The Latest Dirt: Seeds!

I was toodling around on the internet one day and came across an offer for a free heirloom seeds catalog. Figured I might as well look through it, for entertainment value if nothing else. Well when it arrived and I finally had a chance to look through it, I discovered that the seed packets aren't significantly more expensive than buying GMO seeds from the local nurseries. And CERTAINLY less expensive than buying a garden's worth of starts! 

I made myself a wish list in the catalog, starring everything I wanted. Then discovered that I could order online, so I went through and started adding things to my cart, paring down some of my selections as I went. $112!! Well that was a little more than I wanted to pay, and I'm still not sure how much space I'm even working with, so I pared it down a bit further. Removed some of the more exotic varieties, replaced some of them with slightly less expensive more familiar varieties, and tried to map out a bit in my head where I expect these plants to go. Got it down to $85 including shipping, and the 'Rents are going to chip in a bit too. 

So without further ado, my seed list for the year:
Drumroll please.....!

  • Blue Lake Bush 274 Bean

  • Chioggia (Bassano) Beet

  • Detroit Dark Red Beet

  • Golden Beet

  • Rapini Broccoli

  • Purple of Sicily Cauliflower

  • Glory of Enkhuizen Cabbage

  • Mammoth Red Rock Cabbage

  • Kuroda Long 8 Carrot

  • Zwolsche Krul Celery (an herb-bearing rather than stalk-bearing variety)

  • Boston Pickling Cucumber

  • Red Wonder Wild Strawberry

  • Variegated Cat Grass (barley, for the kitty)

  • Dwarf Siberian Kale

  • Carentan Leek

  • Ishikura (scallion onion)

  • Southport Red Globe onion

  • Stuttgarter Onion

  • Purple Plum radish

  • Fordhook Zucchini

  • Zucchini-Golden

  • Butternut-Waltham

  • Black Early Tomato

  • Marglobe Supreme tomato

  • Riesentraube Tomato (a cherry-bunch variety)

  • Reisetomate Tomato (You'll want to image-search this, it looks like cherry-bunch tomatoes that all grow into a deformed mass. It also looks delicious.)

  • Basil - Lime

  • Basil - Corsican

  • Catnip

  • Cilantro, Slo-Bolt

  • Chinese Chives Mixed

  • Dill Vierling

  • Tarragon, Russian

  • Dwarf Jewel Mix - Nasturtium

  • Brocade Mix Marigold

  • Autumn Beauty - Sunflower




Mr. Moon and I are pretty excited to get our hands dirty. Next step is to map out the beds on paper, although to be honest I don't think we're going to "get to it." I suspect that we will end up walking out there, seed packets in hand, and marking them out like stage sets until we like how it looks, then planting. First and foremost, I'm not able to make any of the garden planning sites work for me. Secondly I'm having trouble with drawing programs, wanting to be perfectly accurate, not wanting to go out and take measurements at the times that I think of it (usually at night or when I'm having trouble walking), and really, he is a visual learner. I don't think either of us will really know what we want to do out there unless we're out there making the decisions. This is simply not going to work as a computer-model project.

I'll do what I can though. Once I get the seed packets in hand, I should be able to take the companion planting lists and at least figure out what can go together and what can't. Plus I already know where the tomatoes, sunflowers, and herbs are going.
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What's going in your garden this year? Have a small pot of herbs on the balcony, or settling into some acreage? 

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