30-year-old Territorial Seed Company (TSC) based in Cottage Grove, OR was one of the first seed companies that was recommended to me last year when I was planning Meadowwood Garden. Their Spring 2009 catalog is 168 pages and contains an excellent selection of seeds and supplies for the home gardener in the following categories:
- Vegetable Seeds and Plants
- Fruit Seeds and Plants
- Flowers
- Growing Supplies
When you browse the TSC catalog you might notice a few interesting things right away. The TSC founder’s vision was to “Improve people’s self-sufficiency and independence by enabling gardeners to produce an abundance of good tasting fresh-from-the garden food 12 months a year.” They definitely focus on the home gardener — seeds are offered in manageable quantities and the descriptions contain all sorts of useful information about taste, yield, disease resistance and more.
Culture Box
Each variety has a “Culture Box” at the beginning of the section that provides even more detailed information for the home gardener. Things like when to sow and transplant, how much to water, and lots of little snippets of information to ensure your gardening success. Although not unique to TSC, these Culture Boxes serve as a vegetable-growing encyclopedia of sorts and are in my mind reason enough to obtain this catalog.
There seem to be more cold-tolerant varieties offered than in the usual catalog. In fact, many of the plants they sell have been developed in Oregon by one of the universities there. As Zone 5 gardeners we at Meadowwood Garden definitely appreciate this expanded selection of shorter-season vegetables.
The Spring 2009 TSC catalog offers an outstanding selection of seeds and plants geared towards making the home garden a success. It also serves as a reference for growing those seeds and plants that you will turn to many times throughout the growing season. Whether you are experienced or new to gardening (and especially if your growing season is short) you will probably fine something useful in this fine catalog.
Sample Page
