If you have read my overall review and guide of seed companies below, you will recognize this segment.
First, the most important note of any review. This post is NOT sponsored, as I have discussed elsewhere. I have never been contacted by anyone affiliated with Renaissance Seeds. I purchased all the seeds, paying full price.
Overview – All Notes Apply to Order within United States
Speed of Order Site to Door : VERY GOOD this year, likely because I ordered very early.
True to Type: YES – OUTSTANDING
Quality: OUTSTANDING
Communication/Customer Service: OKAY – this year. Each visit the website is less buggy, so they are improving.
Selection- OUTSTANDING for Tomatoes. I have never seen a better collection of different tomatoes types. Curtis must see tomatoes like Pokémon, cause he is clearly gonna grow them all. UNPARALLELED.
Price- OKAY, shipping is cheap (under 10$ in the States for my order) but I think seeds should always have free shipping for in-country customers. Generally, the price is currently approximately $3 for ten seeds, on average.
EXPERIENCE DETAILS – 2020 to 2022.
Storytime. Fall 2020 -for the summer 2021 garden- was the first year I purchased seeds from this farmer. I came across this vendor in a search for the Royal Hillbilly tomato, a hard to find red/pink tomato and a favorite of mine. The website was clunky and not streamlined, yet I was willing to try as I was intrigued by the VAST selection. Royal Hillbilly seeds were out of stock, yet I found a many other tomato varieties I wanted to try. The price was high for the amount of seeds you receive, but I reasoned that a small outfit with that many varieties has additional costs requiring that price, so I was fine with it. The average price for ten seeds was around $2.75. Shipping not included, yet the shipping costs for shipping in the United States are low. I ordered and did not receive an order confirmation or anything. Panicked yet oddly patient, I waited. A month or so after my order, I received my seeds in the mail. No email or text warning, just my seeds in the mail one day. So relieved!
I planted and grew the seeds the spring and summer of 2021 and can I just say WOW. ALL the tomatoes were true to type. Including the free seeds he sent along. All the seedlings were healthy and strong. The flavor of these tomatoes was absolutely out of this world. This man is clearly passionate about what he does, selecting the best tomatoes from his farm to source his seeds. His product descriptions show a loving care and passion for tomatoes and his seed quality and flavor backs that up.
Read the story of the Curtis Cheek tomato seed and purchase it. The flavor of that tomato is sublime and you cannot get it from any other vendor.
For this year, I purchased an obscene amount of seed types for the size garden I have. Only one type I wanted was out of stock at the time of order, Carbon, and it is in stock now. I received an order confirmation this time too! My seeds arrived about a week after purchase, beating Baker Creek. My overview reflects these improvements. I cannot wait to grow these tomatoes. In fact, I have a few tomato seedlings already up and they are healthy.
I do have to share the experience of a fellow seed buyer. They have let me know that the communication/shipping issues I experienced year one have returned as of February and March 2023. While I received confirmation of my order immediately and received the seeds in the mail within a couple of weeks the past two years, it may be because I ordered my seeds very early in the purchasing season. I would like all reading to be aware of potential delays and communication issues with Renaissance Seeds of Love, which is disappointing. Their selection is diverse, yet not responding to customer requests for information and order updates is not acceptable, in my opinion.
He and Fred Hempel… They can do no wrong with tomato varieties. One, a maestro of growing and selling all of the tomato varieties. The other, Fred Hempel, embodies the passion and palate for creating new varieties.
If you have the patience for communication issues, I can confirm, from my personal experience, the seeds are all true to type.
Link to Renaissance Seeds Below.
~C.Elisabeth at 8th Deadly Sin ORG, Garden Nerd.
I have been growing heirloom and uncommon tomatoes for a few years. Love to have a variety of great flavors and the price sure beats the grocery store, but I’ve found some companies are hit or miss about always giving you the right seeds. I’ll have to try this place soon — thanks for the recommendation!
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