worth a try and especially for Green Manures.
JB.

As always it's Seeds of Italy for me.

Hi Chantal,
Twice I have gone to the bother of phoning Seeds of Italy for a catalogue and I have not received anything. So I thought if they can get that wrong then I dread to think what can happen with seeds.
This is of course my is opinion and I know a lot of forum members use them.
JB.

Zena, if you're after something different you should try the Real Seed Company (formerly VidaVerde), or join the HDRA's seed library.

I've also just received the latest Moles catalogue this morning...it's HUGE! Mostly flowers, but some interesting veg too.

I forgot about Seeds of Italy. If you want generous quantities they are very good at that. I ordered online and got good fast service. The only minus that I know is working out how to use their catalogue, some seeds are known by their Italian names, especially on the packet. Some cultivars come with unfarmiliar names but are so similar to our usual varieties that it would not matter which you use. e.g. I use radish Cherry Belle or Red Rapid, depending how I feel, I can't tell them apart, furthermore SOI also supply Cherry Belle.
Allan

Sorry JB, I ordered from the first and the automatically receive a catalogue when a new one comes out. Have you tried emailing them? Address your query to Paulo Arrigo their MD who is a very helpful guy and I'm sure you'll get a quick response.

Hello Zena
I use Tuckers for my main order. They have a very wide range of varieties for all the veg groups with everything usually available. I've had excellent service from them and very little problem with 'substitutes' in my orders. For mail order seed potatoes they are streets ahead of their competitors. Their catalogue is not for the faint hearted though - not a glossy thing full of pretty colour pictures, just a few in the middle - but the varieties are well described. Their seeds are excellent but come in small resealable poly bags with few instructions. There's no online ordering available so you have to wade through the catalogue and struggle with their order form. Despite all this I still reckon that they're the best.
As Alan says you can't get everything from one catalogue so I also use the Organic Catalogue and DT Brown both of which I've also found give excellent service.
Kings has received good reports on forum but I've never used them.
One to watch carefully is Alan Romans. He's coming up very fast on the outside and should give the big boys a really good run for their money, certainly on price.
If you are into the dizzy world of exhibition veg then Medwyns is an excellent place to start.

John

PS Others I can't comment on as I don't use them.

I searched the forum archives and found "Fothergills buy Eastfields" KG Admin 18 July 2007 the only question relevant to this discussion was incidental to Fothergills buy Eastfields by KG Admin which led to other remarks about links between suppliers etc.
I would not be happy to use Marshalls, when I last used them nearly everything was in paper packets rather than sealed foil. I was also displeased the way some seeds were categorised and the seeds that I trialled previously had been discontinued.
Lastly I believe Fothergill now own Johnson and Unwin, Dobies are run by Ferndale Lodge.
I still use Unwins for Red Epicure broad beans, Tomatillo, Runners Galaxy, Polycress, maybe a few others.

Tuckers every time for me.

I used to use Suttones, T&M and Unwins, but found I saved quite a bit with Tuckers.

The resealable bags are great, so simple and the little card in there even has a notes space.

Seed quality very good.

Potatoes great choice, great value. Had some go fizzy couple of years ago and they were replaced FOC straight away. Sold by weight.

The catalogue is brilliant, so old-fashioned and informative, also there are so many varieties, including organic ones.

Thanks everyone!

I do take the KG magazine every month and have looked at the listed suppliers. I just wasn't sure whether to get a catalogue from every one or try to limit the options by recommendation.

Ultimately, I will probably be focusing on "traditional" varieties, especially if I can find any that were around in the 17th century........
In the meantime, I think I'll get as many catalogues as I can!
thanks again

I've taken advantage of Alan Romans 50p seeds and would recommend his catalogue which though limited in range, is growing, and is worthy of support, I think. But I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Wallis.I've just discovered them- as I said on another thread- and am about to use them as my primary source for next season. They are, I believe, substantially cheaper than ANY of those already mentioned, and their catalogue is large- for example: 45 cabbage cvs, 27 cauliflowers,43 lettuces, 53 tomatoes, 25 winter squashes. email: wallis.seeds@virgin.net or phone: 01245 360413.

I.