Garden Secrets - January
What’s Happening in the Garden – January
Every January, once the Christmas tree is down and the relatives are out of the house, I start itching to get back into the garden. In Boulder we are blessed with random days of 50 to 60 degree weather starting early January. All it takes is one of these to get me garden crazy! My first step towards spring starts with seed catalogues.
My favorite place to purchase seeds, by far, is Johnny’s Select Seeds. Their packaging is super utilitarian and informative. The packets reseal so you can safely use, reuse, and store the seeds after planting. On most seed packets they provide days to maturity information, germination rates, and harvesting guidelines, all of which come in super handy when working with seeds. Additionally, their seeds are of fantastic quality. The ONLY drawback to Johnny’s Select Seeds is the price. Their seed packs average a dollar, or 25%, more than Park Seeds and shipping is a whopping $10. This shipping cost is really what gets me, I’m willing to pay more per packet for the quality of seeds and packaging but I often shop multiple times when purchasing seeds as new verities come to my attention and my will power breaks down. At $10 a pop, this simply isn’t an option at Johnny’s. They do offer free shipping on orders over $200 but even in my craziest gardening frenzies, I never come close to spending that on seeds. You often get a (meager) 5% off email if you save inventory in your cart and wait a few days to purchase.
I purchase most of my seeds from Park Seed Company. They have a good selection, their seeds packs are some of the cheapest out there, and they offer $2.99 shipping on all seed orders. My biggest complaint when it comes to Park Seeds is the packaging. Their slim gold seed packs are not re-sealable and are hard to read. What is more, the labeling seems to be stamped on and is often illegibly blurred. When the text is readable it is generic and not of much use. As a result, I use Park for seeds I know really well or that I’m simply trying on a whim.
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds is by far the most beautiful and feel good seed catalogue. While their selection of edibles far outweighs their floral options, they do offer a number of flower seeds. Family owned and ecologically conscious, shopping at Baker Creek just makes you feel good, shipping is free, and their catalogue is one of my favorite things to read in the bubble bath.
Burpee offers a good selection of popular and standard garden seeds at moderate prices with $2.99 shipping and they rarely sell out.