Extended rainy days make me yearn for sunshine and my summer garden. I often use this time to sit by my wood stove and pour over seed catalogs to plan and visualize my garden. If you get a head start, planting from seed is much less expensive than buying starts for your vegetable beds and there is tremendous variety to grow unusual, ethnic or heirloom varieties you will never find in nurseries or grocery stores. Here's a quick guide to vegetable/herb/annual flower seed sourcing.

A few things to consider when choosing seed

Commercial vs. Boutique Sources

Growing commercial seed requires certain latitudes for some varieties to...