June 4, 2013 - Ed Hume Seeds Customer Service & Deadheading

Ed Hume Seeds Customer Service

After my recent experience with the sugar snap peas that weren't, I decided I'd write to Ed Hume Seeds to let them know that what I bought wasn't what I got.  I must say, the company is very quick to respond.  I had the same thing happen last year, when I purchased their Dwarf Cherry Rose Nasturtium seeds, the flowers of which turned out to be a common orange color.  I refused their offer to refund the price of the nasturtium seeds, but since I'd paid nearly $5 for the sugar snaps, plus tax and shipping, I accepted the offer of a refund on them.  I was also vindicated on my nasturtium complaint....it wasn't just me, and I'm not color blind!

Hi Carol:
    I have checked with everyone on the staff and none of their peas are bearing yet. And, I have not had any negative comments about the variety Sugar Lace other than yours.
    The peas come from an Idaho grower, with a top notch reputation.  Their pea varieties are grown in Eastern Washington, Oregon and Idaho.  I looked at the test label and it reads 99.5% purity and 87% germination. Having worked in the bulb industry in my early days I know occasionally a rouge variety will appear in a crop...it's usually one plant which is overlooked by the crew.  So that may explain the reason for the one plant with purple flowers. (Probably the variety Sugar Grey.)
    By-the-way, I am not certain if I ever wrote you about the Dwf. Cherry Rose nasturtium situation.  We found out the California flower grower had sold out to a Dutch growers.  Apparently in the transfer, somehow the varieties, either here in the USA or when they arrived in Holland got mis-labeled. You would have thought they would have caught the color difference/name when the plants were flowering in the field...but they didn't.
    Carol, I will send you a refund for the two packets of peas and your $2.00 mailing fee.  It may be tomorrow before it goes out in the mail, as I think I have already missed today's mail.
    Thanks for letting us know about this condition, so we can do something about it!
   Wishing you a most successful and bountiful gardening season!
    Ed Hume
    Ed Hume Seeds, Inc.        

So....I will continue to be a customer, as I have for many years.  Mistakes are made, but good customer service can make up for them.

Deadheading

A job I dislike doing, mainly because it means the end of a period of beautiful blossoms, is deadheading.  But deadhead I must if I want a pretty garden and bountiful blossoms next year.  

 The spent lilacs were removed as far up as I could reach without dragging out the ladder, and the chives were all cut back.  All that remains in this bed are volunteer alyssum, which are much prettier in person than they are in this photo.

 All of the dead flower heads were removed from the rhodies.  The big, healthy looking rhody had 80 blossom heads, the sickly looking smaller one had 79.  Yes, I counted as I cut them, it makes the job more interesting LOL!  Both of these get the same treatment, but the foliage on the one on the right never looks healthy.  The flowers, however, are always abundant and beautiful.

 Oh, how I hated to cut back the yellow lilies!  They are always such a welcome spot in the garden, and the aroma is heavenly.  but the blossoms had mostly faded, so off they came.  

There were a lot of blossoms on those plants!  A heaping wheelbarrow full!

 I did salvage a beautiful bouquet for the kitchen.

And another for the piano.  Now my entire house smells lovely!






30 comments:

  1. Wouldn't it be great if ALL companies had that approach to customer service? Glad they treated you so well! I'm ordering my seeds from them next time. I'm so tired of the lousy service from the "big boys"......

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    1. So right, Sue. You can't beat their $2 shipping, either. Except I can buy them for 1/2 price if I watch for the specials at our local Fred Meyer, so I try to stock up when they go on sale. Most years I just can't wait for the seed racks to go up, so I order my main supply from them on line.

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  2. That is great that you received such good customer service. You accomplished a lot of deadheading! A job that never seems done! Your bouquets are pretty! Nancy

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    1. Thanks, Nancy. Now I wish I had cut more of those lilies for bouquets while they were in their prime. Even though I'm constantly sneezing since I brought them inside! :-)

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  3. I am impressed by the customer service response from Ed Hume Seeds. Yes, mistakes do happen, but the way they corrected the mistake was very good.

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    1. Very true, Rachel. I guess that's why he's been in business for so many years. I like his product and I like his customer service.

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  4. That Ed Hume is one smart guy! I'll be giving him my business in the future. Anybody who treats Granny well is alright in my book.

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    1. Mrs. R., it's not a huge company, so there are vegetable/flower varieties they don't carry, but I probably buy 80-90% of my seeds from them. I've bought Ed Hume seeds for almost as long as I've been gardening!

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  5. The lilies look beautiful in the house!

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    1. Vanessa, I just love them! I get so many of them, I don't know why I don't bring in more bouquets throughout the blooming season.

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  6. Nothing like good customer service! And nothing quite as bad as bad customer service, either! It is a real pet peeve of mine.

    I think I remember seeing Ed Hume on TV when we lived in Oregon.

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    1. Ray, as long as I've grown my garden with Ed Hume seeds, I didn't realize he was a "real" person! After you said you'd seen him on TV, I Googled him and found he's not only real, but 81 years old and still actively working in his company!

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  7. I can only wish we had such a great customer service here. Every year I have problems with my seeds and the companies don't care. This year I bought potatoes 11lbs of Marabel potatoes and instead of them there are at least 3 different types of potatoes growing. And when you complain the response is "how can we be sure you planted what you bought from us and not from somebody else". :/

    Btw Still loooove your lilies!! They are just amazing! ♥

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    1. Leanan, I've been pretty lucky so far, but I do buy most of my seeds locally (I consider Ed Hume's Oregon company local). I'll never order from Burpee again, but I seldom order seeds anyway (I refuse to pay the big dollar shipping prices). At least Hume only charges $2 shipping. Ohio Heirloom Seeds is another company I'll buy from, as their s & h charges are very reasonable.

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  8. So, for chives, do you just cut the flowers off?

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    1. Langela, I cut them back to about 2-3". I don't think you can kill them, LOL! I'm on chive overload, as I let them grow as flowers. There's no way we could eat all of them. Of course, right now I have those lovely baby red potatoes and no chives to sprinkle over the tops :-(

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  9. i read the letter from Mr. Hume, and kept thinking, "who the heck is carol? this annie, or granny!"

    even i know annie is the dog, i always think of you as annie or granny. i am very silly.

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    1. Donna, you aren't the only one! That's why I like to be called "Granny", but most still call me by the dog's name, LOL! I probably should change the name of my blog to "Granny's Kitchen Garden", but I think someone already has that name.

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    2. it's a good thing your Dog has a human name. My friends dachshund's name is Guinness, although he came with that name. Otherwise we would be calling you Guinness

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    3. We usually call Annie "Sissy" ('cause she's Otto's sister). She only gets called by her real name when she's being scolded, which isn't very often.

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  10. Beautiful piano corner setup, Carol. Just Lovely.

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    1. Thank you, Cloud! Most guys probably wouldn't even notice!

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  11. always nice to hear a positive customer service story! Looks like you were very busy deadheading!

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    1. It was, Mrs. P., and just in time. I got it done before the daytime temps went way up into the mid-90s!

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  12. I can smell your lilies from here :)

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    1. So can I, Sarada......achoo! I'm still sneezing! It's worth it, though.

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  13. Your lilies are so amazing! I've never had much luck with bulbs. :( Did you plant a huge mass of them, or only a few that have spread and are trying to take over the world? Mine look so sad right now, but I just planted them this Spring and I'm happy they popped up at all.

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    1. Anywhere, I planted the bulbs in the fall of 2009, but Annie dug them up. I salvaged what I could and stuck them in a pot of soil, then left for the winter in AZ. I planted them the following spring (2010) and this is what they looked like that year when they blossomed. You can see there might have been maybe 6 bulbs.

      http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Di5FEUV8sqI/S--C2zKZQYI/AAAAAAAAFKs/dJITScixvJQ/s400/2010-05-15+Lilies.jpg

      By 2011 they looked like this:

      http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nr7aC3DHyaI/TfLufURP59I/AAAAAAAAH0w/y3Amvfheg54/s400/2011-06-09%2BYellow%2BLilies%2B%252801%2529.jpg

      Last spring (2012) they looked like this, and I thinned them out that fall.

      http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VumGwLmSYmo/T77NO8RYIzI/AAAAAAAAKbQ/9lq-qjLOspk/s640/2012+05-24+lilies.jpg

      This spring they were huge!

      http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LHqDyb4nNqQ/UabG91qPyGI/AAAAAAAAO2c/0qu3D1bUjVg/s640/2013-05-29+Garden+(02).jpg

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  14. Good customer service means a lot.

    Your lilies are lovely and I appreciate what dead heading does for plants. I can also relate to dog-digging.

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    1. Thanks, NellJean. Luckily, Annie gave up on the digging unless she happens to get into the veggie garden! That's why it's securely fenced. She thinks "garden beds" are for sleeping on.

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