Terror On The Orange Express

The seed catalogs have been rolling in over the last few weeks and with it comes the excitement of planning the 2018 garden.  There is nothing like the fantasy of Spring when it is absolutely frigid outside.  Fantasy and imagination is what sustains us gardeners through what often seems like an endless winter.  We start dreaming.  We look forward.  There it is again, that promise of the future.  That thing we all have.

I keep a mental note of the seeds I may need to purchase for next year while I am doing my spring chores.  Seed dies.  It loses vigor.  It doesn't last forever.  Sometimes, you sow all you have.  In any event, seed needs to be replaced.  It's usually no big deal.  You just buy fresh seed, especially for the staples.  There is always a budget for new varieties, new species, new challenges, but the tried and true staple varieties are more or less a constant.  When you find a variety that works and is perfect for you, why would you change?  It's hard to improve on perfection.  So we fall into a bit of a rut and these perfect varieties become fixtures.  You take them for granted.

Of course, you only realize this when they are taken from you.

I've been growing 'Nelson' carrot for well over 20 yrs., going back to our time in Washington state.  It is hands down the best fresh eating, main season variety out there and I've grown a lot of different varieties of carrots over that time so I know.  A true nantes type, it is incredibly uniform, crisp and sweet.  I haven't found anything that compares.  This year, I needed some fresh seed since what I have left is a couple years old and probably not enough for a full crop anyway.  As I said before, "No big deal".  I'll order new seed just as I've done numerous times over the last quarter century.  I looked to the usual sources but I wasn't finding it.  Not in Stokes, or Territorial, or Johnny's, or even in Jung's.  Now I was starting to get concerned.  I figured I would be able to find it on the net (you can find anything there) but much to my chagrin, I had no luck.  I did a little investigation and came to find out it is no longer commercially available.
My response? ....Sheer terror!

I really couldn't believe what I was reading.  This variety is stellar.  Why would they stop producing it?  Johnny's Selected Seeds has even stated that they have yet to find a suitable substitute.  It's a head scratcher to me but I suppose they have their reasons.  'Nelson' may be back at some point but for this year I'll have to do some trials in hopes of finding a carrot that can hold a candle to it.  'Nelson' is a tough act to follow and to be honest, I don't feel very confident that I'm going to find a "suitable substitute" either.  It's important to note that there was a time before 'Nelson' and life will go on after as well.  For now however, I am shocked and traumatized but I think I'll survive.  As long as they don't take 'Bolero' from me, I'll be fine.  There is a carrot out on the horizon that will become the next 'Nelson'.  One that will have everything and become the object of my gardening affection.  I just have to find it.
Let the search begin!