Videos and seed ordering

I had knee surgery Dec. 1 and for the first few weeks while mostly confined to a chair in front of the TV, I immersed myself in gardening videos on YouTube to pass the time. I'm now up to 12 subscribed channels and have decided they fall into two broad categories: Experts covering specific topics with each video, and enthusiasts showing you what they are doing day-to-day.

On one hand there is Robert Pavlis, who has Garden Fundamentals on YouTube, the web site gardenmyths.com, and has authored several books on gardening in general and soil science in particular. He skewers many popular beliefs, such as "The myth of organic fertilizer." He says there are difference between synthetic (fast-acting) and organic fertilizer (slow release), but "The nutrients produced by both synthetic and organic fertilizer are exactly the same." If you disagree, send emails to him, not me.

At the other end of the spectrum is Laura LeBoutillier on Garden Answer. Although she is very knowledgeable, and I'm going to go back and rewatch one of her videos when it comes time to plant strawberries, she pumps out videos every day or two. Not each one is chock full of information. Recent ones are more about holiday decorating than gardening.

Three of the channels are related to Epic Gardening, and I've watched dozens of videos from them. Although Kevin Espiritu and Jacques Lyakov pump out a lot of information, they also have a lot of episodes that are, "Here is what we are doing today." The channels serve as a marketing device for their online store. I actually ordered some seeds and grow bags from them, so I guess it works.

The last one I will mention is Up North Garden w/Corey, Michigan gardener Corey Taratuta. Most of his videos that I watch relate to petunias, specifically Proven Winners Supertunias and their competitors. Based on his review of online retailers, I actually decided to pre-order my Supertunias from Garden Crossings, also in Michigan.

I have already ordered all of the seeds and plants I'm going to need for spring. I went with four online retailers for various reasons:

• The Seed Plant has the cheapest prices for basic vegetable seeds that I can find, less than $2 per packet and free postage. Seeds I have ordered from them include Waltham Broccoli, Imperator Carrots, Red Detroit Beets, Scarlet Globe Radishes, Italian Parsley, Evergreen Bunching Onion, Borage, and Boquet Dill. The first five were received and planted months ago, and the last three are for next year.
• From Burpee I ordered Triple Threat Marigold, Double Dwarf Jewel Mix Nasturtium, Thumbelina Mix Zinnia, Royal Carpet Alyssum, Sweet Success Hybrid Cucumber, Monteverde Late Flowering Basil, Albion Strawberry Bare Roots (25), and Montana Strawberry (1 plant). The strawberries will be delivered in April. I decided to sprout some of the zinnia, marygold and basil seeds, and already one of the marigolds is up after only two days. However, the basil envelope was completely empty, so Burpee is sending me another packet, hopefully one with seeds this time. I had to pay shipping of $17.90, but found a coupon code for $22.08 to offset it.
• The Epic Gardening 15-gallon lined grow bags were out of stock on Amazon, so I decided to order from the company. I ordered a few seeds at the same time: Wild Bergamot (Bee Balm), Teddy Bear Dwarf Sunflower, and Sweet Bell Blent Pepper. I had to pay shipping of $9.99, which was partially offset by a coupon for $5.13.
• And finally, I ordered four pots of Proven Winners combinations, three plants each. The "Above and Beyond" combo includes Supertunia Vista Bubblegum (the most popular variety), Vista Silverberry, and Vista Fuchsia. "Beach Sunset" includes Supertunia Honey, Superbells Coralina, and Superbena Peachy Keen. "Decadent" includes Supertunia Royal Velvet, Supertunia Latte, and Superbells Pomegranate Punch. "Summer Punch" consists of three Superbells: Grape Punch, Tangerine Punch, and another Pomegranate Punch. Each pot was $15.99, and shipping was $20.95. To get free shipping I would have had to order a lot more, so decided just to go with what I wanted. At $84.91, that's $7.72 each for the 11 different plants (duplicate Pomegranate), which is relatively cheap compared to online prices for Proven Winners in individual pots. Maybe it would have been cheaper to find these in the spring in the garden centers. Many of them, even the big box stores, do carry Proven Winners, but their selection may not include everything I wanted. I selected these combos in part to make sure I got the Bubblegum, Royal Velvet and Latte. I will be taking cuttings of those. I asked for delivery the week of April 20, which is several weeks before the suggested date for my planting zone, BUT I HAVE A GREENHOUSE.