Know which seed catalogs are best to bets

By Bev Johnson | The Daily Journal

Published Saturday, January 26, 2008

Bunkey, as usual has a dilemma. He decided to raise his own tomato plants so he could get varieties the local stores don't carry. He sent for two seed catalogs. At last count he had gotten 17. They share your name you know. After paging though a few and totally at a loss what to order, he took the whole pile over to George, his Master Gardener neighbor for help.

First, George turned the pile, back side up. He dumped three in the garbage. "They have very poor plants and don't list zones for them."

Then he sorted the rest into two piles and told Bunkey he should order from one of the four in the small pile. "Why those and how did you decide?" Bunkey asked.

"I just looked at the addresses. The short pile all have addresses in the northern tier of the states. New York, Vermont and Wisconsin. Their seeds are more apt to be for our short seasons than seed grown in Oregon or Alabama. One catalog, Pinetree Garden seeds, sells small packets of seeds, 20 or 30 rather than the 200 or more more often sold. Small amounts are less apt to get old, as you will use most of them each year."

Now that he knows where to order his seeds, the next question Bunkey has is what those days numbers mean. Is a tomato with 90 days in its description better than one with 60 days?

George explained that that number is days to maturity and can be quite misleading. If your plant is grown from a seedling, indoors, 60 days means from the time you plant it out. If you direct seed it in the garden, it means 60 until it is mature. Look for the smallest number of days listed for the seeds you buy. We can have as few as 90 frost free days or as many as 120, but don't bet on that 120. Even though we may be listed as zone 4 soon, we have unpredictable weather.

If we have a cool summer, a plant with a days-to-maturity of 85 days could take 95, or if it is exceptionally hot, it could be ripe in 80 days. Pick the shortest number for the variety to be safe.

If you are uncomfortable using bleach to sterilize pots, “Organic Gardening” magazine suggests washing the pots in warm soapy water, then rinsing them with a solution of 1 cup of vinegar to 4 cups of water and allow them to air dry. It could sure save getting white spots on your dark shirts.

Start peppers the last week in February and tomatoes on St. Patrick's Day. The back of the packets will tell you to start the contents 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost. That is usually May 15 in Ottertail County.

However, we have had killing frost in every month but July. An old curse, modified. May you live in an interesting climate, and we do.