It is that time of year – the 2018 seed catalogs have pretty much all arrived by now. These are exciting publications for us gardeners.
Like many gardeners I began gardening from seed using Burpee seeds, which are ubiquitous. While I still appreciate Burpee seeds, my seed palate has been greatly expanded and I like supporting the smaller companies as well.
My first foray into alternate seed companies was Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I love Baker Creek and purchase from them every year. In the past few years, I’ve also ordered from the following seed companies:
I’m not affiliated with any of these companies, but have had great service and appreciate the extreme variety that they offer. I never knew how many varieties of tomatoes, peppers, and other vegetables there are until I opened up catalogs from these companies. It’s mind boggling!
Every year I try to add one or two new fruits or vegetables to the garden, that I’ve not grown before. In 2017 I grew leeks for the first time and they came out quite well.
Also, my first attempt at garlic turned out pretty well. Here are some of the cloves that I prepared for reseeding for next year’s harvest.
On a small scale, I tried a few black beans and they turned out fine. There just weren’t enough to do anything with, a very small handful. I am thinking that I would have to grow a whole field of them to harvest enough for our needs. For now I’ll settle by planting one of our 3′ by 8′ beds with them during 2018 and see how that fares.
This year I am not trying any new vegetables, per se. However, I am expanding the number of varieties. Here is a sampling of the seeds that I ordered. In addition to these, I have a bunch of seeds left from 2016 and 2017. I am beginning to think that my seed addiction has overtaken my fabric addiction! That is a post for another day. Suffice it to say that I put myself on a “fabric diet” several years ago. This means that I am not allowed to buy any new fabric until the stash that I already have is (mostly) used up.
Do you garden from seed, and if so, what is your favorite seed company? And what are you most looking forward to growing this year? Please leave comments – I would love to know what you are up to in the garden for 2018!
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