So where do I buy reliable seeds?

[spinbaby]

I only start a few plants from seed, usually because I want something very specific. In the last couple of years I've had more than my share of dud seeds--either seeds that refused to sprout or that didn't grow into what was advertised on the seed packet. Last year we had baseball-sized "cherry" tomatoes. This year my "French vanilla" white marigolds turned out to be a motley assortment of orange and yellow marigolds. I had bought them at a hardware store and they were Burpee seeds, which I had always thought of as reliable, but which apparently aren't. My husband speculates that the Chinese are in the counterfeit seed business.

Where does one buy reliable seeds?

[Elad]

1. Johnny's or Territorial.

Both extremely reliable.

[Major Nikon]

5. The last batch I got were from Johnny's

No problems with them. Virtually all germinated.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

2. Besides territorial, I'd also recommend

seedsavers.org, nativeseeds.org, and southernexposure.com

[spinbaby]

3. Thanks

Next year my white garden will be white, not orange and yellow.

[Major Nikon]

4. You are better off buying them mail order

When you buy them in the store you don't always know how long they have been there and some, if not most seeds definitely have a limited shelf life, particularly so if they aren't stored in cold storage. The bigger mail order houses are going to rotate their stock more often since they deal in larger volumes and are more likely to store their seeds under ideal conditions.

[NRaleighLiberal]

6. Johnny's is great but not inexpensive - Pine Tree has a nice selection at great prices