Trade Wind Fruits

[Stepheninky]

http://www.tradewindsfruitstore.com

Recently ordered a few varieties from them I could not find anywhere else and the service was excellent. Seed counts vary a bit but of the ones I ordered all seed packets were in the 40+ range. They charge $2 a packet and do offer free US shipping on any order over $7.50. I will definitely use them again.

[mmcd75]

I have been ordering from Tradewinds for a few years now, I have never had any problems with them. Shipping is always fast, germination is quite good and the selection is wonderful. They are one of my favorites.

[Tania]

I created Trade Winds Fruit vendor page at Tatiana's TOMATObase.
http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Trade_Winds_Fruit

Still need to go through their 2010 catalog to add them to 'Seed Availability' grid for each variety they carry - I think I have an issue of 'too little time too much to do'!

Tania

[geeboss]

I've used them and have always had good service and looking forward to my 2011 grow out of Amazon Chocolate tomato and Kamo Eggplant. Service is quick during the off season which is when I usually order my seeds....avoiding the rush at the beginning of the year.


Also received my seeds from Tatiana's which is always great service.

George

[clara]

Me, too, I've made good experiences with Trade Wind Fruits. Quick delivery, good prices, good germination rate, wonderful large collection of all kinds of veggies and flowers - and important for me: PayPal! clara

[peebee]

I ordered Tomatoberry seeds from them last year; they are Japanese hybrids and the seeds are quite exclusive and pricey. Johnny's Select Seeds is one of the few distributors I could find, so I was quite pleased to have found an inexpensive source. Also ordered Sungold among others.

However, I had my doubts after seeing the seeds. Then I posted here on another thread and found out that others had also ordered these seeds from them, and they were not true to seed. Alas, mine were also not the real Tomatoberry. The Sungold(I only planted one) was also not the same as the ones I grew from seed from Renee's Garden. However, it could have been the weather to blame for that one.

Just for the heck of it, when I came across my receipt, I emailed them about the Tomatoberry. To my surprise, they replied that their supplier was suspect and that they would send me any replacement I wished. And they did, although it took awhile so I had forgotten all about it by the time it arrived. And I am happy to see that they removed this variety from their list.

I don't know if I will order from them again, as I see some other vegetable seeds that are also more expensive on other sites, but cheaper here, again. But had to speak up for them that at least they have good customer service and are willing to make up for any mistakes.

I learned that yes, you get what you pay for; never look for bargains on goods you know are rather set in price and/or not readily available, such as hybrids.

[carolyn137]

I don't go with the supplier suspect story at all. I don't know of any small company that has the money or contacts to deal with Tokita Seed Co from Japan. Look at the sources for Tomatoberry and they're all large companies that have reps for all the major tomato hybridizing companies.

This should explain it and notice the Tokita contact information:

http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=60651

Trade Winds isn't the only company selling F2 saved seed from hybrids and not saying that's what they're selling. But they seem to do it more than most I've heard.

[SilverCat]

The Black Cherry seeds I got from TWF were a liquid-smoky brown mini-plum that has been reported from others' BC seeds. As for the Sungold, they have a "Sun Gold OP" which I (n00b) assumed was a Sungold Select, but as Carolyn said they are apparently just saved seeds from F2 plants. Lots of fruit variation, from tiny sour peas to mini-hearts which are actually very good and I will grow out next year.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by SilverCat

The Black Cherry seeds I got from TWF were a liquid-smoky brown mini-plum that has been reported from others' BC seeds. As for the Sungold, they have a "Sun Gold OP" which I (n00b) assumed was a Sungold Select, but as Carolyn said they are apparently just saved seeds from F2 plants. Lots of fruit variation, from tiny sour peas to mini-hearts which are actually very good and I will grow out next year.

If they just said Sun Gold OP and never mentioned the word Select, which is part of the name for all four OP versions of the hybrid, then I would also assume that they were seeds that they saved from the F1 Hybrid plant(s) that they grew. Those saved seeds from the F1 plants would then be F2 seeds.

If both BC and TWF were/are selling the exact same wrong Black Cherry that suggests to me that they're buying it wholesale off the shelf somewhere. BC pulled sales of theirs after pictures were shown and anguished cries from the BC folks in particular about what they got made that decison for BC.

However, Black Cherry being an OP and not an F1 hybrid I can't see why they couldn't grow their own and produce their own seed which of course can't be done for any F1 hybrid.

[SilverCat]

What they told me was "[Sungold Select lines] are specific open pollinated lines developed from Sun Gold. We have generic open pollinated Sun Gold seeds which produce fairly true to their hybrid parent."

I wish I had known what I was getting, but it's interesting if inconsistent and the little hearts are great.

They offered nicely to replace the nasty BC seeds, but I want some that have been verified.

[clara]

It seems that I have had good luck with my seeds from Trade Wind Fruits (ordered in 2008); everything was as expected, nothing was wrong. Maybe they had other suppliers at that time. clara

[Mischka]

Ordered from them in 2009 and 2010; no problems with the varieties I grew out from their seed either season.

Will be ordering for 2011 shortly.

[robbyjoe01]

I've been using them for about four years and while some of my germination rates were low(I blame myself for not getting enough info) I haven't found a better selection for the price. I'm a sucker for rare and they have it. I would have never gotten Italian Alpine Strawberries except for the fact I'd never heard of them, no one else either, and they were only 2 bucks (I usually purchase plants not seeds). The little buggers for the last two years are a dream-giving me produce when it's snowing and coming back stronger every year. You'd think they were from Kansas the way they grow and like I said would have never known hadn't been for Trade Winds. Bought some bunching onions from them and got some good looking grass as far as I could tell but for 2 bucks it wasn't a great loss. When the offer is something like 5 bucks for 10 seeds I gosh darnoodley well expect results for my money but something like 2 bucks for hundreds of seeds well that's just a easy sell to me. And their variety is unreal tapping seeds from every part of the world. This I'm sure gives them a world wide customer base and breeder source. Not all is gonna be good but for 2 bucks it ain't that bad.

[robbyjoe01]

That funny "gosh darnoodley" LOL sorry I'll have to remember this so I don't look like I'm from the 50's

[austinnhanasmom]

I like them as well as anyone else...since I'm a seed hog, I order from MANY places...It seems like they run out early because now I can't find a few descriptions...