If you give a homesteader a seed catalog in November, they’ll tell themselves they’re just looking for ideas.
But five minutes later, they’ll have circled 37 varieties of tomatoes, 16 types of squash, and some heirloom radishes that they don’t even like. 🌱
By the time the snowstorm hits, they’ll be sitting by the fire with three highlighters and a notebook, making plans for a garden so big it would need a full-time staff to maintain.
They’ll start sketching out garden beds, rotating crops, and companion planting. But then they’ll remember the kids picked all the tiny pumpkins last year before they were ripe, and now they need a “kids-proof” section. So they’ll add fencing to the plan.
Then, they’ll remember the chickens, who spent all summer digging up seedlings and laying eggs in the compost pile. They’ll decide they also need a “chicken-proof” section. And since they’re dreaming big, why not a greenhouse?
By Christmas, they’ll have forgotten about sugarplums and will instead be dreaming of rows of rainbow carrots and midnight sunflowers. The garden plan will be complete, except for one thing—they forgot to order the seeds.
So, on New Year’s Day, they’ll rush to place an order, adding “just a few extras” to the cart. When the seeds arrive, they’ll tuck them into a “safe spot” so they’ll be ready for spring planting.
But when spring finally comes, they’ll realize the safe spot was too safe. The seeds are now playing hide-and-seek somewhere between the pantry and the barn.
As they dig through the house yelling, “WHERE DID I PUT THE SEEDS?” they’ll find an unopened seed catalog from December. And it’ll have something they absolutely can’t live without.
So they’ll place another order—just a small one, they’ll say. But by the time the confirmation email arrives, they’ll realize they’ve accidentally doubled their seed inventory.
Of course, the first batch of seeds will reappear the day before the new ones arrive. Now they’ll have twice as many seeds and absolutely no idea where to plant them all.
This will lead to an emergency reworking of the garden plan. They’ll decide to expand the garden by a few more beds, but when they head outside to measure, they’ll realize the snow still hasn’t melted.
They’ll trudge back inside, look at their overflowing seed stash, and mutter, “Maybe I overdid it.” But as they flip through yet another catalog that just arrived, they’ll spot a packet of blue corn that absolutely must make it into the plan.
Because if you give a homesteader a seed catalog, they’ll dream bigger than their garden space, order more than they can plant, and somehow forget half of what they need.
But hey—there’s always next year.
