Last night we ordered most of the seeds we need for this coming growing season.
We've got some seed packets that remain from last year and the year before, but this was a big replenishment year. There are still a couple of things we still need to get, but there's still time for that.
So what did we order? And where did we order from?
That's what this post is about.
We've ordered from Johnny's Selected Seeds for a number of years now. They have a really comprehensive, informative catalog, and we kind of use their catalog as a reference book for determining how much space we'll need, planting times, and so forth. Their seeds have never failed us, and they've got a great variety as well. That's all the good stuff. But they're also pricier than other seed companies. Evne their shipping is more expensive. So...we're kind of on the fence about ordering from them after this year. We'll see.
Here's what we ordered from Johnny's:
Hot Paper Lantern (another hot one)
As you can tell, we're ordering a lot of hot peppers this year. We use the hot red peppers to make Red Thai Curry Paste, and the anchos for stuffing. The jalapenos are great all-around hot peppers we'll use in things like salsas and guacamole (but not for the kids), and in some Thai dishes, including those made withGreen curry paste. We're trying out cherry peppers this year so that we can make stuffed cherry peppers. I'm planning to make provolone this year, too. If only we had a hog, so we could make our own prosciutto...sigh.
Artichokes are new for us this year as well. We discovered recently that the kids - especially Alex - like eating them, so we figured it would be fun to try to grow some.
The cabbage will be for sauerkraut, we use shallots all the time (and they're too pricey and too big at the grocery store, we've found), and of course, we use lots of tomatoes.
So that's our Johnny's order.
Next up, another company we've ordered from before. Seeds from Italy. I think I read about them in the newspaper a number of years ago, and we ordered, I think, several kinds of tomatoes, zucchini, and basil from them that first year. The seeds are - yes - FROM Italy, which, for me, anyway, is part of the appeal. So anyway, here's what's coming:
Boby Biancho (Green French Bean) (bush bean)
We LOVE the Redortas. LOVE them. Best plum tomatoes we've ever grown. LOVE them.
The Genovese basil is a wonderful smooth-leaf basil that grows great and makes wonderful pesto. We've messed around growning purple basils and other "flavored" basils, but this year we faced facts. This is all we want or need. Well, this and one other variety, but that's in the next order.
We decided to try growning spinach this year, so we ordered it from Seeds from Italy, just for kicks. Same with the cabbage (purple, smooth-leaf, round-headed cabbage), the radishes (nice little round radishes...the first seeds I ever planted as a child, that I can remember, were radish seeds.)...and the green beans. We figured since we were ordering the tomatoes and the basil, we should order a bit more to make it all worthwhile. I look forward to watching all of these grow.
And finally, we ordered a bunch of seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I'm particularly excited about these. For one thing, the printed catalog is beautiful. For another, all the seeds they sell are heirloom seeds, some are rare, and it's kind of exciting to help keep these varieties of plants in existence. And we could also conceivably save seeds from the plants we gro and keep them going longer than the three years or so we'll have for the seeds in the packets we've ordered.
Anyway, here's the list.
Okay, I am reeeeeeeeeeeally excited about some of these. The Red Noodle Bean, the White Tomesol tomatoes, the Black Futsu, and the Golden beets in particular. Oh, yeah, and the yellow cucumber. All of those are new for us, so it'll be fun to see how they grow and how they taste, and to plan great meals around them.
We're planting other things, too, of course, and we still have viable seeds for these - broccoli rabe, various peas, swiss chard, a couple of other tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, scallions, and carrots, of course. We've got tons of garlic out back that we planted in the fall...we've got pots of herbs that (hopefully) will have survived the winter...we've got the two blueberry plants, the asparagus, possibly the rhubarb if it survives (it wasn't too happy last year)...and there will be strawberries, the cherry tree, and the coriander and dill that seeded themselves last year.
Earlier this evening Bill (and I, to a degree) finished plotting out the layouts of the various garden beds this year. Unfortunately we are losing parts of the yard because of the great big trees in some of our neighbors yards. The trees, darn them, keep growing. Up. And they are blocking the sun. So the great big raised bed that Bill put in when we first bought our house gets less total sunlight now than it used to, and as a result, tomatoes just aren't happy there any more. So we've had to shift things around. Bill's also putting in two new 4' x 4' beds in the yard to help replace the gardening footage that we've lost to shade.
And we'll have a few things growing in pots...our strawberries grow in a recycle bin. OH! I knew I was forgetting something. We're growing potatoes, too, this year.
Anyway, that's it for the moment. At some point I'll upload a sketch of the layout of the gardens, so you can play along, sort of, as I post updates through the year.
My goal, this year, is to do even more canning than I did last year. I made a bunch of jams, but then all my grand plans kind of fizzled and I didn't do much else. This year I want to can tomato sauces and make pickles. Bill's mom used to can "dilly beans" - green beans pickled with dill - so I want to make those, too. And, of course, I'll also freeze as much as I can as well.
So, what are you planning to grow this year?
I handed my seed catalog off to the Sister-In-Law to be last night for her to take on the plane to USVI. I'll probably just have a salsa garden and herb garden. I'll get plenty from my brother once their garden gets going. It's 4,000 sq. ft.
Posted by: Judith | February 07, 2010 at 09:53 PM
You must have a huge garden. I haven't even started thinking about garden plans yet, but I really need to.
blessings
~*~
Posted by: Laura | February 08, 2010 at 04:44 PM
I've just moved to southern California (just north of LA in the mountains of Glendale) and will be moving into a house with a big yard in November. I found your site by searching for homemade tortellini and have in the last two hours read all of your posts for the last year. Great blog!!
Once my fiancee and I move in November I'll be building garden plots from scratch, and am very appreciative of all the info you've shared. Keep on posting!
~Best Wishes~
Simon Fornari
Posted by: Simon Fornari | June 29, 2010 at 02:50 PM