Greenroots Garden Supply Review: Raised Beds, Tools and Seeds Put to the Test

A garden is one of the few purchases that tests a store over months, not days. A cheap tool will bend in the first dig, a badly cut bed will warp by August and a packet of tired seed will simply never come up. By then the store has your money and you have a bare patch of soil and a lot of patience to burn.

That is why we spent a whole growing season with Greenroots Garden Supply, an online store selling raised beds, hand tools, seeds and soil. We built two beds, sowed three trays of seed and used the tools most weekends from April to September, then judged the store on how well everything held up and how it behaved when we needed help.

What Greenroots sells#

The core of the catalogue is a range of cedar raised beds in four sizes, from a 60 x 120 cm starter ($74) up to a 120 x 240 cm double bed ($189). Alongside are forged hand tools (trowel, fork, hori-hori knife, secateurs), watering gear, seed collections and a few bags of compost. Prices for tools start at $14; seed packets cost $6 each.

Product pages give board thickness, wood species and weight, and each bed lists how much soil it holds. Seed packets state the year of harvest, the germination test date and the germination rate, which is a rare and very useful detail.

How we tested#

We bought a 90 x 180 cm bed ($119), a 60 x 120 cm bed ($74), a trowel, a hand fork, secateurs and six seed collections. Over the season we:

• Assembled both beds and timed the job, then checked for gaps and warp after four months of rain and sun.

• Logged germination for 40 seed varieties against the rate printed on the packet.

• Used the tools for planting, weeding and pruning, and inspected them monthly for bending, rust and loose handles.

• Contacted support twice and used the returns process on a faulty item.

The beds#

The beds are the highlight. Boards are 25 mm untreated cedar, and corner posts slot together with no screws or tools, which made assembly a 20-minute job for one person. After four months outdoors, the boards showed a light silvering, with no cracking and only a 3 mm bow on the longest side of the big bed, well within what cedar does naturally. Cedar is resistant to rot without chemical treatment, which matters if you plan to grow vegetables.

The catch is freight. The larger beds ship on a pallet, and delivery added $48 to the double bed. A 90 cm bed cost $32 to ship. That is fair for the weight, but it should be shown before checkout, not at it.

Seeds#

Germination was strong. Of 40 varieties, 34 came within five percentage points of the packet's stated rate, and only two (a coriander and a tender basil) underperformed. Greenroots states which of its seeds suit a short season and which need a long warm one, and the postcode-based planting calendar saved me from sowing too early in a cold April.

Selection is limited. The store focuses on temperate climates, and gardeners in hot, dry regions will find fewer suitable varieties.

The tools#

The forged hori-hori knife and hand fork are excellent: heavy in the hand, sharp out of the box and still solid after a season. The oiled ash handles have a real feel. The trowel we bought, however, is a lighter stamped model at $14, and it bent at the neck when I prised out a buried stone. Greenroots replaced it at once, and the forged $32 trowel is clearly the better choice.

Secateurs stayed sharp and closed cleanly after a season of use. The lifetime guarantee on handles is a nice touch, though you have to register the tool to claim it.

Shipping, service and returns#

Small orders arrived in three business days, in recycled paper packaging with no plastic. Beds took five to seven days on a pallet, with a call from the driver beforehand.

Support was a pleasure. A question about whether untreated cedar is safe for edible crops got a detailed reply from a horticulturist within two hours, including a note on lining the base with cardboard. Returns are accepted within 60 days on unused items and within 12 months on defects, and the bent trowel replacement arrived in four days with no argument.

Price and value#

A cedar bed at $119 is fair: garden centre equivalents run $140 to $180 for similar quality, and the kits are easier to assemble. Seeds at $6 a packet are pricier than supermarket seed, but the tested germination rates make up for it. The forged tools are worth their price; the stamped trowel is not.

Who should buy, and who should skip#

Buy from Greenroots if you are starting a vegetable garden, want untreated cedar and value seed with honest test data.

Skip it if you garden in a hot, dry climate, need many varieties or want the lowest price on tools. For a calm corner to enjoy your harvest in, our Fernwood review covers indoor greenery.

The verdict#

Greenroots Garden Supply earns 4.3 out of 5. The beds and forged tools are excellent, the seed data is honest and support is knowledgeable. Freight charges and the fragile budget trowel are the only serious complaints.

Disclosure: we bought everything ourselves. Some links on this site are affiliate links. See our review policy.