Green thumb is itching, anyone else?

[gmendoza]

Green thumb biting here as well.

Go organic,buy organic.Remove the shackles of big businesses dependency on hybrid yummies.

 

[Raiquee]

Green thumb is biting here too. But being in WI I may be able to get my spring garden in around April/May but we are planning on moving this year so I don't want to plant a lot of things that take awile in worry that we lose it with the house

Just FYI, Hybrids are not GMO seeds. In fact, GMO is a lot harder to come across than what you may be thinking. You need to sign documentation stating you are buying GMO seed from the larger companies. Companies can say they sell GMO, but it's unlikely it is. Legal documentation is needed, otherwise they can sue your pants off because you have their patent. Hybrids are just crosses of two breeds of plants. They still produce viable seed, however the problem with hybrids is there is no guarantee what you will get from that seed. You may get either one of the original parents, or a weird mix of the two. Planting seed from a hybrid does not guarantee that hybrid again, unlike with heirlooms. But you can still save seed, and it is still very viable.

I also heard that Burpee being owned my Monsanto is a unfortunate rumor, but who knows.

I buy from Johnny's seeds, Baker Creek, and I do trading with people on forums. I even look into ebay too, got a few good deals on heirlooms there. Johnnys has hybrids, and although I don't mind hybrids the idea of not getting true seed doesn't appeal to me. I heard Tomatofest was a great place to buy from. If I would have had a bigger garden, I would have bought from them. They have some very neat varieties.

Here is a link to some real good info about Gmo, what it means, and some seed companies that people suggest on a topic very similar to that. Not that I am trying to stand up for the big guys, cause believe me I love to grow heirlooms and thats about it. However, I hate to see other seed companies dragged through their dirt when it may not be true.
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cornucop/msg1213005715237.html?19

About this time, I would probably start getting my onions going, but with the uncertainty of the house...I think I may hold off....or maybe not

 

[ozark_chickies]

Quote:
1. What is your favorite tomato for canning? Arkansas Traveler

4. What is your favorite yellow tomato? Dejeana Gold

2. What is your favorite winter Squash for storing. Butternut

3. If there were three things you'd recommend growing for storing over the winter what are they? Tomatoes, Yellow Squash, Peppers

5. What plant or plant do you save seeds from? All of them, except the carrot family seeds.

 

[ozark_chickies]

Quote:
I am just getting into the canning part of my gardening, but i do have a question: How do you save the seeds from your plants? I have tried but they do not seem to work out when I plant them. Is there a process to do it?

Make sure the vegtables are mature, before saving the seeds.

 

[HHandbasket]

Quote:
I second that advice!

I just ordered a whole bunch of open-pollenated, non-GMO, non-hybrid seeds for my garden. I caved and ordered one of those mahoosive "survival packs" from an ebayer, but I got a good deal & the ebayer has a really good feedback score. They are described as being non-GMO and non-hybrid so that you CAN save seeds year after year and never have to buy these varieties again. I like that idea. It's part of that self-sustaining thing we're trying to accomplish here.

 

[critterrun]

I got one of those too

a great deal

 

[ozark_chickies]

Can anyone recommend a good heirloom sweet corn? I'd like to plant one I can save seed from.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

If I was going to be moving mid-season, I'd still put a few things in pots. At least a tomato and another of mixed colors of chard. Okay, honestly, if it was me, I'd rather have one yellow squash than a tomato. I just have to have yellow squash and chard!

It must be because I lightly cook them in butter.

 

[Illia]

Quote:
True, getting GMO seed that you know is GMO requires contracts, papers, etc. BUT - Crops like corn are wind pollinated.

That means with all the vast numbers of people who do grow GMO crops, they're very likely contaminating other people's corn crops, and the people are very likely to not even know. The only comapny who does test for GMO in their corn they offer is Baker Creek. And testing has proven that even in remote areas of Oaxaca, Mexico - There's tainted seed. Sad but true. Baker Creek even tells of the fact that getting corn that tests negative for GMO is getting harder and harder each year. When I asked them if they've tested such and such variety and they replied that they haven't yet, they offered me the info of what it takes for me to submit a sample. 5 lbs of kernels. Imagine, finding even one kernel in that 5 lb sample. That's what it takes.

Nothing truly wrong with Hybrids, no, but I don't like them because they're just a profit thing. Buy em' grow em' sell or eat the produce then go begging to your supplier for more next year. And, because of most hybrids being bred specifically for market, very few are as awesome as so many of the heirlooms out there.

 

[HHandbasket]

I got my Burpee catalog in the mail today! Almost everything in there is "hybrid", and very little is labeled "non-GMO". It was really disappointing.

The only thing I want to grow that isn't included in the seeds I ordered from ebay is eggplant, especially Asian/Japanese eggplant, but I also like the Black Beauty.