There are all sorts of catalogs for the Garden Dreamer, both online and off line.  Let’s start with seed catalogs.  And let’s start our look at seed catalogs with Johnny’s Seed Catalog.   What I like about Johnny’s is that they don’t sell any varietal or tool that they haven’t tested themselves.  And their list of seeds is extensive, including vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs, as well as cover crops for farms.  And tools, of course. They also have heirloom seeds, organic seeds and something called pelleted seeds.  Pelleted seeds are seeds that have a coating on them to make them easier to handle.  It especially makes it easier for machines to handle them.

Organic seeds?   Aren’t all seeds organic?  Not officially, no.  An organic seed is a seed grown from a certified organically grown plant.  The theory is that seeds that are organically grown, especially for generation after generation, are superior to those grown otherwise, especially to genetically modified plant seeds.  Here’s a discussion of organic seeds by someone who disagrees with a requirement to use organically grown seeds under certain “commercial” conditions.

Johnny’s has a large heirloom seed collection.  The wikipedia definition of heirloom seed is “a cultivar that was commonly grown during earlier periods in human history, but which is not used in modern large-scale agriculture.

We like Johnny’s.  You can order a hard catalog if you’d like.  Just click on the photo of the catalog to go to their website.

Next is Seeds of Change. Seeds of Change sells organic seeds.  Now, most of these “seed” companies sell more than seeds.  Seeds of Change is no exception, since they also see seedlings, tubers and the like.  They have large selections of things like potatoes, which are better suited for larger plots, but they also have a section for urban and container gardening, with things like: Beurre De Roquencourt Wax Snap Bush Bean, Black-Seeded Blue Lake Pole Bean, Cocozelle Bush Zuchini, Fino Verde Basil, Forest Green Parsley,  Italian Pole Bean, Little Ceasar Lettuce,  Mesclun Salad Mix, Peacevine Cherry Tomato,  Peruvian Purple Chile Pepper,  Royal Burgundy Bush Bean, Stupice Tomatoe : Sugar Snap Pea.  Pretty cool.  They also have a section on four season gardening.

Next is Bakers Creek Heirloom Seeds. In their own words:  “Your source for 1400 heirloom seeds. We only offer open-pollinated seeds: pure, natural & non-GMO!”  White Pumkins, Zebra Tomatoes, cool stuff.  A blog, forums, a magazine, links to other heirloom seed sites.  This is a neat catalog.

And of course, there’s the long established catalogs like Burpee’s and Parkseed.  We use Parks a lot.  Next posting: Vegetable Catalogs.

Filed under: Catalogs, Seeds