Seedy Saturday - Seed Catalogs!!!

Forget Christmas! 

It's that time of the year when the seed catalogs for the new year start arriving.

And I am OUT OF CONTROL!

Actually, I did sit down and have a pretty firm talk to myself. Especially when I went through one catalog and my shopping list was $200 worth of seed.

A couple of 'changes' I plan on making for this coming growing season - grow what you will actually eat!

It is not unusual in the past for me to grow something for the sake of growing something - like squash or cucumbers. The amount of either of those I, or the family, will eat is zero to none. So I'll just do a farmer's market run if I get the urge. 

And flowers.

I want all the flowers! 

Currently, in my side yard garden I don't have the room for all the flowers. So I narrowed it down using a couple of my most important criteria - fragrance and does it attract bees and hummingbirds. 

Basically I am planning on lettuces and spinach, sowing in succession in order to have salad greens for most of the year. Sugar snap peas in early spring transitioning to green beans and field peas. Just enough for me to year through the summer. 

Of course, I will have my tomatoes, but those I will get as plants from NCTomatoMan. And a couple of sweet peppers and hot peppers. 

Mr. Arizona has expressed an interest in planting some corn and potatoes, so I will set up a couple of bins for potatoes this spring and then a 'bed' for corn. 

Around the veggies I will tuck in flowers and herbs. 

I also know I will have to limit the number of seeds I plant. Seeds last, sometimes for decades. So just because there are 200 seeds in the packet, I don't need to plant more than a half dozen (at most). That means I need to be organized and practice moderation. It also makes me more conscious of my garden 'design' and what I want to have happen. 

Another thing I might try after the first of the year is going to be winter sowing. Miss Oklahoma and Miss Montana tried it last year and it seemed to work well for them. 

So now, seeds are in the process of being ordered. A box is being set up to store the seed packets and be organized so I know where they are. And to save milk cartons and the like. 

And to time look through the catalogs again and make lists for the 2021 gardens.