On
the dreary days following Christmas, with the snow piled high and the cold
gripping the land, I remember my mother sitting by our wood burning cook
stove. By the light of a kerosene lamp
she studied the seed catalogs that had just arrived. And she was smiling.
On
this wintery day in early January, I, like my mother so many years ago, am poring over the newly
arrived seed catalogs: Burpee’s, Gurney’s, Jungs, Shumway’s and several
others. A new wonderfully red tomato
graces the cover of the Burpee catalog with the enticing words, “Madame
Marmande: Gourmet tomato with a French accent.
Juicy. Succulent. Super-flavorful.” On the Jung catalog cover I see an “Easy
care barberry shrub, “A perfect pumpkin for patches big and small,” and a
cluster of three strawberries: “Big yields of tasty berries on disease
resistant plants.”
On
the Shumway catalog cover I see the “Lazy Housewife Bean, the original heirloom
from the 1800s. One of the first to be
completely stringless-there is little work or time involved, thus resulting in
its name.” And Grandpa Admire’s Lettuce named after a Civil War veteran whose
family preserved the seeds throughout the years.
That’s
just the covers. A peek inside the
catalogs and all thoughts of long winter days melt into thoughts of spring and
planting garden, and selecting just the right
seeds for our sandy, central Wisconsin soil.
Decisions, decisions. What to plant
this year, something I have not tried: maybe Swiss chard, or how about some
kale, or maybe a couple hills of Atlantic Giant pumpkins that are supposed to
reach 400-500 pounds. Or maybe some
Crimson Blaze sunflowers that “captivate with sensuous shades and tones,” and
grow six feet tall?
Let’s
see, it’s only how many days before it’s time to plant garden?
THE OLD TIMER SAYS:
Think garden thoughts; it shortens the winter.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
January 12, Noon, Wisconsin Certified Crops Advisory
Board, Coliseum, Madison.
January 15, 6:45 p.m. Wisconsin Grazing Conference,
Wisconsin Dells. Stories from the land.
January 25, 6:30 p.m. Mt. Horeb Library—History of
Cheese making in Wisconsin.
February 2 and 3, Great Wisconsin Farm Expo 11:00 a.m.
(Farm Memories). and 1:00 p.m. (History of Wis. Agriculture) each day. Central Wisconsin Convention and Expo Center,
10101 Market Street, Rothschild, WI.
February 13-14. Garden Expo. Alliant Center,
Madison. February 13, 2:15:Wild Flowers,
Butterflies, and Other Stories From the Land.
February 14, 1:00 p.m. Film: The Land With Jerry Apps plus discussion.
Purchase
Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose,
Wisconsin (a fundraiser for them):
The
library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs, Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.
Also
available are several of Jerry’s signed books including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old
Farm, (which are related to the DVD Jerry
Apps a Farm Story).Also available is Jerry’s new novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames
County as well as Whispers and Shadows and his newest nonfiction book, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
Contact
the library for prices and special package deals.
Patterson
Memorial Library
500 Division Street
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