Everything seems possible in the spring, and nothing heightens the feeling like finding just the right seeds and starts.

I’m fortunate to live about an hour’s drive from the Seed Saver’s Exchange (SSE) in Decorah, Iowa, and a late April trip to the farm has become an annual tradition.

Favorites from the past few summers have included a cherry tomato treasure (Catalog #109) that produces hundreds of delicious marble-sized tomatoes.

A lettuce mix transplant pack is also a big hit. The lettuce is terrific in the spring and early summer, and if you let it go to seed it will return the following year as a vigorous volunteer.

This year we added La Ratte potatoes (#1363) and are excited to try the Spud-o-matic, a small space planting method for growing potatoes above ground in a wire mesh bin filled with compost. 

We’re also going to see if cumin (#462) will grow in Minnesota.

If you live too far away to make the trip to the farm, fear not. Visit www.seedsavers.org and download the catalog.