High Country Gardens came in my mailbox today. I'm saving it for the long drive home to San Antonio for Christmas. :)

-Matt

I don't think I'll get theirs this year because I haven't ordered from them in ages, but I love High Country Gardens.

That will be a long, long drive!

Dawn

Only Tomato Growers but I haven't looked at it yet.

I got some (like three) from harris seeds, tomato grower, stokes seeds!! WOOOOHOOOOO!

I think I like the catalogs almost as much as I like actual gardening! Is that strange or what? hehehehe

Ezzirah,

It is not strange at all! Reading through the catalogs and marveling over all the pretty photos helps us keep our sanity in the otherwise often cold and dreary winter months. Well, it hasn't been really cold and dreary at our house (high temp yesterday was 80 degrees and it was a gorgeous, sunny day), but I am sure it soon will be.

Those catalog photos and descriptions promise us something we never really have in real life.....perfect plants in a perfect garden. There's nothing wrong with daydreaming about gardening in the non-gardening season!

Carol, We were running errands, so I took the TGSC catalog with me and looked at it while Tim drove. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had time either---it is such a hectic week around here, but that's because of the fires we're having and not because Christmas is approaching. All my shopping is done and so is most of my wrapping and I'm not going to start cooking food for Christmas Day until Friday.

It is a good thing a cold front is coming because with all the pretty, warm weather we're having this week, it is easy to get tricked into thinking spring is just around the corner, and that corner is still pretty far off.

Dawn

I got the TGS catalog, too. I really looked thru it long and hard, but didn't find anything I really wanted. If I find I am lured to acquire more seeds for tomatos, I think I will try Carol's at Knapp's Fresh Vegies. She has the mini packs, too.

All I really need right now are Okra and the onion sets that I will get locally at Horn's. The Okra I will probably get thru Baker Creek, e.g., Burmese, Pitre's Short Bush Cowhorn, and Vidrines Midget Cowhorn, are the 3 I'm thinking about.

But, it's always like a ride on the magic carpet when browsing the seed catalogs, and TGS was no different.

Susan (who is exercising restraint)

I got Gurney's in the mail today and there is a great coupon on the front. 25.00 off of an order of 50 or more!

My poor little debit card is screaming for mercy at this point, but I think I will be buying something. :)

Ezzirah,

The phrase "if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is" comes to mind. I have purchased from Gurney's in the distant past, but haven't purchased anything from them in recent years and there's a reason for that.

If you go to the popular watchdog site (google Gurney's plus the words garden and watchdog to find it as I can't say it too overtly or link to it because it is part of a competing forum) and read some reviews before your order from them.

Maybe your poor little debit card will get a break tomorrow. : )

The latest two catalogs to arrive here are High Mowing Seed and Seeds of Change. Seeds of Change has relocated from New Mexico to the west coast.

I've linked High Mowing seeds for you. They are an organic, non-GMO company and one of the things they are involved in is the breeding of improved forms of OP veggies which is great for those folks who prefer OPs.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: High Mowing Seeds

I am always happy with Willhite, but on one of my orders last year they sent a sub for the peas I ordered. I still needed snap peas and southern peas so I sent them an order and added several others things to it. Things I didn't really need, but since I was placing an order I decided to order them. My order came yesterday WITHOUT the Early Snap, and a backorder on the southern peas. I can't seem to win this one. Guess I will just plant Mammoth Melting Sugar for snow peas, and hope I come across some Sugar Snap or Super Sugar Snap on a rack somewhere.

Carol,

I usually see both Sugar Snap and Super Sugar Snap on the seed racks at Home Depot, Lowe's and Wal-Mart in January. I always to buy them as soon as the seed racks appear in the stores because down here in southern OK, the seeds for cool-season crops sell-out fast and early.

With Willhite (and I've always been very happy with them), ordering before January always seems to result in having something back-ordered because the seed hasn't arrived there yet from their wholesale supplier. For Willhite I usually wait until January....or until their website updates or their catalog arrives, which usually is in January.

Dawn

Glenn Drowns (Sand Hill Preserve) told me that his catalog was at the printer's so should be out soon. He said he was two weeks behind schedule. So be watching for that one...

The catalogs keep rolling in. The ones that have arrived the last couple of days are Thompson and Morgan, Bountiful Gardens, Gurney's, and Harris Seeds.

I got Johnny's yesterday. Haven't had a chance to look at it yet. Had to shop for groceries today. I also ordered more veggie and flower seeds from Remy. She has quite a few things suitable for container gardening.

Susan

Today's catalog is Burpee.

I hate to say one bad word about Burpee because I've bought and planted Burpee seeds for decades and have, for the most part, been happy with them. However, their catalog prices go up every year and this year some seed packets are $5.95. There's not much of anything in the seed world that I'd spend $5.95 to purchase! Burpee has effectively priced themselves out of the market for me. If I can't find a variety on the Burpee seed rack at the local store for a more reasonable price, I'll probably skip it.

Still, I have a sentimental attachment to Burpee and it never truly feels like seed catalog season until their catalog has arrived. I just wish they could match the prices of other seed companies we patronize.

Dawn

Today I got Territorial Seed and The Cook's Garden. BTW, Dawn, check out that Nigella (Love in a Mist) called 'Chocolate Sundae' offered by The Cook's Garden!

I also got my latest order from Remy today! Yippee! One of my bonus packs was for Numex Big Jim, an Anaheim pepper that looks pretty good. The bonus flower seed pack was for an Amaranthus. That's what I got from Select Seeds, too, and I don't plant Amaranthus because I just don't have the space anymore to include flowers that don't attract beneficials in one way or another.....hosts or nectar or pollen. So if anyone likes to grow them, let me know and I'll pass them on.

I got a couple of garlic bulbil heads from Remy, too, and am wondering how and when I should plant them. Should I just put them in a baggy in the fridge for now?

Susan

Susan,

Thanks for the tip on the chocolate nigella. I'll go check it out.

Go ahead and plant the garlic now. The traditional planting time for garlic here is in Sept/Oct/Nov, but planting it in late Dec. or early Jan. is better than waiting and planting it later. It is very cold-tolerant. I don't know how they grow it everywhere else, but here in OK we plant in the fall and harvest in early thru mid-summer.

Dawn

Susan,
Like Dawn said plant it as soon as you can. It is best to get it earlier they claim. I haven't noticed any sizable difference here as long as I have it in by Jan 1st. I just got mine in around 12 days ago. I did plant some I received late last around the 20th of Jan and it was possibly a little smaller. Had never grew either of the varieties before so not sure if it was being planted late or they just don't do as well here. I had several bulbs of regular garlic over 3.5" in diameter last summer. As the garlic/gardening guru I listen to says if necessary just chip a chunk of frozen ground away and plant them. He is from WI. I always water good after planting and mulch fairly heavy. The garlic will grow all winter under the mulch and forms a great root system. If growing in a colder climate I would think that planting earlier would be of a benefit. Here I've never had it get cold enough and stay there to make it die back like it will in some areas. Jay

I've received many of those mentioned by other posters. I did receive Bountiful gardens Friday. I haven't looked the whole catalog over but have already seen a few varieties I'm fighting the urge to order. So figure I'll be placing a small order with them. Jay

Thanks for the heads up on planting the garlic bulblets. Remy says it will take a couple of years to mature.

Susan

Whew. Finally, I've made my way through this thread and requested catalogs from all listed. Only a couple followed me through the move so I needed to get on the mailing lists all over again. My mailbox should be exploding over the next few weeks!

Diane

Hey, Diane. Just a quick OT question. Do you plan to try to grow Lupines and Delphiniums in your new garden zone? I've always wanted to grow them, and while there are a few native Delphs that can be grown here, none of the spectacular northern varieties can with any amount of success.

Susan

Susan, I'm a complete dummy when it comes to ornamentals! I've heard both of those names thrown around and I might have even grown them but darned if I know. My nonveggie-planting plan each year is to wintersow whatever the heck finds me, other than a (very) few I know to start indoors or direct seed.

Quite a detailed and well-thought out plan, don't you think? :-D

I keep meaning to educate myself on ornamentals so I can have some "pretties" around for the girls but I just haven't yet.

Diane

Oh, here's my chance for a plug - no, not the plant kind. Your girls would, I betcha, love to attract butterfly caterpillars. For an easy start, just plant some dill, fennel, and/or parsley. They will attract the big Black Swallowtail butterflies to lay their eggs, and the girls can watch them grow. I taught my GD all about attracting and raising butterfly caterpillars, and she had the best time. You don't actually have to raise them, just watch them grow, and you'll have butterflies in the garden!

I attached a link to images of Lupine flowers just in case you want to look at them. They are very pretty.

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: Lupine flowers

Thanks, Susan! They are gorgeous. I'll have see if I have any in my stash -- the girls would love them!

Diane

Jay,
Thanks for the advice on the garlic. I went looking for old garlic threads about the time I thought we should plant this fall. GW wasn't working so well, so I just shopped for garlic, half-heartedly, on the internet. Every place I found it was sold out. Last week I was noticing that Johnny's Select Seed sells garlic, so I promised hubs to get him some next year for his birthday. Since you said it's not too late, I'll do it now. Thanks for letting us know it's not too late.

On a separate note, every time this thread floats to the top it triggers my Tourette's and I blurt out "ENABLERS!!!!!." Luckily, I only read GW in the privacy of my own kitchen. Imagine the looks I'd get at the public library.

Dawn, I've reached a point where I only shop Burpee online, then I buy at Home Depot's end of season half price sale. Not all varieties are available in the stores, but I have all summer to figure it out.

Diane, You should be in the Monarch migration path, so two ornamentals to add are Asclepias for the cats, and Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower) for the adults. Susan can tell you a lot more things for adult Monarch. Incorporating tall zinnias into any of your veggie gardens will give you a wonderful butterfly show. I have one trellis left that I have not converted from ornamental to edible. It is reserved for Cypress Vine. I should grow something edible on it, but the hummingbird show outside my kitchen window is priceless.

Incorporating ornamentals into your veggies is good for pollination.

Willhite Seed is the catalog that arrived today.

Willhite is a seed company based in Parker County, TX, about a hour west of Fort Worth and they sell only proven varieties that perform well in our climate. They also give you a lot of seeds for your money.

You can request a copy of the catalog at their website, although the website itself hasn't yet updated for 2011.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Willhite Seed

Thanks, seedmama. I'll tell you, though, that I'm leery of attracting many butterflies. They freak me out. I have no idea why but moths and butterflies... *shudder* I'd rather encounter bees and wasps than moths and butterflies! Hearing you all talk of butterfly gardens and attracting them -- on purpose! -- would be like someone else reading people talk about planting a snake garden. LOL I know in my head that they can't harm me but dang if I can convince my twisted animal instincts.

Diane

The catalogs keep trickling in 5-6 per week. I'm sure I have over 20 different ones now. I got 2 today. One was the Nourse Farms catalog. I will attach the link to their site. I have bought horseradish roots, strawberries and just a few berry bushes from them. Always healthy and very good quality. I enjoy their catalog and looking at all the pretty pictures. Then my mouth waters and I close it for a while. Also has some very good advice on growing each crop. Jay

Here is a link that might be useful: Nourse Farms

I got totally tomatoes, seed savers exchange (their catalog cover is almost worth framing!) and bountiful gardens and edmunds.

yeah..I have been a happy women!!

A whole pile of catalogs have been arriving this week, and I haven't had time to mention them here.

Among this week's new arrivals (and I'm sure I won't remember them all) are Vermont Bean Seed Company (www.vermontbean.com), John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds (www.kitchengardenseeds.com), van Bourgondien (www.dutchbulbs.com), and A. M. Leonard Tools, linked below. For me, the one that's been the most fun to look at is the big A. M. Leonard catalog, although much of it is aimed at commercial growers and landscapers.

Jay, if you see this, A. M. Leonard has a lot mycorrizal products aimed at commercial growers in this year's big catalog---more than I've ever seen in one place before. I know in general these products are expensive even in small amounts, but the prices for large amounts are terribly shocking.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: A. M. Leonard

The flower garden catalogs are starting to arrive. I got the VB you mentioned, Dawn - I never order it but they must be able to obtain names from other sources. Also Prairie Moon, Select Seeds, Richter's Herbs, Thompson & Morgan, High Country Gardens, and Bustani Plant Farm.

Oh, my, but I can wait to order plants or seeds. I don't intend to plant many ornamental or native seeds this year, unless I am sent some in a trade or something. I have a lot of tender and half hardy seeds to plant, some can be direct sown.

I glanced at the John Scheeper's catalog, but didn't see anything I couldn't live without. They have some garlic, too. But a lot of garlic has to be ordered in the fall.

Susan

Susan,

Vermont Bean Seed Company is a part of the huge gardening conglomerate that includes R. H. Shumway, HPS Seeds, Totally Tomato, Vermont Bean, McClure & Zimmerman, J. W. Jung Seeds, Roots and Rhizomes, Edmund's Roses and Seymour's Selected Seeds. If you order from or request a catalog from one of them, you may get catalogs from some or all of them.

Dawn

Oops, I meant the van Bourgondien. I can never spell that name. Whenever I google it (I don't order from them at all), I get interesting results because of the misspelling. Teehee!

Susan

I've gotten a SLEW of catalogs from the conglomerate's that Dawn listed...and spent most of this evening browings....ugh...now my wish list may be longer. I think I got all these because my biggest seed order last year was from Totally Tomatoes. I'm not complaining....just sayin'...

So now...all you fellow gardeners...I've got to grow some prolific, tasty cukes this year. What's your pick?

Paula, I don't have a whole lot of experience with slicers if that's what you're looking for. For pickling cukes, however, I alternate good ol' National Pickling and Homemade Pickles. I was fairly impressed with Boston Pickles, too, but only tried them a couple of years so far. I use pickling cukes for both picklers and slicers. I do still plant slicers every now and then but just toss in whatever found its way into my stash.

Diane

Wow, Diane! I never thought of using a pickling cuke as a slicer. Is there a major diff? Are they tougher than slicers?

Is it easy to make homemade pickles? I pretty much like all of them, sweet, dill, bread & butter, you name it.

Susan

Paula,

Like Diane, I mostly grow pickling types. To me, the open-pollinated old varieties like Boston Pickling and National Pickling have the best flavor and texture of all the pickling types, and I like their flavor and texture better than slicers. Too many slicers seem too soft in comparison to the pickling types.

I've grown several of the newer hybrids, including Burpee's Pickalot and Pickler, and they were not anything special that would entice me to choose them instead of Boston Pickling or National Pickling.

County Fair is an outstanding hybrid pickling cucumber with the best disease resistance I've ever seen. It has become increasingly hard to find. The only places I remember seeing County Fair this year are Park Seed and Nichols Garden Nursery. I ordered it from both just to be sure I got at least one packet, and one has it on backorder but the other had it in stock.

Some years I grow lemon cucumbers just so I can make yellow pickles. (Y'all know I have a thing for vegetables in the widest possible range of colors.) You also can make yellow pickles from yellow summer squash.

Susan,

Pickles are the simplest thing in the world although there are all kinds of recipes and some take longer than others.

If you want to make fermented pickles in a crock, that's a longer and more time-consuming process that can take days, but standard pickles don't take much longer than making jam or jelly or salsa.

It can take a lot of cucumbers to make a batch of pickles though. The biggest challenge is getting enough cucumbers at one time that are freshly picked to make a batch right then. You can't hold cucumbers for a week or two as you accumulate enough from your garden plants to make a batch. Well, you can, but their quality drops significantly.

Here's some examples of how many pounds of pickles different recipes require:

From the current edition of the Ball Blue Book:

Dill Pickles, fresh-packed -- 8 lbs.
Hamburger Dills, fresh packed -- 4 lbs.
Bread and Butter Pickles, fresh packed -- 4 lbs.

Brined (Fermented) Dill Pickles -- 10 lbs.
Brined Cucumber Chunks -- 5 lbs.
Brined Cucumber Sandwich Pickles -- 2 lbs.

There are a few recipes for smaller batches.

From the book "Small Batch Preserving":

Traditional Garlic Dill Pickles -- about 3 lbs.
Nine Day Icicle Pickles -- 2 quarts of pickling cucumbers
Best Bread and Butter Pickles -- 4 lbs.
Cucumber Pickles with Lemons -- 2 lbs.

I have to plant a lot of cucumber plants to get large quantities of pickling cukes so I can make a wide variety of different kinds including dill pickle relish and sweet pickle relish, I only plant pickling cukes every other year. Then I make 40 or 50 or more jars and they last us two years.

I've never tried to grow enough pickling cukes in containers to make pickles because I make so many pickles, but I think it could be done with a few containers of a good bush pickling cuke or standard pickling cukes grown on a trellis or tomato cage.

And, for anyone who doesn't have the space to grow a lot of cucumbers for pickling, you usually can find them in large quantities at a Farmer's Market. At least one line of stores I know of carries pickling cucumbers, and that is Central Market, a chain of upscale grocery stores down in Texas. As long as the store gets regular shipments and you can buy pickling cukes very fresh, the store-bought ones make great fresh-packed pickles, but are not necessarily good for fermented ones. I "think" I saw pickling cucumbers in another grocery store last summer, but don't remember which one. It could have been a Wal-mart or a Tom Thumb.

Dawn

If you have too many pickling type cukes you can always pickle them, but the slicing ones might be too soft for pickling, so all you can do is eat faster, or give them away. I usually plant both and some years I get lots and lots and other years almost nothing. That is why I was interested in the bush type that Susan had, because they will be easier to keep a cover on until they are blooming. All the seeds I have in my stash are vining.

Last year I had aphids (first time) and although the lady bugs did show up to take care of them, they had done serious damage to my cukes by that time. I think I will plant a few bush type and keep them covered early, and some pickling type. I may skip the slicers totally this year or just put a couple in containers out away from the garden. I will also watch for aphids and blow them off with a strong force of water if they do show up. I was just not alert enough last year because I didn't expect them.

Carol, that IS a fact! There is nothing worse than a Ladybug that wants to make a fashionable entrance by being late to the party! Ugh.....I just hate that.

Thanks for the info. I doubt I'll be growing enuff then for pickling, except for the fresh kind that you make with some vinegar and sugar that only last a few days in the fridge. But the info you gave Dawn will also help others who are thinking about pickling and need to know how many cukes they'll need.

Susan

Tek Supply and Growers Supply catalogs came in yesterday. Now I get to dream about building a greenhouse even more...

Diane

Susan - Those numbers were Dawn's and I'm a novice at harvest compared to her.

Diane - I love those catalogs and that is about the only time of the year that I wish I was rich. LOL

Me, too, Carol. I've never been one to care much for money but those two catalogs in particular tend to give me a severe case of the gimmees.

Diane

LADYBUGS: Y'all, the reason lady bugs seem tardy has a biological basis that makes sense when you think about it, particularly earlier in the season. Mama lady bug does not lay eggs until an adequate food source already exists. Otherwise, she'd lay eggs, the little ones would hatch out, and there wouldn't be enough food for them to survive. If I see aphids at all, and I seldom do, I usually seee them early in the season. Usually, mama lady bug shows up about 5 to 7 days after I notice the aphids and the babies magically appear a few days later. After the baby lady bugs get busy eating, the aphids are gone very quickly.

CATALOGS: I agree that those catalogs cause greenhouse madness and I love looking at them. I could look at them endlessly.

Today in my mailbox I had catalogs from NE Seed and Seed Savers Exchange.

Dawn

I've been hanging out at the Greenhouse Megastore dreaming......

Yeah, I knew the ladies didn't show up til the banquet table was set up. Let's see, what's for lunch? Aphids a L'orange? I'll have that with a "cosmos-politan".

I usually get a large influx when the milkweed is up good. They attract the famous orange Oleander aphids. If you ever see a plant covered with orange aphids in the wild, you'll know it's a milkweed. Not to worry - they don't affect any other plant in your garden. Well, unless you're growing Oleanders, that is. I wash them off with the hose if the ladybugs are few, or taking a break.

Susan

I've been hanging out at the Greenhouse Megastore dreaming......

Yeah, I knew the ladies didn't show up til the banquet table was set up. Let's see, what's for lunch? Aphids a L'orange? I'll have that with a "cosmos-politan".

I usually get a large influx when the milkweed is up good. They attract the famous orange Oleander aphids. If you ever see a plant covered with orange aphids in the wild, you'll know it's a milkweed. Not to worry - they don't affect any other plant in your garden. Well, unless you're growing Oleanders, that is. I wash them off with the hose if the ladybugs are few, or taking a break.

Susan

Sand Hill Preservation Center catalog finally came today.

Check this out; it is improved.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tatiana's TomatoBase

Susan, Everyone's got to hang out somewhere. You might as well be hanging out at the greenhouse megastore as anywhere else.

Helen, Wow! Tatiana's has made some nice upgrades.

Today, I received catalogs from Harris Seeds and Raintree Nursery.

Now, here's a gardening-related catalog that I received last week, but it doesn't carry plants or seeds or actual gardening supplies.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Earth, Sun, Moon