Seed Orders, Clear for Lift-off

[digitS']

Do you have a process leading to a full inventory of seed for your gardening year? Here's mine:

· Inventory what I already have.
· Decide what is missing. (This may take several days with seed catalogs and several pages of yellow paper .)
· Compare prices from various sources (pad white paper; current inventory list is on far right).

· Show comparisons on a single page (word processor helps).
·Make choices (far left).

IMG_20150123_084305_kindlephoto-27072969_zps76xmjka_edit_1422033872534.jpg (26.71 KiB) Viewed 1406 times

· Go !

Steve

[imafan26]

I have one more step, pare down the wish list. I probably cannot plant nearly as much seed as I would like.

[rainbowgardener]

Similar, but less elaborate. After doing the inventory of what I have, I go through 2-3 of my favorite catalogs writing down what I would like to get from that catalog and price. Then I compare the lists, see what looks best in terms of what kinds of seeds I would end up getting and prices. Throw away the extra list(s) and pare down the one that's left as imafan said, so I don't over do it.

I did this soon after the new year and I am planting today!

[hendi_alex]

I'm way less formalized than that. Fiancé most variety's are in mixed packs, I just order a few packs every year or two, noting what is running low during the growing season. My new seeds came in a week or two ago. Mostly ordered tomato, cuke, corn, beans, plus other odds and ends. Early Feb will start planting a greater variety of seeds for tender transplants.

[Susan W]

One is supposed to be organized? Have everything sorted? Order once/yr? Where did I go wrong?!
My seeds are semi-organized, and I did go through them recently, put in better container. I do have a few stand-bys that I try to keep on hand, then the other ones. Also as I am working the system 12 months have to plan sorta what to start when. Some plants need a full yr or 2, so try not clog the seed start system with them now, when more varieties needed for spring.

I am forever coming across a new plant (for me), and do a google search about it. If a must try, then try to find the seeds. There are many small time plant and seed operations out there. Trust me! I am not too proud to get seeds off the rack at the box stores or garden center, along with the special mail orders.

[hendi_alex]

Edit: "[Since] most variety's are in mixed packs,"

[hendi_alex]

I buy quite a few seeds at Lowes. For the most part they are Gurney's, Burpee, or other familiar name. For me, the only must have mail order are of uniq. he or difficult to find varieties.

[digitS']

Edit: "[Since] most variety's are in mixed packs,"

No. I liked it better the other way, Alex! I'm thinking "plight my troth" ... .

You do not want to see my seed from downstairs . If there is organization on paper, I know what to look for - when. It should all go in standardized containers but that has never, ever happened.

Mostly, it stays in baskets and shipping boxes and as they are emptied, seed is consolidated. Baskets go with me to the gardens and that works fine. I've also got a little bucket with a cover. Similar varieties are together but a Tisket, a Tasket - Ella! Or, a Tisket, a Tasket, Natalie Cole! Or, a Tisket, a Tasket, The Manhattan Transfer.

Steve

[applestar]

Lalalalala little yellow basket!

It's always hard to find all the seeds I want from the same vender, so yeah similar contortions to assess what I have, what needs to be used up (do I REALLY need a fresh packet now or should I use up what I have and take my chances that they won't germinate?) What about that exciting new variety of carrot, radish, cabbage..... Onion..... That I saw I in this or that catalog?

But first I have to figure out how many tomatoes I can plant, and to do that I need to work out the crop rotation.... Oooh that's going to be a smaller bed, but I could possibly squeeze in more tomatoes in this other bed without breaking the rotation cycle.... And what about the space hogs like corn and squash? How do I maximize the space and fit in the succession and companion planting?

But forget tomatoes...must order THESE that need to be started first. So the first/early order go out with plans still unfinished. Numbers are not set so I start more than I might need. I'm going to pay for that later when the growing pace under the lights become precious and every inch, every pot will need to be accounted for.

My seeds are (semi) organized into cool weather starters -- inside and direct seed -- and warm weather starters -- inside and direct seed. But I take them out and put them in a same zip bag when they are sown together and some of THOSE haven't been replaced where they should be.... And kind and generous seed trading buddies have been sending me seeds and some of those are still not sorted. ...NOW what do I have?

Eventually, more concrete planting plans emerge and I realize some warm weather seeds are missing -- usually ones that need to be sown/started around a month to two weeks before last frost and soon after last frost. Those are ordered in the second/later round.

I've been harvesting and saving and trading for more seeds not just tomatoes though, so I probably won't need to buy a lot of new seeds this year.... But I DID see that ...you know... *something* special -- one or two or three things that I couldn't possibly NOT try growing this season.....

...heh... Did all that rambling make any sense?

[imafan26]

I am still thinking about it. I have so many seeds that what I really need to do is throw more of them away or plant them out. I need to really shrink my list more. I still have over 50 seeds on the list and I need to pare down. I am running out of room in the frig.

I planted some 2006 nasturtiums 2 germinated from about 20, well that's one way to get rid of a lot of seed...slowly.

[digitS']

Probably the only thing that doesn't make sense in this thread is why I'd have all those links to that song.



My seed is also ~ fairly well ~ organized by sowing dates and by species.

Okay, here's what I hauled up from the basement for a picture.

Steve