Garden seed catalogs aren't just for buying seeds anymore.  They offer so much more!

 

They are great for learning about garden plants:  their history, their growing habits and needs, and great pictures for identification purposes.  Some catalogs even print recipes!  Here are my favorites.

 

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds has beautiful pictures and descriptions of rare heirloom plants.  The owners are worldwide seed collectors, and they give historical background of the plants.  In past years they've had good recipes for garden vegetables.   www.rareseeds.com

 

Heirloom Solutions has good pictures and large print!!  Ya gotta love that.  They also share a little philosophy, from a grandfather's Christian perspective on sharing the garden with the next generation.    www.HeirloomSolutions.com

 

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange has good descriptions,  PLUS extensive explanations for growing every kind of garden plant.  They also offer mushrooms and HOW to grow them.  And they are in Virginia, almost in our zone.  www.SouthernExposure.com

 

Territorial Seed Company is out of Oregon, not our zone, but they offer very good information about HOW to grow each type of garden plant:  how deep to plant, how much fertilizer to use, insect and disease problems, harvest and storage.  www.TerritorialSeed.com

 

 Sow True Seeds is my new favorite catalog and planting guide.  They are located in Asheville, really our zone.  So when they tell us what to expect, it's from a very realistic perspective.  Like, day length, average temperature, frost dates, etc.  This catalog also tells us each plant's needs, including companions and antagonists.    It offers mushroom plugs and culture information.  It even discusses seed saving for each type of plant!!!    www.sowtrueseed.com

 

All these catalogs promise GMO-free seeds.  They offer heirloom and organic seeds too.  And best of all:  all that information that helps us become more successful in our gardens.   

 

So even if you aren't growing your garden from seeds, you still need the information on how to do it, so go ahead and read these cool catalogs.  I've given the web addresses for each one.  They all offer free catalogs.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!!