Kitchen Garden Forum

I know this has been briefly touched on previously but I wondered if anyone can give me more detail? Or maybe it is something for the mag itself? Apologies if the questions seem complicated and possibly repetitive but I hope you get the gist.

1) Do most seed companies actually harvest the seed themselves or do they buy it in? (potatoes excluded). And which ones do which?

2) I know some seed comes from abroad - from the very names of the companies, etc., - but some of the more common varieties also seen to come from there. Which ones?

3) Nowadays seed companies seem to be merging - Suttons talk of Dobies as their sister company - Marshalls has been taken over - I forget by whom. Who owns what and who are truly independent/

4) If seed for a particular variety comes from a common source, does it really matter which company I buy it from? Or are their significant differences in the way they store and package the seeds?

5) With Seed Potatoes I think we are all familiar with the different grades, but does this apply to other veg? I wonder because when I asked Alan Romans about the Winter Squash Orange Dawn which I grew this year and which isn't in his catalogue, he said that he hadn't been able to source seeds of sufficient quality.

i think your last comment sums up the general situation,
"he said that he hadn't been able to source seeds of sufficient quality."
clearly implies they buy seed in.

it would never be practical or economic for every seed company to grow their own seed crops.

i switched from dobies, to alan romans seeds 3 years ago.no flashy labels and packets,fantastic seeds at a fraction of the cost of other companies.nice fellow too.peterf

I realise that many companies do buy them in, but from whom? It would be useful to know what you were getting and from where. As it is you look through all the catalogues and see the same varieties, not to mention the exclusives which appear in more than one catalogue!

Just to add to that. Alan Romans pretty certainly buys everything in apart from potatoes and probably from T & M.

i could be wrong but i do remember reading at college.that south africa supplied a lot of veg seeds.either that or i have some weired dreams,twas a few year ago