Problems with Pinetree Seed Co?

[laf1110]

I ordered from Pinetree Seed Co. last year and was pretty pleased. Their prices were the best I could find and I had good luck with all the seeds except my spinach seeds from them. I ordered from them again this year and it seemed to me I got quite a bit less seeds in the packets then I did last year. The tomatoes I grew with them seemed diseased from the start, and the ones I grew from Baker were perfect. I also had bad germination with about 4 kinds of plants. Mistakes happen so maybe it was just me, or bad luck or something. Just wondering if anyone else had any problems?

[CarolAnn]

I found service from Pinetree was spotty from year to year, but my experience was more than 10 years ago and a company can change quite a bit in that much time. I had sent in a huge order my second year with them, and I sent it (and paid) in two parts because I wanted to be able to check my seed packets over carefully. They combined it and the whole order was mis-delivered, left outside at a neighbor's in the rain and not everything was sent. it was a mess. I also got seed that wasn't clean but still on the flowerheads! We never did get it straightened out completely and I didn't order from them again.

I guess the answer is - when they do good, they're very very good and when they're not - they're really not. You have to determine if the savings make the occasional mess-up worth it in the long run.

Also, since they produce their own seeds for the most part, I could see plant diseases being a problem, especially in tomatoes. Let us know if they address your problems!

[JarDude]

I wish I would have known this 2 weeks ago. I ordered row cover from them almost 2 weeks ago and I am sitting here wondering where in the funk it is at. :mad:

[AlchemyAcres]

I've ordered from dozens of places over the years and there isn't one place that I haven't had some type of problem/error/issue. Some companies are obviously worse than others!

~Martin

[Laura]

We did not order from them a second time.
Our first experience with this company, our seeds were diseased, and molded.

We order from Bakers Seed, Seeds of Change, and Seed Savers Exchange.
For the last 7 years, we have not had ONE issue with any of these three places.

[wildturnip]

I've ordered from PineTree for probably10 years and have never had a problem. We ordered from Southern Exposure for the first time this year as well and were pleased with them.

[JarDude]

I called them and they said they shipped the item on the 13th. They sent it USPS so i am not the least bit surprised that I didn't get.

They sent out another one while I was on the phone so I guess we will see.

[laf1110]

I didn't realize that they grew most of their own seed stock. That would explain the diseased tomatoes. I will probably not go with them again. JarDude, hopefully you will recieve your row covers soon. If not, I have ordered row covers from Bountiful Gardens and they were good quality and shipped fast. Also a decent price. I ordered some seeds from Sustainable Seed Company and am very pleased with them. Their bulk prices are very reasonable and everything shipped fast. I will probably order from them and Baker next year. We sell our produce at our local farmers market so I really can't take the chance of bad seed etc. Thanks everyone for your input!

[Equilibrium]

Back some 20 or 30 years ago or so.... it's my understanding they did grow most of their own seed stock. It was one of the reasons why I originally started ordering from them but then someone pointed out to me they were like offering over 500 different varieties of seed and that it was doubtful they were still growing the majority of their seed on x # of acres. Made sense to me and probably explained why I was getting so many substitutions when I placed orders. Their business probably grew over the years to the point that they have to contract for seed in order to offer such variety. My guess is they list everything they contract for at their website but when it doesn't come to them.... they're not able to fill an order with a seed they haven't received.
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I used to order from Pinetree.... I don't any more. Their website doesn't seem to reflect their actual inventory. I don't like getting partial orders because of shipping and handling costs. I definitely don't like substitutions. I know what I want and what I want is what I order and that's what I expect to be sent not.... some seed that maybe didn't sell well for a company or that might have been left over from a prior season. I don't recall ever receiving skimpy quantities of seed from them.... sometimes I've gotten skimpy from Pinetree but....they were reeeeeeeeeeally slow in getting an order out the door come to think of it. One thing they've got going for them is that their customer service was always excellent. The way I was treated every time I was sent the wrong item or a substitution is what kept me going back to try again. They were responsive and they did try to do right by me when I called. I did finally give up though. It got to the point where I was calling to make sure they had all the seed I wanted before placing my order because of the issues with their website and even then I still was only getting partial orders or substitutions. That's a problem for someone like me because by the time I'd find out what I'd ordered wasn't what I received.... it was usually too late to order it somewhere else to grow for that season.
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laff1110> I don't think the majority of tomato viruses can be transmitted via contaminated seed to seedlings. Human to seedling.... yes. Insect to seedling.... yes. Seed to seedling.... possible but highly unlikely.