taste web store FAQ section

First of all, if the fonts of this website seems a little small, click on the View-->Zoom feature in your browser's menu to make everything larger so that you can read our item descriptions better. If you want to see the newest harvest, do not use the Filter By Date feature, instead, please look through the FRESH CURRENT MONTH Category. Now if you are just browsing this store for inspiration, the best way to navigate through is to just zero in on the category you like, and then look through the list available All items are listed by botanical name and common name (if available). If you have something specific in mind, type in part of the name in the search box and the item will be brought up to you if we stock it.

First of all, check whether it has been moved to the FRESH CURRENT MONTH category. If it is not there, it means that the item has become sold-out or is older than 1 to 2 years old so we have taken it off the list. If you want to informed when we have new harvest, email us using the Ask The Seller button.

Your order will be shipped within 24 hrs of full payment receipt. If there is a delay, it will most probably be because we are out of the seeds you ordered, and need to go collect more; or because it is a weekend/public holiday and our post office is closed. We will contact you via email after mailing. For the US, expect to receive the seeds in 4 to 5 days after we mail, give or take a few days. For overseas, your order can take anywhere from 2 weeks to a month, depending on your customs and your postal service. Please note that all mails are sent using first-class USPS service. For orders including plants, shipment is via USPS priority mail. In the US, this usually takes 2 to 3 business days from date of mailing. For overseas destination, this usually takes 7 to 14 days.

It means the plant is only winter hardy outdoor for zones 7, 8, 9, 10 and tropical. If you are in a zone cooler than the stated, then you need to containerize the plant and bring indoor/into a greenhouse during winter.

Type in your zipcode into this website to find your zone: http://www.gardenweb.com/zones/zip.cgi

Yes for most of the seeds. However, there might be some items that we do not have germination info of. These are usually the freshest harvest, or the ones that we have very limited stock of, or the ones that have just set seeds for the first time this year. We encourage our buyers to research the web for additional info for all items ordered. Most of the seeds we offer are easy to germinate, but since we do specialize in the rare ones, those might take quite a bit of gardening skill to break down dormancy (otherwise they won't be considered rare, right ?:-)). Also, please be informed that the germination info provided may not be for current batch of harvest, it may be info based on previous harvest (we do not have time to test-germinate every harvest) and it also may be info based on feedback from past buyers.

Seeds are live products which depend on many important grower skills such as proper planting time, seed depth, type of soil, watering, light intensity, proper use of fertilizers, weed controls, fungicides, insecticides, soil conditions, and reasonable weather during the growing period. These factors are totally out of our control, and germination and growing results are the buyer's responsibility and risk. We cannot be responsible for buyers growing methods or mistakes. We can only promise that seeds will be fresh (at most 1 to 2 years old). Starting from May 2010, our items will include harvest date so that you can decide for yourself if an item is too old for purchase/sowing. If you have any concern about germination, we suggest that you try out a few items first and then if they do well for you, come back to get to more. If germination is a concern or if you are not comfortable growing stuff from seeds, you might want to check out the cuttings and plants listed in eclecticplants.ecrater.com instead.

Yes for most of the seeds, as they are all fresh harvests and can be kept for at least 2 years before sowing. You can store them in a jar/air-tight container with some silica gel/dry milk to absorb moisture. The container should be placed in a cool dark place such as a cupboard or the fridge (not the freezer). However, there are some seeds that should be sown as fresh as possible, and these will be indicated in the sowing instructions provided. Also, for some of the newest and relatively unknown seeds, we ourselves do not know how long they can be kept, so if in doubt, please sow as soon as possible.