Start selecting, but don’t go overboard, says Bob
If you’ve not done so already then hurry to send your seed orders in. Of course you might buy from a local garden centre, and it is nice to do so, but bear in mind they may not carry the huge range you can find by mail order.
Also, when shopping in person be careful to choose packets not kept in full sunlight, which risks the seeds slowly losing viability – and know that those bought via mail order will probably come straight from a cool dark store.
On the other hand some ‘seeds’ such as potato and onion sets are expensive to post because of their weight and you’ll probably find that garden centres can offer these at a better price. (Never buy suspiciously cheap ‘bargain’ bags of these from market stalls and ‘low price’ shops as they may introduce some extremely nasty, tenacious pests or diseases such as blight, black leg, eelworm on spuds or dreaded white rot on onions.)
Another very good reason for hurrying up with your seed orders is you’ll probably find some of the most popular and latest introductions sell out fast, and although you may be offered a substitute it cannot be the same – although it’s still better to agree to a substitute than get none at all!
Some seed can sell out quickly
Most companies have large stocks, but even so the latest introductions, especially if resistant to some bothersome pest or disease, are quite likely to run out. And similarly any variety that gets vaunted on a TV program, even non-horticultural ones, can incur a temporary shortage. Some years ago it became near impossible to get kale seed as the health benefits were suddenly extolled so widely the planned supply, already sown and grown, was simply insufficient for the demand world-wide!
Think quality over quantity especially if you are new to growing
Now, an important tip, if you’re new and haven’t gardened much as yet, I strongly advise buying and growing fewer crops than you dream of, at least for your first years. It’s easy to sow several dozen different vegetables then fail to keep up with their care and individual requirements. Then, when harvest time comes, crops grown for the first time may go over before you’ve even noticed, so save some of those tempting ones for coming years.
However, I do recommend getting several varieties of your favourite crops so you can do a comparison of how each suits your conditions. Not all of them every year, just trial one or two and see what works best for you and your garden.
For example, don’t buy a couple of packets of the same variety of carrots (or onions, lettuce, peas etcetera) but a half a dozen varieties or more, sow a little from each (well labelled) to see how each does as this can inform and guide your choices for years to come. This isn’t wasteful, as most seeds will keep several years provided the packets were quickly opened and resealed and kept the rest of the time in the cool, dry, dark.
Anyway, let’s stop wasting time and get those orders in straight away!
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