New Seedlings!

The germination station is officially active and working overtime! On Sunday 2/27 we started the leeks and ground cherries in seedling trays with a special seed starting mix. We knew we wanted at least 117 leeks based on our garden plan. Although our garden plan calls for 117 leeks, I think we will probably need fewer because we got Bulgarian Giant Leeks which could be way too big for square foot gardening general spacing (9 leeks per square). Our plan calls for two ground cherries, but I am willing to scatter a few more around the house, so I started nine. We also started the Early Jalapenos, Jimmy Nardellos, Snow White Tomatoes, and Amish Paste Tomatoes on March 1. We started a few extra of each plant, but our base numbers for what we need are 12 Amish Paste, 3 Snow White, 8 Jimmy Nardello, and 12 Early Jalapeno.

The leeks have sprouted and we are holding our breath to see the germination rates of the others.

Updated Seed List

Now I've managed to finalize a list and would love peoples' opinions if they have experiences with these varieties:

• Early Russian Cucumber
• Snow White Cherry Tomato
• Amish Paste Tomato
• Early Jalapeno
• Jimmy Nardello Pepper
• Jackson Wonder Lima Bean
• Green Arrow Garden Pea
• Blue Podded Blauwschokkers Garden Pea
• Sugar Sprint Snap Pea
• Red Malabar Spinach
• Giant Noble Spinach
• Bulgarian Giant Leek
• Caribe Potato
• Carrots (again, still have to locate the seeds)
• Goldie Ground Cherry

Planning for Spring

Whew, long time no blogging. I fear we have gotten side tracked significantly from eating local due to financial issues, but we are trying to buckle down a bit. We probably aren't going to be as extreme as before, but we definitely have decided that it makes us happier and healthier to cook from scratch and eat local! Now, I find myself perusing the seed catalogs and trying to find out what we will be growing this year. Right now, here is the line-up (if anyone has any experience with these varieties, I would love to hear how they did):

• Jimmy Nardello (Sweet Pepper)
• Early Russian Cucumber
• Early Jalapeno
• Sugar Sprint Snap Pea
• Carentan Leek
• Caribe Potatoes
• Ground Cherries
• Amish Paste Tomatoes
• We want a yellow/white cherry tomato that is quite small and I am looking at Bianca, Blondkopchen, Hartman's Yellow Gooseberry, Ildi, and Snow White.
• Red Malabar Spinach (I'm really curious about this one) and maybe some Giant Noble as well
• I'm debating on the lima beans. The Hendersons did well last year, but I am looking for something else since they got picked over a bit by bugs. Currently, I'm looking at Dixie Speckled Butterpea and Jackson Wonder.
• For garden peas, I'm still trying to decide between Green Arrow and Pioneer.

All of these varieties are heirlooms from Seeds of Change, Bakers Creek, Tomato Bob, and maybe Johnny's. We will also be growing some carrots that we bought seeds for last year. I have to dig those up (no pun intended) to figure out what variety that is. We will NOT be putting carrots or potatoes in our square foot beds - instead we will get something bigger and deeper to give them more space. We will be getting strawberries, asparagus, and onions coming up this year that we put in last year, so we will get to enjoy those finally!

If you are looking for seeds to order, be sure to talk to your friends and neighbors and read reviews. I didn't do this as much as I should have last year and made some mistakes that negatively affected my yields. I could have easily avoided a lot of stress and frustration if I had done this!