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Saturday, March 15, 2008

I'm calling it...

...and consequences be damned. Spring is here.

Saw the first robins yesterday, heard red-winged blackbirds a few days before, and the geese are on the move.

It may be coming in like a wet dog, but spring is definitely here.

These guys say so, too:









Hello from the broccoli sprouts.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Hooray for Baker Creek Seeds!

Got my seed orders in a couple of weeks ago. I fell out of Burpee's good graces a while back, when we were living in an apartment and I didn't order from them for a couple of years. So I've been seeking out all sorts of seed catalogs since we bought the house. For this, my first spring in the new place with all sorts of plans in my head, I ordered from two catalogs: Seeds of Change and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Put both orders in on the web sites because I have a thing about talking to people on the phone.

Baker Creek had by far the easier web site to order from -- no excessive drilling down through menus only to have to back out of them again like at Seeds of Change. It was sensibly laid out, quick and easy to navigate. Seeds are cheaper too, for the most part. The order was a little slower coming than the Seeds of Change order, but they enclosed a note to explain recent ice storms had slowed their order processing -- and I got two extra packages of tomato seeds out of the deal. The broccoli variety I'd ordered was out of stock, so they refunded me with two bills and some change in a ziploc baggie (stapled to my note explaining the broccoli was out of stock).

Their catalog is a great read, too. I was bringing it to work to share. It's got bits of manifesto wedged in amongst the varietal descriptions. I like revolutionary quotes with my gardening material.

The guy that runs the place started the business when he was 17, and it's grown every year. He seems like quite the character. And he's a snappy dresser, too.

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