Seeds

February 17, 2009

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Seed Organizing

Miracle of miracles! Not only have I managed to begin my seed purchasing and acquiring process on time this year but I also spent a few hours the other night organizing them all. Ironic that the year I manage this feat is in a crazy busy one when I also happen to be unsure about where I will be gardening.

I like to do things ass backwards. That is my way.

I thought I’d give you a peep inside my “highly efficient” Seed Organization System. Mine is a three part system, although technically my fridge’s butter bin acts as a forth part for seeds that require some time in the cold (aka “cold stratification”). And there is also a soon to be gone recycled coffee bean bag that contains all of the extras that I have packaged up for trading and give-aways at this year’s Seedy Saturday Toronto event (Saturday, Feb 28). Over the years I’ve considered fancy binder systems or making a proper bin, but this works for me.

Part 1: The Square Basket – This is where I keep most of my direct sown seeds including lettuce greens, carrots, beans, peas, beets, radish, some herbs, and edible flowers. Also included are tags, permanent markers, empty envelopes for seed collecting and sharing, scotch tape for resealing opened packets, and a small plastic dibbler aka dibber aka dibble for quick sowing. I keep this basket in the hallway next to the door to the roof so it is always on hand when I need to pop a radish seed into an empty spot or replace gummy old lettuce.

Part 2: The Tool Box – I store my early season vegetable seeds in this old, kid’s tin tool box. You’ll find tomato, eggplant, squash, melons, and pepper seeds inside to name a few. It is kept on my garden book shelf just behind my work desk for easy access to indoor sowing or when I need to remember the exact spelling of a particular variety. When I am organized the packets are arranged by plant type and held together with elastic bands. FANCY!

Part 3: Yee Olde Gigantic Jar – This jar contains the plants I don’t go-to as often; less popular flowers, grasses, strange fruit I have purchased or collected (i.e. coffee beans, prickly pear, tamarind), and assorted oddities many of which are past due. I’ve got a little sachet of dried milk in the jar to keep the seeds from going moldy since air flow inside the jar is minimal and I don’t have occasion to check it very often.

How do you keep your seeds in order?

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Tons more seed starting resources

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February 10, 2009

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Getting My Seeds Lined Up in a Row

It feels like I’m going to be able to be more forthcoming with the garden projects I’ve got going on this year so I thought I would take advantage of the freedom by posting all the seeds I buy or acquire by trade, gifts, etc.

When I bought bean seeds the other day I also purchased some assorted vegetable seed but decided against posting about them there to keep the post on topic. In the meantime a pack of Gourmet Mesclun Asian Baby Leaf (Phew that was a mouthful) seeds arrived in a press packet from Renee’s Garden. Packets of lettuce and greens never go to waste around here! I’ve had “Get some greens started on the windowsill” on my to-do list for over a week now. It’s way too early to get them going outdoors around here just yet, but there should be enough sunlight to pull off a crop of micro-greens.

When I think about it, it’s kind of amazing that I’ve managed to acquire this many seeds so early without having given barely a thought to what I will be doing in the garden this year. Perhaps this garden season will take inspiration from my trip to Cuba and just be about going with the flow.

What I Got:

‘Matt’s Wild Cherry’ Tomato – This is a classic, super prolific and easy to grow wild variety. I’m fairly certain I’ve been growing these in my community garden plot where I inherited a crop of tomatoes that self-seed every year. This is most likely the plant I have permanently tattooed on my arm so I figured it was time to try and solve the mystery once and for all. I could have easily acquired these in trade if I’d had the patience to wait half a second, but…. I don’t. So I didn’t.
‘Sparkler’ Radish – I’m always on the lookout for a good radish contender for container growing and figured this round ‘French Breakfast’ alike might just fit the bill. And since I’m a fan of that elegant two-tone variety it was hard to pass up a rounded version.
‘Golden Detroit’ Beet – I generally don’t grow beets since we can get them cheaply enough at the farmer’s market but how could I pass up a variety with such a glam rock vibe about it? Come to think about it, these last two plants could fit into a disco theme seed collection. Anyways, this variety is golden with golden veining. It kind of reminds me of ‘Golden’ Swiss Chard, another beauty.

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February 6, 2009

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Fondling the Beans

Whenever I get a new pack of bean seeds I am always immediately compelled to open up the packet and inspect the beans. I used to play out this ritual with all seeds but years of seed purchasing and collecting has garnered a familiarity with certain seeds. It’s not that I’ve lost my love for seeds, but that it gets a bit repetitive. After all, while every tomato is different, the seeds are virtually identical. Yes, of course there are variations in size, shape, fuzziness, etc but those differences aren’t exactly interesting. At least to me they’re not.

Beans on the other hand are like beautiful jewels, each is unique in size, shape, color, pattern, and texture. Some are naturally shiny, others dull. There is even variation between seeds of the same variety. I’m a little embarrassed to guess at how much time I have clocked fondling a pack of 20 seeds, turning each one over in my hand. Actually, no I’m not. I think a lot of gardeners will confess to this same ritual. Beans are pretty.

And that is why I was able to spend an inordinate amount of time yesterday afternoon stewing in my own sweat inside a gigantic winter jacket and chatting with Colette of Urban Harvest about beans. She had some new varieties for sale this year, some of which she brought back from Slow Food’s Terra Madre Conference in Turin, Italy this past fall. And even though I already have more packs of beans than I can get into the ground within the next few seasons, I couldn’t help buying more.

Here’s what I got:

‘Christmas’ lima bean – You know, I’ve never grown lima beans. I’m kind of on the fence about them. I like them well enough, just never enough to bother growing them. Colette also confessed to a leave it attitude towards lima beans so when even she could speak so enthusiastically about this variety, I knew I had to try them. ‘Christmas’ is described as having a “nutty, chestnut-like taste and the texture of baked potatoes.” SOLD! They are also drought tolerant, which is handy since I will probably try growing them in a large bin on the roof. I probably would have hesitated and waited until Seedy Saturday in a few weeks to get them had Colette not mentioned that she only had two packs left and was probably going to save the last pack for herself. And once I had one pack of seeds in my hand the ball was rolled. And I rolled with it like the sucker I am.
‘Blue Jay’ bush bean – I’m not yet sure about the pods but was sold on this variety by the blue and white seed description. That and a general fondness for blue jays. Remember The Green Forest? That’s basically it. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: tell me a good story and I’ll buy your seeds. Although, this wasn’t even much of a story, but more about a personal sentiment that hit my weepy heart in the right place.
‘Tiger’s Eye’ bush bean – Another bean described as having a creamy, mashed potato texture. And… sold. I rarely worry about adding to my bush bean collection since I can usually find a container to grow them in.

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January 14, 2009

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The Impending Arrival of Seed Starting Season

Seed Starting Season

Seed starting season is just around the corner. It happens every year and every year I yell to no one and everyone that I’m not ready and could I please just have another day or a week, but it comes anyways. Then again, am I ever ready for anything garden-related? From seed starting season to the first frost I am constantly begging for mercy and more time while simultaneously wishing for spring and summer to come sooner and end my winter misery.

Apparently, I can’t have it both ways. Harrumph.

I’m REALLY not ready this year. So much so that I forgot about it completely until the catalogs started to appear in my mailbox. What will I grow? More importantly where will I grow? We keep saying this is the year we move. But we can never find the right place or there is too much work to be done and moving is too big a distraction or there is some reason why I can’t move the roof garden right now. And when I look for a new place to live and garden the endless list of requirements are too impossible to meet on a budget. I need appropriate indoor space, and I need some kind of decent outdoor space whether it be in-ground or on a roof or balcony that also gets lots of light because, I’m sorry, but I have to grow my sun-loving vegetables and herbs, and apparently over the years that has become more important than the thousands of things I hate about our current apartment. So this is the year we move. For real! I swear.

But how do I make plans with such a big question mark looming?

Whether I’m ready for it or not the march towards seed starting season presses on. Just today I sent in my yearly Seeds of Diversity membership payment in response to a final, act now or you’re out you irresponsible jerk notice. Is it really time to renew already? And to make matters worse I received notice that Seedy Saturday Toronto is happening earlier than ever this year. February 28! Only a month and a bit away.

Not ready!

Botanical Interests sent me some seeds recently. When they asked what I’d like to try I laughed to myself, chuckling about how early they were. Surely I won’t be making plans or ordering seeds for ages yet? WRONG! Well, at least I know that wherever my gardens happen to be this year, I will be growing the three packets I choose, ‘Zeolights’ Calendula, ‘Ruby Streaks’ Mustard Greens, and ‘Valentine’ Mesclun Mix come hell or high water.

It’s a start….

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September 25, 2008

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Saving Seeds and Making Pickles

Greetings from the hermit’s nest where I am working feverishly, both figuratively and unfortunately quite literally through what I can only describe as a marathon of deadlines. This summer has revolved 100% around gardening and food, a focus that promises to continue through the fall and well into winter. Actually I’ll still be at, although hopefully not quite at this pace, come spring. When I’m not in a garden taking pictures, I am sitting at a computer writing about gardening or I am in the kitchen cooking. When I am not doing any of those things I am thinking about doing those things, or rather, freaking out about NOT doing those things.

The irony of all of this is that it is pushing me further and further away from my own actual gardens. I’m in them more as an observer then as a gardener. I’ve been able to accomplish the bare minimum and have had to let the rest fall to the wayside. Boo.

Anyways, all complaints aside, I have managed to find a minute here and there to get in touch with the happenings that are taking place on the roof and in the community plot. I’m still harvesting some of the straggling late summer crops and if the weather holds I should have another crop of late tomatoes coming through soon. My ‘Green Grape’ plant has been producing non-stop. I fell in love with that variety last year causing a complete turn around on a long-standing distaste for green tomato varieties. I grew it in a larger container this year to see how it would perform and it has been outstanding. I’ve added ‘Green Grape’ to my list of varieties worth growing in a garbage bin.

Seed saving season is in full swing and I’ve been taking some time here and there to collect for next year while also harvesting seeds such as dill and coriander for eating rather than growing.

2008 can best be described as The Year of Dill out on the roof. At least a hundred dill seedlings sprung up in the spring and proceeded to flourish due to a record-breaking wet growing season. I honestly can’t keep up with the amount of dill seed that is maturing right now and have had to find a few stolen moments to process seeds in order to avoid being buried alive underneath the masses of seed heads that are collected nearly ever day. Keeping them under control now also means less seedlings to contend with come spring. We’ve had our fill of dill and I am guessing that it will be years before we can appreciate the flavour of fresh dill with our meals again. Yep. Sure is tough having so much bounty!

Still, the timing for dill seed perfectly coincides with pickle season. 2008 was a terrible year for cucumbers so I’ve decided to focus on making mixed vegetable pickles. They’re turning out great. We consumed a whole jar in only a few days. It didn’t even get a chance to mature into its full flavour. I can’t wait to taste this batch in a month. My favourite new vegetable to pickle is ‘Black Radish.’ ‘Black Radish’ is a large radish that is black on the outside and white on the inside. It reminds me of a cross between a radish and a turnip but without the turnip flavour. They’re quite spicy raw, however the hot water processing cooked the radish slices slightly making them soft and succulent. I plan to grow lots next year now that I know how good they are…. Next year…. what a joke. Gotta make it through this one first!

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You Grow Girl™

Books by Gayla Trail

Seed Organizing

Getting My Seeds Lined Up in a Row

Fondling the Beans

The Impending Arrival of Seed Starting Season

Saving Seeds and Making Pickles