Seed catalog season
Posted on April 8th, 2008 – 8:10 AMBy Jaime Chismar
Even before I finish my Christmas shopping, at least one glossy green cover sprouts up among the utility bills, holiday cards and Netflix DVDs in our mailbox. By April, I have a sizable stack of seed catalogs, each promising something tasty, something unusual, and something no gardener can live without… Hula Hoe, anyone?
Seed Savers Exchange delivers the first real sign of spring. I’m a sucker for a seed with a story, and often sacrifice a tasty stand-by for an oddball heirloom smuggled in to states from the “Old Country.” Located in Iowa, a weekend order usually arrives in the Twin Cities by the end of the following week. Perfect for the impatient gardener.
Sandhill Crane Preservation Center specializes in unusual seeds as well unusual breeds of chickens. I can’t have a coop, but I can waste a morning on a poultry catalog. They also sell starter sweet potatoes.
R.H. Shumway’s breaks every design rule with Victorian clip art, block fonts and blatant disregard for a sensible grid. It’s faux old time-y feel totally cracks me up.
Other catalogs are head scratchers… “Organic lawn care” that is dangerous to pets and small children? Um, how the heck did I get on this list?
So, where do you get your seeds? Are you loyal to a local nursery? Pursue hardy heirlooms online? Or do you skip the seeds and purchase your plants from the Farmer’s Market?
12 Responses to "Seed catalog season"
I pretty much get most of me seeds from Seed Savers Exchange, and my tomatoes from Tomatofest.com - they do have over 500 varieties of heirlooms after all! This year a co-worker introduced me to a new one Pinetree Garden Seeds. They have a kind of odd way of organizing their catalog, but they sell smaller amounts of seeds for less money - which is pretty great for the home gardener with a small plot.
I’m with Lorika on my seed shopping; Pinetree is great and really the cheapest (good quality) seed company I’ve found. Also, you should check out Seeds of Change http://www.seedsofchange.com/ . They offer a really nice variety, though a little more expensive. As a bonus, they usually throw in a free pack or two of seeds with your order- it’s like Christmas!
In addition to the seeds I like to spend just about every saturday morning at a nursery. I’ve been to pretty much all the ones in the city but my favorites are Tangeltown and Mother Earth Gardens. I like to check out Bachmans on a regular basis, but they can be rather expensive.
Does anyone know where to get broccoli seedlings? I can never seem to find any…
Rebecca,
If you’re looking for broccoli seedlings, you might call Brewery Creek Farm Market (952-873-6555 or http://www.bchfarm.com). They usually have a great selection of veggie seedlings, including broccoli. They’re in Belle Plaine, so you may want to call before you head out there. . .
I also am a fan of Pinetree. They sell a couple of leaf lettuce mixtures that have enough variety that when one type bolts then the slowpokes are at their best.
Totally Tomatoes is another fun one with great photos for those who cannot visualize without the picture what a fuzzy peach tonato loks like or what is the difference in a hillbilly and a pineapple. They have lots of Heirlooms and ship quickly from Randolph, WI
As a new gardener, can you tell me the benefit of ordering seeds as opposed to buying them off the rack at the hardware store? What am I looking for to know good seeds from bad seeds?
Anna,
Unless you’re looking for a specific kind of seed (ie heirloom) or a particular cultivar (ie Early Girl tomatoes), there’s no reason not to buy seeds off the rack at the hardware store or garden center. What you want to check for is how quickly the seeds mature. Remember our growing season is relatively short.
P.S. Garden educator Deb Brown is writing more about seeds in the Star Tribune Home+Garden section on April 16. Check it out in print or at http://www.startribune.com/homegarden.
Anyone ever order from cheapseeds.com? They are located in Minnesota. A coworker got 3,000 poppy flower seeds for $3.00.
This year I bought my seeds at Baker Creek Heirlooms (www.rareseeds.com). I’ve started a few under grow lights and they are doing great. I like the company because it is an independent company, sells unusual seeds, and has a very quirky catalog. Unfortunately, it’s small enough that they sometimes run out of seeds, so I’ll be buying my lettuce seed at the hardware store.
I order a bunch of lilies from Breck’s this year, and I’ll make numerous trips to Mother Earth Gardens and Home Depot.
I also stalk Craiglist for people thinning out their hostas and other perennials in the Spring - if you move fast enough you can score tons of freebies.
I buy all my flower seeds from http://www.cheapseeds.com. They have huge packets of seeds and Free shipping on everything they sell. I received my seeds in 2 days.
i ordered mine thru Seeds of Change. they had all the seeds i was looking for. i also perused thru seed savers exchange, bakers creek heirloom, and john scheepers.
I love Pinetree and Sandhill too. I love the smug and superior feeling ordering from Sandhill gives me 
Greengirls Connie Nelson, Robyn Dochterman and Jaime Chismar are dishin' the dirt from the backyard garden and beyond. Whether you're a greenthumb or greenhorn, they're eager to learn from your misshaps, mistakes -- and most importantly, your sweet successes -- all growing season long.
Need more Greengirls? Follow along on Twitter:
Subscribe to Greengirls
Learn more about RSS
Garden resources
Categories
- Apples, Plums + Tree fruits (18)
- Asparagus (3)
- Beans + Peas (9)
- Bees (12)
- Beets, Carrots + Root veggies (7)
- Berries (10)
- Books + Resources (13)
- Chickens (13)
- Compost (7)
- Container gardening (7)
- Corn (2)
- Critters + vermin (27)
- Cucumbers + Melons (15)
- Farmer's Markets (1)
- Flowers + Grasses (27)
- Garlic (5)
- Greens + Lettuces (10)
- Herbs (6)
- Lawn care (12)
- Mulch (7)
- Mystery plants (9)
- Potatoes (9)
- Preserving (7)
- Rain gardens (2)
- Seed starting (16)
- Soil care (4)
- Squashes + gourds (1)
- Succulents (2)
- Tomatoes, Peppers + Eggplant (38)
- Tools, gloves, rain barrels + more (17)
- Transplanting (1)
- Tree + shrub care (4)
- Uncategorized (164)
- Water gardens (3)
- Weather woes (25)
- Weeds (13)
- Weekend to-dos (11)