MY toy catalog came!

As it's Christmas time, our mailbox is brimming with catalogs.  The kids love to sit down with pen and circle everything they want.  (Last year Ellie circled the doll as well as the model.  "That's a real person, Ellie, not a toy."  "I know."  Santa did not bring Ellie a human.)  Among the multitude of Nova Natural, Toys R Us, Target and Fisher Price catalogs appeared Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds!  I requested this catalog a few months ago when I was looking for some kale seeds.  It's 210 pages long and FULL of all kinds of fun fruits and veggies and a few flowers.  I was SO excited to look through it and plan what I was going to plant in next year's garden.  I had mentally added about 4 raised beds, taking about 1/4 of the kids's backyard playspace, when I realized, I don't really know enough about gardening to get all these seeds.  I did a great job last year getting the sprouts that I bought at Lowe's in the ground, and planing the lettuce, carrot and bean seeds, but a whole garden, started from seeds indoors, I'm a little out of my element. 
While I think I'll be ok getting a few seed packets from them, I remembered my old friend SproutRobot and I thought I'd give them a look-see to check out when I need to start my seeds inside, what will grow well when, all the basic stuff that REAL farmers already know.  I was surprised to find that SproutRobot has changed.   You can still enter your zip code and get gardening info for you area, as well as lots of instructions, but you don't buy "gardens" anymore.  You used to be able to select a garden and the seeds for that garden.  Now, you just buy seed packets, which I think is kind of better.  It's a little easier to customize.  They're sold through Amazon now and many of the seeds are heirloom or organic varieties.  (What's heirloom you ask?  I was wondered too.  "Heirloom plant species are vegetables, flowers, and fruits grown from seeds that are passed down from generation to generation, says Barbara Richardson, horticulturist with the National Gardening Association. Heirloom seeds are open-pollinated, meaning they rely on natural pollination from insects or the wind.
Generally, heirloom plants are grown on a small scale using traditional techniques, and are raised from seeds that are at least 50 years old. Over time, growers save the seeds of their best plants—whether those are the most vigorous, disease resistant, flavorful, or beautiful. With unique shapes, sizes, and colors, heirloom plants often look different from commercial hybrids, which make up the bulk of supermarket fruits and vegetables. Unlike heirlooms, these hybrids are bred to produce uniform-looking and -tasting, high-yield crops at low cost. Most seeds from hybrids are sterile and cannot be passed down.")

So, after all my excitement and item circling in my toy catalog, I realized that these toys are for the "big kids".  I'm still in the toddler section.  Who knows, maybe I'll do really well this year starting my garden from seeds and I'll be ready to move onto the big kid seeds next year.  When I bulldoze over the willow tree and swing set to make room for my new and improved kale bed!

So much room for a bigger garden!