I'm Dreaming of Spring...

This might seem like just one more thing to do right now, but if you have extra time, it's not too early to think about & plan next year's garden. If you wait, sometimes the seeds you want will be back-ordered and take longer to ship to you. You'll want to have the seeds on hand if you plan on starting them indoors & transplanting (this is important for some vegetables in areas with short growing seasons). And besides, seeds and other garden items make great gifts! In the middle of the winter, I love to dream and plan for spring!

I ordered this and last year's seeds from Stokes and we've been happy with their products. We used to just buy them at a department or local garden store, but you get a lot better varieties when you order directly from the seed companies. Here's what I ordered new this year:

Sugar Snax 54 (Carrot/Nantes x Imperator)
Chippawa (Corn/SE Bicolor)
Primo (Muskmelon/cantaloupe)
Walla Walla (Onion/Spanish)
Oregon Giant (Snow pea)
Chocolate Bell (Pepper/sweet bell colors)
Longstanding Bloomsdale (Spinach)
Atlas (Squash/butternut)
Celebrity VFNT (Tomato/bush)
Big Beef VFNT (Tomato/staking)
Paycheck Squash (Squash/Green Summer)

Depending on where you live, some of these may or may not work for your climate. These varieties were recommended to me by an expert gardener in our area. If you don't know what to order for your area, go ask a gardener who's been there a while. They are the best sources!

You can also use seeds left over from last year. Here are some of last year's seeds that we plan on using again:

Early Girl (Tomato)
Crenshaw (Muskmelon/cantaloupe)
Buttercrunch (Lettuce)
Oakleaf (Lettuce)
Summertime Head (Lettuce)
Vegetable Spaghetti (Squash/Winter)
Sunshine (Squash/Winter)
Large White Ribbed (Swish Chard)
Boston Pickling (Cucumber/Pickling)
Beefsteak (Tomato)
Bush Blue Lake (Green Beans/Bush)
Roma (Tomato)
Serrano Chili (Pepper)
Sweet Banana (Pepper)
Keystone Giant (Pepper)
Yolo Wonder (Pepper)
Muncher (Cucumber/Burpless)
Jalapeno (Pepper)
Jack-O-Lantern (Pumpkin)
Table Ace (Acorn Squash/Winter)
Green Hubbard (Squash/Winter)
Sunray (Squash/Yellow Summer)

Having a vegetable garden is one of the best ways that we've found to have plenty of fresh veggies on hand continuously. It gives you and added incentive to invent new ways to add healthy food to your meals.