The holidays are over, and you probably spent over budget. Uncle Ernie was even more impossible than usual, and then you had that depressing argument with Cousin Angie about excluding him from the list next year. It’s pouring buckets, and repeating “We need the rain” like a mantra isn’t helping.
But if you garden and buy seeds by mail, there is a surefire mood improver waiting in your mailbox—this year’s seed catalogs. Yes, you can look up the seeds online, but it’s not the same as holding that physical catalog in your hands, flipping the pages back and forth, and comparing the zinnias in Annie’s Annuals with the phlox in Rare Roots. Given the dankness in the environment and the clouds over your mood, you need all the help you can get. You need those catalogs.
For a gardener, seed catalogs are the most concentrated dose of optimism to hit a mailbox. Each and every page shouts, “You can do this!” Ten minutes of flipping through those pages will have you convinced that you, too, can grow award-winning tomatoes, giant pumpkins, and a flower border that will give the neighbors envy as green as your lettuce. Winter malaise will quickly depart, replaced by dreams of the perfect garden.
There are several dozen mail-order seed companies, and they all have different personalities. Many are run by decidedly eccentric people. In a world of corporate uniformity, that is quite refreshing.
There are seed catalogs printed on heavy coated stock that give the impression that before you place an order, you must submit a list of country club memberships and a pedigree from the American Revolution. And there are catalogs that appear to have been produced on a 60-year-old mimeograph machine by a hermit who lives up in the hills somewhere.
Can’t afford to go to Europe? Take a virtual trip with a bulb catalog from Holland that reads like it was translated from the Dutch. Want to grow vegetables like your grandparents grew in Vietnam or China? Check out the Kitazawa catalog, recently purchased by the True Leaf Market Seed Company in Salt Lake City. Whatever floats your boat, you have a lot of choices.
Before you place your order, check out Dave’s Garden Watchdog online. It’s a clearinghouse for kudos and complaints about mail order seed and bulb businesses. Find out which companies don’t send out orders for weeks, which ones have engendered complaints about damaged goods, and those that don’t respond to requests for refunds.
Are you hesitant to start your own seeds? If you buy starters, you are limited to a few standard varieties, which are often not the best for Alameda’s climate. If you buy seeds, you can get exactly what will work for you in this area. We have a long but relatively cold growing season, which is not the situation in most of the country. For example, it can be a challenge to grow peppers, tomatoes, corn, and eggplant in Alameda because they all require hot nights, so growing starters from seed gives you access to varieties that will thrive in our climate. Most seed companies will be happy to recommend varieties that will produce well in Alameda. If you want to grow tomatoes, for example, start out with cherry tomatoes (Yellow Pear tomatoes are especially hardy), lettuce, kale, and chard.
A lot of information on seed starting is easily available, including helpful videos. A good place to start is with our local food growing group: Alameda Backyard Growers. Most catalogs offer tips and hints on how to get their seed to grow. Remember that farmers have been successfully starting plants from seed for thousands of years. Most vegetables are not hard to start from seed, and the supplies for seed starting are not expensive. Seed starting is a good family project and STEM learning experience for children.
Here are some seed catalogs I have used for years, plus a few that are highly recommended by readers of Dave’s Garden.
- Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds specializes in open pollinated seed and has a large collection of heirloom seed from the 19th Century.
- Victory Seeds in Oregon, highly recommended by readers of Dave’s Garden, specializes in open pollinated seeds, with hundreds of varieties of tomatoes, culinary and medicinal herbs.
- Territorial Seed, based in Cottage Grove, Oregon, sells seed that performs on the West Coast. They have an amazing selection of garlic, lots of lettuce and peas, and a short list of tomatoes that you can expect to actually ripen in Alameda. The website offers a lot of information, plus a garden planner. Territorial is one of the few seed companies that puts out a winter catalog, with a list of vegetables that will be happy in January rain.
- Johnny’s Selected Seeds just showed up, and it’s a quarter-inch thick. An employee-owned company that started in 1973, Johnny’s caters to smaller market growers as well as serious backyard farmers. Both the catalog and the website have a ton of information. With a focus on making money through farming, the seed descriptions are more factual than many other catalogs.
- J. L. Hudson Seeds, also highly recommended by Dave’s Garden, specializes in open pollinated, unusual varieties. The company considers itself a seed bank. They sell things you won’t find anyplace else—macadamia nut seed, Jewels of Opar flower seed, and Biscuit Root, an American native vegetable, for example. A warning about the website: Some types of seed are challenging to germinate.
So, while it’s raining, stormy, and cold outside, there’s no need to be distressed. You can stay warm and cozy inside, with your catalogs, a cup of hot tea, and a cat trying to convince you to order a pound of catnip seed. In your mind’s eye, you can see your stunningly transformed back yard. What could be better?
Margie Siegal is a long term gardener in Alameda and a supporter of Alameda Backyard Growers. Reach her via [email protected].
