riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (Prentiss Riddle) (02/12/84)
Here are the answers to my request for information on seed catalogs.
The responses were detailed enough that I will let them stand for
themselves rather than try to summarize them. Many thanks to all who
replied!
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I generally order seeds your three companies. Parks in South Carolina,
Harris in New York and Burpee in Pa. Much of what I order is generally
not available in the stores. For example this year I am going to order
a bunch of seeds for dryed flowers.
All three of the catalogs are in color and have plenty of pictures.
Sometimes I order plastic pots and similar material from Melnors
(spelling) in Ohio.
Irv McNair
ATT Bells Labs
Whippany, NJ
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Miam Miam. I am a catalogue freak, especially seedy ones!! Last year
I ordered 10 seed catalogues whose addresses I found in the whole earth
catalogue (heaven of catalogue lovers). They were all quite
interesting, but the ones which attracted my attention most and from
which I finally ordered were Johnny's Selected Seeds and Richter's (who
specialise in herbs). Unfortunately, last year's weather was
atrocious, torrential rain all of May, followed by a drought for the
rest of the summer. My garden turned out terrible, even the radishes
had trouble growing!! The seeds I got from the catalogue didn't do
much better than the others, but they didn't do much worse either, so I
couldn't really compare the qualities of the seeds. I was very
impressed by the selection of herbs in Richter's which incidentally is
situated in Ontario, but which doesn't help me a great deal since I
don't have a car. This was by far the best herbal catalogue I saw
although I was a bit disappointed by their lack of specialised
information on the seed packages. They have many different varieties
of each herb with a little paragraph describing the origin and usage of
each herb. Each herb is also given one letter ratings on the use of
each herb: culinary, dyeplant, household, industrial, medicinal,
insecticidal, poisonous, tea plant. The catalogue also gives warnings
on certain poisonous ones. You can also order biological and organic
insecticides as well as beneficial insects (shipped from Calif. for the
US), books, sachets, posters. It's definitely a fun catalogue. You
can get it by sending $CAN 1.00 (maybe a bit more this year) to:
Richters
Goodwood, Ontario, Canada L0C 1A0
Tel (416) 640-6677
Sophie
watmath!saquigley
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OK -- As long as we're doing a little mid-winter dreaming, here are the
catalogs I send for, and the seed varieties from each I have found
particularly successful/attractive and why:
Stokes Seed Co, Buffalo, NY:
Giant Musselburgh Leek. You too can grow leeks
like the handle of a baseball bat! Good flavor.
Hollow Crown Parsnip. Vigorous, good flavor,
avoids some of the usual difficulties with germination.
Butter King Lettuce. Excellent flavor.
Burpee:
Delicious tomato. Not resistant to anything, but
the best tomatoes I have EVER tasted.
Perpetual swiss chard. The best flavor I know of
in swiss chard. Small center rib.
Sugar Snap peas. If you haven't tried them, try
them. A little slow producing (70 days).
Park:
Kuta squash. For my money, the best summer squash
I know. As a winter squash, forget it! Doesn't freeze well.
Waltham Butternut squash. Vines go all over the
place, but fine flavor and heavy bearing. Keeps and
freezes well.
Sorrel. A perennial herb featuring large, lemony
leaves. If you're going to make leek and potato soup,
a sine qua non. Also makes a good soup on its own.
My favorite gardening book, by the way, is "Crockett's Victory
Garden". The month-by-month organization is what I particularly
appreciate about it.
Bill Graves (floyd!wgg)
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For truly EXOTIC plants I recommend (if its still available) the
"World's Most Unusual Seed Catalog" from Grace Gardens, Autumn Lane,
Hackettstown, NJ 07840. In there you will find such things as 450 lb
squash, square tomatoes, and round carrots. I also have a book from the
Direct Marketing Association listing 28 garden and seed catalogs. I
don't feel like posting them all, but I'll send you a copy if you give
me your snail-mail address. But, if you're really serious about
gardening you only need one catalog, the 1984 Burpee catalog (W. Atlee
Burpee Co., Warminster, PA 18974).
Tom Butler
..!ihnp4!ihuxn!ttb
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As it turns out, my gardening buddy and I have decided to order the
bulk of our seeds from still another company: Porter & Son, Seedsmen
(Stephensville, Texas 76401). Not only do they seem to offer a better
selection of varieties suited to the harsh conditions of the Texas
summer than Burpee et al., but their prices are a bit lower. We'll see
how it goes.
--- Prentiss Riddle
--- ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.")
--- {ihnp4,seismo,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddle