Seed Selection, Take Two

For my first attempt at vegetable gardening two years ago, I was determined to economize my seed selections. I spent an incredible amount of time trying to narrow down my “to plant” list, knowing that I typically go overboard every time I decide to try something new. Hilariously, narrowing down my list meant I ended up ordering 13 kinds of seeds.

This time, I really didn’t bother narrowing down anything. I kept telling myself that this year was just a big experiment, and you have to try lots of things in an experiment, yes? So try we will, and with ample variety.

I stuck with Burpee this time around. It’s hard not to be swayed by their beautiful catalog and well-rounded variety. However, as I’m learning more and more about the world of food production and agriculture, I’m realizing that I need to pay as much attention to where my seeds come from as where my store-bought produce comes from. I think next time around, I’ll look harder for heirloom varieties, not hybrids, and even local seeds when possible. I was dismayed to see “Taiwan product” stamped on the back of our envelope of broccoli seeds today. One of the lettuces came from Germany.

So I placed our big order, and our bounty arrived yesterday…well, the seeds, anyway. I ordered some plants as well, having realized last time that some things are better off getting their head start with gardeners who know better. Sadly, I’ve misplaced my order confirmation printout, so I can’t remember all the varieties of plants that I ordered, but I’ve got my seed list for sure and will make educated guesses on the rest. I’ll confirm those varieties as they arrive in the spring.

NOTE: I found my list, so I came back to update this list! It's now complete.

Broccoli: Bonanza Hybrid
Bush Bean, Lima: Fordhook 242
Bush Bean, Snap: Big Kahuna
Bush Bean, Snap/Italian: Early Bush Italian
Cantaloupe: Ambrosia Hybrid
Carrot: Scarlett Nantes Organic
Carrot: Touchon Heirloom
Corn: Golden Bantam Organic Heirloom
Corn: Silver Queen Hybrid
Cucumber: Picklebush
Lettuce, Butterhead: Burpee Bibb
Lettuce, Butterhead: EZ Serve
Lettuce, Looseleaf: Heatwave Blend
Peas: Easy Peasy
Peas: Peas ‘N-a-Pot
Pepper, Bell: Block Party Hybrid (plant)
Pepper, Hot: Sweet Heat Hybrid (plant)
Pepper, Sweet: Tangerine Dream (plant)
Potato, White: Swedish Fingerling
Potato, Sweet: Vardaman
Pumpkin: Small Sugar Heirloom
Spinach: Baby’s Leaf Hybrid
Strawberry: Elan F1
Strawberry: Purple Wonder
Squash, Yellow: Saffron Straightneck
Squash, Zucchini: Sweet Gourmet Hybrid
Squash, Zucchini: Sweet Zuke Hybrid
Tomato, Cherry: Black Pearl Hybrid (plant)
Tomato, Paste: Big Mama Hybrid (plant)
Tomato, Saladette: Fresh Salsa (plant)

At this point in the online shopping experience, I realized that I was committing to spend more on vegetable seeds than I typically spend on actual vegetables at the grocery store in the course of a month, and I hadn’t even gotten around to ordering the containers in which to plant these seeds. Hmmm. I told myself, and my husband, that we should look at it as an investment; since we wouldn’t be planting all those seeds this season, we could carefully store them for planting next season. I clicked “Submit Order” and moved on to the container site to order those. (Note: I still have to order planters for the strawberries and potatoes…)