What is the deal with Burpee seed prices this year? I got their mail order catalog and was astounded by the high prices. $4 for a packet of lettuce seed? I don't see corresponding price hikes in other seed suppliers.

As an aside, last year, I bought Burpee seeds at Lowe's and had terrible germination rates on all varieties: beans, corn, etc.

My mom and I ordered from Burpee. But only stuff we could not find anywhere else. But it killed us. They sent pelleted seeds in a flat envelope and of course they came crushed to oblivion. I called right away and as politely as I could ask "Are you out of your mind?!" Crazy expensive seeds treated that way. They were very nice. What did they do? They send me replacement packs. THE EXACT SAME WAY! Again, crushed to oblivion.

Ironically I got an email asking me to take a survey for them. Boy did I let them know that their prices are totally out of line and they should be ashamed of how they handle those crazy expensive seeds.

I will not be buying from them again.

@LysmachiaMoon None of the Burpee seeds I've planted in the GH have done well. The best ones were Baker Creek.

If they treat there seeds like that in shipping, it might indicate why the germination was so bad with their seed last year, I was thinking maybe Lowe's was not taking proper care of them, but it could just be they received poor quality seed. I noticed in the the Lowe's store here this year they are not carrying Burpee seeds so far, Ferry-Morris has replaced them, they don't have the best rep either. So far I do have tomato seeds (Ferry-Morris) and they germinated faster than any I have ever tried, they were tiny seeds but sprouted in two days. My (Ferry-Morris) Cosmos have already had some seeds sprout, and my Coleus seeds are sprouting I noticed today. All those were started indoors, so far nothing I planted outdoors has germinated. So so far I am much more pleased the them than the Burpee seeds I bought last year and the year before. The prices were much better also, seemed to be to be half as much as the Burpee seeds. The organic seeds however are pretty pricy. I planted Burpee carrot seeds repeatedly last year and by the time I finally got a stand up it was getting to late in the year for them to do well.

Seed, what have you planted outdoors already?

So glad you asked, because I just checked and had a few turnips showing. I have lettuce and carrots also planted, nothing showing with them yet.

Ahhh! I was planning on waiting at least two more weeks to start planting outside but maybe I should jump on it now. I have lettuce I just planted in plug trays and brassica just getting first true leaves. The ground isn't frozen so I guess maybe i should get busy if i want produce ready to sell at market for April!

No, I just had spring fever and jumped the gun as usual. The spot I planted in gets nice sun, but the oak tree above normally helps protect the things I plant too early form frost. Check Dave's nifty planting guide, it is usually much better than following an impatient gardener. But, sometimes I do hit it lucky, and things work out. Still not a sign of lettuce or carrots. I did go ahead and side dress them yesterday with some fertilizer just in case they do decide to sprout. My soil seldom freezes, so when I read "plant as soon as soil can be worked" it has no meaning for me.
My normal pattern for planting is to plant on a nice warm spring like day, then that night check and see how much later I should have actually waited to plant.

I usually do that but the past few years my son has green manure on the entire garden so I have to wait. This year I asked him to leave a few rows open so I could get a head start. It's been too wet so far to plant anything directly in the garden.

I have one row under cover of brassica, lettuce, radishes , turnips and favas that were planted late fall. I lost a few things but a lot is still going strong. If I pull out the bad stuff I could probably plant some beets and carrots and turnips though.

My wife and I talked about eating more out of the garden this year. I normally plant very few vegetables because there are so many battles to be fought with them. Insects and diseases are a constant threat. I really would love to grow some types of brassica (not that I prefer to eat it all that much) but I know I should. Plus the squirrels drive me crazy some years, and the armadillos and .... you get the picture.
Tomorrow I am going to plant some radishes (don't care all that much for them either) but they grow fast, and I would love to grow some of the long rooted kind to soften up a row or two for some later planted carrots. I normally fight a losing battle with potato beetles, flea beetles, cabbage loopers, squash borers, wilts and all sorts of evil things when I try to grow vegetables, but I will try again anyhow this year. If you grow for the market, send any tips you have my way...please!!!

You are right about the constant battles for sure. I am an avid fan of floating row covers. My son thinks it's too much work but it helps keep some of the critters out as well as the bugs. I always cover brassicas! I have very little problem with worms/catipillars that way. Except the Chinese cabbage. For some reason they still get to it! I rarely get any summer squash for vine borers or squash bugs. This year I was vigilant every morning picking off the squash bugs. I wrapped the stems but still got the borers, mainly in the summer squash. I finally had winter squash this year.

Our biggest battle this year was with meadow voles. My fault really because I couldn't keep up and my flower area was taken over will tall grass so they had lots of hiding areas. They never let me get any peppers this year and they even ate through old nylon stocking I put around my melons! We got a few melons, but very few. They'd eat a bit and the fruit would rot!

Mexican bean beetle is another bug I cannot get rid of but I have learned to plant as early as possible, then I can pick for at least a month before they come in. I just found out beans do not need pollinators so this year the beans will have row cover from the time they are planted.

We actually had good tomatoes and corn. I use the mineral oil on the silk method to avoid the earworms. Still occasionally get smut. Just need to find a market for it, I hear it is a delicacy! Bleh!

I haven't tried the daikon radishes yet but my son did buy some seed. I usually try to work in lots of straw that was used for mulch, some manure, maybe perlite and/or vermiculite. Usually I have good root crops but the voles even did them in this year. My son got a rat terrier last fall and he has learned what he's supposed to do so fingers crossed he doesn't break too many veggies while he's running through the garden chasing the critters!

Oh yeah, lettuce and radishes are a good seller for us early and I used a shade cloth this summer to push the season! And I sell a lot of cut flowers. People refer to me as "the flower lady."

I guess I should get back on topic: Those dang Burpee seed prices sure are high this year!

Seedfork said:I guess I should get back on topic: Those dang Burpee seed prices sure are high this year!

Whaddya think we're running here, a water cooler?

The Burpee seed I ordered this year where the same price as the were last year, except this year I got 'free shipping'...

Having said that, this year I ordered most of my seed from R.H. Shumway as they are substantially cheaper (about 1/3 less than Burpee). There were still some varieties that they did not offer, so I still had to order those from Burpee.

That's my issue too, some things I want are only available through Burpee. Usually I have excellent CS but the crushed pelleted seeds this year were inexcusable.

RH Shumway and Jungs are my go-to seed sources. Does anybody know, is Henry Fields still in business? I remember buying seed from them as a kid.

It looks like they are. I don't see them listed here in the "green pages", but I don't see RH Shumway listed there either. You might want to add them.
Just took a look over at Dave's Garden, Henry Fields is affiliated with Gardens Alive, and has received poor ratings.
http://www.henryfields.com/?p=...

I have very good luck with Scheeper's ......they are expensive, but the veggies grow well......I also buy my seeds from Stokes in NY & Pinetree in Maine....I don't need a lot of seeds in the packet though since I only grow for myself & my neighbor across the road....but no planting for some time here, as there is a blizzard raging....well, not so bad in my county in western CT, eastern areas getting more for a change...

I love Tainong Seeds and Kitazawa for anything Asian.

Territorial or Johnnies for ordinary crops.

NEseeds or Hazards for bulk size packages.

Baker Creek for rare heirlooms. If you search the Baker Creek site hard, you can find a "Bulk Vegetables" area with good deals. Also, Baker Creek sometimes advertises a relatively high price for a small number of seeds, but then puts 2-3 times as many in the packet as promised.

I also like Ed Hume.