Show Notes
Seed catalog season is fun, but it can also be overwhelming. If you’ve ever ordered way more seed than you can possibly plant, chosen a variety that just did not perform in your climate, or gotten confused by all the codes, abbreviations, and marketing language this episode is for you.Today on Just Grow Something we’re going to talk about how to read a seed catalog.We’ll cover:1. Why seed catalogs are tools, not just wish books2. The key pieces of information in a catalog listing (and what they actually mean)3. Days to maturity, and why that number is not as simple as it looks... and moreBy the end, you’ll be able to flip through a catalog and quickly decide, “Yes, this variety makes sense for my garden” or “Nope, that’s just clever marketing” and make a wish list that can actually be fulfilled.Let’s dig in.Resources:1. Washington State University Extension. Tips to Making Strategic Vegetable Seed Selections (EM057E), 2025: https://wpcdn.web.wsu.edu/wp-extension/uploads/sites/2073/2025/01/Vegetable-Seed-Selection.pdf2. Oregon State University Extension. “How to Read Seed Packets Before You Buy.”: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/how-read-seed-packets-you-buyJust Grow Something: https://justgrowsomething.comJust Grow Something Merch and Downloads: https://justgrowsomething.com/shopJust Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/18YgHveF5P/ Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JustGrowSomethingBonus content for supporters of the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/justgrowsomethingAmazon storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/justgrowsomething
More from Just Grow Something | Evidence-Based Home Gardening
Peppers, rosemary, and geraniums are all perennials somewhere in the world, and basil will keep going for a while on a windowsill if you start it right. But whether a plant makes it to spring gets decided mostly before it ever comes through the door.
Whether saved seed grows into the plant you loved is decided at pollination and protected or lost in storage. This episode covers hybrids versus open-pollinated and heirloom varieties, the easiest crops for beginners, why plants only cross within a species (and why squash species matter), how often peppers cross, isolation methods (time, containment, distance), population size for corn, and the three levels of seed saving.
In this episode, we're opening up the rest of the preserving toolbox: freezing, drying, fermenting, refrigerator pickles, and good old-fashioned cold storage.
In this episode, we're taking on four home canning myths that keep circulating in gardening groups, on food blogs, and in family recipe boxes: oven canning, open-kettle canning (and its cousin, flipping jars upside down), packing tomatoes and garlic in oil, and the idea that a salsa recipe can be tweaked however you like as long as it tastes right.
Frost is on the way, and the vines are still loaded with green tomatoes. In this episode, we sort out which green tomatoes will finish ripening on your counter (the mature greens and the blushers) and which ones belong in the skillet, the freezer, or a tested relish recipe.