Daylight savings time has kicked me into garden high gear, after months of hemming and hawing about what the plan was going to be. I hit the farm store on Sunday for my seeds at 40% off, plus potato seed. Onion transplants should be coming in later this month. Once I got home I spent an hour or so cleaning off the seedling shelves and testing lights and heat pads, then I filled the first flat of the year with tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and broccoli.
I declared seed bankruptcy at the end of last season – something rodent-like had gotten into my seedbox, and kept only the ones from my grandfather. Starting over on our seed bank is causing me to re-evaluate what I want to start myself and what I want to just buy starts for. In the end I bought seeds for things that I like to have total control of and/or that we grow a lot of. I skipped seeds for cauliflower and cabbage as we only ever grow a few of each (a pony pack of starts will do us) as well as for the lemon cucumber (only grow one vine each year). Knowing me I’ll probably end up buying some more brassica seeds, and perhaps some parsnips, but for the most part I think we’re set.
This year’s garden will be the same size as 2011′s, with the exception that we’re going to have to plant new asparagus after the spring harvest. The old row is now all by it’s lonesome in the middle of the grass and I’m too lazy to dig up the crowns and move them. I’ll plant new crowns for next year and we’ll continue to harvest whatever of the old ones poke their heads up through the garden turned back to lawn. The strawberries are also moving, making their way over to the berry garden, in between the raspberries and blueberries. They’ve wintered well, and hopefully we can get a new raised bed built for them this weekend.
The seed list for this year includes the following:
Hybrid Broccoli Blend (Territorial)
Green Sprouting Calabrese Broccoli (Hume Organic)
plan to purchase cauliflower and cabbage starts
Super Gourmet Salad Blend (Territorial)
Cherry Belle Radish (Territorial)
Fountain Hybrid Slicing Cucumber (Territorial)
I’ll purchase a lemon cuke start
Red Core Chantenay Carrot (Hume Organic)
Bolero Hybrid Carrot (Territorial)
Mokum Hybrid Carrot (Territorial)
Nelson Hybrid Carrot (Territorial)
Yaya Hybrid Carrot (Territorial)
Imperator Carrot (Hume)
Danvers Half Long Carrot (Hume)
Anaheim College 64 Peppers (Territorial)
Jimmy Nardello’s Sweet Pepper (Territorial)
Italian Pepperoncini Pepper (Territorial)
Sweet Banana Pepper (Park)
Stiletz Extra Early Tomato (Territorial)
Taxi Main Season Tomato (Territorial)
Manitoba Heirloom Tomato (Territorial)
plus I’m planning to purchase cherry, grape, and San Marzano starts (couldn’t get seeds this weekend)
Earlivee Hybrid Corn (Territorial)
Bouquet Dill (Hume)
Sweet Basil (Territorial)
Oregon Sugar Pod II Snow Pea (Territorial)
Cascadia Snap Pea (Territorial)
Lincoln Shelling Pea (Hume)
Dakota Shelling Pea (Territorial)
Soleil Bush Beans (Territorial)
Jade Bush Beans (Territorial)
Venture Bush Beans (Territorial)
Nash Bush Beans (Territorial)
Doug’s Crenshaw Melon (my grandpa)
Doug’s French Melon (my grandpa)
Prescott Fond Blanc Melon (Uprising Seeds)
Cinderella Pumpkin (my grandpa)
Russian Banana Fingerling Potato
Satina Yellow Potato
Chieftan Red Potato
Burbank Russet Red Potato
Whew!
So, how are your garden plans coming for the year? Got your seeds started?