Seed Catelogs Make Garden Shopping Fun
Catalogs.
L.L. Bean, Lands End, JCPenney’s, Lilian Vernon, Harriet Carter: Just when you thought you had seen the last of the wish-list books, guess what? The true catalog season has just begun. That’s right. It’s the garden catalog season and they’re beginning to arrive by the droves - Stokes, Burpee, Shephards, Brecks. … With note pad, pencil and a cup of cocoa (or whatever warms you) in hand, it’s time to officially open the garden season.
Some catalogs specialize in plants, some in seeds, and some in both. Some specialize in only one type of plant while others specialize in rare plants, heirloom seeds or seeds and plants for organic gardeners. Each one tempts us with old favorites and fabulous-looking new varieties.
Paging through these magazines can be work (fun work). Notes have to be reviewed (which seeds or plants did well last year, which did not), prices have to be cross-referenced and decisions have to be made.
Most catalogs carry a variety of different vegetables, flowers, trees and shrubs. Most are accompanied by colorful, enticing pictures and excellent descriptions. New varieties will be indicated in one form or another, usually with the word “new” (very original).
When ordering seeds, we need to consider the following:
How long does it take this particular seed to germinate?
Do I have the needed materials for germinating the seed, mainly light, bottom heat and plenty of MY TIME?
Is our growing season long enough for the varieties I wish to try?
In the Inland Northwest, we can have anywhere from 60 to 130 days, depending on where you live and which crop you are raising. Following the description for each variety of seed, there will be a number indicating the days to maturity. Example, Early Girl tomato - 52 days. In the Inland Northwest, it is always wise to add about 10 days to these numbers. Five for the cool, wet Junes we normally experience and five for our cool, late-summer evenings. If we plant an Early Girl transplant on June 1, we should be able to eat the tomatoes on Aug. 1 - 62 days later.
And of course, one very important consideration: How much of each variety can I use? You certainly wouldn’t want to get stuck with 200 Shasta daisies. In fact, many times perennials are best-ordered as plants or purchased locally, rather than growing so many of one variety from seed.
Ordering plants from catalogs can be a bit more risky than ordering seeds. Many times the delivered product can be a bit disappointing. After all, we expect plants that somewhat resemble the picture and/or the description. Instead we might receive a 6-by-4-inch box filled with 50 bare twigs and the instructions “plant when you can work the soil.” That’s fine, but which end is up?
Also, it’s important to know where the plants were grown. Will they be hardy for our area. Unless the plant is rare or unusual, I prefer buying from local nurseries. A special note: You may also run across plants that cannot be shipped into Washington state. This is because the quarantine to keep the Japanese beetle out of Washington is still in effect.
Some catalogs make excellent resource materials:
Bear Creek Nursery in Northport, Wash. - This is worth ordering just to peruse the interesting selection of fruit and nut trees as well as ornamental trees and shrubs.
Shephard’s Garden Seeds - Gourmet seed collections of European vegetables and herbs.
Heirloom Garden Seeds - Unusual and rare varieties.
Garden City Seeds of Montana - Open pollinated plants plus plants that are acclimated for our cold northern climate.
Greer Gardens - Specializing in dwarf conifers, vines and bonsai supplies.
Filaree Farms - Specializing in all varieties of garlic. (I wonder if there are many visitors to that farm?) Fancy Fronds - Ferns for every corner of your garden.
Caprice - Peonies that can cause a hole in your pocket.
Siskiyou Rare Plant Nursery - Specializing in rare plants and dwarf conifers.
This is only a sampling of the literally hundreds of catalogs available. Most are free, though some companies charge a small fee. If you would like a complete list of gardening catalogs, please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to me in care of The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.
Reminder: Jan. 4 (Saturday), Jan. 5 (Sunday) and Jan. 11 (Saturday), we can “Tree-Cycle” our Christmas trees from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For $2, Senske’s Lawn and Tree Care and the Spokane Parks and Recreation Department will chop our trees into mulch to be used at the Finch Arboretum. We can drop our trees off at two sites: the Arboretum at Sunset Highway and Woodland Boulevard and the Shadle Park parking lot at Wellesley and Belt. For more information, please call 625-6664.
Happy New Year.
, DataTimes