For those unsure of what an heirloom vegetable is, these are old varieties still maintained by farmers and gardeners particularly in isolated or ethnic communities. Many would vanish forever if not ...

A new layer of snow has fallen on Chester County and the ground is like stone, but the 2014 gardening season has already begun. It arrived in the flurry of seed catalogs that started showing up in my ...

For those unsure of what an heirloom vegetable is, these are old varieties still maintained by farmers and gardeners, particularly in isolated or ethnic communities. Many would vanish forever if not ...

WASHINGTON – In this season of the seed catalog, remember that the term “new” is like a stick of raw celery – best taken with a pinch of salt. A nursery’s catalog can call something new even if it has ...

As soon as the flood of Christmas cards slowed to a dribble, an avalanche of garden catalogs filled up my mailbox. Mixed into the usual list of big catalogs like Johnny’s Select Seeds, Territorial ...

Seed catalogs are what sustain most gardeners in the pit of winter, the pictures of bright blooms and fleshy melons stoking their fantasies. When my mother-in-law sent me the beautiful Baker Creek ...

Read the seed packet or catalog and make sure what you buy is labeled open-pollinated or heirloom, not hybrid. My grandfather grew what we now call heirloom tomatoes: time-tested varieties that breed ...

Green beans have always been one of the most loved of all garden-fresh vegetables. Out-of-season and shipped in from afar, the quality never quite measures up. To keep them coming fresh until fall, it ...

It’s that time again. Winter-weary imaginations are stoked by the glossy color photos and artful descriptions in the seed catalogs. My job is to wade through the offerings and try to find the new and ...

Note: A previous edition of this story erroneously stated when pizza-starting kits would be available at the Republic Branch Library. More than 40 seed varieties are now available to "check out" for ...