White Flower Farm?

[EBCIII]

Has anyone ever ordered from this company? If so what was your thoughts on them? Beale.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by EBCIII

Has anyone ever ordered from this company? If so what was your thoughts on them? Beale.

I used to order this and that from them many years ago, but as the years have passed they have become insanely expensive, especially with the tomato plants they offer.

And I know that b'c my ortho surgeon's wife ordered several plants and I just about collapsed when Richard told me what she paid. So I went to the website and looked at what they were offering and yes, insane prices, but not only that, wrong pictures and descriptions for many of them. So I e-mailed them offering to help, but they weren't too interested in what I had to say.

So......knowing me, and Richard knew me well, I packed up a nice selection of tomato seeds and gave it to him when I had my next check up appt.

If it's tomato plants that you are after there are many excellent places with fair prices that are already listed in the Seed and Plant source Forum, IMO.

Carolyn

[shelleybean]

I agree with Carolyn about the tomatoes. I've ordered daffodil and tulip bulbs from them but nothing else.

[EBCIII]

Thanks to both of you. That is what I thought also. I was just thinking about next year, Beale.

[EBCIII]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

I used to order this and that from them many years ago, but as the years have passed they have become insanely expensive, especially with the tomato plants they offer.

And I know that b'c my ortho surgeon's wife ordered several plants and I just about collapsed when Richard told me what she paid. So I went to the website and looked at what they were offering and yes, insane prices, but not only that, wrong pictures and descriptions for many of them. So I e-mailed them offering to help, but they weren't too interested in what I had to say.

So......knowing me, and Richard knew me well, I packed up a nice selection of tomato seeds and gave it to him when I had my next check up appt.

If it's tomato plants that you are after there are many excellent places with fair prices that are already listed in the Seed and Plant source Forum, IMO.

Carolyn

Carol I found Henry Fields in a Search. On the Seed and Plant Forum The ones I see are 99% seed source? The reason I was looking for plant source was that I Had Zero luck this year with my Tomato seed starting.

I do not know if it is because I am using a cheap 72 cell kit? Or What. The only seed I have planted that has come up and done a thing is Basil.

I know this is my 1st year trying any of this. I always bought Tomato Plants. Local around here do not carry the Heirloom I am wanting to try. I ordered my 6 Plants from Burpee this year and it was not Cheap.

I am wondering do I need to invest in a Better Method for Seed starting? I was Looking at the pellets, or deeper trays? I am kind of at a Loss here?

I want more Heirloom Plant Choice for my Tomato's. I will continue to be building Beds over the summer. So my garden is going to be bigger next year. Maybe you can help, Beale.

[greyghost]

Beale, If I wanted some of the heirlooms you see mentioned on this site,
I would really consider ordering from Darrel Jones who owns the tomato
mail order site www.selectedplants.com. I just checked to get his web address and I noticed plant prices can range from $3 to 4.50 depending
on size, amount. Darrel is a member here and posts as DarJones.

I know he's probably extremely busy now but an order placed soon
would probably be ready in time for planting in your area.

I used to order from White Flower Farm, maybe 25 or more years ago and
the quality was great. However, over the years, as they were bought out
by larger corporations, the quality fell so much I haven't been tempted to
buy from them for many years now. I can remember waiting for the catalog;
when it'd arrive, I'd grab a cup of coffee to read Amos Pettingill's foreword.
My heart would just melt and I'd place a large order. Years later, I read that
Amos was purely a fictitious character meant to lend a homey, familiar feel
to the catalog. I still feel betrayed! To be fair, I have no idea of the current
quality of their plants. I still get the catalog but wouldn't pay that price, especially for those varieties.

Another option would be to call around at upscale nurseries in your area;
more and more are starting to carry some better heirloom varieties.

We get a monthly newsletter from my husbands dermatologist-- he grows some
heirlooms, plants, some grafted, he buys from Totally Tomatoes as well as Burpee. This last newsletter, he really touted the Burpee plants, saying they were the best quality. He's also bought from Territorial in the past.

Next year, start early-maybe Feb. or March and ask for help-many of us will be happy to help with next year's growout.

Good luck finding plants-wish I lived closer to you! Darlene

[greyghost]

Beale, I should have also said that at the end of summer, I'll contact you
(I have a perfect memory where tomatoes are concerned) and you can choose whatever seeds/varieties from my '15 tomato crop. I have some of the best
varieties! I'll send you enough seeds you can practice your growing technique!
Darlene

[EBCIII]

Originally Posted by greyghost

Beale, I should have also said that at the end of summer, I'll contact you
(I have a perfect memory where tomatoes are concerned) and you can choose whatever seeds/varieties from my '15 tomato crop. I have some of the best
varieties! I'll send you enough seeds you can practice your growing technique!
Darlene

Darlene the problem I have is starting from seed? I had no luck at all on My one Tomato Plant Seed. I got my plants From Burpee. They are not cheap that way. We just do not have anybody around here that has a good supply of Heirloom Tomato's. I have a Very Good Local Nursery that has Plants. I do plan on having more beds next year.

I think I need a better Method for starting Seed than the Cheap 72 Cell that you find local. I was looking at the Deep trays on line or the Pod type of planting?

To be honest I am at a Loss. When I lived in Burlington NC I could buy so many Heirloom Plants Local it was not funny, and Cheap! I never started anything from seed?

So what do you suggest, Beale.

[greyghost]

Beale, I would think that the 72 cell starter pack would be fine-I've used them in
the past as well as the 6 cell inserts. By pod, I think you mean the Jiffy 7 peat
pellets--there are also some made of coir, Quick Starts. All should work fine.
The peat/coir pellet would be handy if you had difficulty finding a good starter
mix like Jiffy, Miracle Grow STARTER, or Fafard. Plus, when a seed germinates, it's easy to move the plants under a fluorescent light. If you used a germination
mat, perhaps the seeds got too hot and died before germination-just room
temperature --no mat--would solve that problem.

In the 72 cell, I assume that you used a starter soil, very fine but most importantly, sterile soil less mix made just for starting seeds.

What happened to the plants you were attempting to start---did they never germinate or did they die soon after germination? Was it one seed pack or
several packs that you sowed seed from? If seeds from one packed failed
it could possibly be the seeds. If from several packs, temperature or inappropriate seed starting mix (like a mix for potting up plants that may have fertilizer which could kill newly germinated seeds) could be responsible.

Or did you purchase plants from Burpee, save seed and they failed to germinate?

I guess the easier way to get some superior varieties would be to order from selectedplants. Darrel could probably suggest varieties if you told him what type
of tomato you'd like ( like a beefsteak type, smaller salad type, cherry or even the color you prefer like red, pink, black, striped).

Otherwise, I'd call nurseries in your area and ask what heirlooms they carry.
I find most at least carry Brandywine, either the red or pink---both would do
well in your area. Nurseries in VA probably have them in stock now--our
Home Depot has their plants in. In fact, last year I saw German Johnson
at Home Depot! I enjoy starting plants but if I did have problems with it
or like so many I know, just don't want to bother with it, the red and pink
Brandywines plus Big Beef would make me very happy!

And don't feel badly if you have to grow some hybrids, either. Big Beef and
Supersonic are also very good! Also, if you have farm stands-they often have plants for sale. Or people on Craig's list selling their plants.

Read as much as possible in the "starting from seed" section--sometimes it takes a few seasons to learn and understand what could have gone wrong. You could
always purchase a pack of seeds, germinate the seeds in a damp coffee filter at
room temperature. When you see a small white root appear, put the seed, root down in your seed starter mix. In a couple of days, you should have a small plant. Make sure it gets sufficient light, very light fertilizer (1/4 strength
fish/kelp or even Miracle Grow-easy for beginners). Put in a larger pot as it grows. It may not be a great variety (Burpee racks have Beefsteak, Brandy Boy, etc) but you'll get some practice. It's getting warm enough now that in VA, you might have success growing it in sunlight, bringing it in at night. Anyway, try a few things and don't give up. Meanwhile, look for the best varieties you can
find locally or consider ordering from selectedplants.com.

Good luck!

[EBCIII]

Greyghoast, Miracle Grow Potting Mix, Sitting in tray next to window. Sun comes up from back of trailer so I put the Tray in that window. also one in Front window. Sun travels so that that window gets late left hand falling Sun.

I got the Tomato Package of seeds from a Tomato Ville Member who sells them. They never came up at all.

Although in one of my Onion Bags I may have 2 coming up? They are small and look like a Mater to me.

To be honest I do not need any more? I thought all along I was getting 6 plants? I called Burpee today to ask about My order. I am getting 9 holy cow Bat Man! I just hope they all fit in my 2 beds!!

I have plenty of those nice Vinyl Walmart Bags now. and some Plastic bottles I have cut since I have been on the forum. I can play around with some seeds over the summer for fun.

I know My local Nursery Carry's Heirloom I just do not know what kind. My order will be here next week, so I have to go get my dirt Wed.

What is the best time to plant? Morning or late afternoon? I can put them in my outside open Pole Barn to Harden them off I reckon?? Beale.

[greyghost]

Beale, If the Miracle Grow medium you used was starter soil, I would have expected the seeds to germinate unless something else happened---too high a
temperature or the soil dried out as they were germinating.

If the Miracle Grow medium was one intended for older transplants, it may
contain fertilizer which could have burned the roots of germinating seeds.
If this were the case, I would expect to see small plants that quickly died,
though.

There's always a possibility the seeds weren't viable. If you had any left,
you could put them in a slightly wet paper towel or coffee filter, put that in
a sandwich bag, place it somewhere slightly warm or even just room temperature
and in a week or less you should see a root emerge if the seeds are good.
I wouldn't put the sandwich bag on the window sill in sunlight-I think the heat
build up in the bag & would kill the seeds. This would at least tell you if the seeds should have grown. If you do see tiny roots, then you know it was another
reason they did not germinate. All you can really do is read up on starting seeds,
think what was likely to have happened, check your starting soil, etc and try
again.

If I were to receive mail order plants, I would unpack them as quickly as
possible, replace any lost soil, water, trim any broken branches and place
in an area where they got filtered sunlight---make sure it's not windy.
I have some maple trees whose branches provide a lot of filtered sun.
If it's overcast or cloudy, even better for a first exposure to sunlight.
Each day they can receive a little more sun. If the pot that they are in is very small, I'd probably repot them in something larger for the roots to grow and
so they don't dry out quickly. Potting soil is very porous and can dry out in
a heartbeat. If you have to be away from home, I'd set them in a pan with water
so they won't dry out.

If you can transplant them to the garden on an overcast or cloudy day, or
later in the day, it's easier on plants than planting in direct sunlight. You'll
want to make sure it's not windy as that's very drying. Tying to a stake
can keep a plant from breaking if you tend to have strong winds in your
garden area. After planting, water in well. If the plants are tall and lanky,
I'd pinch off lower branches and rather than dig a deep hole, I'd plant them
at an angle rather than straight down, not real deep but with the stem buried
as much as possible so that they root along the stem.

You probably have been reading about how different people fertilize their
plants on the forum. If you don't have a good idea what to do, I'd suggest
buying a bag of tomato tone (at a hardware store/nursery/garden center)
or any other tomato type fertilizer. The reason I'm suggesting a tomato
fertilizer is that it's more likely to contain higher levels of calcium and magnesium
to help ward off blossom end rot. Add some of this to the planting hole,
mixing it in well. If you don't find a suitable dry fertilizer, maybe you can find
Miracle Grow for tomatoes. This you wouldn't put in the planting hole but
you would add it to your watering can--it dissolves in water easily. The
instructions on the box will tell you how often and how much to use.

If you have an extra plant or two, you could always buy a 5 gallon bucket at Home Depot, drill some drainage holes about 2" up from the bottom, fill
with Miracle Grow (with water crystals) or a similar bagged mix and try to
grow a plant in a bucket. Fertilize often as watering will wash nutrients
out. You'll need to stake plant so bucket doesn't tip over. Or if you have
a sunny side at the pole barn, you could always put plants along it. In the
ground growing is probably easier if you have a suitable area.

Even though you're getting plants from Burpee this year, check at your
local nurseries to see what heirlooms/varieties they carry. If you need just
6 plants or so, you may prefer to buy them in the future rather than growing
them. Even though you have access to different windows in your trailer, it
may not be sufficient light to grow healthy transplants. Plants not going
through the mail will be healthier-you can pick out the actual plants rather
than accept what turns up in your mailbox. They definitely will be cheaper
from a nursery.

I hope your plants work out; just relax and try to learn from any problems-
try to figure out what went wrong. I had many years of trial and error
(and I still find myself doing some very dumb things once in a while but
remember, there's always next year. That's the nice thing about gardening!)

Good luck-remember to relax and enjoy the fun of gardening and expect
that there will be a learning CURVE.

[bughunter99]

Whenever you consider a new on-line nursery or seed or plant source, you should always check them out here first. I have used this site for years and found it to be absolutely reliable, other people's experiences closely aligning with my own.

Here is the review on white flower farm. It is important to read the most recent experiences. As these companies change hands, the customer experience changes. I have purchased from white flower farm before. My experience is similar to what currently people are posting.

[bughunter99]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

I used to order this and that from them many years ago, but as the years have passed they have become insanely expensive, especially with the tomato plants they offer.

And I know that b'c my ortho surgeon's wife ordered several plants and I just about collapsed when Richard told me what she paid. So I went to the website and looked at what they were offering and yes, insane prices, but not only that, wrong pictures and descriptions for many of them. So I e-mailed them offering to help, but they weren't too interested in what I had to say.

So......knowing me, and Richard knew me well, I packed up a nice selection of tomato seeds and gave it to him when I had my next check up appt.

If it's tomato plants that you are after there are many excellent places with fair prices that are already listed in the Seed and Plant source Forum, IMO.

Carolyn

I went to their site to check out their tomatoes out of curiosity. Their grafted Chocolate Stripes does not remotely resemble the Chocolate Stripes I grow. Mine has gorgeous neon green stripes to it.