Future Food

Last year, Dan built us a small seed starting table out of scrap lumber. It sat in the corner of our dining area and looked like a jungle. We moved it to the basement and we now have our plants down there. The temperature is slightly cooler, so the germination has been a little slow. But, there is green and that makes me happy on this snowy (*!&!^snowy*&^!) April day.

The year we built our house, a turkey hen had a nest behind it. She returned last year. And lo and behold,  she's back again this year. We see her come out a few times a day to eat.  And we're looking forward to seeing her showing her babies around in a few weeks!

Kellogg's Breakfast

And no, I don't mean Frosted Flakes! Our seeds arrived today. Hopes are always high in the winter for the summer garden. I picked a few more varieties of dried beans (they are really 'da bomb!), beets, some popcorn for Kole, tomatoes, and flowers to start our small flower test garden.

I was drawn to the Kellogg's tomato as the description indicated it came from West Virginia! It looks quite scrumptious and the packet claims it has a delicious, rich flavor.

Kole will be having a small table at our local Farmers Market this summer so I picked some miniature bell peppers and small popcorn to accompany whatever else he chooses to grow. He has his overalls, gardening tools, and an eagerness to learn. I consider it home schooling at its finest :-)

What seeds have you ordered?

A Welcome Sight

The weather today made me long for spring as afternoon temps neared 60°. The kids and I spent time outside, bike riding and getting a good dose of vitamin D. Needless to say, bedtime wasn't a struggle tonight!

Seed catalogs don't generally arrive until the bitter winds are howling in early January, but we received Seed Savers today. Our garden this past year was filled with about 90% of Seed Savers seeds. Everything did quite well (as is evidence by our over 2 dozen butternut squash!).

We are contemplating joining Seed Savers as it would give us the ability to obtain more rare varieties of seeds. Perhaps a Christmas present for ourselves?

Future food

Seeds for our square foot garden

I adore seed catalogs.  When we lived in Morgantown, I would sit and highlight, mark up pages, and daydream over the possibilities for our future gardens.  It didn't take long for us to realize that we wanted to grow heirloom varieties of our favorite vegetables.  From beans to tomatoes, there is such variety in heirloom seeds!  The catalogs often times read like a book as each variety tells a story from the past.

This year our garden will be small, including the seeds above as well as tomato plants, pepper plants, potatoes, flowers, and herbs.  I have ordered all of our seeds and tomato and pepper plants from Seed Savers Exchange.  From seed we are growing cucumbers, melons, squash, spinach, lettuce and carrots.  The Lemon Cucumber have a delightfully sweet crunch that pairs lovely with tomatoes for a light summer salad.  The Paris Market carrots are described to be highly desirable at Farmer's Markets.  We love fall squash, so decided to try the Long Island Cheese this year.  And some little boy I know loves melons in the summer. 

We will also be growing potatoes.  We ordered a variety that is good for storage since we have a root cellar and hope to put up as much as possible for the winter.  I ordered a variety pack of tomato and pepper plants, so it will be exciting to see what we get!

The herbs and flowers we will more than likely get at the local greenhouse.  The flowers will be there not only for color, but also to attract beneficial insects to our garden.  We plan to garden naturally, without the use of pesticides or insecticides.  Using flowers and herbs, as well as companion planting, helps to naturally control pests.  

If you get a chance, check out the Seed Savers Exchange website.  You will be amazed at the varieties of vegetables that are available!

P.S.  The numbers on the seed packets refer to how many seeds can be planted in each square of our garden.