Q) How do I calculate the shipping charges for my order?

A) You don't need to. If you prefer, leave the shipping charges portion of your order form empty and we will calculate them for you. You can check the charges on the invoice which we send with your merchandise.

If, however, you want to complete this portion of the order form, here's how it works.

Natural Gardening Company has three basic product categories: seeds, plants, and hard goods. The relative weights and shipping requirements of the items in each category are different, so shipping charges for products from each category vary.

SEEDS. Seeds are light and compact. This makes them ideal for Priority Mail shipment. If you are buying seeds only, click on this category of the "Shipping Charges" portion of the order form and select the fees based on the dollar amount of your order. The only exceptions to this are bulk seed items such as seed potatoes, cover crop seeds, garlic and shallots which have their weights provided in the product descriptions. These items ship as hard goods.

PLANTS. Plants are perishable and must travel quickly. They always have a scheduled delivery date which you select. They are packed in special containers that are designed exclusively for plants. No other items go with plant shipments. Because of these special requirements plants need to be ordered separately from all other merchandise. They have their own special routing system here at Natural Gardening Company.

We ship plants using UPS Three Day and Priority Mail because we want them to reach you within three days of shipment.

When ordering plants click on the Seedlings section of the "shipping charges" portion of the order form. Find your costs based on your location and the number of plants you are ordering.

HARD GOODS. Hard goods encompass all non-seed and non-plant items such as tools, clothing, drip irrigation, propagation supplies, beneficial insects, fertilizer, and pest controls. Depending on the final weight of the box, we ship either Priority Mail or UPS (lighter boxes generally go Priority Mail, heavier ones UPS).

If your order includes both seeds and hard goods then the hard goods shipping charges apply.

Q) How many seeds are in a packet?

A) The number of seeds in a packet varies with the seed type. Here are the basic guidelines by which we operate:

• tomatoes: 25 - 35 seeds
• peppers: 20 - 30 seeds
• eggplants: 20 - 30 seeds
• lettuces: 1 gm.
• beans: 1 - 2 oz.
• peas: 1 - 2 oz.
• cucumbers: 15 - 20 seeds
• melons: 20 - 30 seeds
• squash: 20 - 30 seeds
• cabbage: 1.5 gm.
• basil: 1 gm.
• cilantro: 1 gm.
• parsley: 2 gm.

Q) Are all your plants certified organic?

A) Yes. The only exception is French Tarragon, which we do not grow ourselves, and for which we do not have an organic supplier. We occasionally have spot shortages of certain plants and have to go outside our greenhouses to meet demand. If this happens, we will make a note on the website and on your invoice that a certain variety is conventionally grown.