Garden Basics Guide

Get Your Garden Seeds Early

Ah yes! It’s time for one of the most enjoyable activities for any gardener. That of reading our seed catalogs from cover to cover while snow flies. We have wonderful color visions of how we want our gardens to look next season. And, we shop and shop and shop for just the right seeds. I don’t know about you, but every year my initial seed list requires much more garden space than I have. Then I do the work of “editing” my list into a more common-sense order. Seed catalogs also often happen to be a wonderful reservoir of useful information. You can learn much about plant cultures and proper planting techniques. All this lays the groundwork for your success in the next growing season.

What follows is a list of seed catalogs you will want to have on hand for your winter planning and seed purchasing. Good seeds are not cheap (and cheap seeds are not good). That said, connect with these companies who have earned the right to be called reliable and trustworthy when it comes to seed quality.

Abundant Life Seed
www.abundantlifeseed.org

Seed Savers Exchange
www.seedsavers.org

Native Seeds/SEARCH
www.nativeseeds.org

Heirloom Acres Seeds
www.heirloomacresseeds.com

Pinetree Garden Seeds
www.superseeds.com

Territorial Seed Company
www.territorial-seed.com

Fedco Seeds/Trees
www.fedcoseeds.com

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
www.rareseeds.com

Johnny’s Selected Seeds
www.johnnyseeds.com

Sand Hill Preservation Center
www.sandhillpreservation.com

Seeds of Diversity Canada
www.seeds.ca

Enjoy your new 2009 seed catalogs.

Starting a Garden

As this garden season winds down and we put our gardens to bed for the winter, I find myself thinking of next season. Not unusual, but I think I’m going to garden for a different reason next year. I’ll still play with the herbs and flowers, but I’m going to make my garden more productive and grow the basics instead of experimenting with the unusual just for fun.

We’ve enjoyed quite a few decades now of not finding it NECESSARY to garden for our food. Lately though, the picture seems to be changing. In comparison with the rest of the world, American food prices were at one time among the lowest on earth. For the past several years those prices have gone up considerably, and I’m quite sure they will keep climbing rapidly. The price of so many things has gone up and caused cash crunches to many a budget. A growing number of consumers are deciding to cut their food costs by growing at least some of their own food right in their own backyards. Skyrocketing seed sales in the past year have underscored this new interest. Without a doubt, the benefits of growing food in our backyards reach far beyond reducing food costs. Growing our own insures the highest nutritional content possible and is an easy way to avoid all sorts of chemicals and poisons. Our dietary health is the big winner.

Since gardening requires that we work within the cycles of nature, we have lots of time to think about next season. Garden Basics, in the near future will offer guidlines and information helpful not just to those who will take the plunge for the first time. Even seasoned gardeners are always on the lookout for information they can use. Gardeners are always learning. So, stay tuned for just about everything you wanted to know about backyard gardening while the snow flies. Then when it’s time to plant, you will be ready and organized.

Black Krim Heirloom Tomato

Todays “lesson” must be about a most exciting heirloom tomato to grow. That would be the Black Krim tomato. And, here’s the reason. Last spring I spotted Black Krim tomato plants at my local greenhouse and bought a couple without a second thought. My reward has been the most delicious and unique tomatoes I have ever eaten, despite the fact that my little garden suffered this year from unruly weather and a fair amount of neglect on my part.

Black Krim tomatoes originally came from a place called the “Isle of Krim”, a peninsula located in the Black Sea in what was the former Soviet Union. No wonder they are descibed as tough growers in climates with extreme temperature changes. They are fairly short season growers, maturing in about 75 days and are known for their heavy yields of 3″ to 4″ beefsteak slicers. Their skins are deep red or dark mahogany in color (they belong to that group known as black tomatoes). Some are actually very close to black. The shoulders remain a deep green at maturity.

Cut a nice slice and you’ll see the deep red to mahogany to almost black color toward the outer edge and loads of greenish seeds. They are really quite gorgeous. And the taste is the most unique of tomatoes I have ever eaten. My first taste a couple of months ago was simply love at first bite. And, the Black Krim tomato is of special value to those who must adhere to a low-salt diet. It naturally has a slightly salty taste, eliminating the need for extra salt.

Growing is easy. Look for tomato seed starting tips in the near future on this site and relax. This heirloom is not picky except that because it is a heavy yielder of weighty fruits. it’s a good idea to support the plants with cages to keep the tomatoes off the ground. You’re probably not too likely to run across these plants next spring (I was just lucky), so here are a couple of places you can purchase Black Krim tomato seeds. www.gardenharvestsupply.com is temporarily out of the seed, but says they will be available in 2009. Another Black Krim tomato seed source is www.tomatofest.com where you can not only pick up your Black Krim tomato seed, buy salivate over hundreds of other wonderful heirloom seeds that are their specialty. I made it a point to save my own seed to start in the spring.

If I had the time, money and space I’d like to grow every heirloom tomato (and pepper for that matter) I could lay my hands on. Instead I will enjoy what I believe to be one of the best ever tomatoes. You too can easily “wow” your fellow backyard gardeners and even guests for dinner with an heirloom worthy of saving. Garden happily…………

Plant a Victory Garden

If you’re already a gardener, I know you are pretty busy in your garden spot right now. But, this is the perfect time to start thinking about next year. If you’re just scoping out your backyard for the perfect spot for a garden next year, your timing is perfect. How about planting a Victory Garden?

“What on earth”, you say, “is a Victory Garden?” Well, it seems that a whole new bunch of people are getting the idea that a backyard garden could very well help cut the cost of food. Gardeners already know that. Plus, the food is better nutritionally and tastes most delicious too. What’s not to love about a backyard garden?

Why a Victory Garden? Because the concept of a victory garden comes from a long history, beginning with World War I, calling on citizens to secure food for themselves and the troops. You can read the interesting history on www.thewholefoodjournal.com. Victory gardening isn’t some show piece, although nature’s beauty abounds. Victory gardening is the act of growing the basics. Lucky for us, they are all bountiful producers and the easiest vegetables you could ever grow. Here are some of the best……….

POTATOES: Potatoes take more space than I like, but plant other vegetables between your potato rows. Perhaps lettuce or early radishes. Store your potatoes in a cool and dry place, like your basement.
CORN: This is another good and versatile crop. A cornfield is one thing, but if your space is limited, plant your corn between the potato rows.
BEANS: Plant pole beans between the potato rows too and let them climb the corn stalks. Keep picking beans and they’ll keep producing ’til frost.
TOMATOES: ALWAYS grow lots of tomatoes! Tomatoes are the base for so many dishes we prepare and eat, not to mention how good they are right off the plant. Plant some basil and also marigolds in the tomato area to discourage pests and promote growth as well.
CUCUMBERS: One of the most anticipated of all vegetables each and every spring. So good in salads. I mostly plant pickling cukes, because I like them better………especially really small. Eat the peels and all. But the cukes become the greatest pickles ever, and the basis for all sorts of pickled goodies. Combined with tomatoes and other stuff, the salsa you can make will make YOU a hero!

SQUASH: Yeah, I know. Everyone is trying to get rid of squash, and you’re sick of it. Talk about a prolific producer! I plant two black zucchini and two yellow crook neck squash plants. Give them plenty of room somewhere in the back of the garden. You’ll have plenty to share, stir-fry, grill with olive oil and parmesan, grate and bake with, and dehydrate for winter soups and stews. Squash is versatile all right. I love it.
CARROTS: A colorful and nutritious addition to a multitude of dishes, carrots are easy to grow. Just give them some soft ground and tuck them anywhere in your garden. They require very little care, and are easily stored. I dehydrate mine. Often they can stay in the ground through the winter. The taste of homegrown carrots is like no other.
GREENS, LETTUCE AND OTHER STUFF: Plant leafy lettuce and romaine (they come in a virtual rainbow of colors. Plant spinach. It’s a powerhouse of nutrition. Plant beets, onions, peppers of any kind, turnips, kale, and cabbage and melons too if space permits.

Even a fundamental food source such as a victory garden deserves a little dressing-up with herbs and flowers. My favorites are marigolds and zinnias and calendula. And finally the herbs. Grow basil, dill, parsley, cilentro, garlic, oregano and rosemary for sure. They are wonderful fresh and easily dried.

Plant these basic foods in your garden and you’ll be the envy of your neighborhood, as well as supplier of your excess. But more importantly, you will have so easily provided the most fresh, most nutritious food possible……… and preserved and stored a good amount to help secure your food needs until the next growing season.

Did I tell you also, that you can save your seeds right from your own garden to plant the next year for all these foods? The only exceptions might be oregano and rosemary. Keep in mind that saving your own seed means you will NOT be planting hybrid seeds. Plant ONLY open-pollinated seeds and definitely try some of the beautiful heirloom seeds.

We’ve got a lot to talk about all through the coming winter months. Things like companion planting, preparing the ground, warm and cool weather crops, seed saving, succession planting, and where to buy the best seed. And, you will want to stop in at our sister site www.foodpreservation.com. for the best ideas about preserving your harvest. In the meantime, think and dream about VICTORY GARDENING!!

Garden Basics Guide

Welcome fellow gardeners and wanna-be’s. Gardening is fun, as it should be. These days gardening can and does save untold dollars on your food bill. Gardening is certainly good exercise, making use of muscles we didn’t even know we had. Perhaps best of all, gardening is some of the best therapy in the world. Gardening makes us slow down, give us time to think. While we’re pulling weeds, we also see miracles from something so simple as a single seed.

Don’t think your garden must look like those beautiful creations in your favorite gardening magazines. It’s a garden, not a world class dog show! I’ve moved many times in my life and have had almost that many gardens. Some were darn well better than others, but I don’t think any could grace any magazine. I loved them all. I enjoyed them. I harvested and ate with relish.

Having just moved again, I am in not-so-total-control of how my new garden is growing this year. Early in the season Mother Nature took care of a few pepper plants, but spared the bedraggled looking tomatoes, which by the way are now loaded with fruit. Actually, the biggest problem is the weeds. They are beyond control. Funny thing though, all the weeds and all the plants are living together happily. Things will change when I put down the heavy newspaper mulch in the fall.

So what can Gardening Basics Guide do for you? Well, there is a wealth of information out there that can make your gardening experience a real satisfying and rewarding pleasure, and easier too. Makes no difference if you’re already and expert or have yet to put the shovel in the ground. We all learn something new everyday, and certainly in the garden. May what you learn be valuable to you, in your garden, and in your life.

Whether you like garden vegetables or flowers or herbs or even fruits, they all grow best when we take the time to nurture them and the ground they grow in. It’s easier than you might think.

Before I found and read a great little book called Two Acre Eden by Gene Logsdon, available from www.amazon.com, I was a slave to mulch and compost. Not anymore. Perfection has it’s place. Apparently it’s not in my garden this year. Despite all the weeds, I still love this little place……..especially everytime I smell the rosemary and eat a beautiful dark skinned heirloom tomato like I have never tasted before. That’s what I call the pleasure of gardening.

So what can I do for you? If you’re a seasoned expert, we can gossip over the garden gate. If you’re new, lets get started, while we gossip over the garden gate.

It’s time to think 2009. It’s time to dream on graph paper. Pick a spot. Start digging (or tilling). Think about what you’d like to grow. Design your spot in your mind…..and in color. Gather your seed catalogs. Don’t make it hard. Imagine the tastes and smells, and the money you will save on next year’s grocery bill.

Now it’s time for a little break………the perfect time to harvest a few cukes and red pear tomatoes for dinner tonight. Yeah, and a couple of sprigs of rosemary for the chicken breast.

anymore.