Christina, Different types of seeds are viable for different periods of time. Properly-dried broccoli and cauliflower seeds are generally highly viable for about 5 years whereas carrot seed is generally only highly viable for about three years. The two main enemies of seed viability when storing seeds are high humidity and high temperature. One way to store them is in freezers. They need to be inside airtight containers. All the major seed banks in the world store their seeds in cold storage units. You also can store seeds in foil pouches, paper packets, zip-lock bags (you can get tiny ones in the bead/craft aisle at wal-Mart), plastic lids with tight containers, etc. If not stored in a freezer, they should be stored in a room or closet where they are exposed to fairly constant temperatures. You don't want to store them in an uninsulated garage, garden shed, attic, etc. where they'll be very hot in summer and very cold in winter. If storing them inside, an interior closet or pantry is often a good storage area. If you have a dry cellar or root cellar, it would be an ideal place for seed storage but make sure the seeds are in airtight and roden-proof containers. You also can place packets of silica in your seed containers to absorb moisture and help protect the seeds from excess humidity. Seeds are not good today but then suddenly bad tomorrow. Instead, the seeds lose their vigor slowly over a period of time If your seeds are dried down to 8% moisture content and then sealed into airtight containers and stored in a freezer, they will maintain their normal or typical viability for ten times as long as seeds not stored long-term in a freezer. I don't keep my seeds in the freezer. I just keep them in paper envelopes placed inside zip-lock bags and stored in a plasic storage crate with a locking lid. Most of the time, the storage crate is in my root cellar with my stored veggies and home-preserved food. If you don't have room in the freezer or don't want to store your seeds there, a refrigerator works too. When removing seeds from a freezer or refrigerator so that you can open the container and use some of them, first remove the container from cold storage and let it sit all day long or overnight so the seeds can completely reach room termperature before you open the airtight seed packet. This lessens the likelihood that moisture will condense on the seeds as they thaw which can cause them to germinate prematurely. I generally try to use seeds before they are six years old or older but sometimes you can get seeds that are 6-10 years old to germinate fairly easily, and real seed pros can often germinate older ones. I don't think I've ever tried to germinate seeds older than 8 or 10 years in age. One thing you need to consider with seed packets is that they have to meet federal germination standards because every seed likely will not germinate. The germination rate is expressed as a percentage and varies from variety to variety. For example, the minimal federal germination rate for commercially-sold carrot seed is 55%, so you're unlikely to get 1500 carrots even if you plant 1500 seeds. The worst germination you can expect from fresh seed packed for the current year's use is, therefore, 55% for carrots, although often you'll find a particular batch of seeds has a much higher germinationrate than that---it is just the 55% is the minimum allowed. For cucumbers, the Federal Germination Standard for seed sold commercially is 80%. When planting, you can use the Fenderal Germination Standard for any given variety as an aid in figuring out how many seeds to plant in order to get X number of plants. You also can choose smaller packets of seed. One retailer who specializes in smaller quantities of seed is Pinetree Garden Seeds (www.superseeds.com) and some other seed companies sell 'mini' or 'sampler' packs that contain smaller quantities of seeds. If you collect and save your own seed from open-pollinated varieties, the most important thing is to make sure it has reached the proper degree of dryness before storing it. Otherwise you may end up with moldy, ruint seed. Dawn

Fake seeds can also be seeds that are labeled as real plants, but don't fit what they are labeled as or they can be implied to be for plants that don't exist in reality. So I have seen comments from folks who ordered varied colored flowers such as lupines and got only the most common blue, or even folks who got a completely different species than what was ordered. I can find lupines in mixed color packets here, and I am in a quite rural area, so you may find them in your area. I typically won't buy from a supplier that has less than about 90% (or usually better) positive reviews. Prior to having access to online reviews (I've been gardening since before the internet) I was burned a few times ordering from garden suppliers who didn't supply what was ordered. I found it quite frustrating since my growing season is short, so I usually couldn't reorder and have time to replant. I guess the questions to ask yourself are, Will you be distressed if you get nothing you want for what you spend? and Will you be unhappy if you have to wait until next year to get the plants you want? If the answer is yes, based on the poor reviews, I would use another supplier.

Edie, Cornus mas, Pinus cembra, Stewartia ovata, S. pseudocamellia, 4 kinds of Acer palmatum and a few other things that need warm incubation. Right now, I am just creating a garden from seed and growing as many individuals as necessary to have my pick of the best examples I can muster. That said, it would be great to open a nursery!!! The building is well under way. A wooden shelving unit on casters that I was using to grow indoors is being converted to a 4 level chamber as sketched. The shelving will be skeletonized. While I haven't checked all the best temperatures yet, the most important seeds are all 25degC. A thermostatic control already turns the heat source on and off (+/- 2 degrees). Right now only one level is in use, but an AC axial fan is on its way. It will be ducted to the bottom and force hot air down through the duct. The seams will all be taped. The top will have a layer of high value insulation. But, I never know what I don't know... Edit: I don't know what I don't know, but I know somebody's done it before me :)

I've never heard of them either. I've read the same lackluster ratings and reviews of the companies tsugajunkie listed above, so I am hesitant to buy from them. Although I do think I may have ordered (small orders) from Seymour's and Totally Tomatoes in the past, years ago, before knowing they were part of that group. I don't recall any problems, and I have to admit, some of their catalogs (or the covers at least) are beautiful lol. I know, not a reason to order but I still enjoy looking a them! I suppose it wouldn't hurt to place a small order and see how it goes. I would check their return/refund policy first though. Are the seeds you want expensive, or hard to find elsewhere? Or finicky growers to begin with? :) Dee