Celebrating the promise of spring with winter’s most anticipated arrival

Each winter, somewhere between the grim realization that the holidays have truly ended and the giddy elation of a shadowless Ground Hog’s Day, there comes a moment eagerly anticipated in our home. Not the first robin sighting, or the lengthening daylight hours, or even the calendar page turning with the vague promise of spring. No, we’re talking about a day far more monumental—almost epic in scale. What is this grand delight you ask? It’s the arrival of the seed catalogues.

Seed catalogs have been part of garden life for a very long time and once rural delivery became reliable across the country, the demand exploded for a paper wish book you could enjoy at your leisure. Beautifully decorated catalogues, with art worthy of any gallery, beckoned to the humble homesteader. Even the most diehard, over-the-counter customer enjoyed the pages of gaily-coloured ads with resounding endorsements no one could refuse. It might seem old fashioned, but despite the wonders of technology, many seed houses still produce wonderful page turners that snow-bound growers eagerly look forward to. You still can go to the local mercantile with its fine selection of seeds, and likely many of us will. But thumbing through a seed pamphlet smacks of heritage and tradition that we so need these days. Settling in with a steaming cup of orange Pekoe and crackling new catalogues spread out on the kitchen table…that’s the picture of contentment!

Back in our grandparents’ time seeds came in larger quantities, and I recall an old relative mentioning well-stuffed cloth bags like smoking tobacco used to come in. For the folks with serious acreage, bulk seeds could be purchased by the scoop, but gardeners often planted by holding back seed from a particularly successful crop. A carpenter acquaintance told me he often finds old jars full of seeds in basements or attics marked with faintly scribbled pencil messages like “extra tasty” or “big producer”.

Garden seeds a century and more back were even more vitally important, and every gardener was a fierce defender of their choice in seeds; even the renowned horticulturist and author Fearing Burr’s weighty words might hold no sway. Gardeners with bellies to fill were ever aware that harvest yields, not pretty or fancy, was the watch word in good quality vegetable seed.

There’s something magical about seed catalogues; maybe not Harry-or Hermione-magical but still pretty wonderful. A few contemplative hours with your nose buried in the beckoning pages is time well invested. As winter winds whip the snowy spruces, you are knee deep in cabbage, kale and cauliflower, and your spirit is warmed by the dizzying anticipation of all the delightful dining those simple packets will produce.

Laura Lavender

At our home, the paper seed books begin to appear as the old year wanes, but I never crack a cover until January’s calendar picture is staring at me. It’s part superstition and part tradition;  my dear companion is far freer, and she has spent many an hour gleefully teasing me about my silly superstition—in good humour, of course.

With all the fresh, crisp, shiny catalogues spread out, it’s like a child’s Christmas morning. Such possibilities, such potential, all patiently waiting for your selection. First, the seed catalogues are arranged in order according to distance, with the suppliers farthest away examined first. Then a rough outline of the coming season’s acreage and what goes where and how much. Next for consideration are the three types of seeds: fresh summer eating; for preserving; and best of all, “wild cards” in the form of unusual crops.

Many times a good deal of grumbling is done with harsh criticism of the hardiness zones suggestions. Surely if it’s on the border, it ought to grow here, right? This gamble some years falls flat on its face with a big failure but it amazes me the crops I can raise on the edge of frost’s arrival—which can appear in our zone any time after mid-August. Everything from collards to peanuts and a myriad of hotter clime exotics you’d never think of, all ripen nicely—if dangerously close to disaster.

Soon my eyes are glowing with shiny magazine pictures of huge crops, pristine gardens and a bounty this dirt jockey could never possibly coax out of the rock pile masquerading as our vegetable garden. 

Once the main order is complete, I perform serious surgery and clip away a few items I probably don’t need. This is tough but necessary; like so many other dreamers, I have learned you can only plant so much, devote so much time and care for only so much ground. In a perfect world there are no bugs, backward summers, drought or other gardening woes to bring me back to reality. Ours is not perfect.

Seeds cost money and before you plunk down coin, be sure to compare prices. Delivery costs can vary wildly so be sure of the total before filling out the money order.

Speaking of silver, most seed houses still accept the old fashion money order and that’s how I deal with companies these days, keeping my credit card information to myself.  

It might pay to send a bulk order with a gardening neighbour and save on costs by equally dividing it up. Avoiding the heavy stuff keeps the order light and most times a couple packets will suffice—excepting of course carrots, which I never order enough, no matter what. Carrots in our garden take a fearsome thrashing in summer salads, fresh sweet fingerlings and by the canning season, it’s a bit tight to have sufficient numbers.

Eventually I tally the damage and then pass the figures over to management for final confirmation. She examines the choices carefully, checks my sums and then pushes it back to me.

Satisfied we are going to have food enough or at least seeds enough, we close the wish books and turn in to dream of seeds in straight dark rows.

In the depths of winter’s cold we all need a bit of summer fantasy, hoping that the sunny warm days will return. So as the snow piles up outside the homestead, wrap yourself in a thick sweater, keep the wood fire crackling and delve deep into the seed catalogues. And wait and wish and wonder.

 

Cautionary seedy tales

No seed catalogue discussion is complete without a few words about seed quality. Today’s seeds are sometimes not as natural as they might like to appear and a gardener keeping seed for next year needs to start out with viable quality strains that reproduce true. I certainly am not criticizing any seed houses nor am I going to get into a battle over the complex issue of GMOs. But if you want to raise seed that is heirloom and keep it true to form, be sure of where you purchase it. Be certain of the seed type and educate yourself on what various industry words or abbreviations actually mean.

Keeping a seed true—just like heirloom livestock—takes real work. When planting, always keep a few extra seeds as a backup, in case of any issues with future seed use. Another important consideration for keeping seed for next year is whether someone else’s garden might be too close with similar crops. Do you have a beehive near, or even a wild bee’s nest? Those wonderful but wildly promiscuous little stingers can
be a reason your crops look funny. Bees travel astonishing distances and those vital pollinators do just that: pollinate! Don’t curse them, but keep an eye on their work. Some seed surprises are good, and some are not.

It took a three-year planting cycle to realize some of my squashes were not true to seed and all looked alike. Another season, my ‘Country Gentleman’ white corn was bicoloured. Turned out a neighbour over half a mile away had a row of ‘Early Golden Bantam’ and it must have been the bees that cross pollinated my corn; although it could have been the wind. Be aware of surroundings, the type of seed, and maintain rigorous control for successful seed saving results.

Where to order? 

For those wishing to order closer to home, these local companies offer open pollinated selections plus berries and fruit/nut trees suited to our Atlantic climate. This isn’t an exhaustive list but gives you some great choices. 

The Seed Company by EW Gaze, St. John’s, NL

Rainbow Seeds, Riverside-Albert, NB

Atlantic Pepper Seeds, Harvey, NB

PEI Seed Alliance, Charlottetown, PEI

Cochrane Family Seeds, Upper Stewiacke, NS

Incredible Seed Company, Bridgewater, NS

Hope Seeds, Clementsport, NS

Yonder Hill, Laconia, NS

Revival Seeds, Middleton, NS

Annapolis Seed, Nictaux, NS