November 18, 2008

2009 seeds already

Yesterday I found a box of seed packets at my door step. New seed packets for spring 2009 already! How exciting. I didn’t know next year’s seeds were available already. The seeds are from one of my favorite companies, Botanical Interests. They sent a selection for me to try. The varieties are: carrot carnival blend (a mix of purple, red, orange, yellow and white carrots), pumpkin Jarrahdale (an heirloom ribbed gray with 6-12 lb fruit), a red mesclun lettuce mix called Valentine that includes 6 different varieties, hyacinth bean vine,…

September 2, 2008

sunflower seeds

I picked the giant sunflower head from my community plot yesterday. The birds had started helping themselves to the seeds. The head measured 15 inches across! Enourmous! To make salted roasted seeds, I followed the recipe here. Clean 1 cup of seeds, boil 1 hour in salt water, the oven roast at 325 F for 45 minutes. The seeds were yummy. Great big striped shells. We were surprised, though, at how many were empty. Out of 30 seeds I counted, only 13 had a kernel inside. The rest of the…

August 29, 2008

summer chiles

By far, my best chile this summer is a cayenne plant given to me by Amelia. It has been producing bright red spicy chiles for a couple weeks now. I’m looking forward to saving seeds from this plant, as Amelia did, and growing them again next year. Of course, one of the reasons this plant did so well is that it got the front seat in my chile pots. The plants towards the back have had to compete with pumpkin, gourd, sunflower and dahlia leaves. Not so easy. And considering…

May 16, 2008

soaking morning glory seeds

My mom told me this morning that she just planted her morning glory seeds. She said she soaked them overnight in water then planted them directly in the garden. I was pleased to be reminded of the morning glory seeds I saved last year. Mine are have a dark purple flower. My Mom’s are blue. I’ll have to remember to collect some of her seeds this fall.

April 27, 2008

seeds from Dave

My neighbor brought over these seeds this morning. They’re leftovers of his favorite pumpkins and squashes from previous garden years. I love sharing seeds. I’ll try a few of each and see what I can grow. Thanks Dave! I’ll have tomato and pepper seedlings soon to trade.Cucurbita pepo (squash)Pumpkin — Cucurbitaceae spp.

April 24, 2008

seed potatoes

I have a lot of potatoes that I’ve been saving. They are very anxious to get into the ground. All are sending out sprouts. All are supermarket spuds. I thought the mail order seed potatoes were too expensive. Last year supermarket my potatoes grew great. My collection includes a nice Idaho baker, a Yukon Gold, a whole bag of mixed fingerlings (a mix of La Ratte, Russian Banana, French and Rose Finn), and a white sweet potato. My plan is that Friday is potato planting day. This will be my…

April 6, 2008

free tomato seeds

With my seed order, Sand Hill Preservation Center sent me a package of free tomato seeds. The variety is Tomango. Its a stuffing variety, which is almost like a bell pepper. I’ve never heard of this. Tomango: late, Ind, 2 to 4 oz., not quite as hollow, stuffing type, red with yellow streaks.Solanum lycopersicum

April 1, 2008

pea rootlet

I checked on my peas that I planted outside two weeks ago (March 18). They have been growing – little roots have started! We have warm wet weather coming up, so I’ll watch for sprouts. Pisum sativum

April 1, 2008

mail order box

Another box from Johnny’s! What fun. This one has: light weight row cover to protect my brassicas from the white butterflies this summer, thermal black plastic for my tomatoes and peppers, pins, markers, and roll of nice-looking white plastic netting for my peas. Also a few packets (15) of seeds. (Does 15 count as a few?) The seeds include some flowers recommended in my new gardening book (Great Garden Companions) as good vegetable companions. I am looking forward to a more colorful vegetable garden this year! The flowers are: asters…

February 21, 2008

lettuce seeds

This year I have a ton of left over lettuce seeds. I only ordered a few new ones. Since I have such a nice collection, I did some research on lettuce types and characteristics. There are five distinct types of lettuce: leaf, Cos/romaine, crisphead (Iceberg types), butterhead, and Batavian/summercrisp. Lettuce is a fairly hardy, cool-weather vegetable that thrives between 60 and 70°F. At high temperatures, growth is stunted, leaves are bitter, and the plant bolts. Some types and varieties of lettuce withstand heat better than others. The crispheads are slowest…

weeks and counting until my last spring frost