The Trusty Gardener-The Seed Catalogs Are Arriving!
It’s Never Too Early to Plan For the Garden
Welcome Back. Yes, I know it’s January. Most of our Christmas decorations are still up. Some of us may still be recovering from our New Year’s Eve celebration. All that aside, the seed catalogs are arriving! Mine started to arrive earlier in December. It’s an exciting time for gardeners. So far, I have received 5 catalogs. In this article, I will focus on a catalog I received from R. H. Shumway.
As time goes on, I will take a look at these catalogs as I start the process of planning for the coming growing season. I will try to write about each of the seed companies and perhaps highlight a few vegetable varieties each catalog offers. I also will sort through my seed container to see what seeds I have, what can be thrown out, and what I need to purchase. Looking through the seed container stimulates your thoughts and memories as to what you may want to grow for the coming garden season. What worked and what didn’t. Changes you will make, etc.
What Seeds Should Be Discarded?
Opinions will vary widely on this topic. My general rule of thumb is to throw away any seeds older than one year. In other words, for this growing season, I will keep all seeds dated 2022 but discard any dated 2021 or older. I do make exceptions on occasion, especially with tomatoes. Some seeds will last much longer; some won’t. As those who follow my articles know, I love growing tomatoes, especially heirlooms. So I always have a hard time throwing out tomato seeds.
This catalog looks like something from the past. First of all, its dimensions are large as it measures about 10 by 14 inches. The other thing that immediately gets your attention is that the images of vegetables on the cover are illustrations, not photos. This holds true throughout the catalog, which gives the feeling of looking at seed catalogs of years gone by. Unfortunately, only the cover and a few of the first and last pages are in color. If it were all in color, it would be really awesome. I understand that would be expensive to print, however.
The history of their company, from their website:
R.H. Shumway is an heirloom seed catalog that was started in 1870 in Rockford IL. The business was in Rockford until the late 80’s when it was purchased and moved to South Carolina. In 1999 it was again moved to its current home in Randolph, WI. Shumway specializes in heirloom varieties of vegetable, flower, and farm seeds. Many of the farm seeds were developed in the 40s and 50s and are some of the earliest hybrids used by farming. Many of the vegetable varieties date back to the turn of the century with improvements due to selection. We’re sure you will enjoy this “old-time” catalog.
This catalog is very interesting as it features many old-time heirloom varieties, as well as many high-quality hybrids. I will highlight a few of these. It has a comprehensive selection of gourds as it recently acquired Quarry Farm Gourds. You won’t be disappointed with their gourd selection. They also have a great selection of fruits, nuts, and berries, and roses. And, of course, heirloom tomatoes.
Original (Buckbee’s) Abraham Lincoln Tomato
Per the seed catalog, this is the original Abraham Lincoln variety from the 1920s. These are large, dark red, and meaty tomatoes. As is the case with most heirloom tomatoes, you can’t go wrong.
Brandywine is a well-known heirloom tomato variety. I have grown these for many years, although just the red and pink. This is a wonderful tomato with a good old-fashioned flavor. These are also large tomatoes. This collection will give you a variety of colors for a wonderful presentation.
Shumway’s Old-Fashioned Bean Soup Mix
This seed mix contains a selection of heirloom bean seeds; the individual varieties are not listed. If you’re looking to make a healthy bean soup for 2023, this could be for you. I may give this a try.
We’re Talking Gourds!
As I mentioned above, Shumway’s Seed Catalog now offers a high selection of gourds due to the acquisition of Quarry Farm Gourds. There are over 50 varieties listed in the catalog and even more online. So for those of you who like to grow gourds for fall decorations and/or craft projects, you should be able to find what you want.
Just the name alone makes me want to try these. The description from the Shumway’s Catalog:
Bumped and warted gourds grow 8 to 12 inches or more in size and come in a crazy kaleidoscope of colors and shapes.
I hope you consider looking at this fun catalog. Stay tuned for more articles as I look through the seed catalogs I have received. What seed catalogs have you received?
