Hooray! You’ve made it to week 3 of All About Seeds. Now that we’ve learned how to decipher a seed packet and understand some of the lingo, we can get down to business. It’s time to choose your varieties!
Here are some things to consider:
Step 1: Finalize your planting list
Decide what types of plants you want in your garden.
Questions to ask yourself:
- What do you have space for?
- What do you/your family eat the most of?
- What might be tastier grown at home rather than buying from the store?
- What bruises or goes bad quickly after being harvested?
- Which items have a big mark-up at the store that you could grow more cheaply yourself?
- Berries? Rare veggies? Spices? Herbs?
- Which company (or companies) do you want to buy from?
- What’s in stock?
- Can you buy all your seeds from them and get a discount or free shipping?
- Who’s got the best prices? (Don’t forget to take into consideration the unit/weight for each seed pack)
- What’s their lead time on shipping?
Step 2: Determine your seed “rules”
Selecting varieties can be overwhelming and it’s easy to over-buy. So create some rules for yourself before you even crack open a seed catalog or peruse a seed company’s website. Here are some examples of rules that you can use or adjust for yourself:
- I’m limiting myself to x number of varieties of the same plant (i.e. 2 tomato varieties)
- I’m limiting myself to varieties that are bred for containers (dwarf size)
- I’m limiting myself to varieties that support my convictions about GMO vs. Non-GMO, Organic vs. Non-organic, and/or Open-pollinated/Heirloom vs. Hybrid.
- I won’t pay over $x per packet of seeds
- My total budget is $x, and I will stick to that number
Yes, yes they are. Because you’re about to…
Step 3: Crack open a seed catalog / seed company’s website
Now you’re armed with some defenses against overspending on seeds. Here’s an example of a spread you might see (this one’s from Baker Creek):
It’s so alluring, am I right? The photography is on point – look at all those beautiful green beans you could have in your garden!
REALITY CHECK. Your garden is not a farm. Your plants will not look like these pristine, beautifully arranged specimens. So let’s keep it real, shall we?
- Go to the section for the first type of plant you want to order.
- Immediately mark out any varieties that break your rules. If you’ve got a physical copy of the seed catalog, mark it out with a big X. I’m not kidding. If you’re looking at the website, write down the “hard no’s” on one side of a sheet of paper.
- Assess what’s left. Of the varieties that are left, which ones will work best for you and your garden? You can compare the following to help you further narrow the list down:
- Is it appropriate for your growing zone? (ex: “long day” onions do best when grown in zones 6 and colder)
- What are the # of days to maturity? Do you prefer an earlier or later harvest?
- Does it have any special advantages over others (ex: resistance to verticillium wilt in a tomato variety)?
- Are there any disadvantages? (ex: beans that need to be trellised vs. ones that grow in a “bush” habit and don’t need support)
- Put your final “yeses” in your online shopping cart or write them down on the other side of your piece of paper that had the hard no’s on them.
Step 4: Wait 24 hours
Have a neutral third party (spouse, friend, mail carrier, local dog-walker) review what you have in your shopping cart. Give them permission to gently remind you of your seed rules and which selections might be breaking those rules. Get real with yourself. Have you gone over budget? It’s time to make some hard choices. YOU CAN DO THIS! Just don’t be like Cindy:
Step 5: Place your order
Enter that credit card info and click submit. Now sit back, relax and get ready for the next step in the process – preparing your planting area for your seeds or transplants! But before we do that, we’ve got some pruning to do…
Coming up:
Sunday: Pruning Time!
Next Wednesday: We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for Pruning – It’s Not that Hard!
