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It seems every day I go to the mailbox lately, I'm greeted with another seed catalog. There are old favorites, newcomers, and fresh faces on old familiar names. I have already spent a few wistful hours since the new year pouring over pictures and descriptions, yearning for the time when I can run my hands through damp soil, but content for the moment planning and plotting, scheming and dreaming about this year's Kitchen Garden.
Did I hear someone say they aren't receiving any seed catalogs? There's no excuse for it! Perusing seed catalogs in the dead of winter is a time-honored tradition that brings one out of the winter doldrums, makes the snow and ice a bit more bearable, and stimulates valuable mental planning exercises which will make one's efforts more productive this summer. In the coming weeks we'll discuss the garden planning process in more detail, but in the meantime, let's make sure you've got some catalogs to look at. What's that you say - you don't need catalogs because you buy your seeds at a garden shop? Suit yourself, friend, but you're missing the fun. The best seed catalogs are not only effective marketing tools, but they are informative as well, with useful plant culture advice and sometimes even recipes. What's more, seed catalogs are inspirational, cultivating a desire to plant more and better through the use of pictures and flamboyant descriptions. Just listen to R. H. Shumway's description of their new Sweet & Sweeter Bi-color sweet corn: "A Wonderful Shumway Exclusive! Let us know which kernels are the sweetest, the white ones or the yellow ones. Picked last year as the sweetest, best tasting sweet corn in our trials, the only disagreement was over which kernel color was the sweetest. But in the end, our attitude was "Who cares?." The combination of the two surpassed everything else in taste, and we are proud to introduce Sweet & Sweeter." ... "Big fat ears are 8 in. long with 20 to 22 rows of succulent kernels with the brightest color contrast between yellow and white that we've ever seen ." With a description like that, you can probably guess what new variety of corn I'll be trying in my garden this year.
Now if you want to order seed from catalogs, you've got to have a decent selection of catalogs to choose from. True, you can decent cross-sampling of the seed of most common vegetables from nearly any seed catalog, but part of the fun comes from comparing and contrasting what's on offer from several different suppliers. If you don't receive any catalogs yet, all you have to do is visit the seed companies' respective websites and sign up. Most catalogs are free and well worth the time and effort to give them your address. Allow me to share the names of a few of my favorite catalogs with you:
1) Territorial Seed Company. www.territorialseed.com. I have ordered from Territorial for many years, despite the fact that they are located in the Pacific Northwest while I'm in New England. I regard Territorial as a premier supplier of a diverse selection of high quality vegetable seed. They also offer a respectable selection of garlic sets for fall planting, as well as flower seeds and a host of gardening related products. Although I have no clinical evidence to prove it, my experience has always been excellent germination rates from Territorial seeds, even for hard to germinate plants such as parsnips and leeks.
2) Seed Savers Exchange. www.seedsavers.org. This organization has been in existence for many years, and boasts over 11,000 unique varieties of heirloom vegetables, fruits, grains, flowers, and herbs. Members share seed directly with one another through the mail, but you need not become a member to enjoy some of the varieties Seed Savers has to offer commercially. Each year the company sells an assortment of heirloom seed varieties produced from member stock as well as outside sources. While the subset of seeds available in the catalog represents only a small fraction of that available to members, it still offers a vast selection for the average home gardener. Be on special lookout for their many colorful and delicious varieties of lettuce, squash, and tomatoes. For colorful and healthful salads, try the Seed Savers Lettuce Mixture, featuring Amish Deer Tongue, Australian Yellowleaf, Bronze Arrowhead, Forellenschuss, Lollo Rossa, Pablo, Red Velvet and Reine des Glaces. Try finding that in a retail store!
3) John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds. www.kitchengardenseeds.com. Scheepers is often noted for their colorful and informative seed packets, as well as a good selection of vegetables and herbs with high culinary value. But the reason I keep coming back to Kitchen Garden Seeds is their top notch selection of salad and Asian greens. Tatsoi has become a staple in my garden, as has Kaillaan Chinese Broccoli, a small broccoli plant that forms numerous small tasty florettes rather than a single large one. My favorite Asian green has got to be Riko Baby Pakchoi, with a lime green color and mild nutty flavor that is sophisticated and delicious with toasted sesame oil. Simply cut the heads in half lengthwise and fry them at a high temperature in sesame oil until wilted, then sprinkle with salt and serve.
4) New in my mailbox this year is R.H. Shumway's. www.rhshumway.com. Featuring a wonderfully illustrated catalog with an old-timey feel, Shumway's offers a wide array of vegetable and flower seeds, along with tools, fertilizer, and green manure seeds such as buckwheat for cover cropping.
5) Henry Fields. www.HenryFields.com. If you're on a tight budget, you can't afford not to take Henry Fields up on their offer to deduct $25 off your order of $50 or more. $25 worth of free seed? I'll take it! What's more, Fields offers far more than vegetable seeds; flowers, fruits, shade trees, nut trees, roses, and a host of gardening and seed starting supplies make Henry Fields a one-stop-shop for the economical kitchen gardener. I'll admit that the first year I ordered from Henry Fields I was skeptical that they could maintain quality with such appealing prices. But I've been a customer for several years now, and have had only good experiences. Even live dormant plants arrived in healthy condition and are thriving in my garden. This, when I've had disappointing results with live dormant plants from more expensive mail-order nurseries. With the money you save on your seed order, why not try some Latham raspberries, a delicious and reliable variety that thrives in most locations and requires practically no care once established.
These are just a handful of the many reliable purveyors of vegetable seeds available to the kitchen gardener. Scan the web and you'll find many more. So order some catalogs if you don't have them already, and use the next few weeks to plumb the depths of your imagination, scheming and dreaming of all the good food you will grow for yourself this year. Sit down with a pen and get ready to circle what appeals to you, take notes, and sketch out your 2006 garden, the best ever. Plan big. Plant bigger!
-Diggity
