February 16, 2009

Seed catalogs are one of the great pleasures of winter.  Fabulous pictures of mouth watering produce selections fill most of the catalogs - though some are strictly black and white and stick to mouth watering descriptions of fabulous produce.

The problem is, the available selections are just too tempting and it is very very very hard to know when to stop.  In past years I have had to whittle down my tomato selections from 50 varieties to just two dozen or so - and I agonized over each cut.

So, given the abundant variety of vegetables, herbs, and flowers that is available - how does one go about selecting the ones that will taste great and produce well?  Here are a few helpful hints.

First - Order your catalogs if you haven't done so already.  A list of my favorite catalogs is here:  http://www.reverencegardens.com/content/415

Second – Think It Through.  Consider your budget, how much space you have, the time and space you have to start seedlings, your climate, your soil, and your experience level.

Budget – How much can you spend?  It’s easy to over order and end up paying a lot more for seed than you expected.

Space – How much room do you have?  I always wanted to grow corn and pumpkins but had to wait until I had the land to do so – they take up a lot of room!  In my 600 square foot backyard garden I was able to grow tomatoes, peppers, carrots, eggplants, beans, beets, chard, onions, basil, and radishes– but I had to forego the corn and pumpkins.

Seedlings – Do you have the time and space to start seedlings?  If you live in a colder climate and want to grow tomatoes, eggplants, or peppers from seed you must start them indoors.  Do you have a nice sunny area?  Can you supplement with light banks and bottom heat?  Are you willing to carry seedlings outdoors and then back in as the weather improves?  If no, consider buying seedlings either mail order – or better yet – from you local farmer when the early markets start up.

Soil – Check variety descriptions to see what sort of soil the plant is happiest in.  Generally, most plants do best in well amended soil.  If your soil is not well amended you can still go ahead and plant, just expect lower yields and continue to amend the soil more each year.

Climate – Don’t try to grow long season varieties in colder areas.  Know your last and first frost dates and check the maturity dates for each variety.  Don’t forget to check to see if that maturity date is from transplant or from direct seed.

Your Experience Level – If you are new to the growing game, consider transplants for some items like tomatoes. peppers, and eggplants.  Also consider some of the hybrids – they can be easier to grow and are often bred to be disease and pest resistant.  Please note that hybrid does not mean genetically modified.  All of the catalogs on the link noted above sell only non-GMO seed.  Don’t think that hybrid means tasteless – the hybrid Purple Haze carrot is much sweeter and tastier than the somewhat bitter (to my taste) Purple Dragon heirloom.

Third – Prioritize.  What do you want most?  Tomatoes?  Basil?  Melons?  Choose the vegetables and varieties you want most first.  Then – if you have space left over in your garden, go ahead and order other items on your wish list.  Most catalogs will provide information on optimal plant or seed spacing.  That can help you determine how many tomato plants you can put in and if there will be room left over for cucumbers.  Don’t forget about succession planting – once lettuces are done (usually by early July in Zone 5) you can put in a late planting of beets or carrots or put in broccoli seedlings for a fall harvest.

Fourth – Get organized.  I like to set up a chart for each type of vegetable I’ll be ordering.  For instance – I’ll set up a column for each catalog and a row for each particular variety – then I’ll compare quantity and price, keeping in mind that organic seed is somewhat more expensive (but worth the cost environmentally speaking).  Be careful, though, that you don’t end up paying more in shipping charges than for the seed order.  It’s often wiser to consolidate to fewer orders than to pay a $5 shipping charge for a $2.95 packet of seed.

Fifth – Select.  Read seed catalogs like a detective.  Looking for lettuces or carrots that taste sweet?  Make sure the catalog description says that the variety you are interested in tastes sweet.  If there is no mention of taste there is usually a reason.  Also look for clues that the variety will do well in your climate and soil.  Choose varieties that will ripen before your first frost if you live in a colder area.  Many catalogs will state if a variety is unusually tolerant of heat or cold, drought or deluge.

Finally – Order.  Ordering on-line is fast and you’ll know immediately (in most cases) if the product you want is in stock or if you’ll need to make another choice.

That's it!  Six easy steps to ordering seeds - enjoy!