Seed Catalogues
Garden Planning in Paris!
Greetings my friends;
This is a reminder that now is the time to start not only the garden planning process, but the seed selection process! There is no better way to do this than to support genetic diversity of our seed supply, support local and regional businesses and to establish a relationship with those with knowledge and a supply of what will grow best where you live. A few of my national favorites include Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Seed Saver Exchange, and Territorial Seed Company, all of which are national.
I do have local favorite seed and nursery companies as well: Natures Crossroads, Brambleberry Farm and The Chile Woman. I am sure you will find wonderful local options. Vote with you dollars, vote local!
And because I have been struggling with winter illnesses and don’t have the non-sleepy strength to pull all this together for seed companies, I am going to link you up to my good friends, teachers and colleagues at the Permaculture Activist. Keith keeps this listing as up-to-date as possible, having local options grouped by state. If you have suggestions which are not on this list, please let us all know through the comment section below this post.
Click here for a listing of catalogues by country and state or province.
While you are beginning the planning process, don’t forget to check out “The Shop” for a Gardeners Planting Calendar and A Gardeners Guide to the Productive Potager: A Collection of Essential Charts.
For “newbie” friends, here is an article I wrote in 2010 for Natures Crossroads blog. Oh, but before I sign off, I want to let you know that you are not alone! I am available for consulting via phone or onsite (if you live near Bloomington). Think that option may be too expensive or that you don’t want to “go it alone”? Completely understandable. I have given many presentations and classes which cuts the per person cost down considerably and brings together a group of like minded souls for garden buddies. And now, time for a cup of tea, and a comfy chair!
“Planning Your Garden”
By Jami Scholl
November 1st, 2010
January was the time that all those requests for seed catalogues made back in November and December would fill my mailbox. Many great pleasurable evenings were stacked one on top the other as I read each plant description in each and every catalogue. My eyes scanned the pages, filled with photos of possibility of this food and that. I learned that one variety of carrot could have a much shorter growing season than another. Different varieties also had different harvest times; the shapes ranged from almost completely round like a large orange marble to short with a stubby end to long with pointed end. Colours of carrots in the photos ranged from pale yellow to bright orange to purple. (Imagine that, a purple carrot!) Shorter stubby carrots, such as the round Parmex, are not only fashionable, but will grow in heavier soils. The shorter varieties need less time to grow to maturity, too!
Reading carrot entry after carrot entry I also learned that some carrots contain more of certain nutrients than do other carrots. Some store better. Some are better for juicing. This is not something learned while standing in front of the vegetable case at the supermarket looking at the two or three choices of carrots…all orange. The choice became short or long, both packaged in plastic bags. Sometimes there was a lucky third choice – carrots held in a rubber-banded bunch of about 6; limp leafy green tops verified that they were actually plants and not manufactured to look that way. Really now, who wants a bendable carrot that acts as if it were silicone baking forms? Not me! I’d prefer the crunchy nutrition rich orange, purple, yellow, round, stubby pointy ones that have flavour. So what to do now?
Plan.
Sounds simple. But where to start?
The best way to begin planning a garden is by answering these questions:
1)What do you like to eat? (Prioritize what you eat the most of.)
2) How much growing space do you have?
3) Is this just for fresh eating or preservation?
4) Do you want to harvest through as much of the year as possible?
5) Do you have sun or is the available space shady?
6) What are your temperatures?
7) In what condition is your soil?
I’ll use an example of a small space since this is the best place to begin learning about gardening. And perhaps this space has an area of 10 feet by 5 feet? Do you have enough sun and the right temperatures to grow what you’d like to eat fresh? Some things are not meant to grow in small spaces, such as corn. Care should be taken in selecting favourites for the amount of space the plant requires. I find graph paper helpful in laying out the details of my garden, no matter the size. With list of veggies and measured out space I do a little research – I need to know how much space each plant requires, and the number of days to harvest. If you really want to be detailed, you can make both an overhead view as well as one that illustrates height.
On the back of seed packets, books about vegetable gardening and online resources can inform you about how much space is required between plants and rows. I personally plant in blocks; in this way I utilize the spacing between plants which allows for more to be planted in a smaller area. Jon Jeavons has a wonderful diagram and explanation in his books talking about bio-intensive growing. Bio is in reference to biodynamic growing developed by Rudolf Steiner. Intensive growing was used in Parisian market gardens at the turn of the 19th century, when small farms of only a few acres size fed the city of Paris beautifully and efficiently.
Some things, such as lettuces and spinach, can be planted in early spring as they thrive in cooler weather. After the last spring frost, less hardy plants can be added, such as tomatoes and basil. Spinach and lettuce will bolt (go to seed) as the weather heats up, so these can be pulled out, placed in the compost, and another plant sowed in its place, such as beans. Once the beans are harvested, then carrots, onion, cold hardy lettuce or spinach can be planted. Replacing one type of plant with another through the growing season is known as succession planting.
Knowing harvest times of each plant allows for keeping a garden producing for much of the year. I have developed a Gardener’s Planting Calendar which makes succession planting much easier, as all that would need to be done is assess the size of available growing space, then look on the calendar for what can be planted for that particular month. I am working now to create versions of the 2011 calendar to be used in climate zones 5, 6, and 7. They will be available no later than February for March planting. A unique feature is that the year will begin March 2011, and go to February 2012 in order to coincide when most folks begin the growing season.
Something I have experimented with is planting later in the season and harvesting later… if the ground is kept from freezing then carrots can be harvested in January. Straw has wonderful insulative properties which can prolong root vegetables life in the soil – cold temperatures sweeten the carrot for a taste children enjoy! Spinach planted in fall, if protected, can grow very, very slowly through the winter, and then will have a head start for early spring harvest.
Starting in a small space is beneficial to the new gardener, as knowledge and experience can be built upon year after year. Planning the garden is also about planning how much you have time to learn each year, each season, when “mistakes” are lessons learned. Garden planning is a process, a journey into a wealth of knowledge which can combine the intellect with hands-on experience that touches elemental emotions ranging from hopefulness to frustration to joy. To begin with a large space without background knowledge may become an overwhelming experience wrought with frustration and disappointment. It is at this point that gardening becomes a chore rather than a joy. And it is during these moments that those silicone plastic carrots begin to look tempting!
November is a good time to explore and prepare. If you will not be building raised beds or already have a garden, then a soil test is useful at this time of year. Think about what you need in regard to tools, and reference books. Perhaps explore garden classes and organized groups during the winter months. Make a list of all the things you eat each week in order to have the information you need to create a seed or plant list. November is a wonderful time to dream of the good food that can be grown in your own garden. Bon Appetit!
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