It's arrived! This time of year its the most exciting thing about the garden and its finally appeared. It's the time when those new gardening catalogs start showing up. I've finally received my first catalog for the new gardening year. From now until spring most gardeners will spend many, many hours thumbing through the pages and pages of the new offerings and longing for the time when the orders are mailed off and those new seeds begin filling the mailbox.
This catalog isn't the best or even my favorite but it IS the first and because of that it will probably get more attention then some of the later arrivals. I will spend hours and hours browsing the catalogs, admiring the pictures of beautiful herbs and vegetables and reading the descriptions that accompany them. I make lists of all the things I simply MUST have and those tried and true favorites that need replacing. The lists of seeds I want to order gets longer and longer as all the different catalogs begin filling the mail box. Inevitably, as the time for ordering gets closer I have to get serious about buying seeds and the wants have to be measured against reality. I just don't have the planting space or the money to buy every seed I want.
I usually have to reel myself in a great deal by the time I place my seed orders. To do that I find that I have to do several things. I DO mark in my catalogs with a black sharpie pen everything I want to order. Then I take into account and list all the special discounts and free offers they give to tempt me into ordering. I make a list for each catalog and attach it to the front. This list is just a beginning.
Next I make a drawing of my garden areas and fill it in with my imaginary plants. This garden is perfect and weed free. Everything grows beautifully and there are no pests or disease. Watering is done easily and all the plants grow in perfect harmony with very little work on my part. I draw in those perennials that are already planted and then note the bare spots where I can plant my annuals. Then reality meets my seed ordering lists and I begin the long "chore" of paring back my wants.
First I inventory the seeds that I have already stored for planting. There are tried and true seeds and vegetables that I plant every year and simply can't do without. I pull out my boxes and jars and see if anything is getting low. If I already have plenty of them then there is no reason to order more. Of course, I save seeds from year to year and these seeds are stored in jars and envelopes in quantity. Now my planting areas are shrinking fast and I have the task of deciding which seeds I really should order verses those that just won't fit after all.
I will cross off those seeds that overlap from catalog to catalog so that I only order a certain variety from one company rather then everybody who offers it. I try to make sure I order just enough to get the freebies and discounts. Usually, that's not a problem:) I make sure that most of what I order grows well in my area but occasionally I try something new thats not meant for my area just because I can. I order mostly non-hybrids so that I can save the seeds but again I'm not opposed to trying something just for the fun of it even if it is a seed I can't save because its a hybrid. I just make a note that a certain cucumber or tomato is a one time planting and I don't devote a great deal of space to them.
My growing space and budget keep shrinking with every seed I choose to order. I do keep in mind that some seeds will need to be ordered not only for planting in the new spring garden but ordered and saved for planting when those spring crops stop producing and its time to rotate, replant or grow the fall garden. I order them in spring because they may not be available later.
At last, its time to finalize the decisions and imagination meets reality. My lists are much shorter and realistic. I DO still include some new and unusual things but for the most part I try to order what I know I should. I make a final clean list and staple it to the front of each catalog. There are a few here and there from all the offerings. I fill out the order forms and send off my payment with both regret and anticipation. I hate it that I can't order everything but I can't wait to get my final purchases in the mail. I mourn all the cozy time spent with the catalogs planning and dreaming about my garden but I anticipate the visits to the mail box stuffed with the arrival of all the new seeds which will soon be coming in the weeks ahead.
Yes, it's finally arrived. The first catalog and many happy hours of planning and plotting my new garden. I realize it may mean the difference between survival and hunger one day. For now its also an annual time of joy and excitement as those catalogs bring pictures and descriptions of new growth, new adventures in growing and the challenge of planning a whole new garden. The best part is that, for now, the spring garden can be planted from the comfort of my cozy home while the cold and damp of winter are forgotten outside the windows and doors.
Southern Wood Elf