[Helen_uk]

Hello,

Newbie here, I got some seeds free when I bought johns book, but was just after some advice on where to go for the best varieties and most cost effective etc.

Pretty basic question, but I am a novice!!

Thank you!!

[woodburner]

If you have an alloment, talking to your neighbours can be very productive, literally.
Allotment, horticultural and gardening clubs and societies often have co-operative schemes.
Of the shops and garden centres, Wilkinsons' is my favourite. They don't have a massive range, but they cover the bases IMHO very well, and are very cheap.
Our local (Chelmsford) market has a very good stall with highly competitive prices. HTH

Edit: oops catalogues . . . there are a few threads on this already but they've sunk out of view. My current personal favourite is Dobies for seeds. For soft fruit, and trees, J Parkers is better value though.

[Yorkie]

Re the best varieties, those which have the Award of Garden Merit (AGM) symbol against them have been tested by the RHS and found to be generally reliable in all ways.  

They may not necessarily be the tastiest, and personal preference counts for a lot.  

So, you'll have to look at the characteristics of the different varieties in the catalogues to decide what you want (height, spacing, scent, when harvested etc) and then decide which one(s) you'd like to go for.

As for best price, firstly try your local lottie association if you've got one.  It's good to support them, and chances are that they'll have a discount available on the RRP.

Many forum members praise the shop Wilkinson's seeds as perfectly adequate and really well-priced.

Also, Alan Romans I think has cheaper seeds than some.

I'm sure others will have more detail on some of the general varieties, but this is a useful summary I hope.

[MoreWhisky]

I have read this thread and ordered all mine from Alan Romans Thanks Yorkie! nice post.

[happy chick]

Yes, thanks for that one Yorkie, they are a lot cheaper than elsewhere!

[mumofstig]

The one thing i didn't like with Alan Roman was no sowing & planting information on the pkts. Means you have to look elsewhere for the information..............which IMHO is not very helpful. So sorry i'm not a fan.

[PAH48]

The one thing i didn't like with Alan Roman was no sowing & planting information on the pkts. Means you have to look elsewhere for the information..............which IMHO is not very helpful. So sorry i'm not a fan.

TOTALLY  AgREE Bye PAH still   'in

[Helen_uk]

Thank you SO much!!  :o

We have a Wilko's in Northampton so I'll have a gander in there, I have a vegetable growing book by Carol Klein it's an RHS accredited one, so I'll give that some attention aswell i guess!

I wrote a list of things I think I'd like to grow, I read somewhere though that it's pointless growing things that you eat that you can buy cheaply in the super market - doesn't that kind of go against the grain of growing your own, knowing whats gone into it, and the freshness of eating it almost from plot to plate?

** tootles off to have a look on the seed suppliers mentioned **

 

[woodburner]

Thank you SO much!!  :o

We have a Wilko's in Northampton so I'll have a gander in there, I have a vegetable growing book by Carol Klein it's an RHS accredited one, so I'll give that some attention aswell i guess!

I wrote a list of things I think I'd like to grow, I read somewhere though that it's pointless growing things that you eat that you can buy cheaply in the super market - doesn't that kind of go against the grain of growing your own, knowing whats gone into it, and the freshness of eating it almost from plot to plate?

** tootles off to have a look on the seed suppliers mentioned **

 

Oooh just remembered, Wilko's has shelved most of its gardening stuff til after Christmas, so no point looking just yet.  :oops:

If you are short of time or space and the main reason for growing stuff is to save money then yes it would be pointless to grow the stuff you can buy cheaply in the supermarket, but there are plenty of other reasons to grow your own.
This year I only really managed to grow carrots and potatoes, but oh boy do they taste good, despite the carrot fly, and they keep so much better in the ground that I have really cut down on trips to the supermarket. Some of my potatoes are incredibly tasty, too, and they are varieties never seen in the supermarket.
I recently read an article about the decline in nutritional content of food (based on studies in the US) largely thought to be caused by varieties being selected for high yield so that the same quantity of nutrients was in each plant/vegetable but spread thinner.

[Iain@JBA]

The one thing i didn't like with Alan Roman was no sowing & planting information on the pkts. Means you have to look elsewhere for the information..............which IMHO is not very helpful. So sorry i'm not a fan.

When you look at the price of the seeds compared to other then they are very cheap and as it says on the home page all the plant descriptions and planting instructions are on the webpage.
You can easily cut & paste onto a word document and print off.
If I was buying seeds I would buy them off Alan.

[SG6]

I have tended to use www.podseeds.co.uk based in Sufflok.
They have a fair selection of most vegetable varieties and at the end of the day I am not a commerical grower so a pack of whatever is all I need. Also their web site is presented the way I expect so I can find things easily. They also send a catalogue of veg and flowers when you place an order.

Been happy so far which is all I can ask I suppose.
Suppose it depends on what you want/intend to grow.

[Porffor]

remember to check out Wilkinsons at the end of season.. they cut all seeds to half price - I have a load in for 2009 from 2008 I do prefer to head for organic seeds mostly, but I figure if they're grown organic from seed up.. then they're organic! They're for our families consumption only.

[mumofstig]

You were lucky then at wilkos.
I was there when they were taking down seed display for Christmas and the only reduction they were making was buy 3 get cheapest 1 free. Good but not that good.
Wonder if they ended up throwing pkts away they were too dogeared to put on display again.

But hey ho at least got sweetcorn for free........

[Porffor]

wow i thought it must've been nationwide...
I got mine in about september.. they weren't all half price, but mostly veg so it was Christmas come early!

[Porffor]

The one thing i didn't like with Alan Roman was no sowing & planting information on the pkts. Means you have to look elsewhere for the information..............which IMHO is not very helpful. So sorry i'm not a fan.

I have had a nosey at their site, great prices and instructions on the site.. so maybe it's there way of cutting down on printing and therefore costs..