Seed Catalogs in January: My Short List of The Best

Picture from Roots Recipes Cookbook, Garden Club of Teaneck, P. Fromm

Brave Gardener  in Teaneck NJ  Community Gardens
n March 2014, No  doubt he will be doing this in March 2015.

SEED CATALOGS in January

To sleep, perchance to dream---this is not the best way to realize your garden dreams for 2015, no matter what Shakespeare said. It is time to look at catalogs and think of the first seeds to hit the ground in March. 

And why do we look at seed catalogs? To look at the gorgeous pictures, to believe our garden will look that good in July, to plan the best garden ever, especially after last summer’s are the usual answers. 

I looked at many a garden catalog to draw up my Short List of Catalogs I Cannot Do Without, with the necessity that herbs were included.

The Catalog with Beautiful Photos: Territorial Seed Company  

.  The very best photo book costs a whopping $7.95, the company claims it is a new venture that goes beyond a catalog to a garden book. Their free catalog is chock full of pictures of rare and hard to find vegetables. A close second is the perennial favorite, Burpee Seeds. This one makes me itch to plant all those new hybrids so I have a rich tomato sauce with less tomatoes.

Most Information in a Catalog: Seed companies want to have their seeds germinate, and so they provide information on the best conditions for planting the seeds. Johnny’sSeeds had the most complete array of information on planting factors, just follow the instructions for successful germination. It was rated overall the top company in a Mother Earth article on the best sustainable seed company.

Second, there is the encyclopedic Well Sweep Farm catalog, with herbs grouped by Latin name. This serves as a handbook for herb lovers, with its complete varieties of Rosemary listed. And third here is Salt Spring Seeds, for its large collection of articles on seed saving and preservation for each vegetable.

www.saltspringseeds.com

 

Best Greens and Herbs from Asia: Kitazawa Seed Company has a wide array herbs from Asian countries, such as Vietnamese ones, such as Culantro Ngo gai  and Kinh Gioi,

Best Seed Packaging Most use paper seed packets, some are decorated elaborately (Renee’sSeed Company, uses original watercolors on the packets. ) Seeds of Change has a thick plastic packet with a zip-lock closing to keep the seeds from tumbling out or deteriorating.

 I have them from last season.

Attention to Cooking: No surprise, it is Cook’s   the other Warminster, PA seed company, has a collection of recipes in From the Cook's Garden that features the herbs grown from seeds in the catalog.  I bought it at a community garden conference, it has veggie-centered good recipes.