– Or they would be if it ever stopped snowing and the sun came out. Truth be told, the sun was out yesterday and the vents in the propagation house opened for the first time all winter. And even though we haven’t seen a whole lot of sun lately, there’s new growth (and growths apparently – this grapefruit has scale, eeeu) on plants that have been sitting like lumps since summer – resting might be a nicer way of putting it. Even Gail and I are aware that the sun is higher in the sky and out for just a titch longer everyday. We’re not actively growing (or are at least we’re trying not to… damn girl-scout cookies…) but we are finally finalizing the seed orders and building enthusiasm for much brighter days ahead.

As I was filling out order forms this year it occurred to me that our methods must be very old-school compared to other gardeners’. We don’t phone in our orders and we don’t order on-line. We fill out the sheets, which are becoming harder to find inside the catalogs, write checks and send them via snail mail – often in our own envelopes. We have also only just started to think seriously about using a spreadsheets to keep track of all the plants we grow. How behind the times are we? How do you place and keep track of your orders?