Since Christmas Day, the weather has tuned brutally cold with temperatures not getting anywhere near the freezing mark. This pattern is supposed to continue throughout this weekend. Next week it is looking like a return to normal January temperatures.
To date I have received four seed catalogs. Although some may think what's the point, when we are in the middle of a cold snap in early January. I look at it as inspiration and looking forward to the coming Spring and Summer. It's fun to sit back and browse the catalogs and decide what to grow this coming season. There are always new varieties to try and trusted and true ones to return to.
For the catalogs I have received, I will give a brief overview of each and highlight one new vegetable variety from each. The seed companies always pride themselves on their new varieties each season.
Park Seed
The Park Seed Company got its start n 1868, and thus is one of this country's oldest mail order seed companies. I remember my Mom getting their catalogs back in the 1970s and ordering from them. Recently, I have been ordering their heirloom tomato Rainbow Heirloom Blend for at least 3 or 4 years. For me it is one of the best heirloom tomato seed mixtures I have found.
New this year from Park Seed is the Park Legacy tomato:
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| Park Legacy Tomato |
From the Park Seed website:
In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Park Seed Company (2018), we are proud to introduce this exceptional main-season tomato. Bursting with true vine-ripened flavor, this well-adapted variety offers round, firm 10-12 ounce globes.
Boasting a fantastic disease resistance package, Park's Legacy is resistant to, or tolerant of, the following tomato diseases: Fusarium Wilt race 3, Nematodes, and Tobacco Spotted Wilt Virus.
Jung Seed
The J. W. Jung Seed Company was started in 1907. The company also publishes quite a few other seed catalogs including Totally Tomatoes and R. H. Shumway. I have ordered from them in the past and view them as a good company with good prices.
New from Jung Seed in 2018 is the Jersey Devil Tomato:
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| Jersey Devil Tomato |
From the Jung Seed website:
Uniquely shaped fruits look more like Italian peppers, than tomatoes. Plants are a little later at setting fruits, but once they get going the yields are amazing. Elongated fruits average 4 to 6 inches in length and are very meaty with few seeds. The robust, sweet flavor is ideal for making sauces and salsas. Indeterminate vines.
This is a new catalog for me this year. It seems each year I receive several new ones as the companies obviously share mailing lists. This is a fairly new company formed in 2013. Looking at their catalog, I am impressed both in the selection of varieties and how the catalog is organized. For example, in the tomato pages they have an entire page of tomatoes resistant to blight. They have heirloom hybrids, grafted tomato root stock, and much much more. For those of you interested in grafting, see my post from March 3, 2014.
New from Seeds 'N Such is the German Pink heirloom tomato:
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| German Pink Heirloom |
In this case new means new to this catalog, as this is one of the first heirlooms that started the heirloom craze.
From the Seeds 'N Such website:
This a specialized catalog as the name implies. The 2018 catalog is their twelfth annual seed catalog. I have been ordering from them for several years. They sell not only potatoes and sweet potatoes, but onions and shallots, even leek and onion plants, as well as garlic and winter cover crops.
They have a great selection of fingerling varieties, which are very popular among home gardeners and chefs alike. Instead of featuring a new variety, I will feature a fingerling I grew a few years ago that I was very impressed with, the Laratte fingerling:
From the Maine Potato Lady website:
From France comes this special fingerling. In appearance Laratte is similar to Banana, though a fine net to the tan skin and a nutty flavor to the dark yellow flesh set it apart. Smooth and firm texture. The babies (½"-1") truly melt in your mouth. Fine chefs love this gourmet morsel, and the demand is high. Matures about ten days later than Banana. Resistant to scab and viruses. White flowers top medium-sized plants.
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| Laratte Fingerling |
From the Maine Potato Lady website:
From France comes this special fingerling. In appearance Laratte is similar to Banana, though a fine net to the tan skin and a nutty flavor to the dark yellow flesh set it apart. Smooth and firm texture. The babies (½"-1") truly melt in your mouth. Fine chefs love this gourmet morsel, and the demand is high. Matures about ten days later than Banana. Resistant to scab and viruses. White flowers top medium-sized plants.
Simply Photos - Project FeederWatch:
This is already the ninth week of Project FeederWatch. Since the cold weather has hit, the bird counts have increased both in number of species and total birds. To date I have observed a total of twelve species. As always I have enjoyed it and would encourage you to participate.
This is already the ninth week of Project FeederWatch. Since the cold weather has hit, the bird counts have increased both in number of species and total birds. To date I have observed a total of twelve species. As always I have enjoyed it and would encourage you to participate.
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| Red-Bellied Woodpecker |
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| White-Throated Sparrow |
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| Blue Jays |
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| Dark-Eyed Junco |
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| Our Pet Guinea Hen |
Thanks for visiting as always. Finally, a sunrise photo from January 5, 2018. Happy New Year!
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| January Sunrise |
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