From My Garden to Yours

I recently returned home from the classic family automobile road-trip vacation to the northeastern part of the North American continent. We drove straight up Interstate 95, staying with family and friends every step of the way. We saw the White House garden, visited farmer’s markets in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New Hampshire, and watched countless backyard plots zip past the windshield. This commentary belies the fact that our northern neighbors are taking advantage of their productive growing opportunities while we languish in our poorly defined summer’s off-season.

Florida vegetable gardeners’ off-season is never well bracketed by the debilitating freezes or blankets of snow that schedule definition to most temperate regions. My crops of peppers, eggplant, collard greens, okra, scallions and herbs planted in early spring don’t stop producing just because the calendar clicked over to July and August. Barring lake-effect monsoons, I expect these crops to continue producing until first frost. In the mean time, we’re back into the throes of autumn planting. I’m almost envious of the iconic scenario of curling up in front of the wood stove with a seed catalog and imagining the world as it’s not.

If you are the least bit organized, taking it easy in the garden in summer is part of the plan. Never one to leave well enough alone, preparing for the next season fills every available moment. But if the power goes out, the thunder is growling, and the mosquitoes are biting, it is time to hunker down with a selection of seed catalogs.

Johnny’s Selected Seeds of Winslow, Maine, is one of my primary seed sources. Although Maine is not a regional partner, Johnny’s seeds have grown consistently well in my garden. The catalog from Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply of Grass Valley, Calif., is always close to the top of my stack. Another classic source is Bountiful Gardens of Willits, Calif. The home of Ecology Action and John Jeavons’ pioneering efforts at sustainable food production have been groundbreaking. Redwood City Seed Company, also from California, is a source for unique crop seeds, especially peppers.

A little closer to home, Tomato Growers Supply Company of Ft. Myers’ name speaks for itself. Southern Exposure Seed Exchange of Mineral, Va., offers a full spectrum of open pollinated seed choices. The Park Seed Company of Greenwood, S.C., encyclopedic catalog has been a reference in my library since the beginning.

These are a few of my catalogs skimmed from the top of the stack. Now that the storm has passed, wander outside for a little fresh air and some gardening by candlelight.

Tom Carey is the owner of Sundew Gardens, a you-pick gardening business in Oviedo. Visit the Sundew Gardens Facebook page.