Subject: Seed Catalog Awards

From: [email-masked] (Jon Charles Gilliam)
Date: 15 Dec 1994 13:38:51 GMT

My 'awards' for super catalogs & seed companies:

Most Useful & Informative:  Goes to Stokes without a doubt.  An impressive
   range of varieties, with culture information that rivals most reference
   books.  Included:  % germination, bloom dates, days to transplants,
   when to sow in the garden, ideal temperature for germination, light
   requirements for germination ... what more could you ask for?

   I feel some guilt for never having ordered from Stokes, even
   though I constantly refer back to the catalog for information.  

Most Beautifully & Tastefully Illustrated:  Parks!  The color photography
   is vivid, the varieties are gorgeous.  Simply a delight to browse.
   An incredible reprieve from the winter blahs.

Most Variety:  For herbs, Richter's without a doubt.  If it's an unusual
               herb, and nobody else has it, chances are Richter's does.
               For flowers & vegetables, the award goes to Stokes, with
               honorable mention to DeGiorgi Seed Company.

Best Value:  Pinetree Seeds!  Reasonable packet sizes, good germination,
             fine selection of varieties, and best of all low prices.  The
             seed quantities have been more than enough for my home garden,
             I don't have large quantities of leftover seeds from year to
             year, and I with the money I save I can try out some more
             unusual varieties.  What more could you ask for?

Lowest Prices:  It would be hard to beat thw 25 cent sample packets from
                Le Jardin du Gourmet.  This is my first year ordering from
                them, so I can't as yet comment on the quality of the
                seeds, but the catalog does explicity give a range for each
                variety of the seed count in the sample packets.

Worst Classifications:  Liberty Seed Company, out of New Philadelphia, OH
                for placing a tomatillo with little distinguishing 
                identification under the Tomato heading, and for commiting
                the same sin with New Zeland spinach under the Spinach
                heading.  I for one would be disappointed to order either
                of these expecting them to be just another variety of
                tomato or spinach.

Worst Editing:  Le Jardin du Gourmet.  Hand-typewritten catalog (a computer
                with a printer isn't that expensive!), creative spelling,
                and interesting grammar, to be kind.  The included recipes
                were appreciated, but seemingly out of place.  I would have
                prefered the space devoted to description of the varieties,
                which for the most part are not described at all.  

I'd be interested in other folk's awards list too!
:jon

-- 
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Jon C. Gilliam   <[email-masked]>
   I have a flawless philosophical and scientific model of reality.  
   Unfortunately, it's actual size. 
      - [email-masked] (Snakes of Medusa)
-- 
-----
Jon C. Gilliam   <[email-masked]>
"Man in his struggle for life began with dances, shouts, songs,
incantations and warlike mimes meant to bring to him the strength

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From: [email-masked] (James M Hoskins)
Date: 15 Dec 1994 15:52:28 GMT

Jon Charles Gilliam <[email-masked]> wrote:
[interesting list deleted]
>                variety of the seed count in the sample packets.

I've been ordering from them now for about eight years, even before the
kids took over the business from the father.  The seed quality is excellent,
I've never had any problems.

>                which for the most part are not described at all.

Ha!  Let me second, third, and fourth this comment.  Their catalog is
so jarring to the senses, and confusing, that there's gotta be some
GENIUS marketing strategy...because...I decipher it and order from them
every year.  In spite of having a catalog that looks put together the
same way William S. Burroughs wrote "Naked Lunch" they've never messed
up an order.  In particular, their boxes of cooking shallots are
very attractive and you can order "subscriptions" of shallots as gifts
for friends and family which recipients'll get every couple months
throughout the year --for a very reasonable price.

One thing Jon, you gave their address as Box 7, someone earlier gave
the P.O. Box as 75.  I'm sure mail will get to 'em either way though.

Jim

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From: [email-masked] (Jon Charles Gilliam)
Date: 16 Dec 1994 19:12:24 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (James M Hoskins) writes:
[snip]
>the P.O. Box as 75.  I'm sure mail will get to 'em either way though.

   You're right ... sorry for the typo.

   The address for Le Jardin du Gourmet should be P.O. Box 75

Thanks, Jim!
:jon

-- 
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Jon C. Gilliam   <[email-masked]>
   "God created Man in his own Image, and Man, being a Gentleman, 
    returned the complement"
-- 
-----
Jon C. Gilliam   <[email-masked]>
   "God created Man in his own Image, and Man, being a Gentleman, 
    returned the complement"

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From: [email-masked] (Jon Charles Gilliam)
Date: 16 Dec 1994 20:36:31 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Chris Boake) writes:
>In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Jon Charles Gilliam) writes...
>> 
>This list was intriguing.  I'd like to receive some of the less common 
>catalogs.  Could you please post addresses for them?
>Many thanks!
>--Chris Boake
>
>

Here's a few:   

   Pinetree Garden Seeds
   Box 300
   New Gloucester, ME  04260
   1-207-926-3400 

   Stokes
   P.O. Box 548
   Buffalo, New York  14240-0548
   1-716-695-6980

   Le Jardin du Gourmet
   Box 75
   St. Johnsbury Ct., VT 05863

   If you pick up a copy of Organic Gardening magazine and browse the
'Marketplace' section, you can probably find the others I mention as
I don't have other addresses with me.  Check National Gardening also.

:jon

-- 
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Jon C. Gilliam   <[email-masked]>
"The value and validity of an experience exists independently from the
 validity of the process that gave rise to it."  -- Mark Kampe
-- 
-----
Jon C. Gilliam   <[email-masked]>
   Be careful of reading health books; you might die of a
   misprint.

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From: [email-masked] (DAHLIA75)
Date: 17 Dec 1994 11:10:17 -0500

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Jon
Charles Gilliam) writes:

As the owner of Pinetree Garden Seeds I am certainly flattered to be
included in your list of top catalogs. Much of the fun of gardening comes
>from  experimentation with different varieties and species and I'd like  to
think that we and the other mailorder companies facilitate this process.
Gardeners interested in faxing for a catalog can do so at 207-926-3886. A
question for you - I've seen a gardening mailing list mentioned on the
internet but haven't been able to locate it.
Do you know how to get in touch with it? Thanks  Dick Meiners

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From: [email-masked] (DAHLIA75)
Date: 17 Dec 1994 11:10:17 -0500