Gourmet Seed International (Harvest Moon)

[LoreD]

I have been looking at other possibilities because I decided order from different companies next year. The sites for tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants have not been a problem, but I like the exotic in my other veggies and this looked like a winner. Cheap prices, wide selection, huge packets of seeds; sells mostly to market gardeners, and gardeners who sell to gourmet restaurants.

Since I haven't ordered from this company previously, I was wondering if any of you had purchased from this company.

[carolyn137]

Lore,

What are you looking for in the exotic for other veggies?

I ask only b'c the few times someone has asked me to go to Harvest Moon and read I don't recall seeing anything particularly exotic.

Different companies tend to specialize in different areas so if I knew what it was you were looking for perhaps I could make some suggestions.

[LoreD]

Carolyn,

I checked garden watchdog and most of the reviews were positive. I was asking whether any members had a good or bad experience with them because sometimes companies have looked good on the internet and then haven't worked out.

They recently partnered with a variety of foreign seed companies and changed their name.

I live in a heavily Italian area and when I have given away plants and seed the ones that everyone got excited about have an Italian theme. This company has a lot of Italian seed.

LoreD

[sliphorn]

Elmwood Park?

[LoreD]

Sliphorn,

I'm out in the Downers Grove area. A lot of the Italians moved out here but the Italian markets didn't follow. Most of them drive all the way into the city or to Caputo's in Addison to get "authentic Italian." The stampede for Melrose pepper plants and Italian tomato plants last year gave me the idea of letting people do a complete Italian garden. Some of the reviews said that this company ordered direct from Italian seed companies and that the packets came written in Italian.

Even though I give my plants and seed away (this is my hobby) I try to judge what would be popular with my friends and co-workers.

If you're interested in some plants I would be happy to give you some next year.

LoreD

[sliphorn]

Ahh, DG. I'm not too far from that stretch of hard core Italian joints on Harlem ave between Irving and North ave. Loads of great delis and restaurants.

[LoreD]

Has anyone purchased seed from this company?

LoreD

[betsylt]

Originally Posted by LoreD

Has anyone purchased seed from this company?

LoreD

Hi LoreD,

I've done business with Harvest Moon and been happy with it. The order was correct and delivery was faster than most other seed suppliers I used.

I was looking for some unusual salad greens, and picked up "Runway Arugula" and a few other variteties.

Important note:
I opted to buy Mr. Fothergill's seeds from Harvest Moon because they had all the varieties I was looking for, and they were less expensive with the same descriptions as their regular seed packs. My germination rates of the Mr. Fothergill's seeds were excellent. To find Mr. Fothergill's seed (from the UK I believe), go down the clickable set of links on the left hand side of the Harvest Moon (now "Gourmet Seed International") and you'll find a link for "Mr. Fothergill's Seed" way down near the bottom of the page.

Not all of their seeds are listed under Mr. Fothergill's, so if you have your heart set on something else, you may have to get it from the main site..

Hope that helps,
BetsyLT

[carolyn137]

If it's Italian seeds you're looking for, please do try Grow Italian, or similar you can find it via Google, run by someone who really knows his stuff.

he too imports seeds, from one of the major Italian firms and has nothing BUT Italian varieties, of everything, and I know you'll be pleased and Bill is a great guy.

I've never ordered from Harvest Moon but they send me their catalog anyway. I've reviewed their offerings for others, though.

[LoreD]

Thank you Carolyn and Betsy, you both have been very helpful.

LoreD

[Polar_Lace]

This is the link that I have for them: Harvest Moon Farms & Seed Company - LocalHarvest

[Lomatia]

I have purchased seed from both Harvest Moon (now Gourmet Seeds International) and the Italian one mentioned by Carolyn and have found them both good to deal with. The only improvement could be for them to include botanical names on the packets as AQIS will not let anything into Australia w/o the correct botanical name even if there is a big picture of an onion or tomato on the packet!

[carolyn137]

Lomatia,

The botanical names for anything are easily found by Googling.

I've sent lots of seeds to Australia and something you may not be aware of but there can be and are, alternative botanical names for certain veggies and flowers and your Australian Customs doesn't seem to realize that or have decided that only ONE of those alternatives is correct.

For instance, tomato seeds sent to Australia must be IDed as Lycopersicon esculentum while other acceptable botanical names include L. lycopersicon, L. lycopersicum, and the newer Solanum esculentum and S. lycopersicon, etc.

At least now your customs officials will accept tomato seeds properly IDed. For many years no tomato seed could be sent to Australia which meant that some of us had to send magazines with seed packets tucked between the pages and other silly ways to get seeds to SSE members and others. Sigh.

[spyfferoni]

I noticed that their seed quantity is much higher than a lot of other places with some tomato seed packets containing 1000 seeds. I like their selection of squash and seeds for sprouting. I posted a similar thread about them last year on GW and heard only positive things.

Tyffanie

[LoreD]

I went back over to Gourmet Seed International to take a look and they are back to being Harvest Moon. They are no longer the distributors for foreign seed companies The English and Scottish companies are gone. I was thinking about ordering some of the English cucumbers but they are no longer supplying them.

Anybody have any idea what happened over there?

LoreD