January is the season of the glossy, gorgeous seed catalogues! Every gardener loves receiving them in the mail. It’s hard not to love looking at a preview of our abundant summer harvests when it’s such a stark contrast to the snow and frigid temperatures of the weather outside.
Though I have a blog post about how to make seed ordering simple, I wanted to spend more time with you here to dig into two key seed-ordering concepts behind not only growing a successful garden, but successfully expanding your gardening know-how.
My goal is to help you buy the exact seeds you’ll need to make your garden flourish this summer without wasting money.
The seed company you buy from matters just as much as the seeds you buy.
The single biggest change I made that took my garden from ho-hum to producing all the veggies we eat during the summer was ordering high-quality seeds that are adapted for our cold climate.
Every gardener starts out with the seeds that are the most convenient: the ones you can pick up for a dollar or two at the home improvement store. I certainly did.
But you know, those seeds just didn’t grow very well. The veggies and herbs were so tiny compared to how large and luscious they were supposed to be. When the seed packet said that basil was supposed to be 8″ tall, mine was about 2-3″ after a few months of growing. And that’s if I could get the plants to sprout at all. Struggles all around.
At the time, I just didn’t know that there were seed companies other than the ones who sold seeds at my home improvement store. But once I found them, it changed everything.
So if you’re struggling with your home improvement store seed, what kind of seed should you buy?
Seeds are a bit like people: adapted to their climate. If a Floridian or Californian moves to Chicago, they’re going to be absolutely miserable all winter. I’m sure you’ve seen it. And if you stick me in Florida in the middle of their summer, I’ll be a gonner.
Seeds are the same way. If you try to grow seeds that were harvested in sunny, warm California, the seeds are going to struggle tremendously with Chicago’s tough springs full of many cold snaps. They likely will struggle so much that they just won’t be able to bounce back to full vitality by the end of our growing season. And if you’ve spent all summer trying to grow this plant only to have a small or misshapen harvest, you’ll (rightfully) be frustrated. I don’t want that for you.
Where your seeds are grown matters. Find seed companies that are based in other cold climates
I’ll get you started with my two favorites:
- Seed Savers Exchange. They’re based in similarly-snowy and cold Iowa, so Seed Savers seeds are basically bulletproof midwestern troopers. Their germination rates are almost 100% (at least 50% more than my home improvement store seed attempts), which saves me a ton of time and stress. Even better, Seed Savers is on a mission to preserve heirloom seeds that are being lost each year as national seed companies capture more and more of the market and dictate what we grow. Most of the seeds in their catalogues come with a delightful little story about so-and-so’s grandpa or great-aunt who grew the seed for decades before a family member donated it to Seed Savers when their family member passed. It’s a mission I love supporting.
- Fruition Seeds. They’re based in the western part of New York State, known for its cold winters and hefty snow loads. I originally came across Fruition Seeds because I heard their seed garlic was incredible (and it is!). After such success with their garlic, I knew they knew their stuff, so I started ordering seeds from them too. The germination rates are almost 100%, just like Seed Savers above, and while Fruition is a smaller company with more limited offerings, they have some fun varieties I can’t wait to try this summer, like black and tan sesame seeds. They’ve also recently expanded into fruit trees, ginger, and potatoes, so if you are looking to add any of those to your garden, Fruition is a great place to order those.
