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digit_gw

Seeds! Seeds! Seeds!

digit
11 years ago

The First Catalogs for 2013 arrived in the mailbox in mid-November. Then there was a lag. I guess the retailers knew that we would be busy with Thanksgiving & Black Friday. Now the catalogs are back in the mailbox everyday!

Dixondale Farms
Peaceful Valley
Stokes
HPS - Shumway
Fedco
Osborne
Johnny's
Totally Tomatoes &
Vermont Bean Seed

I'm not sure how many of these will play a role in my garden this year. I want to order some things from folks who have been "neglected" in my selections, up until now. Some of them do not have printed catalogs!

. . . whine . . . .

Steve

Comments (13)

  • Deb
    11 years ago

    I love getting catalogs! One that I'll miss this year, though, is High Country Gardens. They have gone out of business.

  • david52 Zone 6
    11 years ago

    Thats terrible news re HCG. I sure hope somebody picks up some of their strains and keeps them going. Of the spectacular plants I have, most of them came from HCG.

    I got the Johnny's catalog last week. Thumbed through that, saw too many things to think about, put it down and slowly walked away.

  • digit
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I let sleepiness and the alphabet handle any consumer obsession with the catalogs.

    Generally, the catalog migrates into a place beside the bed on the 1st night. I am determined to start at the front cover each time I pick it up - repeatedly convincing myself that I cannot really be sure that I haven't missed something the earlier times thru. So, I make it about midway before I can't keep my eyes open.

    This goes on for several weeks. The tomatoes at the back of the catalog provides motivation but I have real trouble arriving at those pages because of that alphabetical arrangement.

    Getting to the pumpkins is kind of jolting but looking at the greens is a pleasant way to fall asleep . . .

    Steve

  • steviewonder
    11 years ago

    So is it official with HCG? I heard rumors some months back but thought they might hang in there one more season. It's the end of an era.

    Steviewonder

  • treebarb Z5 Denver
    11 years ago

    Steviewonder,

    I checked HCG site and it's official. What's bothersome is they won't honor gift certificates or replacement plants. They just closed their doors. It looks like they were in business for 19 years, not a bad run.

    On the Conifers forum someone posted a link to a nursery in Fort Collins, La Porte Ave. Nursery. Just for fun, I looked on their site and found out their conifer guy grew for HCG. I called him and visited their place last spring and brought home some nice little trees for less than I would have paid HCG. They primarily sell rock garden plants, but they might be worth a look.

    So far I've gotten my Potato Garden and Seed Saver's Exchange catalogs.

    Barb

  • steviewonder
    11 years ago

    Thanks Barb, I'll keep that in mind.
    Steviewonder

  • highalttransplant
    11 years ago

    Bummer about HCG! I've bought quite a few things from them over the years, especially when I was new to gardening and didn't know how to grow things from seed yet.

    I've received over half a dozen catalogs the past few weeks, but I'm trying not to even open them until after I finish up the shopping, wrapping, and holiday baking. Okay, I'll admit to looking through the Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog, but in my defense, their photos are like works of art!

    Bonnie

  • steviewonder
    11 years ago

    Well folks, I was doing some research before buying seeds and clicked over to the old HCG website for some info. Looks like they are trying to keep the business going thru mail order only. Stay tuned...
    Steviewonder

  • richsd
    11 years ago

    HCG prices were always too high, IMO.

  • david52 Zone 6
    11 years ago

    I'm about ready to make my seed order, and I may escape this year with only 1 order for golden beet seeds. Everything else I've saved or had left over from previous years. Assorted tomatoes, peas, beans, carrots, sweet potato, basil, chard, kale, garlic, onion, sorghum, squash - several varieties of each.

    I am a bit leery on my saved inadvertent F2 hybrid pepper seeds, figuring some of them crossed again - so thats what, F2.5? - and who knows what I'll get.

    But last year, there was only one inadvertent cross that wasn't very good, a small, apricot-sized pepper full of seeds, really hot. Everything else was pretty good.

  • digit
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    My first order has gone in - all online. I don't believe that Tomatofest has a paper catalog.

    What is really needed as a first step is my "seeds downstairs" list. I do pluses and minuses for what is in supply.

    Never know about onion seed without testing. I did that last year with 10 seeds of 2 varieties in the pot of a house plant. There's little time, tho'! I can plant onion seed in flats of soil and, after a short stay in the south window, move them into an unheated, February greenhouse. They don't make quick growth but they are darn near ready to come out of there by the time I turn the greenhouse furnace on in mid-March!

    Steve

  • david52 Zone 6
    11 years ago

    I've been keeping most of my seeds in the freezer these last few days, in two gallon zip-lock freezer bags. I keep them in a chest freezer, but they wouldn't take up that much room in a regular freezer.

    Thats about 100 seed packets/envelopes. The exceptions are seeds from one season to the next, I figure they won't lose a whole lot of germination 'oomph' in 6 months.

    I need to get my onions, leeks, and spring onions started here pretty quick.

  • billie_ladybug
    11 years ago

    FYI Burrell's in Rocky Ford still exists http://www.burrellseeds.us/ Not too much in unique though.

    I store my left over seed in the old bread keepers that tupperware made. Their bright green, rectangular and allow seed packets to stand on their side. I have one for cold weather crops and one for warm weather. Used index cards for markers to separate beets, cabbage, radish, etc. Still looking for one for flowers and one for herbs. Seems like when I started looking for them, so did everybody else.

    Already have a few orders out there. I received my shipment from wholesale greenhouses today. Received Pinetree about a week ago. Still looking at catalogs.

    Planted some local apricots last week. The neighbor I got the seed/pits from told me she has started all of hers and has had them come true. The are smaller than the commercial varieties, but she says that she seems to have a crop every year where as the commercial varieties don't. Figure I have the room, why not.

    B

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