Ordering Seeds for your Organic Garden

Posted by Katie Elzer-Peters
November 14th, 2008
Filed in Seed Starting
Tags: season, seeds, vegetables, winter

The winter winds are blowing and it’s time to order seeds for your organic garden! Even though it’s not winter yet, while last summer’s gardening results are still fresh in your mind, now is a good time to start planning for next year. If you wait until February to plan, a few things will happen:

1) You might pay more for your seeds.

2) You will be so incredibly tired of winter, that you will order WAY too many seeds. More than you can possibly ever grow.

3) You may not get your seeds to start them in time for good growth before last frost.

Realistically Planning your Organic Garden Seed Order

Before paging through your organic seed catalogs, answer the following questions for yourself:

1. Which plants grew well last summer?
2. Which plants struggled?
3. Can you identify why those plants did not do well and change the growing conditions so that they will grow better?
4. Is there anything that you definitely want to plant again next summer?
5. Is there anything you definitely do NOT want to plant again next summer?
6. Think back to spring–was there anything that was particularly difficult to start from seed, and you would therefore be better off purchasing seedlings?
7. What new plants/flowers/vegetables/fruits would you like to try growing this year?
8. Which plants need to be sown directly into the ground, and which plants need to be started early?
9. How much space do you realistically have to start plants from seed?

Armed with that information, you are ready to peruse seed catalogs. I recommend going through once, with a stack of sticky notes and tabbing the seeds you want. (If you are shopping online, write down the names and item numbers of the seeds you would like.) You will have way too many on the first pass.

Notice if there are any trends–like, you are really into heirloom tomatoes, or thinking about growing twenty different types of zinnias. There are two ways you can go with this:
1) You can try to contain yourself and plant one variety of your favorite plant.
2) You can have a limited plant selection that comprehensively covers many cultivars of the same type of plant.

Additionally, especially if you are growing vegetables, think about how much food your plants can produce, how much you need, and what you have the capacity to give away. (Your neighbors will only be receptive of so much squash–see the “Summer Squash Drop and Dash” post from earlier this year. If one zucchini vine will keep you “in zucchini” only buy one packet of seeds, and start about six transplants. You will want to plant a few vines in case something happens to one, but you can always yank out extras if you need to. Ditto with tomatoes, peppers and other prolific producers.

Next, plan out your garden. That’s right. Decide, now, to the best of your ability where you are going to put everything. That will be a further reality check.

When you are ready, and have sufficient control over your horticultural impulses, place your order and wait, eagerly, for your seeds to come in the mail. In the mean time, stock up on your seed starting supplies and make a plan for which windowsills are going to be sacrificed for the effort.