It's Catalog Time

Catalogs have been showing up in the mailbox. Why is it that, snowed over as the land is, the catalogs arrive now? The Farmer’s Almanac sets May 2nd as the last frost date for this coming spring. Give or take a few days or even several weeks depending on what the weather actually does, there’s about four months from now until planting time.

There’s a reason for it. And of course there is; do they not plan these mailings? Now, when we cannot experience tilled, arable soil warmed by the sun, we can still dream. And as we look at the pictures and read the descriptions (are they telling us better than it is?) we begin to make long lists. We choose three varieties when only one is needed. We imagine that a pictured flower will look happier than its real counterpart. And, in the end we’ll have picked enough seeds to fill a dozen times the garden space we have. Yes, indeed it is the perfect time for these catalogs to arrive.

We do look forward to them this time of year. We read them cover to cover, and then read them again with highlighter in hand to brighten the selection, followed by dog-earring the corner of the page. We want to be sure to not miss any of our choices when the final order is entered into the internet form.

Have we gone purple pole beans? Or delicata squashes? Or nuts? Nah. It’s just the flavor of this time of the year. Whether you are equally nuts as us or not, we wanted to share with you our selection of catalogs. Here are the three main ones that we use every year.

FEDCO Seeds. 151 pages, illustrated with drawings, printed on newsprint paper. Helpful and fun-to-read seed descriptions. Selection of certified organic seeds. Seeds are sold by weight in multiples of weights (2oz., 8oz., 1lb., 5lb., etc.). A separate catalog for trees, fruits, shrubs arrives if you request the seed catalog. www.fedcoseeds.com

Pinetree Garden Seeds and Accessories. 130 pages, color photos on newsprint paper. "We spend the majority of our time in trials evaluating vegetable seed varieties," they say. Seeds are tested for germination rates. There is a notable focus on heirloom varieties. Planting and harvesting tips are offered in handy sidebars. Seeds are sold by number of seeds, for home gardens. www.superseeds.com

Johnny’s Selected Seeds. 112 pages, large color photos on glossy paper. Includes information for farm and market growing, and info for growing each seed type. Organic and heirloom varieties are offered. Small packets for home growing are sold by number of seeds, larger quantities are by weight or number of seeds. In business since 1973, Johnny’s is now 100% employee owned. www.johnnyseeds.com

-jmm

Be Careful What You Order

Like us, you may be on mailing lists if you buy seeds and other gardening stuff through the mail. And you may also be getting catalogs advertising $25 in free merchandise on the front cover. A quick read of the fine print reveals that one must buy $25 worth to get the free $25. This seems hardly unreasonable, at least at first glance.

I usually enjoy paging through these to look at the pictures before depositing them into the recycling bin. Recently I paged through one of these catalogs and was surprised by a "flower" called "Virginian Silk" with the subtitle: "Silky seedpods resemble parrots!" The photo showed four fat, green seedpods hanging from the edge of a glass of water as if they were drinking from it. Well, this piqued my curiosity so I leaned forward for a closer look. 

The seed pods seemed very familiar. Fortunately, the scientific name for this amazing garden delight was provided: "asclepias syriaca.” A quick internet search brought the name right up. And, sure enough, my suspicions were right on: good ol' milkweed.  It goes by other common names including Butterfly Flower, and (unfamiliar to me) Virginia Silkweed. Although the young leaves and unripened seed pods are said to be edible (they should be cooked first), and the plant is a well known Monarch butterfly food, it is toxic to grazing animals although the animals tend to avoid it due to its unpleasant flavor. 

As a kid I blew silky seeds out of many a ripened seed pod, watching them go wafting in the breeze. And have often collected seed pods for dried floral arrangements. I've known milkweed all the way from Wisconsin to Maine, having often seen patches of it growing in pastures and ditches.  

And the ditch and the pasture are good places for it. You may wish to leave it there! In such environments the surrounding root systems of sod and other weeds seem to help keep it in check.

Totally another story in looser, more open garden soil. The plant spreads via underground runners. When you pull one up pieces of the runners break off. Each of those pieces will send up a new plant. This makes it very difficult, if not near-impossible to eradicate should you decide you don’t want it. I've done battle with a similar weed, and it is never-ending. Milkweed seeds must be for the birds because the plant will spread itself without them! 

The catalog company is offering this garden wonder for the fabulous price of $7.99. I think they have it overpriced by $7.99! So... a word to the wise... check out the scientific name and know what you are ordering! -jmm