Seeds
Currently (as of Autumn 2023) 87% of the seeds in our shop have been grown in our nursery, and the rest have been bought in from trusted organic suppliers. We would love to grow all our seeds ourselves, but with an increasingly unpredictable climate affecting seed yields we recognise the benefit of building small networks of back-up suppliers. There are also advantages of working with other growers to isolate different species that are at risk of cross-pollinating when grown in proximity.
Yes, as of November 2023 all of our seeds are now certified organic! All of our seeds have always been grown organically but we have only recently completed the long organic conversion period allowing us to label them all as organic.
The simple answer to this question is that the ‘sow by’ date depends largely on how you store the seeds. Most seeds – with the exception of a few short-lived seeds such as angelica and sweet cicely – can be stored for several years if they are kept in an air-tight container in a cool, dry, dark place. But if they are kept on a shelf in a damp garden shed in their original paper packet, they will soon lose their viability. To get the best results it is hard to beat a good quality rubber-sealed tupperware container hidden at the back of a fridge.
Shipping
No, I’m afraid we don’t. We don’t yet have systems in place for fulfilling the legal requirements for shipping abroad so are only serving UK customers for now.
Generally speaking, we aim to pack seed orders within 24 hours of receiving them. We have a daily Royal Mail collection at 4:30 from Monday to Friday, and unless we are very busy we can normally send your order out on the same day so long as you place your order before 4pm. If you order at the weekend it will be sent out on Monday afternoon.
We pack bare root orders on Tuesdays and Fridays and send them out using Royal Mail 24 hour tracked so that they (hopefully) arrive on the following Wednesday or Saturday. For more information on our bare roots please visit our blog page here.
For seed orders we offer free shipping for orders with a value of more than £25. Below that, you can choose between Royal Mail first class (£2.50) and 24 hour tracked (£3.50).
If your order contains bare root plants the free postage threshold increases to £45. Below that, postage costs £5.50 for 24 hour tracked. Please visit our blog post on bare roots for all details here.