THE SEEDS ARE HERE!!!
We got our seeds in for the year… ok, except the potatoes, and whatever I can’t resist at the checkout stand at Tractor Supply. Ok and maybe a few pumpkins or flower varieties at Walmart, I can’t help myself! For the most part, though, we ordered from MIGardener and they’re here! I can’t wait!!!
This year, I’m going for color and variety. Bold reds, yellows, purples and even black! Along with lots and lots of green. I’m adding a few new things that I’ve never grown before like dried beans and celery. Oh, and there will be *a lot* more carrots of all the colors I could get my hands on. How fun!! Let me show you!!!
First up.. Onions.
Onion seed can be started super early and trimmed while it’s growing. I star
t it late January or early February and it’s one of the first things I transplant in late May or early June. It can handle a little cold, but not too much, so just before the last frost date of May 31st is ideal.
Last year I went simple. I did 2 yellow onion varieties plus shallots and bunching onion, but I transplanted the bunching variety too late in the season so we only got green onions out of them.
I have some leftover New York Early that I planted last year. They are amazing. I’m still working my way through the stores in the basement and we use a lot of onions. I’m adding red onion and a red bunching variety that I’m really excited about! I’ll get it in earlier this year to really enjoy it. There’s also a bag of seed from onions I had in my garden in Arizona. Growing onions in AZ was weird, they didn’t really bulb and they bolted in one season. Oh well.. at least I got some seed. I’ll try it, maybe we’ll get some onions out of it or maybe not.
I went a little crazy on tomato varieties…
if that is a thing? Too many tomato varieties… hmmm
Cherry tomato varieties include Red Centiflor. This cherry tomato has big clusters of red tomatoes that ripen all together. I’m hoping to sell them on the vine, but they may be too delicate and fall off, we’ll see.
Tiny Tim is a dwarf determinate. That means it won’t get very big and is great for container gardening. Everyone was asking about cherry tomato seedlings at those first few markets last year, so this is going to be my go-to for early plant sales.
Black Cherry is beautiful and so delicious!! I grew this last year an
d they won 1st place at the county fair! I’m going to have as many of these as I can under the hothouse though, they didn’t appreciate being outdoors.
Purple Bumblebee is gorgeous. I hope it tastes as good as it looks!
Sun Gold is the #1 requested tomato variety. So I got two packets from Johnny’s.
Three different varieties of paste tomato. I’m looking forward to trying them all.
The rest are slicers. Some are meaty, tasty heirloom varieties and others are your classic tomato you’d slice for a burger. Some of these look really yummy!! I can’t wait. That first, juicy, ripe, sunkissed tomato is the BEST!!!
Squash.
My squash was a huge bomb last year. The germination was awful! And then I couldn’t remember what the heck I planted and ended up harvesting way too early. (must keep good records this year!) Let’s squash this list…
Summer Squash :
Crookneck (yellow zucs)
Italian Striped Zucchini (they had me at Italian)
2 different varieties of dark green Zucs
Winter squash:
Scallop Yellow (they are so dang cute!!!)
Spaghetti (I solemnly swear to let it turn yellow this year)
Butternut (soupy!!)
Acorn (with butter and brown sugar… nothing better)
Buttercup (I hear it’s a market favorite. I’m looking forward to trying it)
Sweet Dumpling (ditto above)
Delicata ( also ditto, but longer)
Decor and Pumpkins:
Gourd Mix (because color!!)
Blaze Pumpkin (beautiful color)
Knucklehead (it’s got warts all over!! HA)
Renegade (Jack-o-Lantern)
Peppers are such a cool thing to me.
I’m amazed that I can grow them. Just straight up blown away that such a small plant can yield such huge, beautiful, heavy fruit! And it looks like the grocery stores!!! (Except way better cause it’s grown without pesticides and in healthy soil with no chemical fertilizers and picked the same day as it’s sold).
I give you…. The Peppers:
Anaheim, hot (now, come on… I’m from AZ, we did NOT classify anaheims as hot.. but that’s what the pack says..)
Jimmy Nardello, sweet (no clue about this one, but they look cool!)
Shishito, sometimes sweet, sometimes hot (these are called the Russian Roulette pepper and for good reason, but oh so yummy!)
Corno Di Toro, red and yellow, sweet (I’m hoping these mature faster than the bell’s so we get more pepper for our season)
Banana, sweet (so good stuffed!)
Bell Peppers, red, yellow, purple! (OMGosh, I got purple bell peppers!!! AHHHH)
Peas, Beans and other greeeens:
Snap Peas are a favorite. I have a whole pack of shelling peas from last year. I’m preferring bush beans to pole, cause I’m limited in my T-posts… Such a silly reason, but they’re expensive when you need like 90 of them!! All kinds of colors of beans, even the lettuce is colorful! I almost got pink celery… but I figured I’d try my hand at green celery first.
Peas:
Golden sweet pea
Royal Snap II (it’s purple!!!!)
Sugar Snap (classic)
“Green” Beans:
Roma (it’s an Italian flat bean… cause I love all things Italy)
Fin De Bagnol (Classic, but deep green color)
Provider (Classic)
Trilogy (multicolored)
Dragons Tongue (purple stripes!!)
Along with greens and lettuces, I grew last year, I’m adding Freckles Romaine and Tatsoi (a mustard green). In the picture is the cucumbers I grew last year as well. They worked out great, the only thing I’d like to do differently is getting them trellised this season. I should have 2 greenhouse structures to work with, one will be tomatoes, the other cucumbers.
I’ve got seeds coming out of my ears!!! of corn. Earth Tone Dent Corn! YEEES! So awesome! Along with sweet corn of course. Rainbow carrots, Christmas Lima beans, Midnight Black Turtle Beans, Navy Beans, green and RED Brussel Sprouts! Shut the front door!! Green, red and Chinese cabbage! So amazing!!
There are some new flower varieties as well. Bells of Ireland, Apricot Asters, more Lavender, cause I can’t get enough lavender, never enough lavender… Oh and something a little special…
A surprise packet! Help me guess what is in the Mystery Seeds pack? Small, green, bean-like, with a white ‘eye’…. hmmmm What do you think? Comment below with your guess.
Edit: They are Mung beans. I found out early in the season what they were by noticing a bag of them at my local grocer. I have no clue how to use mung beans, so I didn’t end up growing them. I’ll probably donate these to my seed library.
These are just a sampling of what I’ll be planting this year. I still have three boxes of seeds leftover from last year!! I hope I have enough room to try everything!!