heirloom versus hybrid seeds

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Betsy just sent me the link to an article in the NY Times about “heirloomism” and vegetable gardening: Heirloom Seeds or Flinty Hybrids?. Its a long article, exploring lots of aspects of hybrids and heirlooms. It also describes the new movement that goes beyond heirloom seeds, striving to “rebuild the regional farming culture that invented those cultivars”. Betsy says, “It hadn’t occurred to me that the heirloom tomatoes could be at the root of the blight problem – too long a season with varieties that are not disease resistant. Interesting.”…
 
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2011 seed planting list

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My seed planting list for 2011: January 28 (one seed tray)Leeks, Giant MusselburghOnions, Ailsa CraigOnions, FrontierLettuce mix:Endive mix:Broccoli, perennial purpleCeleriac February 26 (one seed tray)Kale, blue curled scotchKale, TuscanCelery, TangoRadicchio, Chiogga red preco #1Spinach, Spargo F1Chinese broccoli, green lanceMixed greens:Escarole, friseeDillOnions, FrontierOnions, Ruby Ring F1 March 19 (one seed tray)Beets, ChioggaBeets, white DetroitBeets, LutzFennel, PerfectionEggplant, TigerEggplant, KamoEggplant, Orient ExpressKale, green curled winterborKale, red RussianMarigolds, Burpee’s best mixMarigolds, African crackerjackMarigolds, MariettaMarigolds, Petit mixCanterbury bellsPrairie aster March 27 (one tray)Basil, Italian large leafPeppers, Amelia’s cayennePeppers, Quadrato Giallo D’Asti (sweet yellow)Peppers, Quadrato Rosso…
 
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transplanting seedlings to the garden

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I got an urgent email a couple days ago with the subject header: too many seedlings. The text follows. Dear Neighbor,I’m right across Route 2 from you (in Arlington). I’ve got three Jiffy trays of seedlings going. Two trays are still unsprung for the most part, but 1 tray is sort of exploding. It looks like a chia pet, and it is only 5 days old. It has Kale, Romaine, Bibb, Cabbage, Broccoli, and something else I can’t remember. Rather than thinning each cell out, I’m tempted to try to…
 
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birds I saw this weekend

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From top: a bluebird with nesting material, a pair of mallards, a migrating flock of snow geese on the big pond, and a pretty little song sparrow in the garden grasses.
 
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March garden view – first day of spring!

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Its a beautiful day today to mark the first day of SPRING. I had to open my cold frame doors to lower the heat (it was up to upper 80’s inside, 60’s outside). I worked in the area around the frame and soaked in the sunlight and warmth myself. There are still deep shadows as the sun is still low to the south, but its angle is increasing. I raked the leaf mulch off of flower garden next to the cold frame and cleared off the stone path. I was…
 
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replanted cold frame

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I took all the overwintered plants (lettuce, spinach, beets, broccoli and endive) out of my cold frame in the beautiful warm weather on Friday, added six bags of manure and compost mix, turned it under, and then replanted everything. I also planted the seedlings I started on Jan 28 (leeks, onions, lettuce and escarole). There’s a tray of seedlings (onions, arugula spinach, kale, dill and lettuce) that has been out in the frame since midweek that is doing well. The cold frame is turning into a perfect place to harden…
 
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super moon

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It sure looked 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter! The Farmer’s Almanac says the March full moon is the Full Worm Moon – March As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter; or the Full Crust Moon, because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap…
 
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bulletin board

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The scouts are installing our new bulletin board now!! I am looking forward to posting notices on it soon. All sorts of action is starting up at the community gardens. There were 4 or 5 gardeners out this morning, clearing up from winter and some turning soil already. There are piles of debris showing up at the periphery of the gardens – I will have to post signs to show where these piles should be located. I’ll also post a map of the plots so people know their plot numbers.…
 
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bird watching

 
 
Just a couple nesting raptor links here: I have come across a great web cam that streams video from an active bald eagle’s nest. They currently have 3 chicks in the nest and Mom and Dad are very attentive parents, bringing them lots of fish. Virginia Eagle Cam And the other link is a blog I am hosting of the red-tailed hawk nest near my house. We have a Yahoo Group and I post the updates on the blog. This nest currently has eggs in it, though no web cam…
 
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Kathy Martin
This is a journal of my vegetable gardens. Skippy thinks the garden is his, even though I do all the work. We're located near Boston, in USDA zone 6. I have bees, chickens, fruit trees and berry bushes, too. I use all sustainable organic methods and strive to grow all of my family's vegetables myself. -Kathy


weeks and counting until my last spring frost

What I planted recently

Jan 21
thyme, lettuce, escarole

Feb 21
celery, celeriac, parsley, leeks

March 11
cabbage, kale, arugula



What I'm planting soon

April 1
peppers, eggplants, marigolds, beets

April 12
tomatoes, basil, sunflowers

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My garden this week

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17 years of archives!

Check out the food pantry farm I helped to start up:

Aurelia's Garden

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Skippy’s vegetable of the month – Egyptian walking onions!

“I envision a day when every city and town has front and back yards, community gardens and growing spaces, nurtured into life by neighbors who are no longer strangers, but friends who delight in the edible rewards offered from a garden they discovered together.” – Greg Peterson

"What can happen to a seed is a miracle."

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