El Semillero is located on Calle 6, between Avenidas 2 & 4. Calle 6 is one-way heading south. About a block and a half south (on the right) is a pay parking lot. Their telephone is 2221-2983, and Web page -- http://www.elsemillerosa.com/ . It was founded in 1918 by Felipe Van der Laat. Supposedly you can order things through their web page, but it seemed pretty incomplete and out of date when I looked at it.
The staff was courteous and helpful. They sell all kinds of tools, fertilizers, and pesticides. They sell a few ornamental plants, and had flats of 2 kinds of lettuce and celery.
Most of the seeds I bought were sold to in quarter-ounce, sealed plastic bags, poured from tin cans. Almost all of them were treated with that electric pink fungicide. Most of the seeds came from Bonanza Seeds International, out of Yuba City, California ( web page: http://www.bonanzaseeds.com/ ).
I thought the prices were very reasonable, mostly in the 250 - 750 colon range, per quarter ounce. My local nursery charges 1,000 colones per quarter-ounce packet. I bought 15 packets and saved at least 7,500 colones.
For most vegetable varieties, they had only one type of seed. Still, the best selection I have seen in Costa Rica. Three things I wanted they didn't have -- peanuts, potatoes, and peas. The guy said they never carried any of these, and for potatoes, "Go to Cartago."
They seem to do a high volume of sales, meaning quick turnover of seeds, which is what we want for such a perishable product, in the tropics.
Happy gardening!
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