Seeds from China

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Comments

  • gardneto76
    gardneto76 Posts: 528 ✭✭✭✭

    Some people in AZ Gardening groups have gotten them. We have been warned against plant them, however our Ag. Department has identified 14 different herb seeds, including rosemary. @tomandcara purple sweet potatoes grow from slips not seeds. The slips would not have survived a shipment from China, as it is a live vine.

    I believe the packages were labeled as jewelry to allow them to get into the country as plants and seeds cannot come in.

  • Marjory Wildcraft
    Marjory Wildcraft Posts: 1,615 admin

    oh @KimWilson so you actually got some? The best way to destroy seed is to heat them up in the oven for a 'while' like 20 minutes or so should do it?

  • KimWilson
    KimWilson Posts: 197 ✭✭✭

    @Shalamee Does anyone else think that this looks like a calendula seedling? In any event, as one who also got unsolicited seeds from China, I would be very tempted to pull these up asap and mail the remains to the state Department of Agriculture. I have looked the Dept up for my state, which is Arizona, and they have an address set up to deal with these seeds and such.

  • Marjory Wildcraft
    Marjory Wildcraft Posts: 1,615 admin

    Ah! Just saw this article about 'brushing'. This is a more plausible, and less nefarious explanation...

    Published in Fortune, it looks like it's a scam for getting reviews on Amazon?

    Some quick snippets from the article

    The USDA and FBI are still investigating the packages—which reportedly include seeds for grass, cucumbers, and melon—but the growing consensus among law enforcement is that they are part of a "brushing" scam.

    ....Brushing is a shady way to boost the popularity of an online merchant by sending out unsolicited packages containing items of little value. The merchant—or more commonly a "brusher" middleman who they pay—writes positive reviews using the names of the recipients.

    Apparently, it is a way to boost rankings on an platform like Amazon.


  • kbmbillups1
    kbmbillups1 Posts: 1,390 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Hoping this will give everyone a laugh! Stole the picture from my friend on facebook.


  • AngelaOston
    AngelaOston Posts: 249 ✭✭✭

    I got some seeds in April and another packet in May. Planted a few of both in my inside grow room. Only one from may made it. Its a lovely curly parsley. Tastes great 😎


  • tomandcara
    tomandcara Posts: 712 ✭✭✭✭

    @Marjory Wildcraft Thank you for the "brushing" reference and link. Makes a lot of sense, and as you said, it is not so nefarious.

  • Jannajo
    Jannajo Posts: 173 ✭✭✭

    'Think outside the box!' @AngelaOston Congratulations! 'Birds of a feather flock together'? I'm with u, though I STILL might question the safety for our microbiome from ingesting.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin

    @junefran1 & @Shalamee, welcome here!

    I would like to add that if you are in the US, please contact the

    US DEPT OF AG

    1(800)877-3835

    Many types of seeds appear to be being sent out & received. It would be in everyone's best interest to turn them over to the authorities of your respective country ASAP, whether still seed or as young plants.

    Considering that the govts of Canada & the US have strict rules on plant materials coming through their borders for the very legitimate reasons of fungus, insects, potential invasiveness & various diseases among most likely other things, it is very important to do our part to keep our personal gardens & food supply safe & to not keep these out of curiosity.

    Nobody knows for sure the reasons behind these mystery seed packets. It could be harmless for all we know, but it is still illegal for whatever company this is to engage in this deceptive practice.

  • shllnzl
    shllnzl Posts: 1,820 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @kbmbillups1 Thanks for the photo -- I haven't laughed so hard in years.

    Sand spurs are something I discovered here in Utah since my move and they are a particularly nasty weed. Those and puncture vines (Goat's Head) weeds make walking my dogs difficult in this neighborhood. My small dog stepped on some sand spurs and started limping: I picked her up to clear her feet and had trouble getting the spurs out of her fur, and then they transferred to my shirt....

    My dogs are mostly kept on our property where I can keep those two types of weeds, plus tumbleweeds under control. Wildflowers are taking over, thank goodness.

  • silvertipgrizz
    silvertipgrizz Posts: 1,990 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I would hope the country's state ag's would tell us what they find regarding these seeds. Surely it does not take long to test them for toxins or worse....

    Anyway this is a pretty good article on it today.

    I still say burn them....after all our own govt has misplaced some dangerous bugs...like for example..small pox.. and the resess monkeys infecteted with the so called 'species jumped' marburg or ebola strain...I can't remember which now..in Virginia of all places..it's a wonder that didn't melt down the entire country...

  • AngelaOston
    AngelaOston Posts: 249 ✭✭✭

    What americans think the seeds are

    And the reality

    Kinda similar; but not really 😱

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin

    Canada says to freeze the seeds for a period of time to hopefully kill any eggs or insects & contact the local CFIA.


  • nicksamanda11
    nicksamanda11 Posts: 755 ✭✭✭✭

    It's possible that the seeds are simply a diversion. They probably are harmless but are hiding something that is not. While everyone is stirred up about the seeds there is an agenda carried out behind the scenes. basically.

  • Ethereal Earth
    Ethereal Earth Posts: 142 ✭✭✭

    @LaurieLovesLearning interesting on the freezing them part. Probably something should do in the US as well until the proper people can get them. I'd put them in a bucket or a ziplock or something though just in case.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin

    @Ethereal Earth It does make sense. If you don't want bugs hatching in your grains used for flour, you freeze it too.

    If there are live bugs in it, the authorities would be able to spot that when they received the package to inspect it.

  • KimWilson
    KimWilson Posts: 197 ✭✭✭

    Got even more unsolicited seeds from China yesterday.

  • erikawinterton
    erikawinterton Posts: 98 ✭✭✭

    Last year my husband and I purchased a bunch of seeds from China. We received the ones we paid for and a couple more "gift" seed packets.

    I actually saw this as a small business owner just doing "something extra" for customer appreciation, product awareness (knowing the various other seeds they sold), and customer retention.

    I could see the brushing scam being likey due to this past experience, but the strangeness they would be labeled "jewelry" is what has me wondering...

    Along with that...

    I am also always suspicious of what main stream media covers and why they cover it, so that also leads me to wonder why they need to "reinforce" common suspicions against China.

    I suppose the "right" thing to do is follow protocol and turn them into the respective authorities. 🙃

  • Deb113
    Deb113 Posts: 42 ✭✭✭

    I had ordered oriental radishes so I did get them, but They were okay.

  • norabelehcim
    norabelehcim Posts: 58 ✭✭✭

    Has anyone looked.at patterns of.who receives seeds? TikTok subscribers, for.example,.or.??

  • Ethereal Earth
    Ethereal Earth Posts: 142 ✭✭✭

    @norabelehcim That is interesting, I saw one article said it was people who had previously purchased seeds on Amazon, but who really knows.


    @KimWilson is this your second set of seeds to arrive? They must really like your address.

  • AngelaOston
    AngelaOston Posts: 249 ✭✭✭

    I purchased seeds on amazon - so maybe thats why i got them. They really are harmless . They’ve been tested. There just seeds

  • ceriridenour
    ceriridenour Posts: 52 ✭✭✭

    From the other end of the telescope-What if someone in China feels bad about all that has happened because of the virus (whether they were involved or not) and so they are sending out seeds for an ancient medicinal plant that will heal the virus? Everyone I have talked to has immediately said it is just another ploy for them to destroy us. But what if it is an ancient cure?

  • shllnzl
    shllnzl Posts: 1,820 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I just read that Amazon is now banning sales of all seeds and/or plants from outside the United States.

  • AngelaOston
    AngelaOston Posts: 249 ✭✭✭

    The parsley i grew above, from the seed, is quite flavorful. And distinct from the Italian varieties. Its broader, darker and glossier.