[pink aubergine]

I've ordered from Kings seeds for quite a few years and been really pleased with the seeds.
 www.kingsseeds.com

They are the growers (been in the business for 125 years this year).
Allotment growers get a discount through NSALG.

[Jamrock]

Tuckers have an excellent range

[superpete]

Here's a guy selling the Franchi seed company I thought may be of interest....

  5MRENaSMJwQ
I get my flower and some veg seeds from Moles but Franchi do some less common ones.. Romaine lettuce for example. Also ordered from Alan Romans in the past, he tries to keep prices down

Last year I was pleased to find a small garden center / farm shop near us where I could select my own seed potatoes - haven't done that for a while

[DD.]

You'll find it very hard to beat Moles for price, provided you need quantity.

[allotmentann]

Here's a guy selling the Franchi seed company I thought may be of interest....

  5MRENaSMJwQ
I get my flower and some veg seeds from Moles but Franchi do some less common ones.. Romaine lettuce for example. Also ordered from Alan Romans in the past, he tries to keep prices down

Last year I was pleased to find a small garden center / farm shop near us where I could select my own seed potatoes - haven't done that for a while

I think you will find that Alan Romans has now been taken over by T&M!

[superpete]

You'll find it very hard to beat Moles for price, provided you need quantity.

Needed a couple of last minute seed varieties.... ordered from Moles and they were with me in less than 24 hours - impressed!

[BabbyAnn]

It can be a dead giveaway sometimes because different seed/plant catalogues will have identical pictures for the same plants

not necessarily - photos can be marketed so anyone can buy them.  Also, a lot of seed sellers have bought their seed from a seed merchant that may be in another country entirely.  A lot like the food trade, seed can come from anywhere and be repackaged - remember the fatal E.coli food poisoning in Germany and France in 2011 and the sprouting seed was thought to have come from Egypt as a source of the contamination? 

[Mark's Sussex Allotment]

www.vegetableseeds.net are excellent and the cheapest around. Excellent germination rates and family run. FREE p&p

Also give 10% discount to lotty owners!

[parsley]

I took a chance and bought loads of seeds from a pound shop.....they've all come up so far!

[davejg]

Whichever company you choose there are very few see producers for any given variety so you are probably getting the same seed whoever you use.

[sowitgrowit]

I haven't ordered seeds from any of the major companies for years. There are plenty of smaller companies offering a much greater variety at far cheaper prices.

Amen to that! There are two I use on eBay and also one called SeedParade that are much cheaper, or the same price but larger quantities, than the "big names."

It's nice to support smaller companies, and double-nice if you're saving money too!

I do use the catalogues though to make upmy shopping list for varieties and tomake sure I don't forget anything.

[parsley]

I haven't ordered seeds from any of the major companies for years. There are plenty of smaller companies offering a much greater variety at far cheaper prices.

Amen to that! There are two I use on eBay and also one called SeedParade that are much cheaper, or the same price but larger quantities, than the "big names."

It's nice to support smaller companies, and double-nice if you're saving money too!

I do use the catalogues though to make upmy shopping list for varieties and tomake sure I don't forget anything.

I've just ordered herb seeds from seed parade  they are really cheap and good quantities

[fatcat1955]

Premier seeds direct on fleabay everytime for me.

[Salmo]

Whichever company you choose there are very few see producers for any given variety so you are probably getting the same seed whoever you use.

Quite right. Most vegetable/flower seeds are grown in the warm and dependable climates of southern Europe where the seed quality is guarunteed . Some seed will no doubt be contracted for a particular company but most of the more common varieties are available in bulk to be packeted and sold on. Most of the cost is printing the packet.

[Salmo]

I may be wrong but aren't Dobies and Suttons one of the same too?

Dobies took over Suttons.

Marshalls and Unwins are owned by an Irish company.

These companies market their goods under their well known names but there is a bean counter at the top working out how to squeeze the last penny out of gardeners.

And then there is Dobbies garden centres owned by TESCO. Have you seen what they charge!!