I buy from several places. I can never seem to find everything I want at just one company. I particularly like Nichols Garden Nursery. They give a generous amount of seed for the price, have excellent service, and one of the best, widest selections of any catalog I have seen. I also order from Parks, Johnny's Select Seeds, Select Seeds (flowers), and very occasionally from Burpee, which I find to have some of the highest prices going. I just recently placed my first order from Swallowtail Seeds. I was very impressed with their selection. They are carrying a number of new plants that I will be eager to try. And, they are having a free shipping promotion for a $30 order. Just in case you're interested, here's what I got: PORTULACA, TOUCAN HOT MIX; ANGELONIA, SERENA BLUE and SERENA LAVENDER PINK (pelleted); VINCA, CORA DEEP LAVENDER HYBRID; SUNFLOWER, IKARUS; BEANS, FORTEX; TOMATOES, JULIET; ZINNIA, SUNBOW MIX. They also have the Fizzy pansies, for which I had already ordered from Hazzards. And finally, I order alot from Hazzards. (I believe my first recommendation came from Al. Thanks, Al! As always, you were spot on.) I tend to plant in masses: 20 flats of pansies each fall and usually a minimum of five flats of a kind for my summer beds. Hazzard's service is excellent, their selection very large, and their prices unbeatable. I would highly recommend them. Their packets come in quantities of 250 and 1000 of a kind. Keep in mind that if you want to do seed trades, you can buy one of Hazzard's big packages, use what you need, and trade the rest for other things. Honestly, the only seed company with whom I have ever done business, with which I was unhappy was Thompson and Morgan. They have a fantastic catalog, but year after year I had an enormous amount of trouble getting decent germination rates. I thought it was me. And then I saw on this forum somebody else comment on this. So, the next year I ordered elsewhere, and have never had any other germination problems.

Fedco, great choice, price and free shipping over $30. This year they shipped free even when my order slipped below $30 because a few were sold out. None of this 'we're sorry, you must order more...' bull. And they shipped Priority Mail to insure a timely shipment. Plus, they are a Co-op with excellent info and garden gossip. I like their Green stance but not a requirement for me..just an excellent source. Of course, some varieties I must find elsewhere such as Territorial though they have ridiculous shipping..

I orderd mine online from BURPEE. As far as I know you have to order them,I have never seen them in a store.Fortex is a bit more exspensive than others.

Clones can be used to great effect when hybridizing or breeding stable OP varieties, and tomatoes are super easy to clone. I know with human cells, telomere length is a limiting factor on immortality. But cancer cells can achieve immortality in a petri dish, see link below. I am not sure if there is such a limit on plants. Considering 2000+ year old trees here and there perhaps there is not a fundamental limit, and plant clones could be kept alive forever. As for OP vs. hybrid, I'll gladly take the adaptability, resilience and independence from seed co's that OP offers, over whatever gains might be obtained by buying hybrid seed. I want seeds that are adapted to my climate, my garden, my pests and my habits as a gardener. My plan is to just keep chucking tomato seeds out there to see what thrives and produces. My aims are different than a lot of gardeners, for me it's more about resilient gardening than gourmet gardening. I'm happier with the 'wild arugula' that reseeds itself perpetually than with some named variety of arugula that I would have to resow every year. I am a member of a local seed library, $10 lifetime membership, and I have access to way more veggie seeds than I could ever grow, with the caveat that I return extra saved seed when possible. With those seeds, I follow stricter seed saving protocols, because there is an obligation to keep the varieties true. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.npr.org/2011/03/18/134622044/tracing-the-immortal-cells-of-henrietta-lacks This post was edited by yukkuri_kame on Mon, Aug 12, 13 at 17:18