If the thought of seed catalogues arriving in the mail doesn't make you smile and think of hours of enjoyable planning then you probably don't have a vegetable garden. Even if you have arrived at that lofty status of self sufficiency with heirloom seeds, you probably still enjoy seed catalogues. There are many different kinds, specialist catalogues catering to the many types of gardeners but, these days, the catalogue stops most gardeners from one stop shopping, each one offers something we can't possibly live without. Some are works of art, beautiful photographs of desirable vegetables and fruits trying to convince us that we can grow anything with 'their' seeds.
The catalogues that appeal to us are the ones that include gardening folklore, gardening trivia and short articles covering a variety of 'how-to' subjects. Catalogues also have to meet the networking requirements and standards of our fellow gardeners. Word soon gets round if a company lacks customer service or doesn't live up to the promises of their advertising. Of course you could just browse the internet, download the information, make your choices and order online, I'm sure many people do. We are of the generation that believe half the fun is sitting down with a cup of tea, using a pencil in the margin, making lists of what we will need in the coming year and finally coming to decisions in the New Year. We are not so old as to ignore the ease of online ordering once all the decisions have been made.
There is a common theme to the catalogues we have requested, their companies have all signed the safe seed pledge. Ironically it wasn't one of the pre-requisites for us initially, we just found that the companies we wanted to continue using also happened to be on the list of safe seed resources. If you are concerned about the quality and source of your seeds and prefer organic seed, you can check out the list of companies at
http://www.councilforresponsiblegenetics.org/ViewPage.aspx?pageId=261
We used to buy most of our seeds and seedlings from the Farm store or one of the many 'greenhouses' located outside the major stores in spring. Each spring we would travel to a nursery several miles away but have been disappointed enough times to not make the trip again. Last year we visited a local family who sell their seedlings at our closest Farmers' Market. A delightful couple who took the time to show us around their gardens and greenhouses. They shared stories of their successes and failures and this year we will go to them for any seedlings we may need. Except for our leeks! A friend recommended
http://www.morgancountyseeds.com/ and we were very happy with their product, their service, the quality of the plants..... and the price! They promise good, cheap and fast and they surely deliver on this promise. Last year we also ordered several types of dried beans from them and this year we will order leeks and limas.
One of the most beautiful catalogues must be from the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company
http://rareseeds.com/ Photographs, information, how-to's, and varieties of seeds for fruits and vegetables not to be found elsewhere. We will be ordering squashes and Belgian endive seeds from them.
Each winter we look at our supplies ( frozen, canned and dried) and decide how long they will last and which we will need to replenish in the coming seasons. We decide if there is a gap in our diet that we need to fill and if there is something we still buy that we could be growing for ourselves. The list we come up with is our starting point in the seed catalogues. We decide if we want to try a different type of the same vegetable, grow several varieties or stick with an old favourite. We read through the catalogues and make sure the varieties we might want will work in our relatively short growing period, decide which company will receive which order and then we dream a little. What if............! Usually that results in us trying something completely new like last year. We had room in the garden and experimented with dried beans. They were all a success and we will continue to grow from the seeds we collected and saved. The limas were not as prolific but we will continue to experiment with varieties of limas that will be more suited to our conditions.
This year we are thinking of experimenting with several types of winter squash. We want one that will be ready to harvest in our northern climate, good to eat, make good pies and sweet breads, will keep well through the winter and being attractive as an autumnal ornament would be nice too. There are several options in the catalogues but it will take a few more evenings and pots of tea before we have our shortlist.
