The 72nd annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in Albany, New York was scheduled for last Saturday, March 12th, but a late winter snowstorm delayed the parade to this coming Saturday March 19th.
With springlike temps for St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th, in Albany, and a forecast for similar weather in a couple more days, the parade will begin at 2:00PM on March 19th, albeit a week later than planned. The parade route is now free of snow, with only some remnants of the latest snowfall in some shady areas.
And with the start of Spring only three days away and garden soil drying out, now’s the time to think about the upcoming growing season and to shop seeds for a vegetable garden.
Urban and apartment dwellers, with only limited access to a garden plot, can still consider greening up a terrace or a patio by growing food in containers. We’ve noted in the past that container-grown greens and cherry tomatoes, with a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette, make for fast food of the highest order!
The directory on this website for seeds offers listings of nearly 80 vendors of “Organic/Heirloom/Open Source” seeds. There are 53 listings of seed vendors in 23 of the 50 states from Arizona to Washington state. The directory also includes 9 listings of seed vendors in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. And there are additional seed vendors listed in Australia, Great Britain and Ireland.
Another source for garden seeds in the Albany, New York area is the Honest Weight Food Co-op. Food co-ops, like the Honest Weight, are communities of people concerned about the source of their food with a focus on organic, locally grown fruits and vegetables and other nutritious foods. It’s no surprise that food co-ops would be vendors of vegetable seeds. Consumers who prefer to shop for their garden seeds in person, instead of by mail order, should check out their local or nearby food co-operative. There are nearly 200 throughout the United States.
(Frank W. Barrie, 3/16/22)
