my 1 million visitors' 2013 best-of, plus a role for hybrids and heirlooms (win seeds!)

Because seed adapts to its environment, I try to shop for seed grown the way I'll care for it in my garden, meaning: without chemicals. That way, I hope it will feel right at home. My seed series continues with a Q&A with Tom Stearns, founder of the catalog with the largest selection of certified organic seed in the world -- as he says in his opening letter in the 2014 edition of the High Mowing Organic Seeds listing.  

Learn what makes a good cherry tomato; the key role hybrids play; why everyone wants short-season varieties, and more -- and maybe win some organic seeds, on me!

top-50 stories of 2013 (from my 1 million visitors!) 

In 2013, a million different people visited me and Jack and the frogboys here at A Way to Garden (!!!), and from the looks of things, statistics-wise, a lot of you treasure your homegrown garlic as much as I do. Yes, garlic was the top topic of the year, in which edible plants in general -- from growing them from seed right through to tricks for putting up the harvest -- dominated your top-50 favorite stories. See if you agree with what made the 2013 list.