|
Post by tabitha on Jan 26, 2022 1:27:39 GMT
I got a johnny's catalog. the prices left me speechless. what I am wondering, do their packets contain more seed?
I have used Pinetree for years, ordered there and the seeds came two weeks ago. could not complain really. Long time ago I always ordered from Burpee. Now I see Menards carries Burpee seeds. so I bought a few packets. Last year I had problems with spinach, beans and peas not germanating.
|
|
|
Post by Jolly on Jan 26, 2022 13:31:12 GMT
You have to check seed counts pretty close. A pack of Provider seeds from Shumways was $10.99 and contained 1000 seeds (1000 count is pretty common). A pack of Provider seeds from Hoss was one pound, but the pack contained approximately 1300 seeds for the same $10.99.
|
|
|
Post by tabitha on Jan 26, 2022 18:43:43 GMT
a packet usually is the smallest unit. the little envelope with the picture on front. some are fuller than others. How full are your packets.
about five to ten years ago, the dollar store carried cheap seeds, 39 cents , and I had no complaints. Sprouted, produced. and their mixed lettuce, 39 cents , kept us in salads for spring. Gone are the days....
|
|
|
Post by wildhorseluvr on Jan 26, 2022 19:07:03 GMT
a packet usually is the smallest unit. the little envelope with the picture on front. some are fuller than others. How full are your packets. about five to ten years ago, the dollar store carried cheap seeds, 39 cents , and I had no complaints. Sprouted, produced. and their mixed lettuce, 39 cents , kept us in salads for spring. Gone are the days.... When available (haven’t seen any recently) our Dollar Tree stores have seed packets for 25 cents. I bought a bunch of them awhile back. The next ones that came in seemed to have very few seeds so not sure they’d be a good deal at this point. My best deal was seeds I found in a plastic shoebox in a thrift store not too long ago. These were from good seed companies…nice full packets and never opened. Most were from last summer, and there was a good variety. Can’t remember but they were either .15 or .25…I bought almost all of them. 🙂
|
|
|
Post by gayle on Feb 16, 2022 14:55:43 GMT
The other day I bought a few packs of seeds from the dollar store. I already had my seed order, so I just bought a few I thought I could use more of or grow indoors during the winter. Two of the packets were for microgreens.
A few days ago, I started an experiment with the microgreen seeds and realized how few seeds were in one of the packs. If I might need to depend on those seeds for salads during the winter, I was going to need more, so I asked my son to get me the rest of them when he stopped at the store on his way to work. When I went last week, there was only 5 or 6 packs left on their display. He found a much bigger display, so now I have 62 packs! I had to clear out a plastic shoebox to hold them all. That ought to last me a while.
|
|
|
Post by roadking on Feb 16, 2022 15:23:05 GMT
Seeds came in as did our new PVC raised beds...all 14 of them. Had wooden ones that were showing their age...then had 2 cars crash in 2 weeks and wiped them out, insurance paid for new ones. And they would have been 1/3rd the price of me building them out of lumber and painting them.
Also, they messed the order up and included "gro-grids" for each bed...1'x 1' grid system, even tho we don't plan on using them, nice to have an order in our favor, they would have been $20 each.
|
|
|
Post by wildhorseluvr on Feb 16, 2022 16:57:32 GMT
gayle, even though I probably won’t end up with a garden this year, I’ve been buying seeds because there may not be much available in another year or so. I keep my seeds in the tin containers that popcorn, tea, etc. come in, as they’re mouse proof. Cheap too, at the thrift stores they are 10-25 cents for the smaller ones and $1 for the big ones.
|
|
|
Post by gayle on Feb 16, 2022 18:16:18 GMT
wildhorseluvr, I usually keep stuff like that in coffee cans. You'd be shocked at how many I have. I know I am. I just don't have any empty ones right now.
|
|
|
Post by Jolly on Feb 16, 2022 20:01:29 GMT
Seeds came in as did our new PVC raised beds...all 14 of them. Had wooden ones that were showing their age...then had 2 cars crash in 2 weeks and wiped them out, insurance paid for new ones. And they would have been 1/3rd the price of me building them out of lumber and painting them. Also, they messed the order up and included "gro-grids" for each bed...1'x 1' grid system, even tho we don't plan on using them, nice to have an order in our favor, they would have been $20 each. Last bed I made was from used barn tin and some reclaimed 2x4's. Next time, I may go cinder block.
|
|
|
Post by gayle on Feb 16, 2022 20:11:32 GMT
All of my raised beds are cinder block. The biggest problem I have with them is weeds growing up in the holes. It's ugly and very hard to weed them out. I tried putting them the other way, but the dirt washed out through the holes. I might get some caps for them in the spring.
|
|
|
Post by Jolly on Feb 16, 2022 20:26:40 GMT
All of my raised beds are cinder block. The biggest problem I have with them is weeds growing up in the holes. It's ugly and very hard to weed them out. I tried putting them the other way, but the dirt washed out through the holes. I might get some caps for them in the spring. How tall are your beds?
|
|
|
Post by wildhorseluvr on Feb 16, 2022 21:07:59 GMT
wildhorseluvr , I usually keep stuff like that in coffee cans. You'd be shocked at how many I have. I know I am. I just don't have any empty ones right now. But don’t the coffee cans have plastic lids? I don’t have a big mouse problem but one gets in on occasion, and I’m concerned that in a SHTF world rodents might become a problem. Last thing a person would want is to have their seed supply destroyed. That’s why I went to the tin containers. I had grains in Roughneck totes in my cellar, which is fairly substantial. Never had an issue with mice…until I did. Chewed through the container and contaminated 50# of wheat berries. 😡 I’m more careful now. Just for the record, nothing has ever chewed through the heavy 5 gal. buckets out in my garage. So far they’ve been foolproof. 👍🏻
|
|
|
Post by gayle on Feb 16, 2022 23:28:59 GMT
All of my raised beds are cinder block. The biggest problem I have with them is weeds growing up in the holes. It's ugly and very hard to weed them out. I tried putting them the other way, but the dirt washed out through the holes. I might get some caps for them in the spring. How tall are your beds? They're just one block tall. The first ones I made were 3 blocks tall, but they took way too much dirt, so I kept cutting them back until I just used 1 block. They do alright for vegetables that grow above ground. For underground things, I either use an old refrigerator full of dirt or some of those cloth shopping bags. I actually prefer the bags since I can dump them in one of the raised beds and pick up the produce - no digging required. I guess you could dump the refrigerator, too, but I'm not that strong.
|
|
|
Post by woolybear on Feb 17, 2022 13:27:04 GMT
gayle, I bought livestock water tanks last year to make raised beds with. The large tanks had a plug in the side of them for water drainage, I just removed the plug so the water could drain out. One smaller tank had no plug so I drilled a bunch of small holes in it for drainage. I filled over half of the tanks, starting on the bottom, with small branches and limbs, layer of wood chips, old hay, chicken litter, layer of cardboard, leaves, another layer of hay and chicken litter. Once I get near the top I'll start adding old composted goat litter and finally top off with a layer of (hopefully if I can find some) nice potting/container dirt or more goat compost with some peat and perlite mixed in. The cost of the water tanks were about the same as some of those little flimsy raised beds. The tanks should last for years. As the contents break down I can add more dirt/compost to the top. I'll let you know in a few years how everything works out LOL
|
|
|
Post by gayle on Feb 17, 2022 13:48:24 GMT
woolybear that reminds me of something my neighbor back in Michigan did. She filled one of those livestock tanks with water and put fish in it. Then she made a sort of floating planter with holes in the bottom, so the roots could grow into the water and absorb 'fertilizer' from the fish. The fish ate some of the roots and any insects the plants attracted. I think she also put a bubbler (can't remember what they're really called) from an aquarium in it, to provide oxygen for the fish. Also, the fish she used were edible, so she got a twofer.
|
|