Buying Vegetable Plants Online.

[Julian]

Hi Everyone,
I am looking into and interested in buying vegetable plants online and in need of a good supplier that has a good reputation,also is this a good concept to buy vegetable plants online.I have been quite disappointed in buying vegetable seedlings from recent garden center visits and now i want to look into buying online.

[andrewo]

Marshalls do good plants. This year I bought my leeks from them and they are doing a storm now. It meant that I didn't have to grow my own from seed, as I don't have a greenhouse and as soon as my early potatoes where out I could get the leeks in.

They were roughly £8 for 50, so worth it for me. Look here:
Marshalls Seeds are one of the UKs leading suppliers of Vegetable Seeds, Vegetable Plants, Seed Potatoes, Onion Sets, Fruit Plants and Trees.

[Julian]

Marshalls do good plants. This year I bought my leeks from them and they are doing a storm now. It meant that I didn't have to grow my own from seed, as I don't have a greenhouse and as soon as my early potatoes where out I could get the leeks in.

They were roughly £8 for 50, so worth it for me. Look here:
Marshalls Seeds are one of the UKs leading suppliers of Vegetable Seeds, Vegetable Plants, Seed Potatoes, Onion Sets, Fruit Plants and Trees.

Thanks Andrew,
Had a look and very impressed,i looked at a number of sites and found some to be very expensive.Came accoss this site as well Autumn-Spring Winter Veg Pack 100 Plants In Season Available August- March - £25.00 and postage,been a bit worried about what i should be aiming for in price.

Autumn/Winter/Spring Vegetables 1 - Vegetable Plants Direct Shop

[Little Lottie]

I have also bought some veg plants from Marshall's and I'm waiting for them to be delivered. I had not quite planned properly so my seeds weren't planted. Hopefully next year I will be more organized.

[Snadger]

Having once gardened on a plot that had clubroot present I vowed to grow all my own brassicas 'just in case'. I also have onion white rot on my present plot in certain areas so would be loath to accept even gifts of alliums in case they infected other areas?

Just as an aside I did recieve gratefully a gift of a gooseberry bush from an allotment neighbour with soil and all. I realise now I have imported mares tail curtesy of the gooseberry bush.
To crown it all the same neighbour has recently told me of the lack of worms on his plot since he found some New Zealand flatworms under a rock!

Nope sorry, no more plant imports for me!

[Hans Mum]

ive used these in the past before i got my greenhouse

Vegetable Plants Direct Shop

and they were good quality and healthy

[SarzWix]

I have had vegetable plug plants in the past from Thompson & Morgan, Dobies & Marshalls. They've all performed well, and don't seem to have imported any diseases!
I think it's probably safer to buy in plants from reputable companies, rather than from unknown people on eBay!

[butter fingers]

ive used these in the past before i got my greenhouse

Vegetable Plants Direct Shop

and they were good quality and healthy

Me to
i have bought from VPD and found them very good, but one thing to remember is that they can be very busy, so be patient.

[amandaandherveg]

I've been using this chap as I've not been able to find any winter/spring veg plants anywhere - Freecycle/garden centres/car boots, etc. Just placed another order tonight to share with my neighbours after they saw the quality.

They're very generous with their counting - my first order was for 80 plants (4 different varieties) but when they arrived there were more like 120. No fancy packaging, just healthy plants in sealed plastic bags wrapped up in newspaper. Top bloke and top plants and they arrived within a week.

eBay.co.uk Shop - FARMER ARNOLDS BARN: BRASSICA VEG PLANTS: GREEN FLATPOL CATTLE CABBAGE TYPE FIELD GROWN PLANTS 20

[Two_Sheds]

I think it's probably safer to buy in plants from reputable companies, rather than from unknown people on eBay!

I buy lots on eBay, and never had anything dodgy: I got my comfrey Bocking 14 (superb); black bamboo (not so good, but the dead plant was replaced for free); camellia ...

all from different sellers, not the same shop. Check the feedback if you're worried about a seller.

I just ordered some pyracantha for a hedge, at half the price of Parkers mail order.

I think mail order companies charge far too much for postage, whereas eBay tries to keep the P&P reasonable.

[Eyren]

I used Farmer Arnold on ebay as well, following some home-growing failures in the wet weather. Now my leeks, PSB and cavalo nero are doing nicely - as Amanda says, top plants, great service and good prices as well.

[Cloud]

Bought mine a Wyevale yesterday this way you can see the condition of the plants.

[Demeter]

I was toying with buying some plants online.

What puts me off is the delivery thing. What if you are out when the plants arrive? e.g. One site I was reading says they could not say even what day the plants would be delivered, yet would not leave plants in your garden if you were not at home when they turned up ?!?! Not much good when you're out at work all day...

Would be interested to hear people's experiences of delivery issues.

[Two_Sheds]

I was toying with buying some plants online.

What puts me off is the delivery thing. What if you are out when the plants arrive? e.g. One site I was reading says they could not say even what day the plants would be delivered, yet would not leave plants in your garden if you were not at home when they turned up ?!?! Not much good when you're out at work all day...

Would be interested to hear people's experiences of delivery issues.

When I "checkout" on eBay (before I pay) I put a note in the "message to seller" box, to say put on the label "leave in garden if I'm out".

It works fine.

Our last Postie was thick as mince though, he'd still leave the parcel in the shop down the road

[nelliegemini]

I can tell you someone not to buy from online. The plants arrived so dry the compost had fallen out, they obviously had been left in the containers for ages as the plants had grown around the inside of the plastic covers. Not all the plants arrived (2 in a pot instead of 3), also one had been snapped off during transit. When I complained I was told 'sorry, we're out of stock - have some more of these instead' and they just sent me some more of the only one of the three assorted vegetables that had arrived OK, I then had so many I ended up giving them away! There were no growing instructions despite the original advert appearing in a daily newspaper, which would attract beginners (they did email me growing tips).

I don't know what the rules are about naming those who provide bad service, but if you want to know, pm me and I will tell all!