Cold Climate Gardening

Lynda, I, too, appreciate Seeds of Change, not just for their seeds, but also for the excellent information on their website, which can be found by clicking on the Digging in the Dirt link. And although I have gotten the Shumway’s catalog in the past, frankly, it never really grabbed my eye. I never thought about supplies . . . I will have to compare them with my current favorite,Silver Creek Supply. (I have to say I never knew they had a website, and never knew they were affiliated with DoItBest Centers. I would get their print catalog if you want seed starting supplies, because the website seems geared only to homeowners and not serious growers.) …

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Kathy, First of all, if I listed ALL the companies I order from, it would be too embarrasing. But one of my favorites is Seeds of Change out of Santa Fe, NM. Commitment to offering the highest quality organically grown, open-pollinated seed is what initially drew me to this company. It’s a bonus that all seeds and seedlings are 100% GMO-free and are grown by the company and their exclusive network of certified organic family farms and nurseries. AND they carry a wonderful line of farm tested tools from Clarrington Forge. Check out their site at www.seedsofchange.com. There is a 5% discount on items ordered online.

Another co is RH Shumway out of Randolph, WI. Go to hpsseed.com …

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Okay, Lynda, tell us what some of your fave companies are, and what did they offer that tempted you so?

I have gotten very frustrated over the last several years over my seed-raising performance. Oh, I start them just fine, but when it comes time to plant . . . well, the spot where I want to plant them needs to be weeded first, the final paperwork for homeschooling must be completed, one of five children’s birthdays during that time period must be prepared for . . . The end result is, my seedlings don’t get planted out until the end of June, completely rootbound and leggy. This is not the way I want to run my garden! So I …

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January is a slower month for me garden wise as there is usually a foot or more of snow, as there is now. But winter is the best time I have for paperwork/technical/research stuff. I have been dreaming my way through all the new seed & plant catalogs, making wish lists. I also just finished my own catalog which will mail shortly and uploaded it to my website (Paradise Gardens Rare Plant Nursery) –whew! Now I can settle back into the main winter things which mean sowing pans of seeds to stratify in the cold of the greenhouse, or warm-cycle pans to set at house temperature, …

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Just stumbled across the website of The Renegade Gardener, the self-proclaimed “lone voice of horticultural reason for USDA Zones 2 through 4.” He’s opinionated (check out the ten tenets of renegade gardening), funny (read his bio), and informative (study up on his garden myths). I would like to think that this blog is another voice of reason for the cold climate gardener, but his site is a definite must-read.

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I don’t have any bare ground for crocus to be poking up through–we have at least 18 inches of snow on the ground. Is it because the crocus are near the heated greenhouse that they are coming up? I hope some time this winter you and Judy both can tell us what size and type greenhouse you each have, what criteria you used in choosing your greenhouse, and what, if anything, you would do differently if you were going to purchase one again.

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Kathy, Thank you for the advice about Fraser’s. And the hepaticas are unbelievable! Have spent the last few days trying to cover crocus poking through the ground all around the greenhouse. Too soon, too soon! And the temps are supposed to plunge in the next few days. As I plant and sow in the signs of the moon, have been busy seeding in pansies and lisianthus and some geraniums. I grow for friends and family, who have been nudging me, via e-mail, wanting to know what will be ready, when! Looking out into the back yard, snow is beginning to pile up. Last night all the dogs in the neighborhood were singing in harmony with the coyotes down in the …

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