Posted on 01/06/2012 9:53:54 AM PST by JustaDumbBlonde
January is not the most hospitable month of the year to be sure. If you're like me those cold dreary days are best spent curled up in a chair (for the guys that don't *do* curl -- sit there very manly) with a cup of tea (insert the manly beverage of your choice) and a stack of garden catalogs that you need a front-end loader to move (got you with the front-end loader, didn't I?).
I've got to hand it to the catalog people, the covers are exceptional this year and, by golly, with all of the $25 to $100 coupons right there on the front ... I saved $475 just walking in from the mailbox!
Your first five minutes spent thumbing through will tell you something, regardless of which catalog your choose: Prices. Are. Up. Must be that ol' supply-n-demand thing, because I choose to believe that MY favorite seed suppliers would never take advantage of a market that is growing by leaps and bounds as people discover that you can feed your family the highest quality foods and save money at the same time. Not to mention, you know exactly how your food was handled and by whom. It must be said -- produce from Mexico just doesn't have the same tropical appeal that it once did.
These are the catalogs I've received as of this morning. I've put these in the form of a link that you can take to that company, if you so desire. You can request a catalog of your own or, do what I do, which is peruse the paper catalog and then place an order online.
Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co.Please let us know about your favorite catalogs and gardening-related companies. I know that we all love to discover something new that will further our fun in the garden.
Musser Forests, Inc.
Michigan Bulb Co.
Agri Supply
Growers Supply
Stark Bro's Nursery
The Greenhouse Catalog
Gardener's Supply Company
Totally Tomatoes
The Cook's Garden
Burpee
Henry Field's Seed & Nursery Co. *
Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co. *
Jung's Seeds & Plants
R.H. Shumway's Illustrated Garden Guide* Henry Field's and Gurney's are one and the same group. I suspect that Burgess is also owned by them, but haven't confirmed
Welcome. Here’s a tip for growing really flavorful tomatoes. If you live in an area that does not rain much in the summer you can super soak the ground your tomatoes are growing in just after fruits start to set. This lets the plant concentrate flavor without being diluted by fresh water.
This does not work for container growing, but is fantastic even for raised beds.
To super soak, let a hose with fairly gentle pressure water for at least eight hours, or even overnight.
Did everyone see this? Very scary.... Glad my dogs will not allow anyone in the gate..
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2829532/posts?page=44
Still waiting on a couple more catalogs before making my final decisions, but my pre-cull list of seeds to order is already taking up 5 pages! That’s normal for me, my eyes are bigger than my pocketbook. I’ll trim that down to fit my budget later this month.
I’m trying to order with an eye toward complete self-sufficiency, so there are a lot more grains on my list than normal. Spelt, rye, hull-less oats, that sort of thing. I probably won’t get them planted this year, but I want them handy just in case I can’t order them next year.
I’m also trying to keep a close watch on what might cross-pollinate. I figure if I’m careful I can grow 7 kinds of legumes without them crossing, and 4 kinds of squash. Some catalogs don’t give the latin names, though, that makes it harder to tell what might cross and what won’t.
A question for market gardeners: if you could grow one thing to sell as your cash crop, what would it be? There’s a store here that specializes in locally-grown foods, and they’ve already said they’re willing to buy anything I bring in, so I’m trying to figure out what will bring the best price with the least extra work, but won’t be so over-abundant that everybody’s selling it. A tricky balance, I know :)
My neighbor was just complaining about cake mixes getting smaller. She makes cookies from them and says the last few batches have yielded less cookies. I was just thinking that a catalogue (don't remember which) used to send out little seed packages for a stamp. Those were perfect for the home gardener. Today, we're looking at $4-$6 packages. Pats on the back for those who saved seeds from last year's harvest. Yikes, last week, Walmart had 4" pot single pansies for $8. I asked a worker if that was right and he said it was. $8 for one flower! No, I didn't buy any.
How do you tell whats what? The ones that I see online use the same photos of dark red round maters. When we have bought them at roadside stands in La they looked more like Romas in shape and color.
I like both. The paper catalog can go with you and be read anywhere. Find something your interested in and go to the net. I find the Internet usually has more detailed info vs the paper catalog - much cheaper to publish more info over the net, also updates on stock availability and price is usually good.
****A question for market gardeners: if you could grow one thing to sell as your cash crop, what would it be?****
It used to be garlic that would bring the money, but now people buy the bland stuff already chopped up in jars.
Can you grow a leafy green crop early, then switch to something like basil or other herbs?
I'm glad your wife made it OK. I hope that this move goes smoothly for both of you.
Sweet Meat winter squash is a regional favorite in the N/W corner of Calif. It’s our favorite for punkin pies but our temps are only warm enough to grow them one year out of three so we have to buy some from the farmers a little further in from the coast in the off years. Territorial Seeds in Ore has them.
and don’t forget your quarterly taxes are due in a week <:(
Here in the Colorado Rockies I have a grapefruit tree in a container that I have had since I lived in FL. I have to bring it indoors in winter. Need to start tomatoes inside in containers soon. It is only about 90 days average between freezes here.
Last year I ordered my seeds late on a Tuesday night. I got the seeds Thursday afternoon along with an apology for the delay. That's service.
There is absolutely nothing to make anyone with a garden participate in such a survey. You can do it if you want, but they will do nothing to you if you don't. I can't think of a gardener in our group that would fall into any group that would have to answer the survey.
Never tell the government anything that you don't have to. It will never come to any good, I suspect.
Good thing you can whack the trunk of those bananas off near the ground and they will come back. I miss the banana trees I had in Houston. They would freeze every few years too.
Lady Bender mixes and bakes several hundred Cookies a week and she makes the job look like there is nothing to it. My official title is Chief Corporate Cooker Cruncher. CCCC in Wall Street Jargon...
We used to buy Albacore Tuna right off the boats and can it it half pints and there was almost 50% waste before it got in the jars. It is a stinking job and I set up a big camp stove in the garage to pressure cook them 2 canners at a time. 15# pressure for 90 minutes and set up a tv or read books watching them.
Catalogs are easier to deal with when you're sitting on the can, or riding in a vehicle.
This move is not going to go smoothly! But thanks for your wishes.
In fact I will get 2 new plants, When they die back you always get a little baby along the side of the main one!
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