Starting to get gardening catalogs already

[vfem]

Still was trying to cover my crops before today's snow hit... didn't finish my strawberries.. but oh well.

Anyways... I got a bunch of catalogs this week... I have managed to have time to shop... nothing is in the "I can afford that" range this year.

Oh well!

Maybe in another month... I got plenty of time still... don't I? Is it really winter out there?! :/

 

[Greenthumb18]

Still was trying to cover my crops before today's snow hit... didn't finish my strawberries.. but oh well.

Anyways... I got a bunch of catalogs this week... I have managed to have time to shop... nothing is in the "I can afford that" range this year.

Oh well!

Maybe in another month... I got plenty of time still... don't I? Is it really winter out there?! :/

Hey vfem ,


Your strawberries should be fine in the snow, i dont think you have to worry about them.
Your not alone i'm trying to save enough money so i can order what i would like for next spring. Nothing is in the afford range.

Yeah i think you have time vfem, winter will begin Monday, so that should be plenty of time before Spring arrives. Its always good to spend the winter ordering and planning.

 

[wifezilla]

Thanks for the input Steve.

I haven't heard anything bad about my pics yet. I think I will blaze ahead and put in my order after the holidays.

 

[Greenthumb18]

I received Jung Seed & Plants catalog yesterday, anyone else receive it yet?

 

[boggybranch]

Haven't got that one but have gotten several others.....with two that REALLY "stand out"....R.H. SHUMWAY's Illustrated Garden Guide"(140 year old company) and "Landreth's"(225 year old company). Both are done in late 1800's to early 1900's style.
First time getting these catalogs........a bright spot during these rainy, dreary winter days.
Reckon you could call seed catalog...the gardeners "red robins".....Spring is "right around the corner".

 

[digitS']

I received Jung Seed & Plants catalog yesterday, anyone else receive it yet?

Here's a little something you may not know and I think you would be happy to learn, Greenthumb:

Jung Seed has become a very large company over the last decade, or so. As best as I understand it, they bought Shumway. And, before they were purchased by Jung, Shumway owned all these other outfits.

You can make purchases from all of the companies now thru one online source, eGardenersPlace.com. That can save you quite a bit in shipping. There's only one catalog that they don't seem to want to put on the list and that's "HPS" (Horticultural Products and Services). It is mostly a commercial growers catalog. But, these fine companies are all included with an order thru eGardenersPlace.com:

Jung Seed
McClure & Zimmerman
Totally Tomatoes
Roots & Rhizomes
Edmunds Roses
R.H. Shumway
Vermont Bean
Seymour Seed

You can confirm that you are dealing with the parent company by checking each of their mailing address. They are all: Randolph, Wisconsin. Have fun!

Steve

 

[boggybranch]

Gotta say that it kinda makes me uncomfortable to see a lot of "independent" seed companies being gobbled up and seeds being "controlled" by a few LARGE companies.....maybe I'm just being paranoid....but it seems to me that larger companies need faster turn-arounds to amass profits, which could mean that a lot of "old time favorite" (and less demanded) heirloom seeds could be "lost" in favor of the faster selling hybrids.

 

[digitS']

I've followed Shumways since the '60's when they were in Rockford Illinois where they's been for about 100 years. Sometime in the '70's, I guess it was, they moved to the Sunbelt in South Carolina. I guess they got caught up in that southern migration thing.

Along in there, Shumway apparently bought Vermont Bean Seed. They also started selling thru HPS about that time. And, Seymour Seed Co. popped up. I never was clear who or what Seymour was or is - there was an effort to advertise the company as an English lady's selection of varieties.

It wasn't too long after that the Jung company took over Shumway. Maybe the ambitions of a new generation at Shumway got ahead of them.

I used to think of Jungs as "my" seed company. They just seemed to have a lot of the varieties that were suitable for my northern garden. I did a lot of ordering from them over the years and probably contributed to the opportunity they had to purchase Shumway .

During these last 40 years, I've seen Territorial Seed grow to be a company that's a long way from where they started. Johnny's has done the same thing, in spades. Now, Johnny's is owned by its employees, as best as I understand it. The original Johnny is still around. So is the "original" Richard at Pinetree Seed. They just don't seem to be involved in the day-to-day operations.

I've never quite figured out what happened 10 or 15 years ago at Cook's Garden and I'm sure I don't want to know what happened at Seed Savers Exchange and Kent Whealy. Times change, people change . . . and the retail outfits are involved in commercial plant breeding only on the margins.

I rejoice to see the vast number of heirlooms now available. Some are appreciated in my own garden. But, I have to say - there were a number of reasons that some of the varieties fell out of favor, 50 and 100 years ago. Not all of those reasons were corporate decisions.

Steve

. . . just my 2.

 

[boggybranch]

Yep, you're right ....hybrids have disease-resistance, uniformity, quantity of production and greater storage and shipping traits going for them....whereas, heirlooms, have better flavor and the seeds can be saved, replanted and the plants will be "true".

 

[dvdstdh]

Yes Greenthumb 18 I have received Jung, Gurneys and Vermont Bean. So much fun looking through them already. dvdstdh from zone 4 West Central Minnesota