{"id":10075,"date":"2012-12-22T08:00:57","date_gmt":"2012-12-22T15:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/?p=10075"},"modified":"2012-12-20T14:49:24","modified_gmt":"2012-12-20T21:49:24","slug":"choosing-your-source-for-garden-seed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/choosing-your-source-for-garden-seed\/","title":{"rendered":"Choosing Your Source for Garden Seed"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_10112\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10112\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/seed-sources-catalogs.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10112\" title=\"a few good catalogs is all you need\" src=\"http:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/seed-sources-catalogs-300x193.jpg\" alt=\"a few good catalogs is all you need\" width=\"300\" height=\"193\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/seed-sources-catalogs-300x193.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/seed-sources-catalogs-1024x661.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10112\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">a few good catalogs is all you need<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>I could probably wall paper the house every year with the seed catalogs that come in the mail.<\/strong> \u00a0Instead, I glance at them and &#8220;sort&#8221; them according to a few criteria. \u00a0Most of them quickly end up in the waste basket, but I do prefer to buy most of my seed via mail. \u00a0<em>I get better information about the seeds and more choices in actual plants to grow this way, not just options about which company to buy from on the seed rack.<\/em> \u00a0Here is what I am looking for:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #993300;\">What types of seed are available?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Is the seed clearly identified as open pollinated or hybrid? \u00a0Heirloom is a catch phrase that I am beginning to find humorous, as dates from the 1850s &#8211; 1950s are listed. \u00a0Surely, there were open pollinated seeds before that!<\/li>\n<li>Do the descriptions provide useful information, or are they just full of fun adjectives?<\/li>\n<li>Do the varieties have defining characteristics that interest me, including tolerance of certain weather conditions?<\/li>\n<li>Are the varieties unique from what is offered by other sources, not just renamed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #993300;\">\u00a0Where are the seeds produced?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Does the company grow any of their own seeds?<\/li>\n<li>Do they say where they get their seeds?<\/li>\n<li>How similar to my own environment is the place where the seed is grown?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #993300;\">How close to me is the seed company?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>This affects how fast the seeds get to me.<\/li>\n<li>Besides convenience, less time in transit means less chance for exposure to damage from things like heat and moisture.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #993300;\">Is growing information organized and easy to reference?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Are any specifics about growing conditions listed?<\/li>\n<li>Is it easy to note days until harvest?<\/li>\n<li>Are common cautions and problems listed?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #993300;\">How much marketing hyperbole and philosophical propaganda is there?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Advertising seed qualities is useful, but I don&#8217;t need to wade through their moral perspectives while shopping.<\/li>\n<li>An attitude of moral superiority about their products often leads to justifying higher prices.<\/li>\n<li>The more hyperbole, the less I buy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #008000; text-decoration: underline;\">Five seed catalogs have become favorites of mine, by meeting at least some of the above tests.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/johnnyseeds.com\" target=\"_blank\">Johnny&#8217;s Selected Seeds<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.territorialseed.com\" target=\"_blank\">Territorial Seed Company<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.seedsofchange.com\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Seeds of Change<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.selectseeds.com\" target=\"_blank\">Select Seeds<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.superseeds.com\" target=\"_blank\">Pinetree Seeds<\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>I have been buying from the first four companies for enough years to know that I get good service from them.<\/em> \u00a0Pinetree Seeds is new, but they have my attention.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10113\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10113\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/seed-sources-packets.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10113\" title=\"alphabetized seeds packets, separated first as vegetables and flowers\" src=\"http:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/seed-sources-packets-300x162.jpg\" alt=\"alphabetized seeds packets, separated first as vegetables and flowers\" width=\"300\" height=\"162\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/seed-sources-packets-300x162.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/seed-sources-packets-1024x554.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10113\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">alphabetized seeds packets, separated first as vegetables and flowers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>I still buy a few seed packets locally, usually a basic vegetable I need more of at the last minute or a fun flower that catches my attention. \u00a0I also tend to buy heavy things like seed potato and garlic in town. \u00a0Once in a while, I mail order a whole plant that I want to save seed from. \u00a0S<strong>hopping from the catalogs is fun and relaxing, as well as useful.<\/strong> \u00a0<em>The system I use helps keep it manageable. \u00a0<\/em>I&#8217;d love to hear about anyone else&#8217;s favorite seed sources!<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I could probably wall paper the house every year with the seed catalogs that come in the mail. \u00a0Instead, I glance at them and &#8220;sort&#8221; them according to a few criteria. \u00a0Most of them quickly end up in the waste basket, but I do prefer to buy most of my seed via mail. \u00a0I get [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10075"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10075\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}