Have you started shopping for your garden seeds yet?  This is a wonderful activity to occupy your time during these long, cold days of winter.    Here are some ideas to help you get started.

• Browse the seed catalogs (a nice thing to do on cold, snowy days!)
• If you keep a garden journal, refer to it to remember how the garden year went for you last year.  What worked well and what didn’t.  Make note of what you would like to change or do differently this year.  If you have never kept a garden journal, I suggest that you start one this year if you are planning to garden.  You can purchase a garden journal-stores have some very cute ones, or just keep a simple notebook to make notes in.  Also, use your cell phone to take photos of your garden during the growing year. This is an easy way to have something to refer back to.
• Stop by the store and see what seeds they have available.  The stores now have gardening products in stock.
• Inventory the seeds you already have.
• Make sure the seeds you have saved are viable and will grow for you.  Nothing quite as disappointing as planting, watering, tending and….nada…nothing.
• Decide what you want to grow this year. What is your goal in growing this year?  Will you grow vegetables?  Flowers?  Are you planning on canning and freezing or just growing for fresh eating?  Are you wanting to make cut flower arrangements or just enjoy beautiful flower beds?
• Consider the days to maturity, habit and size of the plant and fruit, disease tolerance
• Comparison shop for the best deals.
• Shop early for the best selection and supply and to avoid shipping problems
• Know you growing zone

• Know your frost dates

• A mix of seeds may be better than a straight variety
• Will you be growing hybrids or heirlooms?  Or a mix of both?  All American selections are always a good choice-they are tried and true varieties that gardeners have grown for years and have come to trust.
• And remember to save those seed catalogs-there is usually valuable information in them that you can refer to later.