Thursday, February 26, 2009

Buying Seeds on a budget

Wal-mart offers seeds under the brand American Seed (not to be confused with the American Seed Co.) for $0.20, I have read in several places that these seeds are also available at the dollar stores and some have reported finding them at $0.10. A few words of caution however, 1. you always get what you pay for, so if you really cannot afford anything else give it a shot but pin your hopes on 100% germination. 2. From reading their website I am not 100% convinced that these are in fact true heirloom seeds. While they are not marketed as hybrids, I noticed that the company's website had this to say about their seeds
We store our seeds in a temperature controlled facility to maintain above average germination and vigor. We perform in-depth testing and outdoor trials on new varieties before accepting them into our line of products to ensure that the products delivered to you are of the highest quality. We are continuously testing and improving our products to provide our customers with the latest and most useful and interesting seeds and seed starting products.
It may mean nothing or something, I do not really know. Have any of you used these with much success?

4 comments:

JLB said...

I confess, I use cheap seeds sometimes...(I also buy from the catalogs to ensure we have enough). Mine even sit around for a year. I typically buy mine at a home depot or sutherlands after growing season when they make them anywhere from .01 -.10 cents apiece. I go crazy and buy a ton. But when using them I also use more of them in one place. But I do get some of them to grow fairly good. I don't count on it though.

Shannon Meyer said...

Unless they say 'Heirloom' on the package, they are not heirloom. It will say if they are. You can use non-heirloom seeds for the first year, but cannot save seeds from those plants to use the next year. I think Home Depot and Lowe's do carry some heirloom seeds, and Walmart might, but I've never seen them:)

Janelle said...

Thanks for the clarification RJ's Momma :) I will look at home depot and Lowe's and see what I can find, it will be nice to see what the pricing is for the heirloom seeds.

Anonymous said...

I have used the WalMart cheapies for years, and have had the same results as the expensive seeds, side by side in the garden. I also harvest the seeds each year from those plants with great results. I am new to the terminology of "heirloom" seeds, but know that if you stick with certain varieties (or as my dh loves to call them, "breeds") of plants, they will always provide a consistent result...at least that has been our experience for the last 15 years.

I will do more research on the "heirloom" thing...I find it interesting that it is coming out with such a force this year.

Stacy