Saturday, January 29, 2011

SEEDS!


Above is my seed order from Pinetree Seed Co in Maine. I just love all the pretty envelopes! This order arrived pretty quickly. I placed my order on 1/24/11, it was shipped on 1/27/11 and I received it today (1/29/11). Not too shabby! 2 of my 24 items are on backorder (Black Eye Pea and Southport Red Globe Onion), but they should be arriving in the next couple of weeks. I will be starting my onions in the next few days. I'm not really expecting much as it is my first time growing them, but I am looking forward to the learning experience of it all.



These are the seeds I got from Dempsey Seed through their eBay account. I had ordered Tam Jalapeno seeds because the girlfriend and I really love to make poppers, but I just can't take the heat of most jalapenos. I heard about these from a friend and figured I'd give them a try. As a bonus they sent me Hungarian Yellow Wax Peppers that I had not heard of previously, but I'm pretty excited to give them a try. It looks like trying to find room for all of my peppers and tomatoes is going to be a little tough this year, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. I may end up containing some plants to pots on my front porch.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Seeds in the Mail

A big thank you to Engineered Gardener for the seeds he sent me! I received them today.

Tomatoes
- Cherokee Purple
- Brandywine
- Kellogg's Breakfast
- Black Cherry

Squash
- Spaghetti Squash
- Waltham Butternut

Bush Cucumber

Early Snowball Cauliflower


Thanks again! I can't wait for spring now...

Friday, January 21, 2011

Cutting Down the List

I've spent hours agonizing over this list.... While I would love to grow all of these varieties, the space available to me just will not cooperate with those dreams.

On the chopping block:

Cauliflower - Going with Early Snowball
- Cheddar (58 days, hybrid, orange) $1.95

Celery - Using Celery Tango Hybrid seed left over from last year
- Golden Pascal (101 days, Heirloom 1930, fall and early winter harvest) $1.25
- Redventure (95 days, hybrid) $1.55

Corn - Holding off a year on my foray into corn
- Golden Bantam (78 days, Heirloom 1902, yellow, mild to no insect issues) $1.65
- Country Gentleman (Heirloom 1890, white, good storer) $2.25
- Stowell's Evergreen (Heirloom 1848, white, very sweet) $1.95
- Incredible (84 days, F1 hybrid, good main crop) $2.50

Cucumbers - Just doing a slicing variety this year (Spacemaster) from EG
- Boston Pickling (Heirloom Pre-1880) $0.95
- Homemade Pickles Pickler (54 days) $1.25

Eggplant - Going with Black Beauty and Pingtung Long
- Black Egg ( 70 days, cool weather) $1.35
- Slim Jim (60 days, Italian Heirloom) $1.35

Soybeans - Planting Envy because of lower price
- Beerfriend $1.95

Summer Squash - Using hybrid seed from last year
- Vegetable Marrow (56 days, British Heirloom, bush habit) $0.95
- Zucchini Black (50 days, Heirloom 1931, flavorful) $1.25

Tomatoes
Slicers - Got some seed from Engineered Gardener and may also order Mortgage Lifter and Aunt Ruby's Green
- Pruden's Purple (72 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate, crack resistant, 1 lb avg, meaty) $1.25
- Heinz Classic Processor (75 days, Indeterminate, 3" fruit, mature at same time, good canner, VF) $0.95
- Black Krim (69 days, Indeterminate, Ukrainian Heirloom, deep reddish black, large and very sweet) $1.35
- Pineapple (85 days, Indeterminate, orange and yellow stripes, 5" beefsteak type, 1-2 lbs, mild flavor) $1.25
- Coustralee (French Heirloom, Indeterminate, 1-3 lbs, deep red, balance between sweet and tart, large plant) $1.25
- Manyel (Native American Heirloom, 10-16 oz, yellow, zingy flavor, blemish free, 10-16 oz, early to midseason) $1.15
- Tigerella (55-65 days, English Heirloom, Indeterminate, red-yellow orange stripes, early, tangy, heavy yields) $1.25

Cherry - Planting Black Cherry (from EG) and Matt's Wild Cherry
- Currant Tomatoes (75 days, Indeterminate, very intense tomato flavor, come in yellow or red) $1.25
- Rainbow Cherry (65 days, Indeterminate, 1" mix of red, orange and yellow) $0.95


Paste- Still unsure on these

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

2011 Vegetable Seed Wish List (so far...)



I've been combing my seed catalogs trying to figure out what I want to grow and then shave the list down based on what I actually have room to grow. An herb list is soon to follow. Prices and notes are mostly based on the Pinetree catalog. Here's the list so far:

Yellow Bush Beans
- Pencil Pod (52 days, Heirloom 1900, black seed) $1.45
- Dragon Langerie (57 days, purple-striped pods) $1.75

Green Bush Beans
- Slenderette (53 days, good for freezing) $1.65
- Provider (50 days, New England strain) $1.50
- Black Valentine (52 days, Heirloom pre-1850, black seed) $1.50

Dry Beans
- Jacob's Cattle (83 days, Heirloom, white and maroon) $1.75
- Vermont Cranberry (85 days, Heirloom 1700, red) $1.95

Broccoli
- Nutribud (58 days, large heads w/ good 2nd growth, early) $1.25
- Waltham 29 (85 days, mid-sized heads with side shoots) $0.95

Carrots
- Lunar White (55 days, white) $1.25
- Danvers Half (75 days, Heirloom 1871, red/orange) $1.25
- Cosmic Purple (65 days, purple) $1.35
- Amarillo (70 days, yellow) $1.25

Cauliflower
- Cheddar (58 days, hybrid, orange) $1.95
- Early Snowball (55 days, Heirloom 1888, 5-6" heads) $0.95

Celery
- Golden Pascal (101 days, Heirloom 1930, fall and early winter harvest) $1.25
- Redventure (95 days, hybrid) $1.55

Chard
- Seafoam (53 days, mild taste) $1.25
- Bright Lights (50 days, colorful veins) $1.45

Corn
- Golden Bantam (78 days, Heirloom 1902, yellow, mild to no insect issues) $1.65
- Country Gentleman (Heirloom 1890, white, good storer) $2.25
- Stowell's Evergreen (Heirloom 1848, white, very sweet) $1.95
- Incredible (84 days, F1 hybrid, good main crop) $2.50

Cucumbers
- Boston Pickling (Heirloom Pre-1880) $0.95
- Homemade Pickles Pickler (54 days) $1.25
- Spacemaster (59 days, slicer, 3' vine) $0.95

Eggplant
- Black Beauty (83 days, Heirloom 1902) $0.95
- Black Egg ( 70 days, cool weather) $1.35
- Pingtung Long (66 days, Asian Heirloom, lavender, disease resistant) $1.45
- Slim Jim (60 days, Italian Heirloom) $1.35

Kale
- Dwarf Blue Curled Scotch (55 days, Heirloom 1863, compact) $1.15
- Dinosaur (53 days, Heirloom 1885, bold flavor) $1.25

Leeks
- Giant Musselburgh (aka Large American Flag, 130 days, Heirloom 1870) $0.95
- Carantan (Heirloom 1874) $1.15

Melons
- Honey Rock (90 days, Heirloom 1920) $0.95
- Minnesota Midget (60 days, small 4" fruit) $1.25

Onions *still need to decide on varieties

Peas
- Blackeye Pea (70 days, not cold hardy) $1.50
- Mr. Big (58 days, English pea, good freezer) $1.95
- Tall Telephone (68 days, English pea, space efficient, Heirloom 1891) $1.50
- Lincoln (65 days, Heirloom 1908, New England favorite) $1.50

Soybeans
- Envy $1.65
- Beerfriend $1.95

Summer Squash
- Vegetable Marrow (56 days, British Heirloom, bush habit) $0.95
- Zucchini Black (50 days, Heirloom 1931, flavorful) $1.25

Winter Squash
- Waltham Butternut Squash (90 days) $0.95
- Long Island Cheese Pumpkin (90 days, Heirloom 1824) $0.95
- Jarradale Pumpkin (100 days, blue/grey) $1.25
- Vegetable Spaghetti Squash (100 days, Heirloom 1890) $1.25

Tomatoes (this list still has to be severely cut down)
Slicers
- Pruden's Purple (72 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate, crack resistant, 1 lb avg, meaty) $1.25
- Heinz Classic Processor (75 days, Indeterminate, 3" fruit, mature at same time, good canner, VF) $0.95
- Aunt Ruby's German Green (80 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate, 1 lb fruit) $1.25
- Oregon Spring (68 days, Semi-Indeterminate, resistant to cool temps, 4" fruit) $1.25
- Kellogg's Breakfast (77 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate, large, orange beefsteak) $1.25
- Mortgage Lifter (77 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate, large with pink skin, very sweet) $1.35
- Black Krim (69 days, Indeterminate, Ukrainian Heirloom, deep reddish black, large and very sweet) $1.35
- Pineapple (85 days, Indeterminate, orange and yellow stripes, 5" beefsteak type, 1-2 lbs, mild flavor) $1.25
- German Orange Strawberry (85 days, Indeterminate, 8-10 oz, crisp sweet flavor) $1.25
- Brandywine (80 days, Heirloom 1885, Indeterminate, 10-24 oz, pinkish red, great flavor) $1.25
- Cherokee Purple (80 days, Heirloom 1800s, Indeterminate, 12-16 oz, rose-purple, green shoulders, sweet beefsteak) $1.25
- Coustralee (French Heirloom, Indeterminate, 1-3 lbs, deep red, balance between sweet and tart, large plant) $1.25
- Manyel (Native American Heirloom, 10-16 oz, yellow, zingy flavor, blemish free, 10-16 oz, early to midseason) $1.15
- Tigerella (55-65 days, English Heirloom, Indeterminate, red-yellow orange stripes, early, tangy, heavy yields) $1.25

Cherry
- Currant Tomatoes (75 days, Indeterminate, very intense tomato flavor, come in yellow or red) $1.25
- Rainbow Cherry (65 days, Indeterminate, 1" mix of red, orange and yellow) $0.95
- Black Cherry (80 days, Indeterminate, Brandywine flavor) $1.35
- Matt's Wild Cherry (55 days, Indeterminate, high yielder, from VT, will produce until frost) $1.50

Paste
- Peron (68 days, naturally disease resistant, 8 oz fruit, meaty, good keeper) $1.25
- Opalka (83 days, Indeterminate, large with dry texture and few seeds, bull horn shape) $1.35
- Polish Linguisa (78 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate, NY state origins from 1800s, heavy yields) $1.25
- Speckled Roman (81 days, Indeterminate, uniform, disease resistant, red w/ orange stripes, dense) $1.35
- Martino's Roma (Heirloom, Determinate, 2 oz paste tomatoes, end rot resistant, early midseason to frost) $1.25
- Oxheart Pink (80-95 days, Heirloom 1925, 1.5 lbs, meaty and almost seedless) $1.15

Any help with seeds or feedback on varieties anyone has grown in the past is greatly appreciated!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

This Year

I officially sat down with all of my seed catalogs for the first time today. Pretty pictures and way too many seeds that I want, but cannot afford. However, I have decided that I need more gardening space. Tomorrow I'm going to speak with my mother about the abandoned garden plot at her house. Hopefully I'll get permission to at least put my spring plants there, since she is trying to sell the house and I don't like having to try to transplant things halfway through the season. We'll see I guess.