I found this today for four dollars. It is really old, but it is still extremely heavy and looks to be complete. I look forward to nerding out and reading every single card.

You scored big time!!!
That set is selling on eBay for around $20 and up.
Hope you enjoy becoming the greenhouse card geek.
Share with us what you learn from the cards.

Oh, by the way, back in the 70s I purchased a similar box for recipes and another for maps of the USA. It's fun to be a nerd.

I wasn't born yet, but the 1970s seems like a time that wasn't too simple but was still simpler than the 2010s are turning out to be.

Did you have cars and running water back then? (Yes, I'm kidding!!)

My grandmother had an outhouse and we had to use that until she got "indoor plumbing"...just so you know how old I am. The 70s were a great time; lots of information was being shared. Hope you enjoy the cards and now I am gonna go look for a set for myself so I can gift it to my DD.

Actually, I remember my own grandmother having an outhouse. I am 32 so this was in the 90s at some point. They didn't use it, but at one point they used to.

When I first saw this at Goodwill I actually thought it was a seed starting kit.

Some of my farm relatives did not get indoor plumbing until the 70's. It was indeed a much simpler time.

I had a similar set (I know I am dating myself) in that similar green box but they were recipes. You got a set of cards each month and paid for them if you wanted to keep them or sent them back.

What a great find! I agree with Greene--I hope you share with us what you learn.

I remember my mom having them when I was a teenager wish I still had them

how do i purchase a set of these?

Indeed very nice, if you have any interesting things please let us know. We will be happy to learn from your experiences!

I have that set. I remember that you got 1 set a month for $1.99. After about 8 months they starting offering 2 sets a month. I still have the the tear off receipts with date paid and check number. Glad to see someone else has it. Fun to drag out and just look at the photos. Amazing how many of those plants are still popular today.

Dave, I think it's hilarious that you still have the receipts! (and I thought I was bad for saving stuff... )

becnelbrandi said:how do i purchase a set of these?

Thrift stores or eBay are the only way.

Weedwhacker said:Dave, I think it's hilarious that you still have the receipts! (and I thought I was bad for saving stuff... )

Well it was really my late wife's habit to keep meticulous records of everything. Interesting how little things like receipts with date and check number in her handwriting bring back such warm thoughts and memories after all these many years. She was a first class lady and a wonderful wife and mother.

TennesseeDave said:

Well it was really my late wife's habit to keep meticulous records of everything. Interesting how little things like receipts with date and check number in her handwriting bring back such warm thoughts and memories after all these many years. She was a first class lady and a wonderful wife and mother.

Those cards sound good. I made my own. Index cards for weeks before and after "average last frost date" (ALFD). Individual cards for each step of planting.

Like tomatoes: One card 6 weeks before ALFD for planting, with info for soil, depth, and temperature. A 2nd card for transplanting to larger pots and fertilization. A 3rd for outside planting, with reminders of 2-6-6 fertilizer and crushed eggshells...

And I have a Fall-planting series too with positive numbers before Average First Frost here..

"really old" really?
Well, to all my fellow really old gardeners I have one thing to say - we lived in the best of times - and a find like Jai's brings it all back momentarily.
The 70's rocked. Peace man.

I also had that set, and another one on quilts of the month. I had the recipes one too. Back then all sorts of things were purchased that way. How many of you had the International cooking set with books and recipes from each country? My mom was nuts about music purchased that way. I think a lot of them were Reader's Digest record albums.