Thursday, January 21, 2010

Sowing the Seeds

There's a chill in the air, we had a new delivery of firewood for the wood stove earlier in the week, we're cooking wintery things like pureed celeriac, beets, turnips, blue potatoes, and rutabaga (Glenn) and creme carmel bread pudding (me) and yet lately all I can think about is getting back into the garden and growing things. While we don't typically have truly harsh winters here (the protracted recent cold snap notwithstanding), they're just long enough that I start getting antsy right about now for warm soil, budding green shoots, and dirt-stained knees on my pants.

Fortunately, I have seed catalogues to curl up with and savor. For the crops that I want to get a jump start on, like tomatoes, I'll collect a variety of seeds, tuck them into some potting soil, and then gently coax them into being underneath fluorescent lighting. This month's Hobby Farm Home has an easy tutorial on building your own indoor seed starting "condo,"as they call it.

Asheville has a great, local seed source I've mentioned on here before called Sow True Seeds. I just put in an order for a catalogue today. In addition to Sow True, other seed companies I routinely order from include:
Also, my blogging buddy Kristen, over in the Bay Area, turned me on to Kitazawa Seed Co., a California supplier specializing in Asian vegetables.

Do you have suppliers that you especially enjoy? Anyone specializing in unusual or heirloom varieties? For fruit and nut trees and bushes, I particularly like Stark Brothers.

The rush to get a flavorful, fragrant, and visually appealing garden is on!

*Image from here.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm with you girl!!!It is time for Warm weather. Plant lot's of tomatoe's,HINT HINT! Luvins Mom

Charity Arendas said...

I would love to have your bread pudding recipe, if you don't mind sharing. My email is charityarendas@yahoo.com
Thanks :)

Kevin Kossowan said...

This year it's Johnny's, Stokes, and T&T. Also a fan of Saltspring seeds.

Julie said...

I agree, its soooo time to start thinking about seeds! Horizon is one of my absolute favorites for herbs but for veggies I LOVE seed savers exchange. I put in my seed order with them yesterday ;P

tigress said...

i started pouring over mine this past weekend. many the same as yours, ...seed savers exchange, and seeds of change are both good too. i cannot wait to start this year's garden! :)

ashley english said...

charity: here you go: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2009/12/creme_caramel_bread_pudding.
i doubled the recipe, to feed a crowd of 14, and it came out perfectly! i was heavy handed with the nutmeg, but that's just how we roll....

Maija said...

Have you checked out territorial seed company? http://www.territorialseed.com/
not sure if they will offer you anything different from your routine-rs but check it out!

maija said...

clearly i didnt read well enough, as it is on there.. totally embarassinnnnng! maybe you should just deny my last comment

ashley english said...

no worries, maija! i've done the same thing myself at times!

sk said...

I really like High Mowing Seeds up in Maine!

Nita said...

I just got my first order from Daybreak Gardens, and I'm really happy with them. They have an Ebay store at: http://stores.ebay.com/Daybreak-Gardens

Decent selection (for a small place) and good shipping prices. Thought I'd share!

Jaimelee said...

Thanks for these links, I am always searching for a great herbal seed seller. I want to second high mowing seeds and I love botanical interests, we have great results with their seeds and the packets are so pretty. Southern exposure seed exchange is another good one, especially for seed potatoes. I can't wait to start gardening, we have just set up our indoor starter to get a jump on some plants for the spring.