This being the magical month of January, I fear that you will succumb to the temptations of these catalogs. Give it some thought before you send off for those treasures. Can you buy the plants or seeds here in Homer or Anchor Point? You would save a bundle on postage and support local businesses.

But, of course, I have succumbed. Totally. Head over heels. Logic went out the window no matter how tightly closed against the cold.

Pinetree Garden Seeds (superseeds.com) gets the bulk of the vegetable seed order year after year. The packets are small, the selection as good as it gets, the delivery fast. Happy am I. When the bundle of packets arrived, granddaughter Cecilia was here, I had her hold the bundle and said "You are holding the whole garden in your hands." She got it. Her facial expression was priceless.

Then along comes Select Seeds (selectseeds.com). They pride themselves in "heirloom treasures for modern gardens." I am such a very basic gardener you wouldn't think something this esoteric would appeal to me, but I go leafing through the lovely pages reminding myself that I am not ever going to start any annuals every again in my life and there they are: California poppy "Pink Champagne." I am in love. I had these years ago, they reseeded twice and then disappeared forever. I couldn't find any seed. My garden was diminished without them. Is it possible to order one packet of seeds? Yes. Done deal.

So I think, rather smugly, that I haven't done so very bad. I haven't gone overboard. There will be selections made locally. I will support our local economy.

Then here it comes: Bluestone Perennials (bluestoneperennials.com). Oh, how I love this company. How I love the user-friendly catalog. How I love the selection. How I love their plants. How I love their perfect condition when they arrive at the door. The prices are even gorgeous. I am lost. Good thing I keep expanding the island bed every year by a few inches.

This is the year that I will not plant anything that I don't really and truly need and use. I am talking vegetables here. Food. Why do I plant parsley every single year and hardly ever use it? Why do I plant just one dill when I use a ton of it? What's going on here? I need (and probably you, too) to take a good look at this. I hate cabbage. There I said it. I hate it. Coleslaw every now and then, but not enough to justify a bed of eight heads of the stuff. Good grief. If and when I need coleslaw that bad, well, that's what the Farmers' Market is for. Go buy a head.

The same thing happened last year when I realized that I am absolutely the only one around here who eats beets. There are only so many beets I can eat. Gone. Done. No more beets.

We go through enormous amounts of broccoli, romanesque cauliflower, carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, all kinds of greens, lettuce in whatever guise, radish, peas, artichokes, tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, green beans. I am forgetting something, but off the top of my head, we eat lots of all this. Why would I waste space on something that we don't eat? Well, I sure hope I have the answer to that this year. If you have a similar problem -- give this some thought, sooner rather than later.

And here's another thing about the vegetable patch: Don't plant too much. Why? Think about how many people are in your family. OK, so your want enough to give the neighbors, figure that in. But don't plant so much lettuce that it bolts and you just throw it on the compost pile. Same with spinach. Enough is enough.

Make this the year that you build raised beds. Lay down wet sections of newspaper, build a three or four foot wide by however long bed with rough cut lumber (it will last about 10 years) and fill with manure, kitchen scraps, a salmon carcass or two and some soil and you are good to go. No need to rototill.

You don't need me to tell you this country is in an economic crisis and we here in Homer are at the end of a very long road. I have been harping at you for 19 years to plant a vegetable garden. You may not have a choice.

Turn off the television and get planning. It starts now.

Rosemary Fitzpatrick has been gardening with gusto in Homer for 30 years. This year marks the 19th anniversary of her column.