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On May 5, 2009, UlrikeDG Johnston, IA (Zone 5a) wrote:
On April 7, 2008, I ordered 75 strawberry plants from Cook's Garden. They didn't arrived until the first week of JUNE, 2008. There was no communication from the company telling me what was up with my order until I contacted them in mid-May, at which point I was told they'd be shipping "soon".
Half of the plants never broke dormancy after I planted them (in a raised bed with drip irrigation). Now it's spring 2009, and only 13 of them are still alive.
Their seeds may be fine, but for live plants, I'll be ordering from other catalogs from now on.
On Aug 19, 2008, EricaKane Jemez Springs, NM wrote:
I am a very experienced gardener and ordered a lot of seeds for this year's garden from Cook's. In general, the germination was extremely poor, with some items (cutting celery, yellow chard) not coming up at all despite repeated plantings. In addition, the instructions on the packets were inadequate, and sometimes just silly. Since I live in a challenging climate (7200 ft., very short spring, water-challenged), getting seeds into the ground on time is critical if I am to harvest before the "roasting" season. Very few of my cool weather vegetables from Cook's made it, although seeds from other companies did fine in the same conditions. I called the company, and a woman apologized and promised a refund. That wouldn't have saved my garden, but it was a nice gesture. But I never heard from them again. Will never order from Cook's ever!
On Aug 19, 2008, The Cook's Garden responded with:
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On Aug 21, 2008 9:40 AM, The Cook's Garden added:
Hello,
I am very sorry to hear that our seeds did not perform as they should have. We have a 100% satisfaction guarantee for all of our products at The Cook’s Garden. I checked your account and we show that we refunded your account for 5 packets of seed on June 24, 2008. Can you check our account to see if that refund came through? Please email me at Phofer@burpee.com.
Cheers.
Paul
.
On Sep 3, 2008 10:25 AM, The Cook's Garden added:
Erica,
We made a refund to your card for $16.05 on 6/23/08. The transaction was processed by our credit card company on 6/24/08. Can you check your credit card statement to see if that came through.
Thanks.
Paul"
I ordered quite a lot of vegetable and flower seeds from Cook's two years ago, at the same time I ordered seeds from two other companies. In nearly every case, the Cook's seeds were more expensive yet showed noticeably lower viability than the others, and completely failed to come up in some cases (parsnip, kale, stocks). I have been growing plants from seed for years and have never had such sprouting failures. In at least one case the Cook's seeds were mislabeled - Empress of India nasturtium, supposedly a premium red -orange variety, came up a common yellow nasturtium. And when I called the company to ask about some radish varieties that were incorrectly described in their catalogue, the person I talked to didn't have a clue, and couldn't find anyone who knew anything about their own products. My first big order from Cook's has been my last.
On Jan 2, 2008, The Cook's Garden responded with:
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On Jan 3, 2008 1:51 PM, The Cook's Garden added:
Hello,
We are sorry to hear about your poor performance with The Cook's Garden seeds. We provide a 100% satisfaction guarantee on all of our products. I have sent you an email. If you provide me with your name, we will promptly refund your money.
Cheers.
Paul"
