Saturday, April 16, 2011

N, New seeds for this year...

Well, I have gardening fever.  Raging Gardening fever, and so, since the only things I could plant right now might be rice, or water lilies, I decided to check my seeds I've saved, and bought, and see what things I have, and need.  (I have a new seed saver can.  Husband gave me an old Military Ammo Box.  I hope to clean and paint editorial leaves and such on it in the future, but for now, it works!)

Right now, I should be able to plant lots of watermelon and tomatoes...  The tomatoes make sense, I plant lots of those for both us, and to share (and usually do, big time.)  The watermelon?  I just have saved packets, and have put back enough to have a few varieties, I guess.  (Ironically, I do not like tomatoes, unless they are in something, and don't care for watermelon... I just like growing stuff.)

So, I will write here what I have, if you want to peruse, follow along, if you don't, skip over the list to where I start blabbing again, your choice...  The date is the year the package says it was packaged for.

2011- Moon and Stars Watermelon
2011- Chicken Scratch (variety of greens, sort of a salad mix.  Supposed to be good for chickens.)
2011- Sunflower supreme mix
2007- Yellow Pear Tomato
2007- Scotia Tomato
2008- Early Cherry
2008- Grand Bell (Pepper) Mix
2009- Campbell's Tomato seeds (from the Soup company)
2011- Big Max Pumpkin
2011- Carnival Blend Carrot
2011- Orange Tendersweet Watermelon
2008- Yellow JB Watermelon
2007- Ruby Queen Beet
2007- Swiss Chard
2008- Mesclun Mix
2010- Yellow Crookneck
2005- Blue Lake Pole Beans
2008- Beefsteak Tomato
2007- Mortgage Lifter Tomato
2???- Pumpkin seeds from Halloween pumpkin...
2007- Kohlrabi, Purple
2010- Kohlrabi, White
2010- Sweet 100 Tomato
2010- Red Cherry Tomato
2010- Black Beauty Eggplant
2008- Straight Eight Cucumber
2010- Zucchini
2008- Chantenay Red Cored Carrot
2010- Scarlet Nantes Carrot

Now, some, like the beans, (circa 2005) will be added to, and mixed together when planted, with some new, so I have a chance of getting beans for my Husband, who goes into withdrawal if I don't make him fresh green beans sometime over the summer.  (Some day, my goal is to can.  That goal hasn't gone far, up to this point...)

I will plant carrots. Again.  I keep trying to plant carrots, and usually end up with an empty row. (Blue clay doesn't lend itself to root veggies much.)  The one year I worked the livin' crap out of the ground, and added carroty grow stuff, deer got every last top and killed all of them.  I know I should be able to grow carrots.  I am tempted to plant them in a pot, and put razor wire over it.  Husband suggests pot planting yes, but perhaps putting inside the deer cage...  ; )

Why so many tomatoes?  I like to try different varieties for cooking, Mom loves them for just eating, and they are good trading stock for other veggies that I don't grow (i.e., corn). 

I hope to grow corn, some time, but this year I am going to have to test the soil. I grow everything else pretty well, but my corn is always incredibly pathetic, usually doesn't even grow much more than a stalk.  If it does grow an ear, it generally doesn't mature.  Bugs don't even bother it, that's how pathetic it is! 

I want to plant egg plant, and ask Mom to make Eggplant Parmesan.  I wanted to do that last year, but only had like ONE eggplant, so I just gave it to Mom to use.  (Last year was the great Bucket Planter year.  Hoping I don't have part two this year.  It worked, but I sure didn't like doing it that way.  The only advantage was that watering was much easier...  I suppose weeding was better, too.  But I still would prefer an in the ground garden.  Especially space wise!)

Some of them, like Swiss Chard, and Chicken Scratch, are obstensively for the animals.  But I sample the stuff, they might or might not get it.  In fact, one year, I realized that Rudee (who has learned how to be in the garden without walking all over the plants), and I had nearly eaten all the starts of the Chicken Scratch!  Ooopsy!  They came back, though.

So, I will probably buy a Jiffy Pot greenhouse Monday, and set up some seeds, get stuff started (I have a seed starting heater, so I can start the stuff in the house.)  The weather guessers say we should start coming out of the rain this coming week. 

About time, is all I can say...  I want to get out and do gardeny stuff!

14 comments:

Inger said...

First -- no lizards or snakes in that picture, I think I will wait until I get to W for them to show up. My husband wants a garden this year -- I hope something will come of it because I can't do a lot of what will be needed. I wish you all the best on yours though.--Inger

Cat said...

Canyon Girl:

I am relieved, I was beginning to think my glasses were messed up already! (I am NOT getting bifocals. I am NOT getting bifocals. NOT. NOT. NOT!)

Cat

Tina said...

What's wrong with bifocals? Lol ...i have some and i look pretty smart in mine !

messymimi said...

Aren't those old military ammo boxes convenient? Ugly, but useful.

Good luck with your gardening. It's something i cannot do -- i have a black thumb and kill everything except crabgrass.

Cat said...

Tina:

Nothing wrong, per se. But, I have over 20/700 eyesight (or 20/roadkill, as one doc said), and I just don't want to get used to yet another vision change. I also saw what Dad went through, getting used to his, so I am holding out until there is no hope... (Which, with my eyesight, shouldn't be all that long, sadly...)

Cat

Cat said...

messymimi:

I think it will be, it certainly holds more than the old jar I was using! I intend to decorate it to make it a tad more fun, and less ugly. Or at least ugly in that sort of cute way...

I am a Darwinian Gardener, I plant, and if it grows, I plant more of it, so I look like a talented gardener, but I think it's more slight of hand than anything! ;)

Cat

Samantha said...

We're right there with you on water lily or rice planting.
I'm so ready to get Out There and get some dirt under my nails!

Cat said...

Samantha:

Are your seed catalogs dog eared yet, simply from looking at the pictures? *sigh*

Cat

Dreaming said...

Ahhh, I'm like you - I can't wait for my garden. I've jumped the gun and planted some flats...far too early! Planting date around here is first week of June!
Hmmm... we've had great luck with carrots at my current home. We have sandy soil. Our new place has more of a clay soil. Uh oh... carrots won't like that - thanks for the reminder!!

Cat said...

Dreaming:

Well, if you have some place to keep them, that shouldn't be TOO bad... But clay soil, yes, that isn't so good for carrots. We have lovely blue clay, I think the carrots would just make a left or right turn, if they could, we just know that is where you put loooots of extra dirt, so they have something to grow into.

Cat

bon bon said...

we are still a solid month away from me even thinking about gardening. plus, our yard is much too shady for anything other then a few tomato and pepper plants. i'm content just knowing fresh produce will be affordable soon. ;o)

John Going Gently said...

that was one long post!

Cat said...

bon bon:

Well, it's not so far from gardening season normally, here, but it has been wet (!!!), and that means it's making it longer before I can play Farmer Cat...

Cat

Cat said...

John Gray:

Yep, that's why I tried to devide it into bite size sections!

Cat