It's Seed Catalog Time

The first seed catalog of the season has arrived -- High Mowing Organic Seeds. Most years, the little kid-at-Christmas comes out and I get uber excited with the arrival of that first catalog. That's not the case this year after overdoing it a bit this past season and growing weary of constantly spending time in the garden. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore picking dinner and now that it's colder, hitting the storage bins/shelves and eating what I grew (not to mention fretting in the grocery and farmer's market aisles over the lack of organic produce). But my time needs to be more shared between garden work and playtime, so the garden will be a little smaller next year, thus less seeds to order. But there might be a pack or two I simply must have -- like spinach and carrots -- or maybe some cherry tomatoes or heirloom peach tomatoes. And I believe I have to give some new varieties of winter squash a try -- like acorn. I have plenty of butternut squash seeds left over from last year. The nice thing about the organic seeds from both Fedco and High Mowing Organic Seeds is they'll keep if you don't use the whole pack in one year, and I have a good bit from last year. They are good quality, non-GMO seeds that last for several years. And non GMO Is what its all about. Remember, be careful where you get your seeds because over half of the seed market (2005 statistics - can't find more recent data) is controlled by the top 10 seed companies, including Monsanto, the GMO giant. Fedco and High Mowing Organic Seeds are two good starts. Seeds of Change is another good one and many others are out there. Lots of local folks are starting their own organic seed exchanges - those are good sources too. So next season is about to begin. Winter is the perfect time to plan the garden for next year.