It's cold and snowy out. This is the time of year that I long for it to be spring so that I can start my garden. Now don't get me wrong, I love Christmas. It's the rest of winter I dislike. Since I can't make time go faster, I spend this time planning out my garden instead. This year we're going to make raised beds (and lots of them because I can and preserve a lot) and being the huge nerd I am (I've been told it's "cute" but I know it's totally dorky but efficient), I made actual plans:
There are several very good seed companies out there. I have ordered from these companies at one point or another:
Burpee
Johnny's Selected Seeds
Horizon Herbs
Gurney's Seed and Nursery Co
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
I've also heard good things about Southern Exposure Seed Exchange but I haven't had personal experience with them.
For my next garden I've decided to order almost completely from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Why? Because heirloom seeds are awesome and I've had great experience from this company.
What is an heirloom seed? Well it's what the name suggest, seeds that have been saved and passed down for generations. Heirloom seeds are awesome because they produce great plants (hence why they keep getting saved) and they allow you to keep saving seeds and continue producing those awesome plants. I plan to do just that and in the long run reduce my costs as I won't keep buying the same seeds year after year.
Hybrid seeds, on the other hand, are artificially cross pollination of two seeds. Therefor, can only be used to grow that one plant. The seeds of those plants will not grow the same altered plant. There is one hybrid seed that I do love from Burpee and that is the Big Mama Roma (it's so nice for canning)...but since it is a hybrid and I'm giving up hybrids...no more Big Mama Roma's for me.
I have lots of work to do for next years garden but it'll be worth the effort. So stay tuned because I will share every step of the way.
I love garden planning.
ReplyDeleteI really like the varieties offered by Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. They have an informative catalog and my experience with them has always been positive. They have fast and reasonably priced shipping and handling.
I always order from Nichols Garden Nursery - https://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/store/ - They are located in Oregon and carry a selection of open-pollenated and hybrid seeds. I get some hard to find varieties from them. Very fast and reasonably priced shipping and handling (actually one of the cheapest in my experience). Great value...plus they email newsletters with specials throughout the year.
I always order from Seed Savers Exchange too. I love their catalog. Some of my "must have" varieties came from them. Very nice company to deal with and if you are just starting out in open-pollenated and heirloom seeds the Seed Savers Exchange (seedsavers.org) and Baker Creek are two great companies.
One of the first companies I ever ordered seeds from was a Pennsylvania company called Heirloom Seeds ( http://www.heirloomseeds.com/) They are a small company so you have to order early or be prepared to wait for your order to be processed and shipped. However they are generous with the amount of seeds per packet and reasonably priced. Some of my favorite seeds came from them including All Seasons Cabbage and Yellow Brandywine Tomatoes (I've tried growing a variety from another company, but it just didn't compare.)
Happy planning : )
If u really love yor dog, u should consider not butchering other animals.
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