After more than a month of drooling over the pages of the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Catalogue ( http://rareseeds.com/ ), I’m about to place my order, as follows:
Tomatoes – 4 kinds (a record for me!)
Peppers – 3 sweet, 3 hot (giving them a shot this year, haven’t had luck in the past)
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Spinach
Carrots – 2 kinds
Pumpkins – 2 very non-standard, imported varieties!
Yard-long beans (1 green & 1 burgundy)
Eggplant (a first for me)
Basil (of course, as I can’t live without my pesto)
Cucumbers (little green apple ones)
Onions – 2 kinds
Zucchini
Artichoke (going to try again)
And a variety of flowers and herbs for teas and seasonings
(All photos were stolen from the Rareseeds.com site, but since I’m pumping them up a bit, I think I’ll be forgiven.)
I also received a packet of real Irish Shamrock seeds as a Christmas gift from a friend, so I have to find a spot to sprinkle those.
In the main 12ft x 24ft garden area, I’ll have the tomatoes, beans, carrots, basil, onions, brocolli, cauliflower, and spinach. I’m going to try something slightly new with the pole beans, a climbing pole-thingy that might be worthy of a minor project posting, but we’ll see.
I’m creating new garden space, mainly for the pumpkins, so I then have more room for other things in the main garden (I grew gourds instead of pumpkins last year and caught heck for it). And I’m in the middle of building 4 planter boxes, able to hold two pepper plants each, and they’ll go near where I’m going to put an herb/tea garden area (where the bird bath and such are, and where I’ve recently discovered a Fairy Door!). The eggplant will be in a pot too, as will many of the herbs.
I’m also seriously down-sizing my plant markers, as I’m trying several varieties of some of the plants and will want to mark each one – so, rather than just “Tomatoes” I’ll have “Cherokee Purple” and “Contoluto Genovese.” But I still plan to have a little themed-fun with them again this year (think “salad bowl”).
I’m extremely anxious to see if the mason bees survive the winter – the two condos in the veggie garden are almost booked to capacity, so I’m hoping they’ll settle up the bill come spring and pollinate their little butts off.
The seed starting station is almost cleaned out, but I have more than a week until the seeds arrive, and probably a couple more weeks before I need to start anything seriously – our season starts late and ends early.
I’m skipping the coldframe project this year and concetrating on ramping up my container gardening for both veggies and flowers (the latest GT Challenge kinda closed my window of opportunity for the coldframe construction).
I’m also going to mix some veggies in the flower garden areas, and some flowers in the veggie garden areas. Will have marigolds in the main garden again; don’t have much choice, really, as they reseeded themselves so well. I’m putting the zuccini in near my window box, maybe an extra eggplant plant or two, if there’s room, and will likely plant some onions on the border of part of that bed. Thinking of putting some shasta daisys in with the pumpkins and on the sides of the daisy trellis bed where the cucumber is going.
In keeping with the heirloom, non GMO seeds, I’ll be going completely organic and home-remedy with the fertilizers and pest control for the veggies this year. What I have left of other products, which isn’t much (maybe some stuff to knock off the marching ants more than one-by-one, and a little Miricle Grow), will be used on the flowers and lawn, if at all.
And I’m vowing now, here to all of you, to make use of my solar food dryer and to do some canning finally this year (might have to let my mother-in-law train me). As much fun as it is to eat fresh and share the bounty, which I’ll still be able to do, it would be nice to have some of my work be available later in the year, not just over the summer and fall.
-- There's a box?
13 comments so far
Radicalfarmergal
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3436 posts in 1032 days
hardiness zone 5b
posted 90 days ago
It is so much fun choosing seeds during the winter, isn’t it? The varieties you have chosen look and sound wonderful. I hope you grow so much produce this summer that you can can, dry and enjoy the harvest well into the winter months. : )
-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi
sharad
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1319 posts in 987 days
hardiness zone 11
posted 89 days ago
Jj you have made a very ambitious plan for your vegetable garden using heirloom seeds. The pictures give some idea of what you are going to get at your next harvest. What is the seventh picture ?
Sharad
-- Bagwan-- “If someone feels that they had never made a mistake in their life, then it means they have never tried a new thing in their life”.-Albert Einstein
MsDebbieP
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12193 posts in 1770 days
hardiness zone 5b
posted 89 days ago
you’ve made me hungry—for food AND for gardening!
You are going to be a busy boy. Lots to do; lots to do.
-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a) http://www.execulink.com/~yohan
justjoel
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664 posts in 1150 days
hardiness zone 7a
posted 89 days ago
That, Sharad, is a “sea” pumpkin – well at least a squash. It hails from the coast of old Italy, aparently, and it is called “Marina Di Chioggia,” and the 10 lb fruit is supposed to have rich, sweet flesh that is a deep, yellow/orange. The other pumpkin is from French seed, and is called “Musquee de Provence.” Anything with “Provence” in it sounds cool to this romance language-loving, bit of a Francophile. Those get to 20 lbs and I chose them for superficial reasons, like with sea pumpkins, as they have an “old world” look to them I think. D’accord? Most of the seed I’m buying is from the other side of the pond.
-- There's a box?
sharad
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1319 posts in 987 days
hardiness zone 11
posted 88 days ago
Thanks Jj for the information. Pl preserve a few seeds of both the pumpkins for me. It looks you are using egg plant for the first time. They are very popular in India and are used in various ways in the kitchen. There are several varieties and are used in specific recipes. A bigger variety with dark purple color are specially used for roasting and give amazing taste with addition of garlic and onion. Your variety can also be roasted. Yesterday I got a few of similar variety as yours from my friend’s garden and all except two were consumed.
Sharad
-- Bagwan-- “If someone feels that they had never made a mistake in their life, then it means they have never tried a new thing in their life”.-Albert Einstein
justjoel
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hardiness zone 7a
posted 88 days ago
Sharad, once my eggplants start producing, I’ll be looking for more recipes from all of you, since I have not only never grown it, but it is also only recently that I’ve ever eaten it. I guess I was like the comedian George Carlin before, had a problem with the name, is it a plant, or not, I mean… (he’s got a whole bit about food that is quite funny, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj0PH1zYqTc, warning – contains “graphic” language). Anyway, the variety I’m planting is called Listada de Gandia, and it comes from Spanish seeds.
-- There's a box?
justjoel
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664 posts in 1150 days
hardiness zone 7a
posted 82 days ago
So here’s the actual order. Ambitious am I, yes. (Sorry, channeling my inner Yoda.) I’ve never grown tomatoes or peppers from seed, so we’ll see how it goes. Think I’m going to need a bit of the Force this year, myself.
Purple of Romagna Artichoke
Taiwan Black Seeded Long Bean
Thai Purple Podded Yard Long Bean
Moonshadow Hyacinth Bean (ornamental)
Calabrese Green Sprouting Broccoli
Atomic Red Carrot
Little Finger Carrot
Richmond Green Apple Cucumber
Listada De Gandia Eggplant
Little Fingers Eggplant
Bianca di Maggio Onion
Red of Florence Onion
Anaheim Pepper (Mild)
Black Hungarian Pepper (Hot)
Chinese 5 Color Pepper (Screaming Hot)
Quadrato D’ Asti Giallo Pepper
Quadrato D’ Asti Rosso Pepper
Sweet Chocolate Pepper
Orange Bell Pepper
Bloomsdale Long Standing Spinach
Costata Romanesco Zucchini
Jack Be Little Pumpkin
Marina Di Chioggia Squash
Musquee De Provence Pumpkin
Cherokee Purple Tomato
Violet Jasper or Tzi Bi U Tomato
A Grappoli D’Inverno Tomato
Costoluto Genovese Tomato
Miner’s Lettuce
Carentan Leek
Basil – Genovese
Cilantro, Slo-Bolt
Dill Bouquet
Dock, Bloody (Red Sorrel)
-- There's a box?
sharad
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1319 posts in 987 days
hardiness zone 11
posted 82 days ago
Wish you good luck Jj. And here is a picture of egg plant used mainly for roasting. They are much bigger in size
Sharad
-- Bagwan-- “If someone feels that they had never made a mistake in their life, then it means they have never tried a new thing in their life”.-Albert Einstein
MsDebbieP
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12193 posts in 1770 days
hardiness zone 5b
posted 82 days ago
that is quite the list, Luke, but I’m sure you will do fine!!
It is so much fun when the addiction runs rampant and you get a bit of panic :)
but it all works out and you get LOTS of foods at the end of the season :)
-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a) http://www.execulink.com/~yohan
justjoel
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664 posts in 1150 days
hardiness zone 7a
posted 82 days ago
Those are beautiful, Sharad. Hope mine look half that pretty.
Thank you for the support, Princess.
-- There's a box?
Bon
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7057 posts in 1550 days
hardiness zone 5a
posted 77 days ago
Wishing you the best of luck this year with your gardens Joel.Nice variety of seeds you have there.
-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more
justjoel
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664 posts in 1150 days
hardiness zone 7a
posted 77 days ago
Placed the order in the afternoon of the 24th, it arrived today (6 days delivery time for $3.50 – not bad).
Gnorm and I are READY!
-- There's a box?
MsDebbieP
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12193 posts in 1770 days
hardiness zone 5b
posted 77 days ago
I don’t know for sure that the fairies do any work around the gardens—so I’m glad to see the gnomes at work!
Those look like very pretty seed envelopes. Almost good enough to eat!!! :)
-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a) http://www.execulink.com/~yohan