Before shopping for seeds, it is important to spend some time thinking about what you want to grow.
Choose things that you will want to eat and designate adequate space in your garden for each crop. Be careful not to go too crazy and buy more stuff than you have space for. Choose one tried and true variety from each type of vegetable you want to grow and then throw in one totally new one you haven’t grown before. This keeps things interesting but ensures that you will have plenty of productive crops for the table. For a reference of specific crops that are easy to grow and loaded with vital nutrition, check out our crop reference page.
Where to buy seeds
When selecting seeds to grow, it is important to select varieties that are well adapted to your climate from a seed company that sells to serious growers. Often, companies that produce seeds just for hobby gardeners do not produce the same quality of seed that companies geared toward farmers or market gardeners do.
For our climate in Colorado, we recommend two seed producers in particular:
- Johnny’s Selected Seeds – Johnny’s is located in Maine which, although far from Colorado, has similarly harsh winters, frosty springs, and short summers.
- Stokes Seeds – located between Toronto, Ontario and Buffalo, NY. These seeds are also grown in a cooler climate.
These are by no means the only seed companies out there, but both have excellent products for cooler climates. For slightly warmer climates these seed companies are still a good bet, but you may also want to try the following companies: