Garden Porn

They know how to target us when we are vulnerable.  It has been so long since we've had the real thing, we are dying for a little peek.  And then you open the covers, and there it is:  page after page of plump, rounded flesh and young, tender limbs.  And the prose accompanying it -- "stringless, meaty, round, deep green, very tender pods...."

Beans, people!  It is time for the seed catalogs to arrive, also known as garden porn.

If growing your own veggies is a staple of sustainable living, then growing your own from seed is a further step toward frugality.  In general, even with some across-the-board price increases I've noticed this year, you can pretty much depend on getting a packet of seeds for the same amount you will pay for one or two plants of the same veggie at the greenhouse.  So, if you take care to start your seedlings right, you can dramatically reduce the cost of gardening. 

I generally patronize four companies each year:  Burpee, Stark Brothers, Seeds of Change, and Richters.  All of them have given me great service and great products each year.

My workhorse company is Burpee.  I think Burpee has gotten something of a bum rap from serious gardeners who don't like to think they are buying seed from the same company that puts those racks of hybrid seed in the hardware store.  But, if you are a new gardener, that is exactly what you should be buying -- inexpensive hybrid seed of veggie varieties that are typically very easy to grow.  Later, when you start saving seeds, growing different varieties for different purposes (like paste tomatoes for canning), and generally choosing varieties for their suitability in your microclimate, you will want heirlooms, but your first few gardens should probably lean on inexpensive seed that will let you feel OK if you fail.

But Burpee isn't just hybrids in the hardware store.  This year, I noticed a great deal more heirlooms -- some on every page.  I ordered mostly heirloom seed for my garden from Burpee.  There is a respectable array of organic seed too.  The order came extra-quickly, so I will be able to start my peppers a little early this year.

Stark Brothers is my source for fruit trees.  I got my key lime and my nectarine trees from them (both dwarf), and this year I plan to round out the "orchard" with a lemon and a couple of apple trees.

Seeds of Change is my organic seed source.  They have a number of varieties of seldom-seen plants (like purslane), and they are committed to organic gardening.  That's worth supporting.

Richters is my source for herb plants.  I got my mojito mint and my feverfew from them, and this year I'm thinking about some St. John's Wort. 

I really encourage you to grow something to eat this year, directly from seed.  Pick your favorite veggie, a hard-to-get herb, or something you've never had before.  Watch that little darling go from a tiny pot on your windowsill or under a grow light to something that cheerfully gives you pounds of food.  And join me in my little addiction; you won't be alone.

The Analysis

Fast:  Nothing about gardening is terribly fast, but this one is about the journey as much as the destination.

Cheap:  A single pack of seeds will more than repay you in veggies.  Just looking at some of my Burpee's purchases, a pack of Crimson Giant heirloom radishes, $3.25, will give me more radishes than I can possibly eat, even if I split it into two plantings.  A packet of Sweet Banana heirloom pepper seeds, also $3.25, will likely give me a pound or two of peppers, enough for pizza toppings all summer and a pint or two frozen for winter.

Good:  The healthiest veggie is one that you have grown under conditions you control and harvested minutes before you want to eat it or preserve it.