I think Gary Ibsen has treated me well. After reading this post, I'm feeling a little insecure.
I ordered Cuostralee (thank you Dr. Male), Cherokee Purple, and Black Krim from him a couple of weeks ago. Before ordering, I sent him an email inquiring if any would require back ordering since it is so late in the season. I received a personal email response from Gary within a few hours telling me all three were in stock. I ordered them and received them in a very timely manner. After dealing with some other vendors who I thought were way over priced, I found Gary's prices to be reasonable. He also promised 30 seed per pack. I didn't count every seed in six packs, but it sure looked like at least 30 seeds per pack. He also included a couple of bonus packs of seed I didn't order but look very interesting. I did look at the seed in each pack and the seed in each pack looked different from the seed in the other packs. The seed in each pack did look the same as the other seed in the same packs. I don't expect any mislabeled seed, but I may be wrong.
Before I ordered the Cuostralee seed from Gary, I had ordered some from another "reputable" vendor. Most of their seed count was stated in grams. I wanted to make sure I got enough so I ordered three packs of Cuostralee. I think I had a total count of about 30 seed from three packs. 10 seed per pack. Of the 30 seed received, only four germinated while other varieties germinated at the same time at almost 100%. I decided to not try the Cuostralee again because the variety obviously had a low germination rate. Another gardener told me his Cuostralee germinated at almost 100%. I then ordered the seed from Gary. Since I have already planted the four Cuostralee that did germinate, I will not be germinating any of the seed from Gary until spring of next year. I will be germinating and planting the Cherokee Purple and Black Krim within a month and will soon know if Gary's seed is any good. I expect everything to be fine.
Ted
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