I got a new seed catalog in the mail. This one is from Stokes. I haven't shopped from them before, but I'm about to.
As far as seeds, Stokes isn't exactly up my alley. They supply not only gardeners but commercial growers, so they have a very large selection of vegetable seeds, which they can ship in staggering quantities. But since I'm not into growing food and there is only one of me anyway, that's rather beside the point. Their flower seed selection is, predictably, more "commercial" than what I'm after. They sell the stuff people buy; I'm more into the stuff people have never heard of.
There are, however, two very attractive features in the Stokes catalog. One is their selection of pansies. I'm in love with pansies since my Matrix experience this summer, but unlike Ipomoea, I have no desire to collect every pansy cultivar ever created. Moreover, there are many pansies I totally don't like. So far I had only found a few choices, mostly as mixes, and although I love the Matrix mixes at Veseys, I was displeased with the overall selection from my suppliers. Stokes, on the other hand, offers over 100 varieties of pansies. I kid you not. And they're packed by variety, not just as mixes. I've picked out about 14 so far that I want. The only downside is that some of them are not available in less than 250 seeds. Oh well... Seeds keep.
And point 1b, they also have twice as many varieties of pumpkins as Veseys. Mmmmm... Pumpkins...
The other thing about Stokes is, clearly they must be getting volume discounts along the way, because a lot of their gardening tools and supplies are much cheaper than at Veseys. For example, the same heat mat that Veseys sells for 39.95 is 28.99 at Stokes. That timelapse plant camera I want is 119.95 at Veseys, but only 86.99 at Stokes. And, most importantly, they have a grow light for only $71.99. That's considerable cheaper than anything at Veseys. Still not within my current budget of $0, but once the budget increases to above zero, I can definitely afford a $72 grow light. That will make a world of difference, I think.
211 days until last frost...
As far as seeds, Stokes isn't exactly up my alley. They supply not only gardeners but commercial growers, so they have a very large selection of vegetable seeds, which they can ship in staggering quantities. But since I'm not into growing food and there is only one of me anyway, that's rather beside the point. Their flower seed selection is, predictably, more "commercial" than what I'm after. They sell the stuff people buy; I'm more into the stuff people have never heard of.
There are, however, two very attractive features in the Stokes catalog. One is their selection of pansies. I'm in love with pansies since my Matrix experience this summer, but unlike Ipomoea, I have no desire to collect every pansy cultivar ever created. Moreover, there are many pansies I totally don't like. So far I had only found a few choices, mostly as mixes, and although I love the Matrix mixes at Veseys, I was displeased with the overall selection from my suppliers. Stokes, on the other hand, offers over 100 varieties of pansies. I kid you not. And they're packed by variety, not just as mixes. I've picked out about 14 so far that I want. The only downside is that some of them are not available in less than 250 seeds. Oh well... Seeds keep.
And point 1b, they also have twice as many varieties of pumpkins as Veseys. Mmmmm... Pumpkins...
The other thing about Stokes is, clearly they must be getting volume discounts along the way, because a lot of their gardening tools and supplies are much cheaper than at Veseys. For example, the same heat mat that Veseys sells for 39.95 is 28.99 at Stokes. That timelapse plant camera I want is 119.95 at Veseys, but only 86.99 at Stokes. And, most importantly, they have a grow light for only $71.99. That's considerable cheaper than anything at Veseys. Still not within my current budget of $0, but once the budget increases to above zero, I can definitely afford a $72 grow light. That will make a world of difference, I think.
211 days until last frost...
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