Seeds?

Heirloom Tomatoes grown from seed

Recently I was asked for where I buy my seeds from for my vegetable garden. I end up getting them from a lot of different places including local home & garden shops. Why so many?  Mostly because each vendor has their own specialty varieties. But here are some of my favorite seed sources - I hope you enjoy them too!

• Horizon Herbs http://www.horizonherbs.com
• Baker Creek Seeds http://rareseeds.com
• Richters Herbs http://www.richters.com
• Territorial Seeds http://www.territorialseed.com
• Seeds of Change http://www.seedsofchange.com
• Totally Tomatoes http://www.totallytomato.com
• Pinetree Seeds http://superseeds.com
• Thompson & Morgan http://www.thompson-morgan.com
• Seed Savers http://www.seedsavers.org
• Terrior Seeds http://www.underwoodgardens.com/
• Sample Seed Shop http://www.sampleseeds.com/  
• Johnny's Selected Seeds http://www.johnnyseeds.com/

Free Seed Giveaway

Balloon Flower - win seeds for this
beautiful medicinal herb

In combination with Classical Formulas, we will be giving away a free set of seeds to one lucky winner. The seeds included in this giveaway are:

Herbs (Culinary)
Chives, Mixed Sweet & Thai Basil, Sweet Basil

Herbs (Medicinal)
Plantain (P. Major), Marshmallow, Mountain Mint, Elecampane, Catnip, Purple Coneflower, Borage (Blue & White), Lemon Balm, Chicory, Yellow Dock, Feverfew, Bee Balm, Balloon Flower, Selfheal, Common Milkweed, Calendula

Vegetables/Edible
Broccoli, Lettuce, Sunflower, Squash, Radish, Carrot, Tomato (2 varieties), Turnip

To enter this free drawing, send your name, address, email, and phone number to giveaways@classicalformulas.com by midnight February 28, 2013. Winner to be announced March 1, 2013. Please include in your email if you wish to be added to the Classical Formulas mailing list to receive occasional communications from Classical Formulas about upcoming herbal education classes and events.  (One entry per household and US recipients only.)

Good luck!

Update: We have drawn our winner - Stephanie L. of Rochester, NY. Thank you all who entered. May each and everyone of you have a wonderful and green growing season!

The Beauty of Seeds

Left: Tuscarora Bread Bean;  Top: Romano Pole;  Right: Seneca Speckled Egg 

Yesterday the first of my many seed orders arrived. Each year I try new varieties and wonder which will be new favorites to earn a permanent spot in my vegetable garden.

While the seeds of one variety of tomato may look exactly like another variety of tomato, the same cannot be said of beans. I always open up the bean seed packages to see what shape, color, and possibly patterning the seeds have. The seeds I received yesterday had two varieties new to my gardens this year: "Seneca Speckled Egg" and "Tuscarora Bread Bean" as well as a favorite from a previous year, "Romano Pole." The beauty of these seeds did not disappoint!

I'm especially excited to try the Tuscarora Bread Bean which is an heirloom variety that was originally passed on from a Tuscarora elder - the Tuscarora are one of the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee (aka Iroquois). You can read more about the history of this bean on the beans product page at the Sample Seed Shop. This bean variety is used in the making of a traditional Native cornbread that has beans in it. The addition of beans makes this a heartier, more nutrition ladened cornbread. Interested in trying bean bread? You can find a recipe for bean bread on the Cherokee Nation website.

Looking for these seeds? Visit the The Sample Seed Shop.

Mid-Winter Sights

Even though it is in the middle of winter, some plants still provide beauty and edibles. Last week, prior to unseasonably warm temperatures and a thaw, I took some pictures of a few of the evergreen or "still going strong" plants peaking through the snow.

The picture of the sunrise on January 8th (to the right) was too beautiful not to share as well. It is a rare day here in winter when the sky is clear enough to see a sunrise let alone one so spectacularly colored. Enjoy.

Kale

If I recall correctly, this kale variety is "Fizz." The one you can barely see behind it is "Nero di Toscana." I have quite a number of different kale varieties in the garden still green and still very tasty. This is always a great plant to add to your veggie garden but especially if you end up getting a late start to things. Kale will happily grow into the fall and winter extending out your fresh harvest season.

Bloody Dock

While this plant is a little hidden by some grass - it did plant itself here after all, the beautiful red veining for which this dock was named, is visible. While you can add young leaves of this dock to the salad bowl, I like it better for it ornamental qualities since I don't find the flavor anything special.

Sage

Sage (Salvia officinalis) is one my favorite herbs and garden plants. As a garden plant, what is not to like? It has striking grey-green foliage and blue-violet flowers and is a well-mannered and evergreen plant. In the winter my sage takes on purple colors - hints of that can be seen even in this picture. Some years, depending upon the severity of winter, they get even more purple. Even though the sage hails from the sunny Mediterranean, it survives Western NY State winters quite nicely.

Mustard

Like kale, I have a variety of mustards, radishes, green onions, and other cold tolerant plants still available in the garden. This is one of the many mustards still green in the garden. I can't seem to recall this variety's name at the moment but if I do recall correctly, it was from Kitazawa Seed Company. Kitazawa is a great source for Asian vegetable seeds of all sorts. 

Broccoli

This strikingly colored broccoli came along very late in the season. I got the seed in just as our summer-long drought began and so these plants got a slow start - my fault, not the seeds'. Even so, as our rains finally returned in the fall some of the plants that were in a "holding pattern" all summer finally began to grow. This variety is called "Purple Peacock" and I got the seed from Horizon Herbs. I've always been very happy with seeds I've gotten from Horizon Herbs - they are plant people who truly love their plants and the seeds always have shown that. 

And so it begins....

Just before Thanksgiving I received my first two 2013 gardening catalogs. (Huge grin!) I so love this time of the year. I start getting all my various plant, seed, and gardening supply catalogs - and I do get dozens. Some vendors are deciding to cut their paper catalogs or won't send you the paper catalog if you order online. (I request them if I don't get my copy!) But I love the paper catalogs so much. I curl up on the couch with them and like Santa Claus, I "make my lists and check them twice." I see who has what varieties I want and offers the best prices. Who is offering "new" heirloom varieties - yeah, oxymoron intended! I take the catalogs in the car, to appointments, and where ever else I have to sit and wait for five minutes. It is one of the ways to pass the dark and quiet winter months that I look forward to each year.

I'm no newbie to technology - I've worked professionally with it for decades. I know how to use the new technologies and browse online catalogs plus I do place many of my seed/plant orders online. But most all of my plant and seed shopping is done on paper. The paper catalog still offers me an experience that no smart phone app can compare to. So I offer a warning to plant and seed vendors, if you decide to drop your print catalog to save the cost, you will probably end up loosing my business.