Well, winter is here, and we are so busy with the holidays that it can be hard to remember the vegetable garden we had last summer. From the emails I received from all across the country, many people had cool summers and delayed crops. Some of us didn't even get crops on the warm season plants like pumpkins. If this was true of the lowlands and flat lands of the country, you can image what happened to the gardens of the high-country gardeners.

If you are interested in getting garden catalogs or reading on the Internet about gardening, you may want to spend some time looking at a couple of high country websites. They will inspire anyone to trying harder when you see what people in the mountains of the western states have to go through to try to get a good tomato.

In fact, one high-country gardener went all the way to Siberia looking for tomato seeds of hardy cold-tolerant plants that produce in very short summers. That would be Bill McDorman. Not only did he bring back the seeds many years ago, but he has been growing them and selling them to anyone who wants to try their hand at growing cold-tolerant tomatoes.

While he was in Russia, he received seeds to what has become known as Sasha's Altai Tomato. It is said to be one of the best early tomatoes in the world. You can read more about the Siberian trip and how Sasha's Altai Tomato made it to America on the www.seedstrust.com website.

Bill founded Seeds Trust back in 1984, and the website has about 200 heirloom, open-pollinated vegetable varieties, including the new line of high-altitude tomatoes that can grow at elevations of over 8,000 feet. Their online catalog also has more tomatoes that grow at lower elevations.

Seeds Trust also has many vegetables that are suited for the dry southwestern region of our country. If you have a hard time watering your garden, you might want to try some of these drought-resistant crops.

The other website to investigate is www.pennandcordsgarden.com. Imagine trying to grow your garden at 8,120 feet up on top of a mountain where the soil is decomposing granite rock. Not only are Penn and Cord Parmenter growing tomatoes, carrots and pumpkins, they teach classes for those who can make it to the Westcliffe, Colo., area.

There is also information on building a greenhouse that stays warm enough to produce vegetables all winter without any added heat. Just add sunlight to warm barrels of water, some insulation and proper venting and you are good to go.

A great example of gardeners helping gardeners is the seed library the Parmenters have set up at their local book filled library. You borrow the seeds, grow some produce and return more seeds than you borrowed. This is a program that could be repeated at any library in the country. For more information, just click on the seed-saving button at the top of their website.

Just when I thought it was safe to spend the winter sitting by the fire, reading gardening catalogs and getting inspired for next summer, I see the Parmenters are wading through waist-deep snow to get over the their greenhouse. I guess I need to get some greenhouse catalogs, so I can sit by the fire and read them, too.

Email questions to Jeff Rugg at info@greenerview.com. To find out more about Jeff Rugg and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.