It is seed catalog season. Or it was. Nowadays it is more like "seed webalog" season. The idea is not so much to look for things to buy and start in this year's gardens, but rather to get some new ideas to use and perhaps learn a few things that might make us better gardeners. Besides, there is nothing better for a gardener to do in Alaska in January.
Of course, I start with the trusted seed houses that serve us so well: Nichols Garden Nursery, Territorial Seeds, Johnny's Selected Seeds and Renee's Garden. There are a few others I can't remember this New Year's morning as I write this, but I have the month to fill you in.
I decided this year that there is no rush for me to get to the Alaska fare. It is January and you are not starting any seeds except, hopefully, sweet peas, which you can get from any of the above. Instead (I said to myself) why not start with something different, something strange and even weird to look through and stimulate the gardening juices?
Take, by way of example, the offering from The Outstanding Seed Company. This is a breeder and producer of pumpkin hybrids. These particular fruits are bred to fight off powdery mildew, a real problem for pumpkin growers. Anyhow, the offerings in the section "Hybrid Weird Things Seeds" are the kind to which I am referring. There are some really weird but oddly beautiful pumpkins here. At 50 bucks for 4 ounces of seed, these may not be for everyone (unless you get a bunch of friends together!), but buying is not the purpose here.
One odd site ranks among my favorites not just because of the products offered. Vreeken Zarden is a seed house out of the Netherlands and I don't read Dutch (though I am proud to know that there are lots of Dutch gardeners who are reading "Het Bodem Voedsel Web," which translates loosely into "Teaming With Microbes"). I do know enough Dutch to recognize "Zarden" as "garden" and so I poked around that area of the site. Wow! There are some very, very, very weird plants to be grown that I have never even heard of.
In fact, as is often the case, this is one great site to wander through to look at the stuff that is not weird. From flowers to compost tea brewers, there are all sorts of things here that are simply different and perhaps worthy of our attention in Alaska. I always say Google is one of the gardener's best tools, so use Google Translate to really figure out what is being offered.
Then there's Seedman. This webalog specializes in seeds to grow giant plants. I know you are thinking gigantic cabbages and huge pumpkins, but how about giant chives? Or what if you could grow giant celery? While you will need a greenhouse for the big tomatoes and probably the pumpkins offered, there are several items you can grow in the outdoor Alaska garden. Alaska State Fair, here you come!
Georgia Vines offers plants that are unusual not just because we live in Alaska and not Atlanta. Any seed house that sells odd banana plant seeds or Aristolochia (Dutchman's pipe) seeds fits into the unusual category. Take a look. There is a lot of neat stuff here. Don't get too tempted, however. Many of the offerings are not easy to grow here. Start slow.
There are all manner of strange plants out there on the Internet. Spend some time poking around. It's all fun. The only plant you need to stay away from (other than poison ivy and oak) are potatoes, unusual, weird or not. Alaska is almost totally free of pathogens that attack potatoes in the Lower 48 states and elsewhere. Please! No home gardener should import Outside potatoes lest he or she be responsible for serious commercial damage.
Next week, heirlooms. Got a favorite catalog or webalog? Let me know.
Jeffs Alaska Garden Calendar
Alaska Botanical Garden: If you and your family are not members, then now, at the start of the season, is the time to join. Do it. www.alaskabg.org
Sweet peas: Really! It is time to start yours. (I get mine from Renee's Garden, see above.) Once they have five leaves or so, gently pinch back the tips. Keep them in a cool location with the best light you have. Keep pinching as they grow and they will blossom like crazy, and early, when you put them out early this spring.