Which squashes for next year?

[veggiechicken]

You "may" not be the first to do that this evening, Sparrow

[Mr Bones]

Hooligan looks interesting. This year we have Crown Prince (not tried before), Turks Turban, Uchiki Kuri and Sweet Dumpling all of which have good flavour and store well. Should be a bumper harvest too with about 75 squash from 15 plants.

[Bex]

Rareseeds.com, are they ok to deliver to the uk? I got a bit confused on their website

[Kristen]

I've never had a problem orders seeds, by post and without phytosanitary certificate, from abroad. That's not to say that Customs wouldn't impound them, but based on my experience and those of my chums I don't think there is any issue importing seeds into UK.

There are other countries, such as Australia, where I think the import of even seeds is prohibited.

(Sorry if I am answering the wrong question!)

[sparrow100]

Yes they do - look in the FAQ of the ordering info tab. It's 20% of the order total and the minimum charge is $5.00.

[sparrow100]

Just seen Kristen's reply - if you bring back seeds from outside the EU, there are specific rules on what you can and cannot bring and you can find that on the DEFRA site. If it's a licensed seed supplier and an online order I think the rules are slightly different, as I think (and I am sure I will be corrected!) that the supplier has to make it clear what the package contains and the licences/certificates that relate to it.

[Kristen]

I've spent 10 minutes searching the Government website and found nothing relevant but lots about what sort of seed (of commercial quantities) attracts tax / VAT. It must be a common question, I would have expected to easily stumble over an FAQ on it

[Bex]

I think I'm going to order about 3 different squashes, totally about $8 and see what happens.

[daviddevantnhisspiritwife]

I've ordered from rareseeds.com last winter and would have no qualms about ordering again. I found the postage to the UK quite inexpensive and the seeds come in very generous quantities.

I ordered 2 squash varieties and Telegraph cuc, they came relatively quickly. They also sent me a free pack of Parisienne carrot seeds.

[Bex]

I've ordered from rareseeds.com last winter and would have no qualms about ordering again. I found the postage to the UK quite inexpensive and the seeds come in very generous quantities.

I ordered 2 squash varieties and Telegraph cuc, they came relatively quickly. They also sent me a free pack of Parisienne carrot seeds.

Well there you go then. I will order now with no worries. I've never ordered seeds from abroad so just needed a bit of reassurance.

[poly]

I've ordered from Baker Creek seeds for several years, only had one order go astray and although they said they would resend I don't think they ever did as I never received it and most unlikely two would have gone astray. Good amount of seeds and germination is good. A customs declaration is attached on the outside of the envelope, usually stating it contains seeds and the purchase cost. So don't go mad and go over your personal allowance I think it's around £15 or you might get stung by import tax and handling fee!

(Sorry off topic again)

[sparrow100]

I've spent 10 minutes searching the Government website and found nothing relevant but lots about what sort of seed (of commercial quantities) attracts tax / VAT. It must be a common question, I would have expected to easily stumble over an FAQ on it

This is one of the references I meant: https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...t_aug_2014.pdf

[Kristen]

Thanks

It says "You are allowed to bring a maximum of five retail packed packets of restricted seed without a phytosanitary certificate. Please note that not all seeds are restricted. For a complete list of seeds that are restricted, contact Fera – their details are on the back of this leaflet."

Not entirely clear to me if "importing" seed by post is in any way different to bringing them in with you, but if that is the case I've fallen foul of the "5 retail packets" rule several times - but not got caught