I admit I actually start doing this in the late summer or early fall -- thinking about where I want to grow various vegetables next year. I made rough maps in my gardening notebooks and think about different things to try or things I don't think are worth growing again, etc.
Seed inventory
I keep all of my seeds in a shoe box in the basement. Many are purchased seeds in seed packets and some are seeds I save from flowers and vegetables I grow.
Sometime between October and January I review what I have and I through out things that don't perform well or are getting old. Then I see if I have enough seed left to grow more of them next year, and I figure out what I need to purchase and what I don't need to. I write this down in my garden notebook too, so that when I look through seed catalogs (physical or online) I remember what I need to get. It's like a grocery list, and like a grocery list, I generally end up buying additional things that look good that are not on my list.
Buying seeds for next year
I start getting catalogs in December, usually. And I usually wait until late January to order. Because there was so much interest in buying seeds last spring, I got a little panicked this year and I ordered most of my seeds last week. I suspect I will need to place another order later this winter with things I forgot or decided I want to try.
I order almost everything online, but I usually end up getting a couple of packs of seeds from Fleet Farm or Menards. Online seed companies have the most selection and I like their mission and ethics a lot more. I get catalogs from many places but I usually end of ordering things from Jungs and Baker's. I like Jungs because they are family-owned and are in our climate zone (they are based in Randolph Wisconsin). And I like Baker's because they are also family-owned, and they really have a commitment to heirloom seeds and open-pollinated varieties, and they have a really large selection. I've had a couple of problems with seeds they have sent me -- I ordered pole beans once and they grew like bush beans, jalapeño seeds didn't produce jalapeños but something that resembled chili peppers that didn't taste good, and a few other things. But I've also grown a few of my most favorite things from them -- ishikara onions, oxheart carrots, and Ajvarski sweet roasting peppers. So they are still a favorite source of mine.
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