How to Choose from Garden Catalogs (w/Directory Listing)

(Catalog Link Directory last updated 9/22/2010)

I do it for you…

Photo Caption: After you've ordered for a few seasons you'll probably be able to narrow down your catalog mailings to several time-honored favorites.

Alright, maybe I am addicted to seeds. They are beautiful and each little dormant embryo is ripe with an active daydream for my spring garden. But I am happy to condense my catalog experiences to help out those of you who are overwhelmed by the plentiful selection.

First, think about what you want most and start there. Most seed catalogs also offer some transplants but you might have better luck (and a fatter purse) if you buy your vegetable transplants locally to you. Big box garden centers and snooty nurseries are often expensive or only carry common varieties which may not be best suited to your region or home garden. Your best bet are specialty nurseries, farmers market plant sales, feed & seeds, and fundraiser event plant sales (for example, our Greenville Organic Food Organization often offers nice heirloom tomato transplants in the spring). Look for most of these sales in April.

Likewise, if you are looking for perennial food plants (like orchard fruit or asparagus) the above suggestions might be what you need. Some seed catalogs will carry bareroot perennials but a specialty catalog or nursery will often be better. In some cases you are paying for quality — a generalist catalog might send you tiny, fragile plants compared to a fruit nursery with 2 year old stock. But you can also find great prices and a better selection when you choose a company with a narrowed range of merchandise.

I personally like Ison’s Nursery in Georgia. Their fruit shrubs, trees, and vines are of great quality and very affordable. If you live at a higher altitude you may need to choose a nursery with growing conditions similar to your own, though many of Ison’s plants will do well anywhere on the east coast.

For the least expensive way to start your spring garden the answer is seeds.You can always use one of the above sources as a backup plan if your seed starting endeavors fail.

The diversity of available seeds can be overwhelming, so start with your favorites. Do you love tomatoes best? Herbs? Ethnic vegetables? Beans? You can order from multiple catalogs or choose from just one or two to save on postage. Most catalogs offer a variety of veggies even if their focus is on one type of food. (Tomato catalogs usually have at least one variety of cucumber, green bean, watermelon, or corn that you can pick up on the side).

Here is a directory of catalogs (I have tried nearly all of them at some point) with notes that may help you make up your mind (or make things worse if you are as curious as I am).

Local to the Southeast:

• Southern Exposure Seed Exchange – A favorite of mine, heirloom seeds of the south
• Ison’s Nursery and Vineyards – Specialize in muscadine grapes, extensive selection of rabbiteye blueberries
• Appalachian Seeds – Website only, excellent heirloom tomato selection. If you live close enough to visit, highly recommended
• SC Foundation Seed Program, Clemson – Local passalong vegetable seeds, some hard to find
• Heavenly Seeds – The same seeds that were offered by the SC Foundation Seed Program for years, run by the same person. Excellent open-pollinated/heirloom/organic local selection with many rare varieties. Also, sweet potato slips
• Park Seed – This nursery is located in South Carolina but I don’t recommend it over the other catalogs listed here. Most of the varieties offered are raised elsewhere and are more oriented to commercial farming

Heirlooms & Organic:

• Seeds of Change – One of the best fully organic seed catalogs I know of
• Seed Savers Exchange – A collection of vegetables prized by seed savers, excellent heirlooms
• Southern Exposure Seed Exchange – A favorite of mine, heirloom seeds of the south
• Fedco Seeds – Website only, a standard and favorite for many people
• Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds – Rare heirlooms with a small community feel
• High Mowing Seeds – Independently owned and organic
• Pinetree Garden Seeds – If you are a small-scale gardener and want to try a lot of varieties cheaply, this is an excellent choice
• Soggy Creek Seed Co. – Absolutely irresistible packaging on heirloom seeds
• Nichol’s Garden Nursery – Still owned by the founding family, lots of heirlooms
• The Natural Gardening Company – Fully organic
• Peaceful Valley Farm Supply – A one-stop shop for almost everything, including citrus trees and garlic.
• Territorial Seeds – This fat catalog is a one-stop shop for seeds, plants, books, and equipment
• Abundant Life Seeds – A sister company for Territorial Seeds with nearly all organic seed
• Johnny’s Selected Seeds – Geared toward larger-scale organic farmers and pricey, but great variety
• John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds – Gourmet seeds with old-fashioned catalog drawings, great quality
• Vermont Bean Seed Co. – I’m a fan of beans but I also like the sweet potato sampler

Other Generalist Catalogs:

• Stokes – I like this one but rarely find myself ordering from it anymore. It may be good for high altitude gardeners since the varieties are more northern-oriented
• Thompson & Morgan – The American version of this British company sometimes has rare foods I can’t find elsewhere
• R. H. Shumway’s – A lot of people love this one but I haven’t been impressed with the quality. More commercial than the lovely line drawing illustrations let on
• Burpee – Very commercial but lots to choose from. I’ve actually had bad germination luck with some of their newer tomatoes recently
• The Cook’s Garden – Used to be a favorite until Burpee purchased it and changed it around
• Jung Seeds and Plants – I feel similarly about this one as I do R. H. Shumway’s

Herbs:

• Richters Herbs – Enormous selection of medicinal and culinary herbs with descriptions
• Horizon Herbs – Open pollinated herb seeds, very large selection

Tomatoes:

• Appalachian Seeds – Website only, excellent heirloom tomato selection. If you live close enough to visit, highly recommended
• Amishland Heirloom Seeds – Website only, very unusual varieties in small quantities
• Tomato Bob’s Heirloom Tomatoes – Website only, lots of heirloom tomatoes and hot peppers
• Tomato Growers Supply Company – A solid selection of heirloom tomato varieties
• Totally Tomatoes – Commercial and more hybrids but I still find myself trying something from them every year

International Seeds/Cuisine:

• Seeds of Italy – One of the only places I order from that still sends generous packets of seed, a must if you like unusual veggies
• Evergreen Asian Seeds – Website only. I just love amaranth greens, micro melons, and yard long beans
• Kitazawa Seed Co. – Wonderful selection and I’ve always had high germination from their seeds
• Gourmet Seed International – Has some unusual gourmet items available, a newer company

Perennial or other Non-Seed Food:

• Ison’s Nursery and Vineyards – Specialize in muscadine grapes, excellent selection of rabbiteye blueberries
• Ronniger’s Potato Farm LLC – This is my favorite place to order potatoes unless I get them from a generalist company
• Raintree Nursery – Unusual fruits
• One Green World – More unusual fruit, many of these are great for high altitude areas (and some are great for warm spots)
• Miller Nurseries – I am less likely to order from this one because it isn’t geared to home organic gardeners

Supplies:

• Farmtek Growers Supply – This is where I get UV resistant film for polytunnels
• Arbico Organics – I think the best medicine for organic gardens is a lot of compost but sometimes they have something I want
• Gardens Alive – I tend to think a lot of this is snake oil but sometimes they have something I need that I can’t find locally

If you can recommend additional sources I’d love to hear about it!

*EDIT* 2/11/2010 – I had heard rumors that some of the above mentioned companies were now owned by the GMO giant Monsanto. I looked into it, and this is what I found. I decided to include it for everyone’s consideration.

Here is an excerpt from the article about Monsanto acquiring Seminis (a major seed supplier for garden catalogs):

“While voting with ones dollars can be an effective tool of change, it is also important to recognize that these are also seed catalogs that have recognized the needs of smaller organic producers, offering strong lists of regional varieties and expanding their certified organic selections. None of these companies was overjoyed with news of the acquisition, and they all seemed to be in different phases of analyzing its impact. It’s not an easy task. Seminis’ varieties account for 11 percent of Fedco Seed’s gross sales, and the numbers are much higher in categories like melons and squash.”