Friday, March 29, 2013

Finalized Plot Designs for Pea Pods

I've pretty much finalized the layouts for the two plots I am renting at the community garden this year.  Surprisingly, I ended up with even more space than I anticipated, especially after going through the entire long list of items that I was planting this year!  I truly thought I was going to run into space issues, but, nope!  I had more than enough space, and there are only a couple things I am growing here at the house, so that didn't even really save much space. 

I believe I've mentioned it before, but one thing I'm doing for sure is not inter-planting my sweet corn, and I'm going to be growing the spaghetti squash here at the house so that I can really let it go crazy- supposedly it is quite productive, so I'm hoping that turns out to be the case. 

Before I go into more detail, if you're wondering how I did these layouts, I made them in the spreadsheet program in LibreOffice, which is a pretty good free word processing suite.  You could use pretty much any spreadsheet program (Excel counts) to do this, or you could just draw it out in a graphics program or similar.  Or just do it on paper.  I prefer to have it done nicely with text and whatnot on the computer, but your mileage may vary.  Doing it this way also allows me to print it out in a small but readable fashion that I can put in my 5"x7" gardening journal. 

I like being able to put the layouts in my journal as well, because I can tape over them and then be able to use a vis-a-vis marker on them to mark them up and be able to wipe it off if I need to.  This of course means that if I leave the marks on, they come off on the opposite page, but that isn't a huge deal for me.  It is helpful when I need to mark up replants or things that I've already seeded.

The top layout is for the bed I"m going to be doing most of my "early" plantings, which I'll do halfway through April.  I'll be using a row cover on them to keep things from freezing too much.  You might notice that I've put most of the more cold tolerant things in that bed as well- I really hope that getting my peas in earlier this year will result in a better yield, because last year they never really got going, not even as a fall planting.  Judging from the nibble marks on the young shoots, I think that was in part because of the resident bunnies that hung out at the garden, but there were other people who had great luck with peas, so I'm really hoping for better turnout this time.  I'll be planting peas at the house as well.

Anyway, hopefully we'll be back to more scheduled posting next week.  This weekend I need to photograph some of my leftover seed packets from last year so I can do little write-ups like I did on the ones from this year.  I hope you guys enjoy that :)

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

My Seed-starting Setup

I know it's not terribly fancy or nice looking.  But the only space I have is in my closet, which is just.. Well, unfinished in the extreme.  It's also chilly, but thanks to the warming mat I got (review later), that isn't affecting things at all.  My tomatoes are farthest from the camera, and they have several true leaves, with cabbages and broccoli and cauliflower closer, with fewer leaves.  You can see some bare stems- blame the cat!  I'm not sure if it was my cat, or the new kitten, but one of them got into the closet and nommed things.  I'm using a fluorescent lamp for light, since this is a closet and there's no light. 

Obviously, this is not my ideal situation.  Even in the new house, there aren't a lot of windowed spaces that would serve well for seed starting- we don't even really have a good place for houseplants, as the one window that would serve currently has an exercise bicycle in front of it.  So here you have it- a completely artificially lighted seed-starting station.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Glass Gems Corn

Purchased from:  Native Seeds/SEARCH for $5.95/50 seeds
Type: Flint Corn

I've been on the waiting list for this beauty for over a year, and I was really excited to see that it had come up available this year for purchase- even if the price was a bit steep, at nearly $6 for a mere 50 seeds.  Hell, I'm not even 100% sure that I'm going to have a long enough growing season for this, but I'm sure as hell going to give it a try.

For seed-saving purposes, I am growing this variety only at home to avoid cross-pollination.  The thing to know about corn is that it is a natural outcrosser, so if you have different varieties of corn growing together, you can forget about saving your seed and getting the same thing you planted.  Sometimes this can also affect the actual edible corn that you're able to get, but if 2 varieties are similar enough (i.e. they're both sweet corn or popcorn), it won't matter.  Since I'm growing Fisher's Earliest Sweet Corn as my other variety, I don't dare put them near one another.  Also, I don't want cross-contamination from the community garden, so this one is going to be planted in my front yard.  How gauche!

Also, if it isn't apparent why I purchased this from the seed packet, here's the original picture that started circulating around the internet a couple years ago:


True to the name "Glass Gems," eh?  I'm not the only one who had a garden-gasm over the gorgeous picture, either.  The story of this variety is also incredibly interesting, and can be found on the Seeds Trust website:
"Seedsman Greg Schoen got the seed from Carl Barnes, a part-Cherokee man, now in his 80's, in Oklahoma.  He was Greg's "corn-teacher".   Greg was in the process of moving last year and wanted someone else to store and protect some of his seeds.  He left samples of several corn varieties, including glass gem.  I  grew out a small handful this past summer just to see.  The rest, as they say is history.  I got so excited, I posted a picture on Facebook.  We have never seen anything like this. "
 That photo went viral last year sometime, and I'm just thrilled to be able to grow it this year.  I am going to baby the crap out of these plants- starting early with row covers to keep them warm, etc.  I really hope that our growing season proves conducive to getting some gorgeous ornamental ears as well as some saved seeds.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Parisienne Carrot

Free Gift from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  Available for purchase here for $2.50/800 seeds
Type: Carrot

If I didn't know better, I'd swear that Baker Creek are mind-readers, because this was actually on my short list of carrots to buy.  I ended up only picking one variety to purchase- Cosmic Purple, but I was pleasantly surprised to find this free gift tucked in with my order of bean seeds.

This is a smaller, "stubby" type carrot that is intended to be grown in less carrot-friendly soils.  I don't have too much problem with carrots at the community garden, since we use raised beds and I always do a good job of fluffing up the soil, but these would be very useful for anyone who has a heavier soil, for sure.  As for me, I'm just excited to grow something cutely-shaped and definitely excited to see how they turn out.  I think that thinly slicing a fat little carrot would make for great 'medallions' to put in salad or something, or maybe even to use as little dip-holders in appetizers or something. 

curious about my impressions of Baker Creek?  click here for my original post!

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Purple Podded Pole Bean

Purchased from:  Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds for  $2.75/40-60 seeds
Type: Green Bean
Growth: Vine

I kind of like that this one doesn't have a fancy name- it's just a 'Purple-Podded Pole' bean.  There were a few solid purple varieties available and I settled on this one pretty much entirely because one of the reviewers was located in Alaska and had good luck growing it in a raised bed- I figure if they had time for it in Alaska, I should have no issues getting this puppy to grow here in Montana.

The interesting thing about this bean- and from what I can see, other purple beans as well- is that it turns green when cooked.  So you can have a gorgeous addition to your garden, but you won't creep out anyone who has a "thing" about oddly colored foods.  Of course, I would personally be happier if they stayed purple when cooked, but color changing veggies are kind of cool, too.  I am also thinking of pickling beans this year, but we'll see about that.  This is another pole bean, and another one I'll be planting both at home and at the community garden.

curious about my impressions of Baker Creek?  click here for my original post!

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Gold Marie Pole Bean

Purchased from:  Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds for $3.00/40-60 seeds
Type: Green Bean
Growth: Vine

It's probably funny and a bit confusing that I call this a "green bean" when it is actually golden-colored, but I use that terminology to mean that I intend to eat the pods whole rather than drying the seeds to use as dry beans.  Some of these beans can do double duty, but I don't generally use dry beans so I'll probably stick mostly to eating them when they are tender, and just save a few pods for next year's seeds.

These beans are supposedly on the larger side, and I love that they are yellow- which will make them easier to harvest as well.  I always have problems with missing beans, peas, and other green podded things that I should be harvesting young- I invariably miss a few, and they end up overripe.  That isn't necessarily the worst thing, but it helps to keep harvesting things like beans as constantly as possible to keep the plants producing for longer periods.

I'm hoping that this year's experiment with pole beans goes better than last year's- I will be just trellising them this time, as opposed to growing them up corn stalks.

curious about my impressions of Baker Creek?  click here for my original post!

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Dragon Tongue Bush Bean

Purchased from:  Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds for $2.75/40-60 seeds
Type: Green Bean
Growth: Bush

I ended up putting in a second order from Baker Creek, because I forgot to order green beans.  While the 'Montana Green' bush bean from Fisher's Seeds is fabulous and I am growing that again this year, I also wanted to try something new.  I had trouble narrowing down what I was going to plant, and I may have gone a little overboard (good thing I like green beans!), but I knew this one was going to make the cut, because, well, look at it!  So pretty!

One of the things that keeps gardening interesting for me is definitely planting varieties like this.  I love growing my own food, as well, but if I can have something pretty *and* yummy, why not go for the double whammy?  I have high hopes for this little beauty, and I'm planning on planting some both at home and at Pea Pods.

curious about my impressions of Baker Creek?  click here for my original post!

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Ananas D'Amerique a Chair Verte Melon

Source: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Free Gift.  Buyable here for $3.00/25-50 seeds.
Type: Melon
Growth: Vine

I think that Baker Creek must have assumed I am some kind of melon enthusiast, because in addition to the three types I purchased, they decided to include this free gift for me.  Supposedly famous for being grown in the US by Thomas Jefferson, this one is interesting because the name means something akin to "Green Fleshed Pineapple."  I'm interested to see what this beauty tastes like, assuming I can actually get the melons to full maturity, which is always a question mark in the north.  This one looks to have a fairly short season, but the fact of the matter is that melons generally love the heat, so I may need to take steps to ensure that the soil is warm enough.

I love the coloring and design on this packet and I wonder if they have a variety of free gifts with similar packet designs, or if this design is specific to this type of melon- who knows!  These are the weird thoughts that go through my head.

This melon brings the total I have to try up to 5- I may have a problem.

curious about my impressions of Baker Creek?  click here for my original post!

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Golden Sweet Snow Pea

Purchased from:  Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds  for $2.75/100 seeds
Type: Snow Peas
Growth: Vine

I love peas.  It was incredibly difficult to narrow down the varieties to just one, but I wanted to try again with the "Dwarf Grey Sugar" peas from last year (my seedlings were eaten to the roots by munchy bunnies), so I knew I couldn't go overboard.  I finally settled on these yellow snow peas, because snow peas are my favorite, and yellow will make them easy to spot.

The reviews at Baker Creek were also pretty conclusively awesome, so I'm sincerely hoping these do well.  I missed out on a crop of peas last year and I really have my fingers crossed for one this time around.  Did I mention that I love peas?  Especially snow peas.  I love to sautee them with a little butter until they are just tender but still fresh and crispy, and then munch away.  I could seriously make a main dish out of fresh snow peas and fresh green beans all by themselves.  Yum!

curious about my impressions of Baker Creek?  click here for my original post!

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Vegetable Spaghetti: Or, how amazingly well winter squash keeps

It seems like so long ago that this photo was taken.  You can see on the bottom there the squash vine and the fruit that I cooked this morning, in its younger stages, of course.  In the excitement of moving last year and whatnot, the 2 spaghetti squashes that I'd harvested from my bed had been lost in the shuffle and I only just recently found them.  Any other vegetable and you might think "Ewwwww," but winter squash really does hold up quite well as long as it doesn't get too warm, and since my Father-in-law keeps the house fairly cool (one of the few benefits, I'm still usually frozen), the two squash were completely fine.  I only finally got around to cooking them today because I stepped on the bag containing them and inadvertently cracked the smaller one, so I figured I'd better get them baked before it went bad.

Can I just say, um, YUM?  I used this 'recipe' (I'd call it more of a tutorial).  I still have 2 halves of the larger squash and 1 half of the smaller one leftover, but I ate the entire half of the smaller squash and it was just yummy.  Seasoned with salt, pepper, a bit of butter, and then I put some shredded cheese on top.

I'm really pleased to see that being "stored" for six months (!) did not seem to affect the flavor at all, and I am definitely going to allocate a bit more space to Vegetable Spaghetti this year, because the variety is supposed to be a heavy producer, and I'm pretty sure the only reason mine wasn't was due to it being interplanted with the sweet corn.  I've read several accounts of people getting 20+ squash per PLANT so I'm going to have to find a bit of space for them here at the house.  Since they store so well I am hoping to get a much bigger crop this coming season.


Cour Di Bue Cabbage

Purchased From:  Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds for $2.00/300 seeds
Type: Cabbage

Cabbage doesn't seem terribly exciting to most people, and I can't say it's a favorite for square foot gardening because it does take up a bit of space, but this one looks like it will be interesting.  This cabbage has what is known as an "oxheart" shape, which I find very interesting, and is quite an old European heirloom.  I'm not the cabbage-eater in this family, but I took requests and one of the requests was for cabbage.  I will plant a few blocks of this and see how it turns out- if it is a hit, I will do more next year. I'll be starting these indoors in the next couple weeks and I think that they will end up being prime candidates for the sunny basement window.

This is another one I'd love to grow in a cold frame if I can get one built- there is a bit of flowerbed near the side door of our house that I am thinking of tearing out and replacing with a couple cold frames so that we can have easily-accessible winter veggies.  One of my projects in the coming weeks as spring starts to come upon us is to assess the areas we have for growing and see what I might be able to do.  It may end up being beneficial to convert the entire flowerbed on the kitchen side of the house into a kitchen garden.

curious about my impressions of Baker Creek?  click here for my original post!

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Ching Chang Bok Choy

Purchased from:  Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds for $2.50/200 seeds
Type: Bok Choy
SFG Spacing:  9 per Square Foot

According to the description of this one, this Bok Choy variety is meant to be harvested when small, so I guess this is technically a "baby" variety.  The name just gets me- it seems a bit stereotypical for a traditionally Asian green, but if the product turns out to be worthwhile, I guess I can handle the slightly off-color name.

The main reason I'm trying this one out is a desire to expand my horizons when it comes to greens both as food and as plants in the garden.  Right now the main ones I consume are pretty much iceberg lettuce and baby spinach.  It just seems like a shame to let all the wonderful different types of greens out there go to waste!  So here goes nothing- I hope this isn't a disappointment.


curious about my impressions of Baker Creek?  click here for my original post!