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From the Smithsonian Institution Libraries Collection of Seed Catalogs
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The seed catalogs are coming, and we can't wait! Post a comment below and let us know your favorites.Photo/Illustration: Kate Frank
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A turn-of-the-century poster by the Calvert Lithographing Co.Photo/Illustration: from the New York Public Library Digital Gallery
If you’ve been gardening for several seasons, you probably have your favorites: a core group of trusted varieties you grow year in and year out for their reliability and their flavor. I, for example, always grow Chioggia beets and Sun Gold tomatoes. But if I grew only those, gardening—and dining—it would get boring. There is always room in my garden for something else, something weird, something I’ve never tried before. That’s why I look forward every fall to the arrival of the seed catalogs.
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| We’re reviewing seed catalogs as fast as we can. See more catalog reviews at FineGardening.com |
Well before the mailbox fills up with holiday sales flyers and cards, the seed catalogs start to trickle in. I don’t have time to take a serious look until after Thanksgiving, when the leaves are off the lawn and the garden is put to bed. I’m in the habit of reading after supper, and the new seed catalogs, with their perfect photos and inspirational descriptions, are a treat to be savored, along with a cup of hot tea and a fire in the little woodstove.
For northern gardeners, winter is the dream season: no weeds, bugs, no blight, just visions of a perfect little vegetable patch. And the catalogs are the wish books. My current obsession is goji (wolfberry), the latest “superfood” from China. Do I really have room for another 10-foot-tall shrub? Do I really want to pick even more berries? These are the decisions we make in the cold season, when the garden is a blank slate and everything seems possible.
Here are links to our reviews of seed catalogs. Information will be added over the next several weeks. Please visit the pages and add your own comments. We’d love to hear about your experiences with these catalogs.
• The Growers Exchange
• Native Seeds/SEARCH
• Seeds from Italy
• Abundant Life Seeds
• Stark Bro’s
• Fisher’s Seeds
• Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply
• J. W. Jung Seed Company
• One Green World
• R.H. Shumway’
• Territorial Seed Company
• Hudson Valley Seed Library
• Fedco Trees
• High Mowing Organic Seeds
• Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (reviewed by Chris McLaughlin)
• Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (reviewed by Jodi Torpey)
• BBB Seed Company
• Burpee
• Botanical Interests
• Comstock Seeds
• Fedco Seeds
• Gurney’s Seed & Nursery Co.
• J.L. Hudson, Seedsman
• Johnny’s Selected Seeds
• Kitazawa Seed Company
• Lake Valley Seed
• Park Seed Company
• Pinetree Garden Seeds
• Renee’s Garden Seeds
• Seed Savers Exchange
• Seeds of Change
• Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
• The Cooks Garden
• Tomato Growers Supply Company
• Totally Tomatoes
• Willhite Seed Inc.
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Comments
You can reuse glass jars in lots of handy ways around your home. For example, use them to store spices, grains, and other dry goods. Vidmate Or, refrigerate leftover sauces in them. You can even recycle the lids and use the open-top jar as containers for things like makeup brushes.
Tin cans make great little https://tutuappx.com/ planters if you have a green thumb. Tear off the labels and paint them however you like for an added artistic touch!
Actually each type of crop I grow depends on the weather and climate of the area. Besides, soil control is needed to ensure good plant growth. Most of the time I will divide the area for the growing environment such as flowers, fruits, snake io or vegetables into different positions.
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