Greetings from the Trusty Garden!

6 Steps for Successful Seed Shopping (January 22, 2012)

It's always exciting to look through the seed catalogs and dream of what you want to plant in the garden this year. But with so many choices, how can you decide what to order? It can all seem overwhelming! Here are a few tips on how to approach your seed ordering in an orderly fashion.

1. Decide what you want to grow.

List the plants you eat most of or can't live without. Include items that you plan to dry, can or freeze. If you eat a lot of something, you might want to try growing it . . .

...go to my blog

This is a combination website and blog where I can share with you everything that I find interesting and informative about gardening in the greater Cincinnati area and Midwest USDA zones 5 and 6.

I am a horticulturist, teacher, garden writer, and plant lover. I believe in sharing research-based information about gardening.I have three broad areas of interest:

Sustainable Gardening: How can we garden in the most eco-friendly way, with minimal inputs such as water and chemicals? There are many techniques that can improve the health of the garden while minimizing any negative impact on the environment.

Anything Edible: If you can eat it, I want to grow it. Everything from fruits and vegetables to herbs and edible flowers.

Frugal Gardening: How can I get the most from my garden with the least outlay of cash? Everything from composting to recycling to starting from seed and propagating plants. Hey, many of these ideas are sustainable, too!

I'm excited about these things, and hope to get you excited, too.

Thank you for joining me here, and Happy Gardening!

Sue Trusty, the Trusty Gardener email Sue