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Subject: Thompson & Morgan's Poor quality seeds

> Subject: Re: Thompson & Morgan's Poor quality seeds
> Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 17:38:21 -0500
> From: "Richard Grazzini" <rickg@centrelab.com>
> To: <seeds-list@eskimo.com>
> 
> Judy,
> In defense of T&M, and as a former seed industry professional, what you and
> everyone else is seeing is the difficulty in trying to inventory an
> incredibly wide seedlist at high germination.  It's extremely difficult,
> especially when the supply of many of these unusual varieties is erratic.
> Seed supply depends on demand, on the weather, and on the capabilities and
> experience of the seed grower.
> 
> For example, I have been told that there was a period of time in the late
> 70's and early 80's when the entire available U. S. supply of lemon,
> cinnamon, holy, and anise basils came from a single lot of seed, grown by
> what was then Arco Seeds on the request of Park Seed.  The minimum
> production acreage was about a quarter acre, and at that time, no one knew
> how much of these novelty basil seeds to expect from a quarter acre
> planting.  What they got was at least a ten-year supply.  I was still
> purchasing from that same seed lot as late as 1989, and the germ was still
> decent.
> 
> Seed storage is the only way to offer a broad seed list.  That means that
> at some point in time, someone must decide that a given seed lot is too
> weak to sell.  If there are no guidelines for a particular species, that
> decision point becomes a credibility issue.  For the seedhouse, this is
> also a economic decision: to get rid of a given seedlot means a net
> decrease in the value of the company, since it decreases the value of the
> inventory.  And yes, bad product means bad reputation, and this ultimately
> decreases the value of the company, too.
> 
> For reliable herbaceous perennial seed, I buy from Benary (Germany), from
> Jelitto (Germany), and from Germania (Chicago).  These are all wholesale
> houses, but will generally sell retail, but in commercial sizes.
> 
> For reliable vegetables, there's no better seedhouse than Johnny's (Maine).
>  I also buy trial "play" packets from Pinetree, from Stokes, from Park,
> from Shepherd's, from the Cook's Garden.  Johnny's quality has been better
> and more consistent, at least in my hands.  But it is fun to try new
> things, so I do.
> 
> For reliable annual flowers, I also depend on Germania, even though I have
> to buy commercial sized packets and store them from year to year.  For most
> things, cold and dry works fine.  I dry most seed over silica gel, then
> seal them in foil pouches, and store the pouch in a refrigerator.  I
> typically germ ten year old (or longer) seed stored this way, and get very
> high germ.  But, please realize that these are not storage conditions that
> work for all seeds.  I am a northern temperate zone gardener, and these
> conditions work well for those crops suited to this climate.
> 
> We should always encourage the seed suppliers to provide the highest
> quality possible.  This means that we should be willing to pay a premium
> price, too.  The two concepts go hand-in-hand.  In the seed world, you
> should get what you pay for.
> -------

Hi,

I am too in the seed processing and I want to mention some facts.

- A few years back, I supplied T&M with seeds, doing some germination 
tests before I send them

- It was not before 2 years that my seed appeared in their listing as 
'NEW' ???

- for the fun of it, I bought some seed back.

SURPRISE (S). The seed still germinates in 2 to 3 fold slower than the 
original tests,  with a lower % viability.

Conclusions:
1- I do my own seed
2- since I could still  be a supplier of T&M, I do not draw conclusions 
on their quality... may be, the seed I bought back was from a different 
supplier ???

Majella

http://www3.sympatico.ca/vivaces
http://www3.sympatico.ca/vivaces/GERMIN.HTM
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