When the catalogs are stacked as high as last summer's corn
The rollout of the seed catalogs started early this year. High Mowing, the first horse out of the gate, arrived just before Thanksgiving, well before any enthusiasm for next year's garden could be sparked. After the garden has been put to bed and the yard tidied up, it seems more important to declutter the house - winter's best indoor sport.
The first thing I seized upon in my cleanup frenzy was a collection of seed and plant catalogs that nearly filled a bookcase. Why on earth was I hoarding ones that went back to 1997? Some were from companies now defunct, although certain detailed ones were worth saving as reference materials for the plants they'd carried.
Most likely I had saved the rest of the catalogs as reminders, in case I needed to search beyond the ones that faithfully fill my mailbox at this time of year. Those come because I've ordered from them in recent times. Any I've ignored have understandably ignored me, and should be commended for saving money and trees. After all, nearly everyone's listings are now online.
Most sellers continue to print catalogs for those of us who love to curl up by the fire with them, making check marks and lists. I was even happy to pay $5.50 for the one from Landreth, a treasury of heirloom and classic varieties in Sharon Springs, N.Y. That covers the cost of printing it in the United States instead of abroad and sending it Priority Mail so it won't get lost.
Certainly there are ways I can keep current without filling up that bookcase again. The obvious thing is to keep a file of online addresses of catalogs I like and scroll through them when the days start to lengthen and I can envision getting back into the greenhouse to start seeds. There are also more efficient methods these days for zeroing in on a plant you want, not just general search engines but ones devoted to sourcing plant varieties. One is called Seed-Finder.com, at which you can type in a variety and retrieve sources for it. Another is PickaCarrot.com, which does the same thing but also performs custom searches - and not just for carrots. Both sites will introduce you to companies you might not have heard of, so it's a little bit like wandering though a library and encountering more than you set out to find.
A much older site called DavesGarden.com is less complete for mail-order varieties, but a click on its "Go Gardening" feature will lead you to actual seed racks within your ZIP code for those who like to shop with their feet.
Still, nothing is quite like flipping through a stack of catalogs, because it exposes you to more temptation and seduction. To get to zucchini you have to pass artichokes, garlic chives, stripey tomatoes and other things you might never have thought you wanted to grow. Let's just say I did a limited purge. But next I'm set to tackle a large box marked "Seeds too old to germinate." Ring out the old, ring in the new, and happy new growing season to all.