Big ups to Yates...

Age : 35 Joined : 26 Apr 2008 Posts : 181 Location : Cairns

Well, I gotta say, if a company does something that's remotely good we should make some effort to praise them, because it's so few and far between.

Some of you may remember I was after the Yates Cacti Seed Mix but I was having troubles finding it in the supermarkets, Bunnings or Big W etc. Cairns isn't the world's largest city, but it most certainly is one of the poorest stocked cities!

So I wrote to Yates requesting the location of the seed or could I perhaps purchase it off them direct.

A person replied some 24 hours later and said, sorry, I don't think you can get it in Cairns, you could order it, but in the mean time I have sent you out a complementary bag of seed!

And today - just a few days after sending the email, it arrived.

I have to say, huge ups to one of our larger gardening companies - personally that is really special!

But perhaps a downer for another company named after an indigenous American spiritual leader... In early April I ordered 12 bags of seed of common(ish) cacti... and the package hasn't even been sent - in fact payment was only confirmed last week some four weeks after I paid!

I thinks they've been eating their cacti :p

I have just ordered $40 worth of seed from cactus-seeds.com as well - though that was Thursday last week. I still haven't heard from them yet either. I know the money went through, PayPal said so! I do hope they contact me soon with the promising news that seeds have been sent.

And I do hope that the ones mentioned above get off their pipes and pack my seed to - very very slow!

But, the big companies, who are usually the let down, I didn't even pay for the seed (though I did offer) and they sent it free and very quickly!

ps - I do not work for Yates haha! But I do believe their good deed deserves another Smile

pps - come on other Aussie companies, get ya act together!!!

Subject: Re: Big ups to Yates... Mon May 12, 2008 9:21 pm

Yates gave me a fungus gnat infestion from there crappy "premium" potting mix, bastards! Never again.
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mmm spikey...

Age : 35 Joined : 26 Apr 2008 Posts : 181 Location : Cairns

Hmmmm.. one up + one down = neutral outcome...

Oh well... :p

I purposefully buy crappy potting mixes...

Subject: Re: Big ups to Yates... Mon May 12, 2008 9:46 pm

Hope they germ for ya slim6y.
i got a packet of seed from a nursery the other week and none at all have germinated. They werent Yates seeds, cant remeber the name now, but they are crap anyways. Dunno why i went out and spent 6 bux on 15 bloody mystery seeds when i have far far too many tricho seeds that need my attention.

Age : 35 Joined : 26 Apr 2008 Posts : 181 Location : Cairns

Far too many tricho seeds you say PD? Well *ahem* their valuable attention can be given up here in the warm tropics... It'd be like sending them on vacation. Give you some peace and quiet round the house....

Smile

I have a nearly empty shadehouse just waiting for holiday makers like your trichos Razz

haha...

Well, I am certainly hoping for more than 0% success - even at 3% that's still be a few cacti Smile

but hoping for 10% or greater.

It says germination may take up to 12 weeks but in some cases months!

I have my heat cord al ready to go, my empty two footer fish tank and plenty of gnat free soil + home grown river sand (cooked to perfection)!

Subject: Re: Big ups to Yates... Mon May 12, 2008 9:54 pm

I have actually had some decent results from their seed mix, but i like to germinate rare and collectable seed and trichos too.

I just think their potting mix is poxy, I use Debco premium cacti and succulent with my own additives or my own special mix for rarer stuff.

They have some good products don't get me wrong, I just really dislike fungus gnats. Though not sure if they are entirely to blame for this. I think bad storage on the behalf of bunnings and nurseries is a factor in this fungus gnat scourge.
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mmm spikey...

Subject: Re: Big ups to Yates... Mon May 12, 2008 9:55 pm

Don't worry slim you are getting some of those seeds in the mail this week mate Wink

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mmm spikey...

Subject: Re: Big ups to Yates... Mon May 12, 2008 9:57 pm

Age : 35 Joined : 26 Apr 2008 Posts : 181 Location : Cairns

Actually I had been fortunate PD - until this weekend.. i got rocks... neigh.. Boulders in my potting mix!!! HAHA! As well as the usual assortment of sticks!

But that adds to the character of a real cheap potting mix... Smile

Age : 35 Joined : 26 Apr 2008 Posts : 181 Location : Cairns

Subject: Re: Big ups to Yates... Tue May 13, 2008 12:56 pm

I also received a nice fungus gnat infestation from bunnings Smile

Such a nice mob

Age : 35 Joined : 26 Apr 2008 Posts : 181 Location : Cairns

Also now big ups for Vlado and his cactus-seeds.com site - awesome package and a great price!

I was planting up some cereus yesterday from him, and I accidentally sneezed Sad

I think i recovered most of the scattered seed - but unless they start germinating on the wooden floor I don't think I will find them all (haha).

Still... I am very pleased with the seed. Can't comment on quality yet - but even if I get 20% success (that's my minimum aim) then I will be doing very very well!

Better get in before the temperature and humidity rises too much up here - ahhhh thank you for a tropical winter!

Joined : 16 Apr 2008 Posts : 20 Location : A-Town

vlados seed is normally pretty good. fresh and good germ rates.

Subject: Re: Big ups to Yates... Wed May 21, 2008 9:14 pm

Yeah i use Debco cati mix for everything.
It has quartz chips in it and the quartz brings out the colours
in cacti.

Subject: Re: Big ups to Yates... Wed May 21, 2008 9:20 pm

Debco is pretty good stuff. I have found recent batches to contain far too much pine chips though. I sieve these out and quite often add a bit of extra course sand. Really depends what I am potting up though. Searles is meant to be good, although I have never seen it in Sydney before.
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mmm spikey...