Green thumb is itching, anyone else?

[Anna_MN]

I have the bug too! Unfortunately in MN we can only plan at this point. I can't plant until MAYBE the end of April if i'm lucky. Otherwise I have to wait until May. Until then I am reading all of the catalogs I have been getting in the mail

This year I plan on planting green beans, heirloom tomatoes, big beef tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, hot & sweet banana peppers, jalepinos, anaheim peppers, red onions, white onions, yellow onions, cucumbers, carrots, and almost every herb under the planet.

 

[m.kitchengirl]

I am building shelves for my good sunny windows to start seedlings on when the time comes (I have long strips of plexiglass I string together with wire & hang across the curtain rods) & drawing my garden charts.

I saved a TON of seeds last year from my veggies from the farmers markets & CSA stuff that I am very excited about but want to also try to add sweet potatoes (under plastic to extend my growing cycle up here) & grow a LOT more potatoes. No one has had Jerusalem Artichokes this year, so I will also be planting a ton of those. I am planning a long row of Quinoa along the side of the house to use for the chickens (and ourselves) throughout the year next year.

I also want to grow a lot more tall herbs & things I can use for bedding & forage through the winter (lavender, sorrel, comfrey, tall grasses...) and do a better job at companion planting than last year.

I moved just at prime garden time & lost a lot of my started seedlings & didn't really get to develop the garden the way I would have liked. This year I have a plan, and the space & the backup. I also have tons of compost from my critters & the water from the duck pools is AMAZING for my soil. I am excited for garden season.

 

[Roosterfry]

So where is the overal best place to buy seeds that are reproducible ?

 

[rancher hicks]

I"ve so much to do now but my plan is to put shelves in the run of my hoop coop for starting plants. Of course they will be high up so the chickens can't get them. I do plan to put another "hoop run" on the other end of the coop, which is why I put doors on both ends. Surprisingly they seem fine with this cold weather. I'm not sure if they'll lay much before spring however. They're only pullets and haven't even started.

How many here have organized gardens? How many use raised beds? What types of things do you do for water conservation? How many grow for winter storage?

 

[canesisters]

Ok - yall sound like you're really experienced at this so I've got some questions.
(I am SOOO sorry if this counts as hijacking the thread

)

Last year I planted a few tomato plants in containers. They did well and I will probably do them again. Several years ago I planted my first garden (3 or 4 each of squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc - you know, the basics) but my hours got changed early in the year and I didn't get home till almost dark. By the middle of summer, it was difficult to find the veggies between all the weeds and ended up being very discouraging.
Now I get off mid afternoon and (I hope) I'll have time to actually enjoy tending it. So what would you recommend for a beginner? Just a simple rectangle (about 5x10' max) that gets full afternoon sun and tends to stay a little bit wet after a rain.

 

[Raiquee]

1. What is your favorite tomato for canning?
Roma! I am going to try speckled roman next year tho.
4. What is your favorite yellow tomato?
I am not a fan of yellow tomatoes. They taste...watered down to me. I like black tomatoes that have a deep almost smokey flavor. Black Krim is my favorite.
2. What is your favorite winter Squash for storing.
Butternut. As thats what we eat the most of. Hubbers isn't a big squash eater.
3. If there were three things you'd recommend growing for storing over the winter what are they?
onions!!!! They are so much sharper tasting than in the store. Uhm, Garlic!!! Annnnnd taters.
5. What plant or plant do you save seeds from?
All my heirlooms. I saved arugula and easter egger radishes last year, but then I had a baby and fell off the seed collecting train. Thats ok, as I still have last years seeds I need to use up before the germ rate goes to crap.


Canesisters- I would recommend staying away from peppers and eggplants, as they don't like wet feet. So if your garden tends to hold onto a little water after a rain, it won't take long for peppers to get yellow. Also tuber things (like carrots/radishes/potatoes) may not fair well either, but I also am unsure how much water "a little wet" is. Radishes come out pretty quick, so they may do fine.

 

[robnms]

Quote:
Here's a link to Burpee about GMO seeds and it explains the company history, http://www.burpee.com/gygg/content.jsp?contentId=about-burpee-seeds

By George Ball - Burpee Chairman and CEO

I and others at Burpee are asked occassionally about our alleged connection to Monsanto and whether we sell GMO seed. We have even been accused of being owned by Monsanto on the Internet. I’ve decided to address these questions and false allegations formally with the hopes that someone out there in cyberspace may refer back to this post for information on these issues—straight from the source.

For the record, I own W. Atlee Burpee & Co. Burpee is NOT owned by Monsanto. We do purchase a small number of seeds from the garden seed department of Seminis, a Monsanto subsidiary, and so do our biggest competitors. We do NOT sell GMO seed, never have in the past, and will not sell it in the future.

 

[zazouse]

I grow a garden all year round but love the spring/summer garden best because i like the kinda veggies and fruit more than fall/winter crops.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Quote:
I see you have posted this multiple times and no-one directly answered you so I will try to chime in here.

IMHO, the "overall Best Place" will be the place that has what you are looking for.

You can google heirloom seeds and request a catalog from any places that you find interesting. I order only from those companies that give me enough information to determine if the plant will grow in my zone. I guess I fall for the "baffle them with BullSh**" principle, but it works for me most of the time.

I don't buy/plant seeds from a company that raises seed in Florida, because there is no way that the parent plant will produce seed that will grow in my conditions, even if the variety is listed to grow in my zone. Try to find a source that is close to you or someplace that will have somewhat similar weather conditions to where you are. I have found that the distance from the equator makes a difference also. When I lived in Northern WI, I have very good luck with seeds from a friend in Maine.

I will be ordering heirloom seeds from a catalog - I can't remember the name but hopefully they send me one this year like they did for the last two years.
Where I live now, the only other source for seed is the big box stores and those seeds are all hybrid and not really what I am looking for. We have unique growing conditions so I will have to try alot of varieties to see what grows best in my area.

 

[ozark_chickies]

Quote:
My farmers coop, sells lots of heirloom seed. They also sell hybrids, so you have to know the difference before go in. I think egardenplace.com is a good place to order seed from. You can order from several different seed companies, and only pay one postage.