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Garden Gate:  What's your favorite online catalog?  |
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
 Posted - Dec 30 2005 : 05:04:03 AM
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Back in the day when I used to garden extensively, I had my garden planned by this time of year, and the seed catalogs were roaring in. Sometimes I'd get one a day or two before Christmas, but most were in the following weeks.
I'm no longer on their mailing lists because I haven't gardened in the last five years or so, but now that I'm not training outside horses anymore, I have time to perhaps put together a few different gardens.
So tell me; which ones do you like? Who has fast, accurate service, easy to negotiate websites, and (especially) quality products? And which ones would you just say "Get the catalog?" I'm longing for my own organic produce again, and want to put in some perinneals around the yard. My place is sorely lacking attention.
I'd be grateful for your suggestions! |
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cajungal
True Blue Farmgirl
2349 Posts
Catherine Farmgirl Sister #76
Houston Area
Texas
2349 Posts |
Posted - Dec 30 2005 : 06:30:56 AM
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I, too, love getting the catalogs. But, I do become a creature of habit...always doing the same thing. The last several years I've stuck with one catalog. I absolutely love the company, Seeds of Change. They specialize in organic seeds and heirloom seeds. They've also branched out into food products. Their catalogs are so beautiful. I let them sit out like a coffee table book. I am mostly a fruit and vegetable gardener and I garden organically....keeping a compost heap, using chemical free grains for my critters so I can use their manure, etc....
The seeds are on the expensive end...upwards of $3 a packet. But, they are certified organic and every seed sprouts.
Actually, I haven't purchased seeds for two years!! Seeds of Change helped me get into saving my seeds. So, my crops have been from seeds I've saved. Another creature of habit thing I do....now that I have all my favorites, I grow all the same things each year...just more of'em.
Another note on organic gardening...I have found that each year my garden gets healthier and resistant to pests. In 2005, I rarely found a pesky bug. Oh, I also try to companion plant and that helps, too.
I'd love to get into perinneals....be my coach!!
Blessings,
Catherine
One of the best compliments from one of my daughters: "Moma, you smell good...like dirt." |
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asnedecor
True Blue Farmgirl
1054 Posts
Anne
Portland
Or
USA
1054 Posts |
Posted - Dec 30 2005 : 07:18:21 AM
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I had to think about this one because I get so many. Jackson Perkins, White Flower Farm, Ed Hume, Dutch Gardens, Wayside Gardens, Edmunds Roses. They have just started coming in, as I get them I will post more. There is one I can't think of right now that has a ton of organic seeds, plants etc. It's early, I will dig through my pile and see if I can find it. I have ordered from Wayside and White Flower, with good results. If you like roses, Edmunds is a great one. They have wonderful roses that take off easily, plus the owner is DH's half brother .
I let you know what I get and if I get duplicate catalogs, would you like some?
Anne
"Second star to the right, straight on till morning" Peter Pan
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
Posted - Dec 30 2005 : 09:58:51 AM
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Seeds of Change is my favorite because they offer organic and heirloom seeds. I also like Veseys and Burpee. And any of the ones that Anne mentioned are great too. In fact, I love them all! If you love roses then Edmund's is the place to get them. Lots of heirlooms and old fashioned roses. I have a whole stack of seed catalogs beside my chair in the living room that have arrived in the last week. I'm dreaming of spring as I pour over the pages.
http://rusticcottage.blogspot.com/ |
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CabinCreek-Kentucky
True Blue Farmgirl
8529 Posts
Frannie
Green County
Kentucky
USA
8529 Posts |
Posted - Dec 30 2005 : 10:15:24 AM
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ha! that's an easy one ... MaryJane's Farmhouse!
I don't go to lots of websites .. cuz' it seems when i do .. i end up getting lots of pop-ups .. i think i have to get me one of those 'spyware' packages!
i do check in monthly to see what primitive crafts the girls on Ranting Raven and Crow Soup have conjured up.
SEEDS: i mostly get mine locally from nurseries .. especially like an amish business a couple counties over.
but, yep! maryjane's products keep calling me back and back and back again!
i've ordered TONS of her ATTITUDE bars ... i swear i have to join: AA (Attitude Addicts) .. and have started a little collection of her bake-overs and other organic packaged foods .. and will keep adding to my stash!
True Friends, Frannie |
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sleepless reader
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
CA
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Dec 30 2005 : 7:24:29 PM
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AND SPEAKING OF CATALOGS....the Christmas Season must be oficially done as I recieved my 2006 Seeds of Change catalog in the mail today! Now LLBEan can stop their weekly deluge!
Sharon
Life is messy. Wear your apron! |
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manda
Farmgirl in Training
49 Posts
amanda
corralitos
cA
USA
49 Posts |
Posted - Dec 30 2005 : 7:41:43 PM
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I Love Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden supply -lots of great organic products. I also love Seeds of Change. For home stuff I love The Sundance catalog and Gaiam.
Manda |
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asnedecor
True Blue Farmgirl
1054 Posts
Anne
Portland
Or
USA
1054 Posts |
Posted - Dec 30 2005 : 8:07:24 PM
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Oh - Burpee seeds also has a good catalog and website. And if we are talking about other catalogs like for home, etc., then my favorites are Pottery Barn, Smith & Hawkins (got a big gift card for them, waiting for the early spring catalog to spend that), Restoration Hardware (love their furniture) and Williams & Sonoma, both the cooking catalog and the home catalog. I guess I am kinda a catalog addict, love to dream big and I get great ideas, even if I never spend a dime with them.
Anne
"Second star to the right, straight on till morning" Peter Pan
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Jan 04 2006 : 04:45:35 AM
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Thanks so much for your ideas and suggestions! I've got quite a few coming now, thanks to your input. I'm really looking forward to it. It's probably going to hurt that I gave up my hotbed and cold frame years ago. I could grow and harden off a lot of seeds in them!
Thanks again! |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Jan 08 2006 : 09:53:29 AM
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You might also want Seed Savers and Worm's Way Worms Way focuses mostly on inside kinds of gardening and hydroponics. They sell bottles of fish emulsion and bat guano
AND for the serious gardener, my favorite is Gempler's. They sell all kinds of gardening things. No seeds, but definitely tools and outside equipment. Our favorite hoe came from here. The edge is so sharp it could cut a finger off. The pruning shears and saws are good too. For picking okra, I order packs of their non latex elbow length gloves. You could do o.k. in hardware stores, but if you want quality and something a little different, give it a try...Gemplers.com They are also MORE than willing to send catalogs to you. We get their big yearly book a little after Christmas. It must be something like 300 pages of stuff! |
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farmgrlchick
True Blue Farmgirl
439 Posts
Theresa
Columbus
Montana
USA
439 Posts |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Jan 09 2006 : 4:31:47 PM
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Renee's Garden is my favorite too.
"Sell cleverness and buy wonder" |
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farmgrlchick
True Blue Farmgirl
439 Posts
Theresa
Columbus
Montana
USA
439 Posts |
Posted - Jan 09 2006 : 4:32:56 PM
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| Great minds think alike! |
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garliclady
True Blue Farmgirl
274 Posts
Reidsville
NC
274 Posts |
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theherblady
True Blue Farmgirl
510 Posts
Jan
Glasford
Illinois
USA
510 Posts |
Posted - Jan 19 2006 : 12:59:02 PM
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I got my first seed catalog of the season yesterday~~Burpee 2006 and just cant wait to get started planning !! Bring on Spring...Call me ol' fashioned...but I'd rather have a catalog in my hand than trying to see it on-line~~But thats just me....~
Jan |
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ali2583
True Blue Farmgirl
404 Posts
Alison
Winnipeg
Manitoba
Canada
404 Posts |
Posted - Jan 19 2006 : 2:56:08 PM
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I really like to order my seeds from T&T Seeds. They're located in Manitoba, Canada and specialize in seeds for cold weather climates.
www.ttseeds.com
"God's gift to you is life. What you choose to do with that life is your gift to God" |
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asnedecor
True Blue Farmgirl
1054 Posts
Anne
Portland
Or
USA
1054 Posts |
Posted - Jan 19 2006 : 4:51:36 PM
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Got some more information on seed and plant catalogs.
Some of my favorites and good sources for some unsual and heirloom plants, etc. Old House Gardens Heirloom Bulbs - kinda expensive but beautiful bulbs of all varieties, plus they have developed and saved many forgotten old fashion ones. www.oldhousegardens.com
High Country Gardens - another good one for drought resistance plants, also has alternatives for grass for lawns that requires little to no mowing and some of them bloom. www.highcountrygardens.com
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds - good source for heirloom vegetables that are not hybrid, genetically altered, patented or treated with chemicals. www.rareseeds.com
Here is one I haven't dealt with but comes with good references. Seed Savers Exchange. Apparently they are a nonprofit organization founded in 1975 to preserve heirloom vegetables, flowers and herbs. It is a network of people who save and share seeds. www.seedsaver.org
Thought I would pass on some good information.
Anne
"Second star to the right, straight on till morning" Peter Pan
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Jan 20 2006 : 04:19:36 AM
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Thanks so much, everyone! The first catalog arrived last week, and I stood in the kitchen with a cup of tea and devoured it! It was the Vermont Bean Seed catalog. I'm sad to see they've quit using their beautiful drawings (they looked like old fashioned engravings) but I'm already making a list. There are so many flowers I'd forgotten about, that I feel like I need.
Anne, I appreciate the referral to the heirloom seeds site. I used to buy seeds from Seeds Blum, but was sad to see that business was just too good and poor Jan Blum couldn't keep up. I always had good results from them. There are so many old favorites that I'd like to visit again.
I can hardly wait! |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Jan 20 2006 : 06:39:10 AM
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I havn't got that one yet..I have yet to sit down and have a seed shopping day...I plan to soon..I have started getting alot of catalogs now..That IS sad that Vermont Bean stopped using the drawings..they make that catalog so pretty!!
Jenny in Utah
It's astonishing how short a time it takes for very wonderful things to happen...Frances Burnette
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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KD Earthwork
True Blue Farmgirl
210 Posts
Katie
Gualala
Calif.
USA
210 Posts |
Posted - Mar 08 2006 : 7:56:20 PM
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| I can't believe no one has mentioned Territorial Seed co.alot of integrity |
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rosebud74a
True Blue Farmgirl
109 Posts
Stacy
Maryland
NY
USA
109 Posts |
Posted - Mar 08 2006 : 8:32:04 PM
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I have been pouring through the seed savers catalog. I am having trouble deciding what to get, all thier veggies look so good. I can't believe how many variety of tomatoes they have. It has quickly become my new favorite!!
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt, 'This Is My Story,' 1937
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blueroses
True Blue Farmgirl
1323 Posts
Debbie
in the Pandhandle of
Idaho
USA
1323 Posts |
Posted - Mar 09 2006 : 10:11:23 AM
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Sad to hear about Vermont Bean too. I think I actually have a few old catalogs that I saved because of the drawings. Now will have to hold on to them.
"You cannot find peace...by avoiding life."
Virginia Woolfe |
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Birdsview gal
Farmgirl in Training
10 Posts
Teresa
Concrete
Wa
USA
10 Posts |
Posted - Mar 12 2006 : 07:53:09 AM
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It might a West coast type deal but I use both Territorial seed company @territorialseed.com and Victory Seed Company @ victoryseeds.com.
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Alaska farm girl
True Blue Farmgirl
123 Posts
dorothy
skagway
Alaska
USA
123 Posts |
Posted - Apr 06 2006 : 12:59:59 PM
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I love Nichols in oregon,great service and they ship live plants to Alaska. Really like Veseys in /canada,Johnnys in Maine,also Stokes,inMaine(think).I like Seymours heirloom in Conn. Raintree Nursery in Wash. is great too. For organic fertilizer its
Gardens Alive.I am the catalog queen(my DH says)! |
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HorseyNut
True Blue Farmgirl
78 Posts
Allena
MO
USA
78 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2006 : 07:33:33 AM
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I ordered from www.tomatobob.com this year and I have been relly pleased. THey have a catalogue you can order too. I had a pretty good germanation rate on all except one thing. Im going to call today and see if they will send me some new ones. They have many lovely varieties of old fashioned TASTY vegatables. I planted plants I bought three years ago and the tomatoes were just like what you get in the store BLECH! Tough, tasteless, thick-skinned and horrible. I have been heirlooming ever since.
Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do...but how much love we put in that action. - Mother Teresa |
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coconutcakes
True Blue Farmgirl
52 Posts
Emily
Summerfield
NC
USA
52 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2006 : 10:59:29 AM
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I get a number of different seed and gardening catalogs each year, but I enjoy reading "The Cook's Garden" catalog as well as browsing their website. www.cooksgarden.com
The children's book author/illustrator Mary Azarian, a Caldecott winner too, does the illustrations in the little catalog. If you've never looked at any of her books, Azarian books tend to be rural themed. . . Check out her books, The Farmer's Alphabet and The Gardener's Alphabet, if you haven't!
Emily
"After a long period abroad nothing could make me more homesick or emotional than an American magazine ad of a luscious layer cake, except one, and that was a pictured lemon pie." Irma Rombauer, Joy of Cooking (1943) |
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Garden Gate: What's your favorite online catalog? |
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What's your favorite online catalog?
