My Seeds-for-Next-Year Collection!

Ya’ll, there are a LOT of seeds in my storage container, so if you’re into that, sit down, relax, and enjoy the shinies.

If they’re not your thing, just know that I have Lotz of Seedz.

ON TO THE SEEDS.

These photos include primarily this year and last year’s Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds orders. I’ve pulled the packets I used all of and am including partials from last year.

There are other companies included here, but those are all much older seeds I don’t expect to grow.

This year I was focused on The End of the World planting because paranoia, so I looked up vegetables that were both easy to grow AND high in calories.

Then I sat and sorted through all of Baker Creek’s seeds of that type to pull one or two packets for purchase. They were literally selling out of seeds as I ordered, so I had to go back to my second choice for several options, and I put a few things on ‘remind me when it comes back into stock’ status.

Then, when that was still too expensive, I cut back.

I CUT BACK. This is my order after I halved it!

Let’s get to looking.

First of all, here’s the container I store them in.

It’s for photos, but who cares. It’s the perfect size and sorting method.

A fun shot of one of the packages that arrived.

And on to the seeds!

Marigold packet for pest control. I chose a SHORT variety this year, after the fiasco that was my marigolds growing huge and killing all of my tomatoes.

Peppers and beans. There’s a free gift packet from last year’s order on the left.

ALL THE BASIL. I love oddly scented basil, and I love cooking with it. A lot of these packages are from previous years because I never use the whole packet.

Sunflowers! The only new one is the Baker Creek one. I love watching the birds eat them, but I generally don’t devote much space to them.

And let’s begin the leafy greens of various sorts. I’ll start with the odd ones. I went for ones that were either VERY easy to see and pick or ones that were specifically cold and bolt hardy and would produce continiously. The Komatsuna is a freebie from this year, and I have NO idea what it tastes like. The Russian Red is a freebie from last year.

On to cabbage! I have two red cabbages flagged to let me know when they come back into stock because I love them so much.

The new lettuce from this year. I intend to be planting them heavily in a vertical planter inside during the winter so I have fresh yums! There’s one Bok Choy in there because I had such good luck with it this year but wasn’t sure where to insert it.

And now all the sad old packages of lettuce that I never got to planting. I’ll be planting heavily this winter to keep greens on the menu.

Various onions and leeks. I did buy Egyptian Walking Onion bulbs (3) this year, and they’re currently sitting in my tea plant’s pot.

A variety of root vegetables. I haven’t had a lot of good luck with them yet, probably because I didn’t fertilize or weed enough, so trying again.

Amaranth. Pollinators love it, it’s wheat free (allergy, not a gluten issue), it’s a heavy producer, it’s temperature change resistant, and it’s easy to harvest. So, let’s give it a try! I couldn’t decide on what variety to plant. The buckwheat is for Mom – pollinators ADORE it and it’s pretty, but I haven’t had luck harvesting it.

Some garden staples. Radishes, little round carrots (my soil is NOT sandy enough for long ones), an unusual ‘bean’, and peas that should be more heat hardy.

Tomatoes! A lot of these are from last year, and the entire left column is a type I plant year after year. I prefer grape or pear tomatoes, and I eat a LOT of them. Why don’t I have more seeds? Because I didn’t pick enough this year and had volunteers springing up everywhere, so I’m hoping to have volunteers next year too.

Corn of various types. The blue corn is for corn meal, the tiny one is sweet corn, and the others are old packets.

Herbs of all sorts, and most are last year’s packets or older because I never plant all of the seeds. The Dill is entirely new because I love growing it AND it volunteers. When it grows well, people stop and ask for heads out of my garden during canning season, which I don’t mind at all.

I love flavored mints and have an entire bed devoted to them. From seed, they can be finicky. The white packets are a low growing ground cover mint that I intend to spread under the cherry bushes to cut back on having to mow there. We did something similar by accident behind my parents’ garage with oregano, and now every time you mow it smells like pizza.

And finally, a variety of one offs. Two types of easy to grow and harvest broccoli, a heavy producing cauliflower. The zucchini in my garden this year was eaten by chipmunks before it could produce, so trying again and including a heavy producing early squash. Two types of cucumbers – one is a classic, but I’ve had problems with pollination, so the second produces cucumbers without pollination! They’re seedless then, obviously, but worth a try. And the last of the asparagus seeds.

And that’s what I have stored!

I have some live plants coming that I’ll have to photograph when they arrive, most notably pineapple mint and strawberry mint. I also have to take photos to show how much potted plants loved being outside this summer.

Plus, I got a vanilla orchid!

What plants are you looking forward to planting this coming year, or have you not decided yet? It’s early, but with the way heirloom seeds are selling out and slammed, I wanted to be sure I got what I wanted.

Happy seed hunting!