Besides seed catalogs, what is it that gets a gardener through the long cold winter? The answer: Glossy Magazines. And I have a new favorite, Heirloom Gardener. I subscribe to very few magazines, preferring to pick them up at the newsstand depending on how the issue strikes me. Then I usually copy articles and info I like for a ring binder, and give the issue away. I subscribe to Hobby Farms and Hobby Farms Home which I promptly share with my mother. I plan my errands around the release of Organic Gardening so I can check out the latest issue at the "fancy" grocery. Then a couple of months ago I happened to pick up an issue of Heirloom Gardener at Tractor Supply.
I was hooked! I had seen this magazine before back when it was a plain paper (boring) publication with illustrated covers and lots of practical advice. It is put out by Baker Creek which not only does great work offering heirloom seeds from all over the globe, but also hosts a very informative and busy gardening forum called I Dig My Garden. I used to spend quite a bit of time on that forum, and it is still a wonderful place to research questions and ask for advice.
The magazine has been revamped, glossed up, and is now offered at some newsstands, including Barnes and Noble and Tractor Supply. You can even follow them on Facebook. I was lucky enough to stumble across their first release to TSC and am now a subscriber.
Besides articles on gardening and vegetables, they feature other topics of interest such as cheese making, bees, poultry, apples, plenty of recipes and lots and lots of glossy photos! Next time you are at Tractor Supply, check for it. The Spring issue with the tomato on the cover is at the printer now and will soon be on news stands. Search for them on Facebook to keep abreast of the release date. See if you don't fall in love with this magazine too.
I had a notion a bit over a year ago to put in another garden but I'm too cheap to buy volumes of compost. Instead I kept adding straw, dung and lime to a pile of horse manure all last spring and summer. I've been turning it with the front end loader pretty religiously this fall and winter and I have an excellent (and large) pile of compost in which to play if I choose to do so this spring. I'm already plenty late to plant English peas, but I might have to look into some heirloom seeds of other types to fool with this summer.
ReplyDeleteI have been known to pick up a magazine or two like that myself at the ol' TSC, and I don't really have a garden of my own! But someday I will, and I want to be ready.
ReplyDeleteJason, I about expired when you said "too cheap to buy...compost". I thought you would have plenty of available substances! Pleased to hear you realized the same ;-)
I had never heard of that magazine before. Thanks for sharing!
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