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What to check on tomato seeds UK listings

Updated: 16 October 2026

You are one click from a tomato seed packet on amazon.co.uk, somewhere between £2.49 and £7.95, and the title, the unit count and the brand field do not always describe the same object. These checks are how you read tomato seeds UK listings before you pay. The [tomato seeds comparison](/hub/herb-seeds/tomato-seeds) holds the eleven packets and the prices. This page does not pick a winner. Sowing is on [how to sow tomato seeds](/hub/herb-seeds/tomato-seeds/sub/tomato-seeds-how-to-sow). Once a listing is coherent, [which packet fits you](/hub/herb-seeds/tomato-seeds/sub/tomato-seeds-best) matches it to a greenhouse, a pot or a sauce pan. Products Compared read these listings on 15 October 2026. Nothing here is a laboratory germination test.

You are one click from a tomato seed packet on amazon.co.uk, somewhere between £2.49 and £7.95, and the title, the unit count and the brand field do not always describe the same object.

Our top picks

Just Seed Just Seed Sungold F1 tomato seeds

Best overall

Just Seed Just Seed Sungold F1 tomato seeds
9.5/10about £3.65
View offer
Just Seed JustSeed Moneymaker tomato seeds

Best value

Just Seed JustSeed Moneymaker tomato seeds
9.3/10about £2.75
View offer
Meldon Seeds Meldon Moneymaker tomato seeds

Alternative

Meldon Seeds Meldon Moneymaker tomato seeds
9.3/10about £2.95
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Six checks before you pay
  2. 2.What the label rule actually requires
  3. 3.Three listings that do not agree with themselves
  4. 4.Marks that are claims, not certificates
  5. 5.When the packet is clear enough to sow

Six checks before you pay

Read the variety, the supplier, the count, the habit, and any organic or F1 mark before you look at the price. A clash on those points beats a low price, because you cannot sow a contradiction. The Royal Horticultural Society says a proper packet should tell you the habit, and Gardeners' World says know cordon or bush, then match the space and the plate. JustSeed's Moneymaker shows the split. The title and the unit count both say 100 seeds at £2.75, so the count passes, and the habit fails: a 65 cm attribute is not a training plan. Meldon's Moneymaker says indeterminate, about 1.5 metres, side-shoots removed, 0.5 cm and 18–21°C.

What the label rule actually requires

Schedule 3 of the Seed Marketing Regulations 2011 says a supplier's label for standard vegetable seed should carry "GB rules and standards", the species, the variety, the marketing year and the supplier. That phrase is not a germination percentage for your windowsill. Amazon attribute fields on tomato seeds UK pages are not that label. A unit count of 1 beside a title that says 50 seeds is a marketplace clash, not the exception for a small packet. The phrase does not turn the word organic in a material line into a certificate anyone has inspected for this comparison.
Just Seed Just Seed Sungold F1 tomato seeds

Testsieger

Just Seed Just Seed Sungold F1 tomato seeds
9.5/10about £3.65
View offer

Three listings that do not agree with themselves

Black Cherry, B0GCNVYCL3, is the count clash. The title says 40 seeds, the unit count says 50, and one review counted 34 seeds plus a husk. The brand field says Generic and the manufacturer line says Nika seeds. Gardener's Delight, B0FL7W9CJZ, fails the supplier check. The title says Johnsons and the brand field says Mr Fothergill's. The unit count is 20 grams. You still cannot name the packer from the listing. San Marzano, B0DVB9X1MD, fails colour, count and height together. The title says a pack of 50 and the unit fields say 1. The colour attribute says yellow and the height says 20 inches, while the bullets say a red indeterminate plum. The care line says 1 inch deep, unlike Meldon's 0.5 cm.

Marks that are claims, not certificates

Organic here is the seller's sentence. None of the organic lines or registration numbers in this set was checked on a register, so do not treat the attribute as the certificate. F1 is a different mark, and it is not a GM label. Schedule 3 says a genetically modified variety must be stated on the label. None of these eleven listings says GM. Sungold is the only title that says F1, so saved seed will not come true, which is the choice on F1 or open-pollinated tomato seeds. Heirloom is not a legal category or organic.

When the packet is clear enough to sow

A usable listing names the variety, the supplier, the habit and the sowing depth, even when the count is modest. Meldon's Moneymaker does that in 18 seeds at £2.95, including three plants per grow-bag once they are 20 cm high. Meldon's Ailsa Craig does the same job with 30 seeds at £2.99 and the seller's date of 1925. Clear instructions are still not a germination rate. Pause on listings that contradict themselves, not on a packet that simply omits a count the regulations allow it to omit.

Common questions

What should I read on a tomato seed listing before I pay?
Read the variety, the supplier, the seed count, the habit, and any organic or F1 wording before the price. On this set the price runs from £2.49 for Black Krim to £7.95 for a four-variety kit, so a low price does not repair two counts or two colours.
Does "GB rules and standards" mean the packet was germination-tested for me?
No. Under Schedule 3 of the Seed Marketing Regulations 2011, that phrase belongs on a supplier's label with the species, variety, marketing year and supplier. It is not a germination percentage for your tray. Small packets up to 500 grams need not state how many seeds are inside.
The title says 40 seeds and the unit count says 50. Which number is the fact?
Neither number wins. On the Black Cherry listing both figures are printed, and one review counted 34 seeds plus a husk. Until you open the packet you do not have a counted fact. Treat the clash as a reason to hesitate, not as a puzzle you solve by averaging the two figures.
Why does the title say Johnsons and the brand field say Mr Fothergill's?
On Gardener's Delight, B0FL7W9CJZ, both names are in the same amazon.co.uk file. The title says Johnsons. The brand field and the manufacturer line say Mr Fothergill's. The listing does not explain the mismatch, and the unit count is 20 grams.
Is "organic" on an Amazon attribute a certificate?
Not on the evidence in this file. It is the seller's wording. Black Krim, JustSeed Moneymaker and Sungold F1 all carry an organic line. JustSeed also prints Defra 7291 and, on Moneymaker, organic registration AP23164. Those numbers were not checked against a register, so they stay claims.
Is a missing seed count itself a broken label?
Not by itself. Schedule 3 allows small packets up to 500 grams to leave the count off. A missing count is still awkward beside £2.75 for 100 stated seeds. A clash, such as 50 in the San Marzano title and 1 in the unit field, is a different problem from a legal omission.

Related pages

GB rules and standards on seed packets

Tomato seeds

Best tomato seeds UK: the packet that fits the job

F1 or heirloom tomato seeds: which packet should you buy

Greenhouse or outdoor tomatoes: where they will stand

How to sow tomato seeds in the UK: month, heat, depth

Sources

Public UK sources named for this comparison. Listings read on 15 October 2026.

  1. RHS, How to grow tomatoes (retrieved October 2026)
  2. RHS, Tomato blight (retrieved October 2026)
  3. Gardeners' World, How to grow tomatoes (23 May 2025) (retrieved October 2026)
  4. Seed Marketing Regulations 2011, Schedule 3 (retrieved October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK, Plant breeders' rights (retrieved October 2026)
  6. amazon.co.uk listings for the eleven packets, read 15 October 2026 (retrieved 15 October 2026)