Seeds from Italy (GrowItalian)

LoreD · November 23, 2006

Just placed an order this morning on Thanksgiving Day. Very easy site to use and ENORMOUS packets of seed. Tomatoes are 200-350 seeds per pack for only 2.95. I think that I'll have plenty to share and spread around. Free pack of seed with first ten packs purchased. Reasonable shipping prices of $3.81. I got 11 huge packs of seed for $33 including shipping. They stock seed from Italian seed companies like Franchi and Puglia.

They guaranteed that my order would be shipped in two business days.

Regarding customer service: I sent a separate e-mail recommending a retail outlet nearby because they said I could win 10 packs of seed if the store placed an order. I certainly didn't expect a responce from the owner several hours later on Thanksgiving morning. These people really do respond quickly.

LoreD

**mdvpc** · November 23, 2006

LoreD-I buy from Seeds from Italy also-Bill Mckay posts here some. My wife and I love Italy, and I only grow cutting lettuces, valeriana, cicoria, mistacanza from Bill's offerings. I am growing one of his real compact paste tomatoes now in my greenhouse-its about 20 inches tall, should not get taller than 30 or so. You wont go wrong with him, in my opinion.

**Mischka** · November 23, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdvpc

You wont go wrong with him, in my opinion.

I heartily second that opinion.

Great guy - great to do business with. :wink:

**carolyn137** · November 23, 2006

You wont go wrong with him, in my opinion

And I agree as well.

Lore sent me a PM saying Bill said to say Hi to me since Lore had mentioned that I was the one who directed him there.

I've known Bill for many many years and he runs a good business and is as honest as they come, along with just a few others in the seed buisness that I won't name here.

So if it's specific Italian veggies that you're interested in by all means take a look at Seeds from Italy.

And I'll thank you here for the PM Lore.

MtnMaters · November 24, 2006

I bought several melon species from SFI this year, including Asahi Miyako F1 and Janoski, as SFI-carried Franchi was the only source in small quantity I could find. None of the A-M seeds came up, and I noticed when planting that their outer coats all seemed overly distressed and the bottom of the seed packets were full of "dust". I'm sure this came from rough pastal handling, nut when mentioned, a fresh replacement pack was promptly and cheerfully sent out, sans charge. Franchi Seeds were something new to me, hermetically sealed, double packed etc.....germination on all varieties othe than the first pack of A-M, was phenomenal!

That's the kind of quality and service they provided me with, and in turn will have my repeat business for years to come.

feldon30 · November 24, 2006

So good we overloaded his website.

LoreD · November 24, 2006

I hope he's not too overloaded because I saw some other great things on his website that I want to order.

I also have been coveting that Italian tomato processor offered by SFI-skins and seeds 125 lbs. of tomatoes per hour. I think the only thing that has kept me from canning and freezing spaghetti sauce and soup is skinning and processing all those tomatoes. I think I know what I want for Christmas.

LoreD

feldon30 · November 24, 2006

Actually, it's not overloaded. I can't get it to work on Firefox. It works on IE6 fine.

Sorellina · November 24, 2006

Ciao LoreD,

Amen, sister, I totally agree about the industrial seeder/skinner device-a-roonie. I'd love one of those with the generator. Mine's the ol' hand-crank jobbie job and it's fine for small batches, but I'd really like to scale up..I turn my kitchen into a sauna for 4 months of the year because along with the small hand-crank tomato press, the largest enamel pot I have is only a 5 quart, so it's LOTS of small batches and that gets way time-consuming. It's probably not in Santa's budget this year..what I'm hoping for is more modest..maybe a Lee Valley seed binder or a membership to SSE.

LoreD · November 27, 2006

Holy Moly, this company is fast. I ordered on thursday, Thanksgiving morning, he shipped on friday the 24th and I received my seeds on Monday the 27th. Unbelievable delivery time.

Sorellina,

A friend of mine said he had an electric one that attached to his Kitchenaid mixer and it worked great.

LoreD

foolcontrol · January 12, 2007

Just ordered a lot of beans.

VGary · January 12, 2007

I have to agree that Bill Mckay is the greatest! He will do everything he can to assure good service.
Sign up for his very informative Grow Italian News Letter with varieties he has grown in his garden and his experience with them. He also usually passes on some very good recipes for you to try. Good Italian dishes to share with family and friends and to "warm" the heart!
Gary

LoreD · March 27, 2007

I would like to make one comment about this great company. I ordered three of their tomatoes and the packets were listed as 250-350 which was just about right for my needs. I gave some away to friends but the packets still looked a little large, but I pre-soaked the whole package and ended up with 600 seeds of Paolla di Fuoca, well I put them all in and I hope I can find some people who want the excess.

Fortunately, I hadn't pre-soaked the other two tomatoes.

Word of warning: Their pack sizes are about double what is listed.

If you are planting a lot of seedlings 600-700 seeds is a great bargain for only $2.69 plus one of cheapest s/h charges around. Sealed foil packaging inside of another sealed package. I really love this company.

LoreD

bluelacedredhead · March 28, 2007

I've looked at their site in the past. Never dawned on me how many seeds per pack. Wonder if they'll ship to me? No harm in asking, is there?

LoreD · June 8, 2007

All of the plants are in the ground and the plants that I grew from GrowItalian are the most robust in the garden. I have questioned the people that I gave plants, and I haven't been able to find one plant that died.

LoreD

November 23, 2006	#1
LoreD Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Chicago Suburbs Posts: 306	Seeds from Italy (GrowItalian) Just placed an order this morning on Thanksgiving Day. Very easy site to use and ENORMOUS packets of seed. Tomatoes are 200-350 seeds per pack for only 2.95. I think that I'll have plenty to share and spread around. Free pack of seed with first ten packs purchased. Reasonable shipping prices of $3.81. I got 11 huge packs of seed for $33 including shipping. They stock seed from Italian seed companies like Franchi and Puglia. They guaranteed that my order would be shipped in two business days. Regarding customer service: I sent a separate e-mail recommending a retail outlet nearby because they said I could win 10 packs of seed if the store placed an order. I certainly didn't expect a responce from the owner several hours later on Thanksgiving morning. These people really do respond quickly. LoreD __________________ Its not what you get to keep in life, its what you get to give away.

November 23, 2006	#2
mdvpc Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 4,386	LoreD-I buy from Seeds from Italy also-Bill Mckay posts here some. My wife and I love Italy, and I only grow cutting lettuces, valeriana, cicoria, mistacanza from Bill's offerings. I am growing one of his real compact paste tomatoes now in my greenhouse-its about 20 inches tall, should not get taller than 30 or so. You wont go wrong with him, in my opinion. __________________ Michael

November 23, 2006	#4
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	You wont go wrong with him, in my opinion And I agree as well. Lore sent me a PM saying Bill said to say Hi to me since Lore had mentioned that I was the one who directed him there. I've known Bill for many many years and he runs a good business and is as honest as they come, along with just a few others in the seed buisness that I won't name here. So if it's specific Italian veggies that you're interested in by all means take a look at Seeds from Italy. And I'll thank you here for the PM Lore. __________________ Carolyn

November 24, 2006	#6
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	So good we overloaded his website. __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]

November 24, 2006	#7
LoreD Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Chicago Suburbs Posts: 306	I hope he's not too overloaded because I saw some other great things on his website that I want to order. I also have been coveting that Italian tomato processor offered by SFI-skins and seeds 125 lbs. of tomatoes per hour. I think the only thing that has kept me from canning and freezing spaghetti sauce and soup is skinning and processing all those tomatoes. I think I know what I want for Christmas. LoreD __________________ Its not what you get to keep in life, its what you get to give away.

November 24, 2006	#5
MtnMaters Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: East TN weedpatch.... I know I planted some tomatoes in here! Posts: 41	I bought several melon species from SFI this year, including Asahi Miyako F1 and Janoski, as SFI-carried Franchi was the only source in small quantity I could find. None of the A-M seeds came up, and I noticed when planting that their outer coats all seemed overly distressed and the bottom of the seed packets were full of "dust". I'm sure this came from rough pastal handling, nut when mentioned, a fresh replacement pack was promptly and cheerfully sent out, sans charge. Franchi Seeds were something new to me, hermetically sealed, double packed etc.....germination on all varieties othe than the first pack of A-M, was phenomenal! That's the kind of quality and service they provided me with, and in turn will have my repeat business for years to come.

November 24, 2006	#9
Sorellina Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Victoria, BC Posts: 300	Ciao LoreD, Amen, sister, I totally agree about the industrial seeder/skinner device-a-roonie. I'd love one of those with the generator. Mine's the ol' hand-crank jobbie job and it's fine for small batches, but I'd really like to scale up..I turn my kitchen into a sauna for 4 months of the year because along with the small hand-crank tomato press, the largest enamel pot I have is only a 5 quart, so it's LOTS of small batches and that gets way time-consuming. It's probably not in Santa's budget this year..what I'm hoping for is more modest..maybe a Lee Valley seed binder or a membership to SSE. __________________ Grazie a tutti, Julianna

November 27, 2006	#10
LoreD Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Chicago Suburbs Posts: 306	Holy Moly, this company is fast. I ordered on thursday, Thanksgiving morning, he shipped on friday the 24th and I received my seeds on Monday the 27th. Unbelievable delivery time. Sorellina, A friend of mine said he had an electric one that attached to his Kitchenaid mixer and it worked great. LoreD __________________ Its not what you get to keep in life, its what you get to give away.

January 12, 2007	#11
foolcontrol Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Cypress, Texas Posts: 53	Just ordered a lot of beans.

January 12, 2007	#12
VGary Tomatoville Honoree Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Louisville, Kentucky Posts: 460	I have to agree that Bill Mckay is the greatest! He will do everything he can to assure good service. Sign up for his very informative Grow Italian News Letter with varieties he has grown in his garden and his experience with them. He also usually passes on some very good recipes for you to try. Good Italian dishes to share with family and friends and to "warm" the heart! Gary __________________ *"We believe we mere debtors to God in relation to each other and all men, to improve our Time and Talents in this Life, in that manner in which we might be most useful." Shaker Covenant 1795*

March 27, 2007	#13
LoreD Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Chicago Suburbs Posts: 306	I would like to make one comment about this great company. I ordered three of their tomatoes and the packets were listed as 250-350 which was just about right for my needs. I gave some away to friends but the packets still looked a little large, but I pre-soaked the whole package and ended up with 600 seeds of Paolla di Fuoca, well I put them all in and I hope I can find some people who want the excess. Fortunately, I hadn't pre-soaked the other two tomatoes. Word of warning: Their pack sizes are about double what is listed. If you are planting a lot of seedlings 600-700 seeds is a great bargain for only $2.69 plus one of cheapest s/h charges around. Sealed foil packaging inside of another sealed package. I really love this company. LoreD __________________ Its not what you get to keep in life, its what you get to give away.

March 28, 2007	#14
bluelacedredhead Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Northwest shore of Lake Ontario Zone 6b Posts: 117	I've looked at their site in the past. Never dawned on me how many seeds per pack. Wonder if they'll ship to me? No harm in asking, is there?

June 8, 2007	#15
LoreD Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Chicago Suburbs Posts: 306	All of the plants are in the ground and the plants that I grew from GrowItalian are the most robust in the garden. I have questioned the people that I gave plants, and I haven't been able to find one plant that died. LoreD __________________ Its not what you get to keep in life, its what you get to give away.