Our Favorite Seed Catalogs

This is the time of year when all the seed catalogs fight for space in your mailbox next to the CHRISTMAS SALE!! catalogs and offers. Which of these catalogs is worth saving to pore over by the fire as you plot and plan next season’s vegetable or flower garden (that is why winter was created, wasn’t it)? Ask a bunch of Master Gardeners to tell you which is their favorite seed catalog and you will be surprised at the diversity of responses. Guess that makes sense when gardening is such a personal thing. The one thing all the favorites had in common is that they contain good information about the plants, often with pictures, to help the gardener choose the right variety, and they sell good-quality seeds. Woe to the marketer who sends seeds that don’t germinate to a Master Gardener! So, here are the results of the survey of Master Gardeners who make plant selections for our Demonstration Garden at Ida Lee Park and for our Spring Plant Sale varieties:

Hands-down favorite, mentioned by most, is Southern Exposure Seed Exchange:

As far as seed, http://www.southernexposure.com Southern Exposure Seed Exchange is the BEST! Great website in that it has a library for organic and heritage gardeners with lots of relevant sites for those wishing to pursue this type of gardening. In addition they stock organic seed types that do well in this region, you can email them or call with questions and they have lots of good info in the catalog. Downside is that they frequently run out of the most popular varieties early in the year and compared to other companies they do have a limited number of varieties. (Note: if you plan to garden organically, seeds from organically-raised plants will often have better vigor to prosper in a garden without pesticides. That is why we have a bias for organic seed for our Demo Garden.)

Also receiving multiple votes is Seeds of Change:

I also like Seeds of Change (http://www.seedsofchange.com) 100% certified organic but have a much larger seed inventory in that they do annuals, perennials and vegetables organically and did this before organic was fashionable. They support a nationwide network of dedicated farmers who produce their seed for them. Great selection, great customer service, good selection of cover crops.

Other favorites:

Johnny's Selected Seeds - http://www.johnnyseeds.com- great selection and they have great charts and tables to help with harvest predictions (for example, average seeds needed per 100' row, average yield per 100' row)and they also provide growing information for EVERY seed crop they offer (how and when to sow, diseases, pests, harvesting, days to maturity, etc.)

Seed Savers Exchange - http://www.seedsavers.org- great selection of heirloom seeds. You do not have to be a member to order seeds, but if you do join, you have access to thousands (13,263 unique varieties) of rare seeds offered by members, plus reference texts, online forums, discounts, mags, and pubs. A fantastic organization well worth supporting.

Territorial Seed and Pine Tree Garden Seeds: I will first look to Southern Exposure, but if I can’t find the varieties I am looking for there, I will go to Territorial Seeds http://www.TerritorialSeed.comor Pine Tree Garden Seeds https://www.superseeds.com/ These catalogs have a wide selection of unique varieties.

Then there are the old standbys that are still good and a good place to start for beginners:

Burpee http://www.burpee.com/and Parks http://www.parkseed.com; they never fail. I like the information and pictures on the Burpee packages. (The Parks packages are sealed gold foil, but do not have enough information on them.) HPS Seed http://www.hpsseed.comfor larger quantities such as my favorite pelleted Silver Wave petunia.

And some other nominees in the Best Catalog category:

Cooks Garden www.cooksgarden.com/veggies and heirloom flowers) Shepherds Seeds http://www.shepherdseeds.com/(veggies and heirloom flowers)

Thompson and Morgan http://www.tmseeds.com/(good descriptions and variety) Dixondale Farms www.dixondalefarms.com/(onion plants) Wood Prairie Farms http://www.woodprairie.com/ (organic seed, potatoes)

Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply http:// groworganic.com(organic selections from CA) Filaree Farm www.filareefarm.com/ (garlic, garlic, garlic) Underwood Gardens http://www.underwoodgardens.com (heirloom seeds, promote building good soil)

And nominees for Best Catalogs for plants and Bulbs:

Are you also looking for plant and bulb sources? Never, never order from Dutch Bulbs! They send their lily bulbs loose in a plastic bag and have a ridiculous refund procedure. I swear by Bluestone http://www.bluestoneperennials.com for smaller starter plants, good catalog, excellent packaging and replacement policies, great variety, good prices) and Gilbert H Wild http://www.gilberthwild.com for daylilies, hosta, lilies, and peonies. I find Wayside and White Flower Farm tempting but expensive. For bulbs it's always Brent and Becky www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com/ as well as Scheepers/Van Englen http://www.johnscheepers.com.

And enjoy your winter plotting and planning!

Barbara Arnold, Loudoun County