Recommendations for online purchases?

[EmmaStone]

We grew a few veg last year as part of lockdown, and this year we've built some raised veg planters ready to try again. Some we did from seed down straight, some were from small plants from friends or local farm shops, some from sprouted veg from the kitchen. Lots of experiments, but the best results were from small plants.

So, I've got a list of veg I'd like to buy, don't particularly want to pay garden centre prices (plus often only a limited selection available), where is a good place to look online?

Looking for:
Asparagus crowns (we've moved ours and I though may be an idea to supplement)
Strawberries
Beans
Toms
Courgettes
Broccoli
Rocket & lettuce
Radish
Carrots

Any we should definitely do from seed (rocket, lettuce, radish?)?

I've had many successful purchases from Sarah Raven and Gardening Express.

I find lettuce, radishes, carrots, beetroot and spring onions are all good from seed and seem to grow anywhere! I like to buy tomato plants, bean plants, courgette plants and strawberry plants so that you are buying something already established.

Oh thank you so much, that's really really helpful, and so speedy!!

I love gardening and growing fruit and veg! I forgot to say that a lot of our local farm shops were selling veg plants last year, really cheaply. Also look out for people selling plants from their gardens/displayed on the pavement - they are usually very cheap too!

Yes, I love being able to share with friends - we've dug up our massive rhubarb to replant and split and have been sharing it for friends' gardens (having kept our friends and family fully stocked with rhubarb from March to October!). Other friends gave us some tomato plants that they'd grown from seed, it's nice to be able to swap. We're rural, so there's often lots of help yourselves or cheap plants around, they always seem to be the hardiest (and best value!).

I like Sarah Raven too. Last year the tomato plants I got from her were excellent and I had tomatoes much earlier than friends who grew from seed. She offers very good varieties in my experience

I got my strawberries and asparagus from Ken Muir, and all my fruit trees in general. They've been very productive.

Not gardening express, google the reviews, I have just been through a really awful experience with them. Also crocus who have gone downhill and awful customer service, I lost a lot of money through them.

Recent success has been with Sarah Raven and Thompson and Morgan. Avon bulbs too but not sure if they would have what you are after.

Honestly I wouldn’t touch them with a big bamboo cane

uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.gardeningexpress.co.uk

Or Crocus.

Mr Fothergills are good, especially for veg seeds.

Maybe I was just lucky with GE - have honestly had no problems. I even got a free mini willow tree with lemon and orange tree purchase! Glad Sarah Raven seems to be well-liked - I got a great range of tomato seedlings from her last year - green stripey ones, almost black ones and lovely beef tomatoes.

Everything in your list from beans onward I would do from seed. Much cheaper, and a far better range of varieties available. But plants are a useful back up if you mess up your seeds, or if you really have no space to grow things in pots for a while before planting out.

I get my seeds from Chiltern, and have done for over 30 years. Marshalls also seem good.

I used to get veg seeds from RealSeeds but they've got so popular they can't cope. They started opening at 9am on Saturday and closing as soon as they had enough orders to occupy them for a week (sometimes this meant closing only 2 hrs later) - but then they found there were too many people queueing on their computers at 9am Sat and their systems were falling over, so now they appear to be operating a random system. So if you don't want something that you can't get elsewhere, I'd suggest using someone else.

I second staying away from Gardening Express. Sent me a dead tree last year and the box plants spread blight to all the rest of my box. Non existent customer service. I have just had a lovely lot of plants from Beth Chatto. Also good service from Jacksons nursery.

I get my small veg plants (tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines, beans) from a roadside stall in our village.

Now, I realise that is not helpful to you (unless you live very near me) but there are quite a few of them round me, excellent plants at excellent prices (and no air miles!) so it might be worth keeping an eye out near you.

Also if you have a local FB group, people often give away/swap surplus seedlings.

Thank you all so much, this is all hugely helpful.

Local roadside stalls and friends/family would be my first choice, but then if they don't come through I may have missed my chance...

Am keeping all recommendations saved down for when we can start thinking about planting 😀

Waitrose garden good (fulfilled by crocus but JL customer service)

Hayloft plants
Farmer Gracy (mainly bulbs so far that I've had from them)
Hardy's plants

I won't ever buy anything other than seed from Thompson and Morgan again, too many disappointments. Relatively cheap for a reason.