Getting the garden seed catalogues in winter is a great event. The glossy pictures make those fruits and vegetables look so tasty. I usually let myself indulge in staring at the pictures for a few weeks just to see how I feel about certain items. Very unscientific, I know, but it brings me a lot of joy.
When time finally comes to start picking seeds for your early garden you should look to last year as a guide.
Something to keep in mind is that although an early garden is nice, you should plan for your mid and main season crops as well. For tomatoes I like to have proven varieties for early, mid and late season, and then I save some room to experiment. This way I’ve covered my bases if we get an early frost, a spring disease, or anything else that can ruin a crop. I typically find one kind of plant getting hit while the others around it survive fine. I take those lessons to heart when I make my next year’s selections. Then of course keep some extra space to experiment with new varieties. Not every tomato that gets rave reviews elsewhere tastes good to me. Not all will do well in my climate or garden soil. I like to save some room to try out new things because I do get a surprise once in a while.
While thinking about your garden, remember what happened last year. My Early Girl tomatoes got hit by disease. My Brandywine heirlooms didn’t perform very well. The First Lady II outperformed everything, predictably, and the new comer this year for me was a Juliet Hybrid paste tomato which did very well. I made several salsa and I even dried about 200 of them for winter.
When making your list of garden seeds to order this year keep in mind your early garden, but plan for an extended harvest. Try out new early varieties for fun as space allows. Stick with the tried and true producers, and your old favorite flavors. Then get your order in, break out your grow lights, find your black plastic and row covers, and get ready for a great early garden.