Last year was the first year my husband and I had our own vegetable garden. Shortly after Christmas (yes Christmas) I started getting antsy about planning the garden – I didn’t want to miss out on any particular seed because I was tardy! I started by perusing the internet for a suitable seed supplier. If my understanding is correct, when you buy direct the seeds tend to be better quality than what you buy at any department store, you can order bulk, and you have more selection.
When it comes to seeds you buy at a department store (i.e.: Canadian Tire, Superstore, etc.) it is my understanding seeds that don’t sell one year are put back into circulation the next. Because of this you might not be buying the newest/healthiest seed. Department stores also tend to sell seeds in small quantities. The small seed packages give very little information about what you are buying. Most packages only give planting instructions and dates to maturity. In a seed catalog, you get more information about what you are buying – hardiness, days to maturity, flavor, disease tolerance, ideal growing conditions, etc. Something else to keep in mind is most department stores only sell seeds during the spring and if you want anything later in the season you are S.O.L. whereas you can get seed from a supplier any time of the year.
To proof a point, last year I miss judged and didn’t order enough spinach seed and I had to buy a few small packages locally. The seed that I had ordered germinated quickly while the seed I had bought locally took longer to germinated (could have been a different variety) and only about 50% of the seed actually germinated. Enough said.
One thing I do buy locally from a greenhouse is my seed potatoes. They offer numerous selections, almost too many for someone like me who wants to grow everything. Last year I picked up 2 – 10lb bags for around $8 each which was surprisingly less than if I were to get them from a department store.
Getting back on topic, I found four places across the country that supplied seeds and seemed reputable. Out of the four, only one responded to my request for a catalogue. As a result, they got my business! (veseys.com)
When the catalog came in the mail it was like getting the Wish Book when I was younger. I spent hours making lists of what I wanted to grow, comparing the different varieties and driving my husband crazy by constantly asking for his opinion on what we should grow. In the end, we decided it would be best to keep it simple as it was our first year with the garden. Last year we planted (by seed) peas, yellow beans, carrots, turnips, beets, radish, spinach, swiss chard, potatoes, onions, zucchini, and corn. We also transplanted tomatoes. And of course I can’t forget our “asparagus peas.” (We’ll never grow those again as the only thing they were good for was pranking visitors – they had an absolutely vile taste.) The special selections that I was excited about were the corn, beans, zucchini and tomatoes as I had never grown these before. (The corn was the only seed that didn’t germinate due to the cold we had in the late spring.)
This year I re-ordered my seeds from the same suppler as their seed had proven themselves worthy last summer by producing a bountiful crop. We decided on the same vegetables, changing a few varieties, adding some green beans and spaghetti squash.
Needless to say my seeds have been sitting downstairs in the cold room since early March. J.
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