I've ordered from countless companies in the past and am usually happy with most heirloom seed companies out there. Who is your favorite tomato and/or pepper seed supplier?

I order from many different suppliers and they are all my favorite... Tatiana's, Gleckler Seedman, Sample Seed Shop, Nichols Garden Nursery, Totally Tomatoes, Sandhill Preservation, and Seedsaver Exchange. Just to name a few

Thanks for that list!

I usually order from Fedco but their selection of tomatoes is pretty slim.

I've been ordering from Totally Tomatoes but their prices are so high, once you want to get packets of any decent quantity you'll need a fat wallet to make it happen.

I'm going to check some of those other companies you mentioned Patti, thanks!

I hear you Dave! I think that The Sample Seed Shop and Sandhill Preservation have really decent prices.

I love Fedco's prices, I just wish they had better selection.

For this year's master gardener plant sale we're going to start many trays of tomatoes and peppers, so these little seed packets aren't going to be enough. I wish I had just saved seed from my favorites last year, but I won't make that mistake this year!

Dave, I sent you a T- mail

I second the recommendation for Sample Seed Shop and Glecklers. Dave, do you need large quantities of each type of heirloom seed, or just a large number of seeds in general? I know I have some extra seeds I could share, but don't have large quantities of any one type.

We just recently added vegetable plants to our Master Gardener's annual plant sale as well. Last year, we didn't have nearly enough cherry tomatoes, although most people didn't care if they were heirlooms or not. It's so hard to predict what our customers will want......

Linda, I'll be buying good quantities of just a few varieties. The local gardeners here have become accustomed to buying their tomato plants from us at each spring sale and we always sell out, so this year I want to have enough that nobody gets left out.

We have done a lot to educate the public about the benefits of open pollinated heirloom seeds and so that's what is always in demand at our sales.

This year we're going to offer:

Kelloggs Breakfast
Abe Lincoln
Arkansas Traveler
Rutgers
Tigerella
Either Roma or Amish Paste
Mexico Midgets

We usually offer them in 6 packs, 4" pots as well as round quart pots. The quart pots always seem to sell off the fastest despite their higher price.

Dave, you might want to try Seeds of Italy for loads of seed per pack. I've dealt with them for only four years but am impressed with their seed count. Most of their tomato seed packs are sold per gram (1.5 grams up to 3 grams if I remember correctly). There are roughly 250 to almost 400 seeds per gram of some varieties, only about 100 seeds for a few others (at 1 gram). Packs seemed to be all priced at $3.15. (1 to 3¢ per seed)

What's also great is the packs are hermetically sealed and the foil pouches are great for folding over/resealing keeping moisture out so you can easily save seeds for next year.

I'd recommend Red Pear (NOT to be confused with American Red Pear) but a huge productive and tasty tomato, and instead of offering Roma you'd have much happier customers offering San Marzano, much bigger, more flavorful, produces very well, and is not as susceptible to BER like Roma is. Same would be true for Costuluto Genovese.

And for those customers who prefer to see and hear a common tomato name sell them a Marglobe, it too is OP, an heirloom, disease tolerant, a great fresh eating or canning tomato but most folks don't realize its many qualities.

With a few good signs placed near your plants telling of their virtues I have no doubt your customers will buy them in a hearbeat.

http://www.growitalian.com/cat...

Shoe

I'm trying to figure out where to buy my peppers from this year. It'll be the first year I'm giving up on starting tomatoes from seeds. I might go with Totally Tomatoes since I had luck with their pepper seeds.

I have often bought my tomato seeds from tomatogrowers.com
http://www.tomatogrowers.com/T...

They've always been very reliable and give prompt service. And they have a lot of variety.

Karen

That's great info, Shoe, thanks!

In looking at their site, there seems to be both "San Marzano 2" as well as "San Marzano Redorta". Do you have a recommendation on one over the other?

I've never grown SM Redorta (yet!) but that would be my choice because it is a bigger fruit and has gotten better reviews regarding flavor. Some folks consider San Marzano to be best for sauce purposes only, having a bitter taste (to some) if eaten fresh. But SM Redorta is supposedly not just good for paste but also tastes great when eaten off the vine.

NOTE: I just noticed their Redorta seed pack is 1/2 gram so keep that in mind; other packs seem to be from 1 gram on up. This is probably either because most paste types have few seeds or because the seeds are small and you may end up with a couple hundred in a gram anyway.)

I just looked up a page that tells a bit of history and growth habits of the San Marzano(s)...looks to me like there are quite a few types and/or varieties.
http://www.sanmarzanotomatoes....

And Dave, if you do order from them you really ought to get a pack of their Spinach Gigante, if ya'll are spinach eaters. I've grown it several years now and love it! I wonder if you have time to get some going before the heat kicks in again in your area.
Shoe

Good deal, thank you again. I'm placing my order now and am grabbing some of that Spinach, as well. I think we may have enough time to grow them but I'll hold most of the seeds back on that for a fall planting.

This year I bought big packetss from Hazzards (because I was buying something else from them already) and medium-sized packets from The Seed Kingdom (because they were having a sale).

Then I got into Heather's tomato and pepper swap and got back 50-60 varieties, 10-20 seeds each.

Sub Artic Plenty . . .DET . . . very early & cool
Manitoba . . . DET . . . extra-early & cool
Stupice . . .INDET . . . ultra-early & cool
Glacier . . . DET or semi-det . ultra-early
Ildi (Cherry). . . INDET . . . extra-early
Vorlon - purple-black tomato
Black Russian - mahogany red, rich complex flavor - sweet with spicy and smoky undertones
Pruden's Purple. . .INDET . . . mid-season (small qty)
Jaune Flamme. . .INDET . . . mid-season French gourmet heirloom
Old Flame. . . INDET . . . mid-season
Marglobe. . . semi-det . . . mid-season
Omar's Lebanese .INDET . . . LATE . . . huge fruit

It's not like I can grow all these out, it's more like I've become a variety collector.
If you'd like to try any of the above, I have extra!

I have also bought from Hazzard's, RickCorey. They have a huge selection of seeds.

Have you tried HPS Seeds? They offer a few OP tomato varieties in large packs at a pretty good price.

http://www.hpsseed.com/dc.asp?...

They look like a worthy competitor to Hazzards - I would have to compare prices on specific items. But less variety. Apparently, no Bok Choy! I added them to my favorites.

I see their minimum S&H is almost twice Hazzards' S&H. Not unreasonable for a wholesaler, but Hazzards' is lower.

Haven't got a favorite source for tomato seeds. We actually buy u-pick tomatoes for $7.00 a 5 gallon bucket. I do have some san marzano seeds and am looking for more san marzano seeds as I will be breeding for fruit size, productive vines, and taste. I'm outside Chattanooga Tn. so anyone with seeds acclimated to our zone. I'd like some. Thanks, Show

Horseshoe - thanks for you recommendation to Dave about Seeds of Italy. I had not heard of them before, but found great heirloom varieties there. I will likely become a long-term customer. I really enjoyed looking through their selections.

Thanks!