I’ve been getting seed catalogs in the mail, and I am wanting to get my seeds ordered. Any recommendations? NT

The day seed catalogs start to arrive is always a great day because it means we can see garden season on the distant horizon giving us something to look forward to during the cold days of winter. And seed catalogs are just plain fun.

There are so many choices, and the photos of the plants always look so good, most of us want to order everything, even though we know that’s not a good idea (raise your hands if you’ve never over-bought seeds… I thought so). So yes, we have some recommendations on how to approach ordering your garden seeds.

Let’s talk about tomatoes since they are arguably our favorite garden crop. As you shop for tomato seeds, you need to be aware that there are two primary categories of tomatoes: determinate and indeterminate. I am guessing that some of you just went “what?”

Determinate tomato plants produce one crop while growing to be about 3 to 4 feet tall. These plants work great in the tomato cages that are sold in many garden centers. Determinate tomato plants are what you want to get if you plan on canning tomatoes, making a big batch of salsa or perhaps tomato sauce to freeze and use the rest of the year.

On the other hand, if you are hoping to enjoy tomatoes all season long, you should look for indeterminate tomato seeds. Indeterminate tomatoes tend to be more viney and work best on stakes or a trellis. There are many varieties of both but be sure to check out the description in the catalog to find out if they are determinate or indeterminate. However, there’s nothing wrong with mixing it up and getting some of each.

Another identifier you’re going to find in the seed catalogs is the word “heirloom.” Heirloom seeds and plants are the ones with names we’ve known forever. These plants have not been hybridized and tend to be a little more persnickety, but in exchange you get some delicious, traditional tomatoes.

Hybrids (on the other hand) have been cross bred with different plants to either increase production, size, or disease resistance. Hybrids are not GMOs, so if you are opposed to those, there’s no need to worry here. Hybridization just makes them “tomato plants +” if you will. Nature is hybridizing all the time. You know this if you have ever planted cucumbers near your squash.

If you have had a problem with diseases in your garden, you might want to consider hybrids. When looking at the seed packets for hybrids you will notice codes like F, F2, F3, PM, or TMV for example.

The F codes indicate these seeds have a resistance to fusarium wilt. So, if you have had problems with fusarium wilt in years past, these would be good varieties for you. PM would indicate powdery mildew resistance while TMV would identify tomato mosaic virus resistance. Again, for those who have struggled with these diseases in their garden, hybrid seeds with built in disease resistance are great choices.

Seed catalogs typically also contain information on when your seeds should be started and what period of time you should expect between planting and harvest. Purchasing seeds of the same type of vegetable but with different days to harvest can help spread your vegetable harvest out for a greater period of time instead of getting everything at once. Another way to accomplish this is to do something we call “succession” planting. Utilizing this methodology, you start your plants of the same variety at a staggered schedule to extend your harvest time. For example, if you planted lettuce or radishes each week, you would have your harvest time spread out rather than one large harvest.

Knowing the days to harvest will also help plan you garden. For example, if you were planting lettuce (which likes cooler temperatures) and you found out it had a “days to harvest” of 45 days, you would know not to plant them unless you had at least 45 days of cooler, heat free days ahead of you. This would also be helpful for fall planting. In the fall, your primary issue would be growing days before frost.

Last year was unusual since we had warmer days all the way until this recent cold snap. My radishes just gave it up recently, which is unusual. But then, I also had some Supertunias until this recent cold snap. We just never know about Oklahoma weather.

With all this talk about seed catalogs, don’t forget our local garden centers and suppliers. We are fortunate in Tulsa to have several great garden centers and their staffs will be happy to help you make selections that would be appropriate for your garden.

We have information on our website on varieties of vegetables that are suggested for growing in Oklahoma. If you are a beginner, consider starting with some of these rather than jumping off the high dive into some of the more exotic varieties. You can find this guide under the Lawn and Garden Help Section/Vegetables (www.tulsamastergardeners.org). See you in the garden!

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org.