Unwins Seeds

It was back in 1903 that William Unwin sold his first sweet pea seeds. However, the story starts two years earlier, in the summer of 1901. One evening, after choir practice, he was showing two fellow choristers round the many rows of sweet peas he grew to send to the flower markets in London. Every operation - from sowing, through "roguing" (the elimination of off-types), to harvesting and sorting - is performed by hand. Seed is hand-picked into an apron-pouch and emptied into clearly-labelled sacks supported by metal tripods. On arrival at Unwins' premises in Britain, the seeds are then tested for vigour and their powers of germination in the company's seed testing laboratory, prior to packeting. Before packeting, most seed is stored in a special chamber which has an environment of 20C and 20% relative humidity, making the atmosphere about as dry as the Sahara Desert at midday. The seed is then hermetically sealed into foil sachets in this same room, so each sachet has its own micro-climate round the seed, keeping it in perfect condition until the seal is broken by the gardener about to sow. We are so confident with the quality of our seeds and plants that we offer a 100% money back guarantee.