Frequently Asked Questions...

 

1: Is there a tracking number with my order?

No, you will not receive a tracking number with your order. To minimize potential issues with customs at the border, and to keep our shipping fee low, we ship by Standard Lettermail only. This is our preferred shipping method, as it does not require us to register the mail and declare it's contents, which greatly reduces the risk of it being inspected and subsequently seized at the border.

We ship your seeds discreetly in a plain white, legal-sized envelope containing a greeting letter and growing instructions. It just looks like we've mailed you a letter.
In our experience, this is the safest, most economical way to get your seeds to you, reliably. Unfortunately, this economy service does not provide tracking. 

US RESIDENTS: There is a free service provided by USPS called "Informed Delivery", that if you sign up for, they will email you greyscale images of incoming lettermail that is soon to be delivered to your address.
Many of our customers in the US have reported to us that they were able to see and track the whereabouts of the envelope we sent them a few days in advance of it being delivered, using this free service. 

Here is a link to USPS Informed Delivery: www.usps.com/manage/informed-delivery.htm 

2: Where is my order? It says it was shipped but I have not yet received it. How long does shipping take?

Shipping times will vary depending on your location...

Canada 🇨🇦: We are located in British Columbia. Depending on your province's proximity to us, shipping will normally take 3-10 days.

United States 🇺🇸: Shipping to the US is generally 2-3 weeks for most states, but have known to be as early as a week in some states that are in closer proximity to us.
We're located on the west coast of Canada in BC, so generally the further east and/or south your state, the closer to the 3 week mark it will be.
The furthest south-eastern states such as Florida, Lousiana, Virginia, Georgia, etc, can even take up to a month.

International 🌎: Shipping times for overseas countries can vary greatly depending on your country's postal service but is generally 2-3 weeks...
*Countries located in Oceania, such as Australia and New Zealand can sometimes take up to a month. 

We understand most people are anxious to receive their seeds once they place an order with us, especially when it's planting season and time is of the essence.
We always suggest ordering a month in advance of when you plan to sow your seeds, just in case there are any delays with the postal service.
To minimize wait times, we do our best to get your order out the door and in the mail by the next business day. After that, we're at the mercy of the postal services of the world to do their job.
Fortunately, they are normally pretty good and deliver in a timely manner, however, there are times when things can take a little longer than usual, so we just ask that you remain patient and allow adequate time to pass before you worry that something has gone wrong with your shipment. 

To ease your mind, it's extremely rare that we ever have an order not make it to it's destination.
Out of hundreds of envelopes mailed out each year, we might end up with 1 or 2 that mysteriously dissappear. The rest, even when they are running later than normal, usually arrive within one month's time. 

 

3: Are your seeds washed?

We get this question occasionally and the short answer is no, our seeds are not washed. However, due to the way we harvest our seeds, carefully by hand, when the seed pods are dry, there is no latex residue on the seeds.

So, while our seeds are technically not washed, they are as "clean" as if they were. 

 

4: How do I know I got the correct amount of seeds? Do you count them?

Poppy seeds are tiny and it can be difficult to judge how many are in the package, especially since different varieties of poppy have different sized seeds and can even vary in size, crop to crop. Some seeds are twice the size (and weight) of others. 500 seeds of one variety could look like 1000 seeds of another variety, and vice versa.

To ensure our customers get, at minimum, the advertised amount of seeds, we measure them by weight. We have a very sensitive laboratory scale that can weigh down to the microgram and detect the weight of just a few seeds. This allows us to be very accurate with the amount of seeds we give.

We originally manually counted out the advertised amount of seeds for each individual variety and made a note of the weight. When we weigh up your seeds, we go by that known weight and then add 200-300 hundred extra seeds as a "buffer" to compensate for any deviations. 
For example, when a listing says 500+ seeds, you will actually receive closer to 700-800 seeds (50% more than advertised). If the listing says 1000+ seeds, you'll receive closer to 1200-1300 seeds (25% more).

Finally...More popular varieties, we grow a lot more of, therefore we can be more liberal in the amount of extra seeds we give. Other less popular strains that we don't grow as much of, you will receive closer to the advertised quantity. 
Time of year may also affect the quantities we give. After the busy season, (just before spring) our inventories are low and we sometimes have to adjust how much extra we're giving away. Fall and winter are the best time to order, as we're fully restocked.
Regardless, you'll always receive more seeds than the advertised amount, it just depends on our inventory, how much more.


Tip: Poppy seeds are visually deceiving. There's usually a lot more than what it appears. Even to my trained eyes, 500 seeds looks like around 300.
If you have any doubt about your seed count, simply count out 100 seeds (or even 50), look at the size of the pile and then try to visualize and see if you think you have enough seeds left to create 4 more piles of the same size (or 9 more piles, if it's a 1000+ seed pack). 
Even better, if you have a good digital scale that can weigh down to the mircrogram, you can weigh the seeds yourself to confirm the seed count.

 

5: Do you sell in bulk quantities?

No, as a small craft grower, we simply don't grow enough to produce enough seed to sell in bulk quantities.


6: Do have offer any deals?

Sort of...For every $100 CAD (Approx. $75 USD) you spend, we will include a free pack of seeds with your order. If you have a preference for which variety you'd like for your freebie, you can write it in the order notes on the checkout page, requesting the variety of your choice and we will do our best to accomodate it. Otherwise, we try to pick something we think you'd like based on the other varieties you've purchased (ex. If you've bought Afghans, we'll usually throw in another Afghan variety). Other times it may be something from our personal seed stash that we don't have listed for sale, that we think the customer might like to try.
We also will normally include a sample pack of seeds for any order of $35 (CAD) or more. These will be usually be our less popular, cheaper varieties that we have lots of extra seeds. It will just depend what we have on hand that season. (We can't accomodate special requests for specific varieties for the sample packs, we're only offering up what we have a surplus of.)

7: What does "Izmir" mean in your listings?

Izmir is referring to Izmir Oil & Spice, which was an extremely popular Canadian poppy producer back in the late 90's and early 2000's.

They are believed to be responsible for importing the infamous Afghan Pink Special (Galania) poppy to North America and making the seeds commercially available for the first time through their mail order seed business. 
We acquired our genetics from them in the mid 2000's and use them in all of our hybrid crosses. Almost everything we grow originally came from Izmir's farm.

 

8: The tip option at checkout...


Not a question we've been asked, but something we'd like to address. Having the tip option at checkout was something we originally didn't like the idea of, but it came as a default setting with our web host and didn't know how to disable it.
Personally, I loathe that everywhere has a tip option these days. I think tips should be for service workers that go above and beyond their normal duties.
It wasn't until a customer brought something to my attention that I became okay with the tip option...
As the breeder here, I spend a lot of time chatting with new growers, from answering questions about growing, educating them on the different cultivars, their history/origin or trying to troubleshoot problems some people have with their plants.
One day, a customer I had spent a few days chatting back and forth with left a $20 tip. I was dumbfounded. I didn't feel right accepting it, so I messaged them and told them while it was very much appreciated, tips were not necessary, and that the option was there simply because we didn't know how to turn it off.
The customer said they left it because of all the time I had spent chatting with them about growing and answering their questions. I had not considered that before. I generally just enjoy talking plants with people, and don't expect anything for it, but truthfully it can sometimes be very time consuming, so it was a very nice gesture by the customer, to be compensated for the time spent. 
I decided that that as long as the customer is getting something for their tip, I don't need to feel bad about receiving it.

Therefore, we want everyone to know that tips are absolutely not expected. It is intended for people who feel they're gotten "above and beyond" service.
However, if anyone leaves a tip, for any reason (or no reason at all), we always give you something in return.
Depending on the amount of the tip, it may be extra seeds in your packs, a sample pack or a full pack of seeds, but you will always get something of equal or greater value to the amount tipped.
We are very appreciative of anyone who tips any amount and will always match the generosity via extra/bonus seeds.