Seed Catalog Season

The Cook's Garden catalog arrived in the mail this week, just in time for dreaming about Spring.

Organic, dry-farmed Early Girl tomatoes

Leafing through it took me back to the winters of my childhood, when the ground was too hard to sink a shovel into and bare trees reached towards bleak skies threatening (or promising, on school nights) snow.

We'd sprawl in front of the fireplace with catalogs from Burpees and Parks, making our wish lists and trying to imagine the feel of heat and humidity that the photos of verdant gardens evoked.

These days, I'm not jonesing to turn over damp earth and nestle seedlings into their beds. I'd rather be cooking the ingredients than raising them, a task I leave mostly (and gratefully) to local family farms who bring their produce to my local farmers markets.

But the Cook's Garden folks seem to know this about me, for they've included tempting recipes and alluring photos. And they've called out the heirlooms and the organics. Now the seed of doubt is germinating - what if I can't find purple asparagus or pink-and-white-swirled chiogga beets at the market?
Perhaps I should try growing just a few things this year . . .