In April, we announced that Territorial would suspend accepting any new orders until our substantial backlog of existing orders were processed and en route to customers. I am relieved to we have made substantial progress and we are again accepting new orders. We have also been able to reduce our shipping time significantly and are shipping most orders within a week. There are varieties that still need to be either received or packaged, so some orders may be delayed, but all items currently available on our website are either ready to ship now or will ship on their listed shipping date (for example, garlic doesn’t ship until the fall).

Our goal remains unchanged as we want to meet the gardening needs of as many patrons as possible without falling precariously behind in shipping. I would like to ask for your help during this stressful time to accomplish this, not only for you but also for your fellow gardeners. By placing your order and your trust in us during this time you acknowledge that you have read this notice and agree in principle with these temporary expectations.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING BEFORE YOU ORDER:

• As we move forward, it’s unknown to us what the order volume will be. If we find ourselves getting uncomfortably behind in shipping, we may need to cease taking new orders for short periods to focus solely on shipping existing orders. We will not accept new orders unless we think we can fulfill them.
• Please know our raw seed inventories are good, with some exceptions. If an item becomes unavailable, we will do our best to substitute it with an item of equal or greater value. If a replacement is unavailable, we will issue a refund.
• Orders are generally processed in the order which they are received. Due to increased call and email volume, please do not call or email to check on the status of your order unless it has been longer than the expected 7-10 day turnaround period.
• When your order is submitted, it’s instantly flowing in our order fulfillment system and it cannot be easily changed—even under normal circumstances. For the time being, once your order is placed, we will not be able to edit it. If you find that you need additional items, please place an additional order.
• We are currently running low on a few individual seed variety envelopes and thus will be substituting backup generic seed envelopes to expedite your order. These generic seed packet envelopes will have the correct specific variety information printed on the front of the packets, but the backs of the packets will be blank without our normal seeding and cultural material. Please refer to your catalog or our site for specific planting culture.

Hopefully soon things will settle back down, and we can once again go about our lives in a more normal mode. We will continue to provide our staff with a safe workplace and evolve to be as fast, streamlined, and efficient as possible. I hope this announcement will help you understand Territorial’s current state and our best guess as to what to expect from us before you entrust us with your next seed order.

Tom Johns

President, Territorial Seed Company