By Reggie Solomon

[This post is the second part of a three-part series reviewing catalogs produced by three major seeds providers and examining the magazines’ helpfulness to gardeners in deciding what seeds to purchase and what to grow in their home gardens. To read the beginning of the series — click here]

Johnny’s Seeds

Johnny’s Seeds’ 170-page behemoth is a serious gardener’s and would-be-farmer’s magazine!

This is a magazine Charles Ingalls (from the television adaptation of “Little House on the Prairie”) would read while enjoying his evening pipe.

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By Reggie Solomon

How do seed catalogs and seed magazines (also referred to as “garden porn” by some especially avid readers) stack up against each other in helping gardeners plan and decide what to grow in their gardens?

Fortunately, most gardeners don’t have to worry about basic seed quality when purchasing seeds and plants from major providers.

So what largely distinguishes providers is how helpful they are to gardeners in planning and preparing their gardens.

This three-part article examines catalogs and magazines produced by three major seeds providers and reviews their comparative helpfulness to gardeners who use these magazines to decide what to grow, purchase seeds, and plan home gardens.

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By Reggie Solomon

Choosing what to grow in your garden takes on special significance due to most urban gardener’s constraint of space.

When you’re in an urban garden you’re much more likely to be aware of what is growing than you are in larger non-urban gardens.

Choosing what to grow in a small space can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be if you use the tips below.

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Just because you live in a city doesn’t mean you can’t garden!

Urban Garden Casual helps city dwellers reclaim the pleasures of non-city living within the confines of urban space by bridging traditional gardening with the special needs of urban and small-space gardeners in the modern world.

Urban gardens come in many shapes and sizes. Some urban gardens are as small as a window box or container full of herbs sitting on a fire escape stairwell. Some are as large as the backyard gardens often found in suburban and rural areas.

Working around the constraints of limited-space, light, and microclimates created from the shadows of neighboring buildings can be fun to figure out. After, all, urban gardening is gardening against the odds — and who doesn’t enjoy a challenge! We’re urban dwellers after all.

So, shed your work clothes, pick up your iPod, and join me on a journey through the world of gardening done urban and gardening done casual.

By Reggie Solomon

Just because you can sleep with your window up overnight, doesn’t mean it’s safe to begin planting outdoors.

It’s certainly tempting to scratch the itch of outdoor seeding and transplanting as soon as the first signs of spring emerge, however before doing so, relax — and find the frost free date for your area.

What is a “Frost Free Date?”

The “frost free date” is a date after which the chances of frost are significantly diminished. Early morning and overnight frost can significantly damage or kill young seedlings and delicate plants.

While planting after the frost free date is no guarantee against winter frost, it does make you sleep better night. Particularly in areas such as the northeast where May surprise snowstorms are not uncommon (May 15 is the frost free date for most of the northeast U.S.), planting outdoors after the frost free date is key.

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