Order Your Garden Online!

Seed and plant retailers are reporting 2-3 times normal sales volume. Putting in a garden
is a wonderful family activity and parents and kids all being home have dug into
gardening either for the first time or to make their gardens bigger and better
than ever. Growing their own food and depending less on the grocery store
for every need is appealing.

Along the way people will find how much better their homegrown food tastes.
It has been said that by the time produce reaches stores in the Midwest and
and is made available to shoppers it is a month old. When you pick your
own you are more inclined to eat it at its freshest and healthiest.

Find What You Want

Because of the higher demand for garden plants you may not find what you want at your
local garden center. Do a quick web search of garden seed catalogs and you will
find a lot more choices. Get on their mailing lists and you’ll receive catalogs
in the mail. Catalogs can help you learn more about the vegetables and flowers
you want to grow and can help you plan.  Also shop for tools and supplies, like row
cover, hand tools and sprays. Of course you can order right from the web site
and don’t have to wait to get a catalog. What’s in the catalog is online.

Order a Whole Flower Garden

Every January I used to get a stack of seed catalogs. It was
a ritual that right after the Christmas season was over the next big mailing
was seed catalogs. They don’t just have seeds though—you can order live plants
and trees as well. Each winter I’d go through them and mark pages of seeds and
plants that I would like to have.

When we first moved to our little farm in Ohio there wasn’t a flower on the place. I
ordered a complete flower garden from a catalog. It was shown in bloom and in
color and I knew it would be perfect for the front of the porch. I didn’t have
to plan and think it out.

When we moved to our home here in Missouri there was one
flowerbed at the front of the porch and it was full of weeds. I ordered a
flower garden for it and then added a few more plants to it. From the catalog I
learned the flowering times for those I liked so that I would have something in
bloom spring, summer and fall. I also ordered fruit trees for the little
orchard I wanted to set up on the side of the house. The catalog explained each
variety and which trees to order for where I lived and what other trees were
needed for pollination.

Don’t Go Crazy

It’s very easy to get carried away.  And I did. The kid in the candy store
principle applies here if you are an avid gardener. But all of those lovely
pictures don’t translate to the reality of getting the seeds and plants into
the ground. And sure as rain in springtime Missouri, the plants always arrive
when it is in fact raining, or when you are already stretched for time. The
best time to plant the live plants is of course as soon as they come. When my
plants arrived for that porch garden in Ohio, it rained for two weeks. I
finally had to plant them in the mud which isn’t good for plants or soil. I
fully expected to see them rot. I was delighted when the sun appeared, the
ground warmed up and those plants grew and bloomed. I didn’t lose one.

Prepare For Success

It helps to keep a list of what you’ve ordered. Also make a
chart so you’ll remember where you thought the perfect place for those
daylilies was. You might still question your sanity when you open the box and
stare at 18 perennials, three trees, and twelve irises. With a plan you won’t
panic. And you don’t have to order everything at once. But keep in mind that
some things like bareroot trees are only shipped at certain times. Also, if you
couldn’t find something at the garden center or nursery you can be sure other
gardeners are ordering online as well and supplies could run out there too.

Can’t Plant Right Away?

Read the catalog or web copy carefully to know if you are
ordering potted plants, flats, or bareroot. Bareroot plants come with no dirt
on the roots. They will look like a pile of dead roots but they’re just
sleeping. Bareroot plants need immediate action while those in pots can buy you
a little time.

The planting guides that come with your orders instruct you
to put your bareroot perennials, in their plastic bags, into the veggie drawer
of your fridge. I don’t know about your fridge but I don’t have room to shove
over the celery and carrots and cram 12 Lamb’s Ears and three Stella d’Oros in
with them! And the peach trees certainly aren’t going to fit!

Here’s Another Plan

Open the boxes and treat any potted plants just as you would those from
a physical nursery. Water them as needed and set them in a protected
area to acclimate. For bareroot trees, shrubs or roses, plant right away if you can.

If you can’t, wrap the roots in wet newspaper and wrap them in plastic.
Put them in a cool place like on the concrete floor of the garage. Check

them daily and don’t let them dry out. Plant within three days so they
don’t mold.

Online gardening is another aspect to gardening. It’s fun to try it.
I like not having to deal with crowded nurseries and waiting in long lines
at the check stand. With social distancing the lines are even longer and
you may still have to wait outside to have your turn in the store. If you’re
ready to bump your gardening skills up a notch, give this a try.