tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48517265568771649072024-03-13T06:53:29.598-07:00Vegetable Garden SuccessLet's grow great organic foodLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-12460346309641129702016-03-17T09:39:00.001-07:002016-03-17T09:40:40.885-07:00Good news!We received funding! Our Oregon Department of Education Farm to School grant was fully funded at $26,269!<br />
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It is quite gratifying and makes me very happy. Now comes the hard work of doing all the work, like building the outdoor classrooms and raised beds, and creating the STEM kits, etc.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-28672439023143787832016-02-27T08:14:00.000-08:002016-02-27T08:14:11.072-08:00Farm to School Grant Application<span style="font-family: inherit;">Whew, yesterday I completed and submitted an application for a <a href="http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=4199" target="_blank">Farm to School grant from the Oregon Department of Education</a>. I did this task for a local non-profit that I volunteer for called <a href="http://www.plantingcommunities.org/" target="_blank">Planting Communities.</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Out school district currently has three school gardens. The money we are requesting is to add funds to make daily work in the school gardens more amenable. We were requesting garden tools, science tools, outdoor seating and funds for an After School Garden Club Coordinator.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The grantors also wanted to be sure to fund the promotion of Oregon-grown products, so we needed to include that in the work that we will do in order to score well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is one question from the application (they wanted all of our answers in a blue font):</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Please describe the types of food,
agriculture, and garden-based activities for <b>students</b> you plan to implement with grant funds.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Students will have many
direct learning experiences:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Students will plan garden
activities, and do planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, washing and
preparation. In addition, there will be
exercises that link foods to math, science, and language arts. We will teach about the impact of food
choices and about environmental issues and sustainability, e.g., what does it
mean to grow organically.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We will conduct tasting
tables for garden vegetables and Oregon grown and produced products.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lessons will be hands on/experiential in that students have the outdoor
garden/classroom area for inquiry and investigation. Most of the teachers will conduct hands on
activities out in the garden. New
outdoor classrooms will create an environment that is much more conducive to outdoor
school work.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The grantor has stated that they will let the applicants know the outcome of their applications by March 11th. Keep your fingers crossed for us.</span></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-5318489692087991012015-11-15T08:14:00.001-08:002015-11-18T08:05:44.261-08:00Review of Spigariello Neopolitan "Friarielli" Brocoletti<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This year I grew a leaf broccoli in my garden, or I should
say I’m growing it – present tense. It’s
still producing wonderfully flavored leaves as it has been for six months
now! The variety is called Spigariello
Neopolitan "Friarielli" Brocoletti. It is a smooth leaved
Italian leaf broccoli that has sweet broccoli flavor. I found the seeds
at <a href="http://www.growitalian.com/cavolo-broccolo-spigariello-franchi-dbo-25-26/" target="_blank">Seeds of Italy</a>. Their website describes
it as “One of the most renowned vegetables in Italy”, “fast growing, great
flavor” and “Cool season brassica with a very long sowing window.” </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkCm0EwERezFDE-_iq0wrF0mo4zI4YpUYOoTkdaOJdYktg9dY-Xj8XgWYOS6weHiCdsRgI5DTvaZxn09RAH151lUHFAD2j2CCIvMFIGyZ2u7K4T13-gkDtmmduWIKH2EqvzUEdGG_Dr-T_/s1600/in+garden+leaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkCm0EwERezFDE-_iq0wrF0mo4zI4YpUYOoTkdaOJdYktg9dY-Xj8XgWYOS6weHiCdsRgI5DTvaZxn09RAH151lUHFAD2j2CCIvMFIGyZ2u7K4T13-gkDtmmduWIKH2EqvzUEdGG_Dr-T_/s320/in+garden+leaves.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In my garden, it started producing edible leaves in June,
and as I’m writing this in mid-November, it is still producing tasty beautiful leaves. </div>
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I have used the leaves mostly as a salad green. It has a much longer usability window than
lettuce which I’ve sown twice (spring and fall) in the time this one crop has
been growing.</div>
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Here are some photos of a salad I made today. </div>
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I added a chopped up home grown tomato. I still have these ripening in the garage.</div>
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And I added cooked quinoa, cook pinto beans, chopped walnuts, salt and olive oil.</div>
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I mix it all up and it makes a really tasty and very healthy meal. I love the flavor of these leaf broccoli leaves when made into a salad.</div>
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<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-58964853344380553702015-10-20T07:12:00.000-07:002015-11-15T08:14:57.893-08:00Review - Siberian Pink Honey Rozovyi Myod Tomato <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is a FABULOUS tomato. I tried these seeds from Ohio Heirloom Seeds. The name is a long one - Siberian Pink Honey - Rozovyi Myod. And it has a long season to match its long name. At this writing on October 20, I have four ripe tomatoes ready to picked on my one plant. I started picking them in early July. Granted, it was an extremely warm sunny spring here in Western Oregon. It's also true though that this plant got placed in a partly shady location in my garden.</div>
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Because of the shade perhaps, I didn't get many fruits that were the advertised two pounds. But mine were good sized, enough for a slice to fill a hamburger bun. This plant supplied me with tomatoes for the entire tomato season, and it's still giving me numerous fruit. I will have several green ones to bring in the garage to ripen over the next several weeks.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdXB6IuPVqpZLAHrCByR4Dqkcks4reuITwpYZ6s9u64QcKjn9Oh1sxEO6_zruxdOgqMrLP_tazaHF3-pul5iju4KvKZWceYxbso2ucmYErMBLnHAkb30u0vyx0K8tWw1du1B9zdVwhtBY/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdXB6IuPVqpZLAHrCByR4Dqkcks4reuITwpYZ6s9u64QcKjn9Oh1sxEO6_zruxdOgqMrLP_tazaHF3-pul5iju4KvKZWceYxbso2ucmYErMBLnHAkb30u0vyx0K8tWw1du1B9zdVwhtBY/s320/photo+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The taste of these tomatoes is wonderful. They are sweet and full of flavor. Every bite is a burst of pleasure. </div>
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I really enjoyed having these home grown treasures, and will definitely grow this tomato again. The seeds can be found at <a href="http://ohioheirloomseeds.com/products/siberian-pink-honey-rozovyi-myod-tomato-seeds" target="_blank">Ohio Heirloom Seeds</a>. </div>
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You can see from the above photo that this tomato does produce a few seeds, so it's possible to save your own to grow the following year. </div>
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<span style="background-color: #c0a154; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.524px; line-height: 20.286px;"><br /></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-11295689564504550262015-10-06T07:30:00.000-07:002015-10-06T13:07:00.192-07:00Jimmy Nardello Heirloom Sweet PeppersI've been frying and eating my homegrown Jimmy Nardello sweet peppers. They are oh so good. I highly recommend them for the home vegetable garden. The seeds are available from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and Seed Savers Exchange.<br />
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The story behind these heirlooms is "<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px;">This fine Italian pepper was grown each year by Giuseppe and Angella Nardiello, at their garden in the village of Ruoti, in Southern Italy. In 1887 they set sail with their one-year-old daughter Anna for a new life in the USA. When they reached these shores, they settled and gardened in Naugatuck, Connecticut, and grew this same pepper that was named for their fourth son Jimmy." </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This long, thin-skinned frying pepper dries easily and has such a rich flavor that this variety has been placed in "The Ark of Taste" by the Slow Food organization. Ripens a deep red, is very prolific, and does well in most areas.</span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px;"> </span>The peppers mature in 80 days with glossy red 10 inch long peppers. <br />
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They are such a taste treat when sauteed with a little olive oil. I really enjoy the flavor and the satisfaction of growing my taste treats!</div>
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Below is a photo of this beautiful pepper growing in the garden.</div>
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<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-70239073505271034542015-04-25T07:17:00.001-07:002015-04-25T07:17:43.210-07:00My fun with compost tumblersToday I added a post about my experience with my three compost tumblers. I added it to the soil and compost section of my website. You can read it by <a href="http://www.growgreatvegetables.com/soil-and-compost/my-compost-tumbler-experience/" target="_blank">clicking here</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXcCwP9-4y8UEVOa8aipzXTwLc3f3e8VxpG-szoJwZsSHMLwNIFxM8BeEFZQCW67g7Wx_-nt4Du3OPl62vI6DbvoI2kQ2faKRgx7EGSAHV2N1wb3YVIHazgVUfxbeTw5fwCTPqOdGQgJ6y/s1600/my+composters.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXcCwP9-4y8UEVOa8aipzXTwLc3f3e8VxpG-szoJwZsSHMLwNIFxM8BeEFZQCW67g7Wx_-nt4Du3OPl62vI6DbvoI2kQ2faKRgx7EGSAHV2N1wb3YVIHazgVUfxbeTw5fwCTPqOdGQgJ6y/s1600/my+composters.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-916265106197231142015-03-11T07:19:00.000-07:002015-03-11T07:19:39.233-07:00Potato Planting<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhft1ZooKNUCNXVoxp2ba0RC1GfYAMlXN0fSPEYK8-wtqSWG7Vx909OzNQC8x-Tw82Wv2_rTzwEh8b0lTTWwOyXib-csAQ3MG6Wdl2Ry83iVwRA9yEk-LEhJjbywcN7od2SCb7rW_vtXyp2/s1600/red+gold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhft1ZooKNUCNXVoxp2ba0RC1GfYAMlXN0fSPEYK8-wtqSWG7Vx909OzNQC8x-Tw82Wv2_rTzwEh8b0lTTWwOyXib-csAQ3MG6Wdl2Ry83iVwRA9yEk-LEhJjbywcN7od2SCb7rW_vtXyp2/s1600/red+gold.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">St. Patrick's Day is next week and for some, it is the traditional day to plant potatoes. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">This table at Fedco Seeds/Moose Tubers is great for choosing varieties. </span><a href="http://www.fedcoseeds.com/moose/varietychart.htm" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.5636348724365px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.fedcoseeds.com/moose/varietychart.htm</a><br />
<br />
My tips for growing potatoes are <a href="http://www.growgreatvegetables.com/specific-vegetable-advice/potato/" target="_blank">here</a>.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-17435257575501253922015-02-27T07:58:00.000-08:002015-02-27T07:58:15.008-08:00Seed Exploration<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was time to order a new supply of my favorite bean
seeds. I’ve grown and loved Smeraldo
beans for years. They are a Romano-type
pole bean from Northern Italy with 8-foot vines that bear 8- to 10-inch, flat,
stringless pods. These beans have
outstanding flavor. I’ve never liked raw beans but these are also great
for munching on straight out of the garden. They provide a bumper
crop. I had previously only found the seed through Park seed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I headed over to Park Seed’s website, and they were sold
out! So I did a Google search and found
an alternate source. The seeds are
available <a href="http://www.growitalian.com/" target="_blank">Seeds of Italy</a>! And
being a true vegetable gardening addict, I put those seeds in my cart, and then
kept shopping and found three more interesting selections.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love <a href="http://www.growgreatvegetables.com/whattogrow/myfavoritevarieties/" target="_blank">Hakurei turnips</a>, but the description of Violet Top
enticed me into trying another variety.
“The most popular turnip in Italy” and “Excellent, very sweet taste and
texture.” I also liked the color of the
red purple tops. I’m eager to try them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My next choice was Long of Florence summer squash. It is described as long, ribbed, and light
green with speckles. “A very heavy
producer with good taste.” Over at
Cornell’s vegetable ratings, comments on this squash were very positive; “great
taste, compact, very prolific” and “will not take over the whole garden.” The only information I didn’t find was its
days to maturity. I’m hoping it’s a fast
grower because my mouth is watering. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My last new choice was Spigariello Neopolitan
"Friarielli" Brocoletti. This is described as a Smooth-leaved
Italian leaf broccoli with small heads that has sweet broccoli flavor.
The website says “One of the most renowned vegetables in Italy”, “fast
growing, great flavor” and “Cool season brassica with a very long sowing
window.” A commenter at Cornell’s site
says “The delicious leaves are the reason to grow this plant in your garden
(not the little broccoli tops). The leaves are mild when cooked with a
wonderful, slight taste of broccoli.” </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DgGmKo_KMSP1Iy7gHLtnB90MsSXvoMIKSpurh_haQ42nBDeQ7vKmzdBDk5XiU1KjDx6Ix6M0yXI3xTnPnsn1nwdkSvdA6DsFnRSlBoMcr2P9YfrzYp69J_CQ73VpZcIS2iQ3HfxTb8P2/s1600/Siberian+Pink+Honey+-+Rozovyi+Myod+Tomato.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DgGmKo_KMSP1Iy7gHLtnB90MsSXvoMIKSpurh_haQ42nBDeQ7vKmzdBDk5XiU1KjDx6Ix6M0yXI3xTnPnsn1nwdkSvdA6DsFnRSlBoMcr2P9YfrzYp69J_CQ73VpZcIS2iQ3HfxTb8P2/s1600/Siberian+Pink+Honey+-+Rozovyi+Myod+Tomato.JPG" height="220" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week I also made a trip to the website of <a href="http://ohioheirloomseeds.com/" target="_blank">Ohio Heirloom Seeds</a> after reading about a tomato seed recommendation in a forum. It was for Siberian Pink Honey - Rozovyi Myod.
I was convinced after reading these particular parts of the description at the
website; “the best Siberian heirloom variety available; the first to germinate,
and the fastest grower, excellent fruit-set within 3 weeks, they seemed to
explode out of the ground in the early cool weather.” And “I was harvesting
tomatoes in early July. SUCH HUGE FRUIT.
They are oxheart-shaped, many over 2 pounds, with very few seeds, the meatiest
I have ever grown, with a delicious-fruity taste, not acidic or sour.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After putting those tomato seeds in my cart, I noticed their
Purple Beauty Pepper Seeds. These are
described as “beautiful thick-walled peppers that add great color to salads,
fried dishes, and chili. Unlike most peppers, which start out green, these
beauties are purple from the outset, adding color to your garden much earlier
in the season.” I grew a purple pepper years ago and loved the color in my
garden. But that pepper didn’t turn
purple until very late in the season. I
look forward to this early purple!</span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I look forward to an interesting delicious vegetable
growing season. Hurry up spring!</span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-80595046936783265492015-02-16T07:20:00.004-08:002015-02-16T07:27:14.849-08:00Tomato ChoicesHave you seen the Tomatoville forum? In this particular thread, participants are sharing and discussing their 2015 tomato plant choices. There are so many wonderful ideas, and so much knowledge of lesser known varieties. The first poster kicked off the discussion with this list:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Eating, in ground:</span><br />
<br style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Franchi cherry*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Barlow Jap</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Dester*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Giant Belgium*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Russian 117</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Russian 117 NOT*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Tarasanko 6*</span><br />
<br style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Pastes in Ground:</span><br />
<br style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Antique Roman*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Buddy Runyon</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Casino*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Chico Grande</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Costoluto Genovese*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Federle*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">George Ditska's Italian Red</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Hog Heart Paste*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Nudi Family Heirloom*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Santa Maria*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Shedra Sliva Tarasenka</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Super Italian Paste</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Venetian Marketplace</span><br />
<br style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Five Gallon Grow Bags:</span><br />
<br style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Morovsky Div</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Early Wonder Pink*</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">San Marzano Nano</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Whichever Dwarf Project Varieties I'm assigned</span><br />
<br style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: #fee3ee; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">* Repeats</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=34709" target="_blank">Click here</a> to see the complete thread.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-53179513966334972982015-02-13T07:28:00.001-08:002015-02-13T07:34:14.628-08:00Cornell’s Variety Website<h1 class="post-title entry-title" style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; font-stretch: normal; margin: -3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">
</h1>
<h2 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 4.85pt 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #2c2b2b; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;">If you're like me, you dream of growing a garden with extra delicious produce. Just growing a home garden is a huge part of achieving this. Your homegrown produce will just naturally have better flavor. Choosing varieties that are particularly known for having great flavor will make you garden produce even more delicious. </span></span></h2>
<div class="entry-content clearfix" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #2c2b2b; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; zoom: 1;">
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I often use Cornell University’s <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Vegetable Varieties For Gardeners</span> website. The site is a compilation of input from gardeners just like us. Vegetables are rated on taste, yield and how well it grows. <a href="http://vegvariety.cce.cornell.edu/main/login.php" target="_blank">Here is a link to that website.</a></div>
<div style="border: 0px none; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<a href="http://godtricity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/cornell-query.jpg" style="color: #1772af; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="cornell query" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-355" src="http://godtricity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/cornell-query.jpg" height="237" style="border: 4px solid rgb(227, 227, 227); height: auto; margin: 5px 0px; max-width: 98%; padding: 0px;" width="261" /></a></div>
<div style="border: 0px none; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
Important – YOU DO NOT NEED TO LOGIN, or create an account at the website. Just put the type of vegetable you’d like to query in the space provided on the left side of the page. I’ve shown the query space above.</div>
<div style="border: 0px none; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
Though I encourage you to create an account and enter your thoughts about the varieties you’ve grown. Then we will all have the benefit of your knowledge also. I have rated several crops. My entries are under the reviewer name of starwoodfarm.</div>
</div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-61417456905535607002015-02-07T06:30:00.001-08:002015-02-07T06:33:53.248-08:002015 Seed Shipping Charges<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSsa8Ir5wLG7Q7S8mfvkQuunC0eXyZsxZGAxQ84s_ZwT1s7rYyQ2DCrIUeNmDyWf6PwWGUw0dk6peLUEX8K-D5I2tBYmpV01VA11wh83BpnbqEWatghDAGh1dt5Z6H0nuYI8Qct-FmSdes/s1600/seed+packets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSsa8Ir5wLG7Q7S8mfvkQuunC0eXyZsxZGAxQ84s_ZwT1s7rYyQ2DCrIUeNmDyWf6PwWGUw0dk6peLUEX8K-D5I2tBYmpV01VA11wh83BpnbqEWatghDAGh1dt5Z6H0nuYI8Qct-FmSdes/s1600/seed+packets.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Seed Shipping Charges</div>
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If you only need a few packets of seeds, and you’re not wedded to any particular variety, you may be able to buy from any company. You may want to choose to buy from a company that keeps their shipping (and/or handling) charges low.</div>
<div style="line-height: 17.5636348724365px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
The winner this year is High Mowing Seeds with FREE shipping. I love that High Mowing offers all organic seeds. There no minimum order for the free shipping, although it is just for orders shipped to the continental US and <span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">Canada. High Mowing Seeds offers a few of my favorite varieties, including Pruden’s Purple heirloom tomatoes, Chioggia beets, and Winter Density and Nevada lettuce.</span></div>
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(My favorite varieties can be found here:<a href="http://www.growgreatvegetables.com/whattogrow/myfavoritevarieties/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.growgreatvegetables.com/wha…/myfavoritevarieties/</a> )</div>
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Bountiful Gardens has the next least expensive charge at $2.50 for up to a $10.00 order. Bountiful offers heirloom untreated, open-pollinated seeds from their Ecology Action operation in California. Bountiful has signed the safe seed pledge meaning they do not knowingly sell GMO seeds. Bountiful offers a great number of outstanding varieties, including some of my recommended varieties:Winter Density lettuce, Chioggia beets, Jimmy Nardello peppers, Sugar Snap peas, and Glacier and Pruden’s Purple Tomatoes They also have the Cocozelle zuchinni which I intend to try. It is one that is rated very good tasting.</div>
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The next runner up is Pinetree Seeds out of Maine with a charge of $2.95 for an order up to $9.99. I love looking at the Pinetree catelog for the wide variety of seeds and accessories. They have several of my recommended varieties including the Sun Sugar cherry tomatoes, Diva cucumbers, Mokum carrots and Cheddar cauliflower.</div>
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The next few are John Scheepers at $3.25 for an order up to $4.99, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds at $3.50 for any order, and Johnnys Selected Seeds at $4.00 for orders up to $10.00.</div>
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I hope this helps you stay within your garden seed budget.</div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-40926010330487117942013-04-02T07:13:00.004-07:002013-04-02T07:13:58.319-07:00This blog about kitchen gardens around the world is a fun read. It would be quite an adventure to visit them. I would love it.<br />
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<a href="http://kgi.org/blog/roger-doiron/10-kitchen-gardens-visit-you-die">http://kgi.org/blog/roger-doiron/10-kitchen-gardens-visit-you-die</a>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-11018475487685873112013-03-12T10:11:00.001-07:002013-03-12T10:11:21.700-07:00Vegetable garden photosFor those of you who are in cold climates like I am, you may still be planning your garden. I have about 150 pictures of vegetable gardens on a Pinterest board. You may enjoy viewing them for ideas. Or you may just want the eye candy. <br />
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<a href="http://pinterest.com/lhspirited/growing-food/" target="_blank">Click here to go to the site</a>.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-2734532906739137012013-03-01T07:29:00.003-08:002013-03-01T07:29:56.415-08:00Kale!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Kale is a wonderful crop that can be planted now in most of the country. It is very cold tolerant. You will be rewarded with a nutritional powerhouse. At harvest time, saute it with a bit of garlic and your body and taste buds will be quite happy. Here are my tips for growing kale.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64FfLBHd7P1N828lwYTH6DXigwx3HxXp0CSrpJ8RBeGy0PIoP9Cra6cvCpALHqaLbBGJdjvzOKXrsKH04RueXNWdIU2hVUC3_iW72p6Z35SD77CFdLq9xXDJvcmCbpeVjvkjBJTbVrHsO/s1600/kale.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64FfLBHd7P1N828lwYTH6DXigwx3HxXp0CSrpJ8RBeGy0PIoP9Cra6cvCpALHqaLbBGJdjvzOKXrsKH04RueXNWdIU2hVUC3_iW72p6Z35SD77CFdLq9xXDJvcmCbpeVjvkjBJTbVrHsO/s1600/kale.JPG" height="570" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-52799293779679247102013-02-23T09:38:00.003-08:002013-02-23T09:38:43.611-08:00New look...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAHgp-LxVkkXkrXJ2vTIiUuOnn4CAlbwlu1IMgOefMbfpiH-aVlFDjdasgd0j7bfomD3beSihTFeN1VpKgXZp5nCRGZm8lvzV9cKZhKbpu3_BRhm7jsyGaYBEbacemmN6I_6xWDol-pCeD/s1600/website.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAHgp-LxVkkXkrXJ2vTIiUuOnn4CAlbwlu1IMgOefMbfpiH-aVlFDjdasgd0j7bfomD3beSihTFeN1VpKgXZp5nCRGZm8lvzV9cKZhKbpu3_BRhm7jsyGaYBEbacemmN6I_6xWDol-pCeD/s1600/website.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.growgreatvegetables.com/">www.GrowGreatVegetables.com</a><br />
I've been working to give the website a new look. About 3/4 of my pages now have this new header and new background colors. The downside is I've been sitting for much too long these days. Gotta get moving...Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-87123946364056824532013-02-10T07:05:00.001-08:002013-02-10T07:05:11.282-08:00Some of you live in a climate that allows for planting peas now!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy8vb9bAGhvklFqqDWVb0pVnqiFPx5_FB_SFRikyYa4EDovl1xSCl7XZHdrSAp8zXgd_WNo7VeqiTTo1sUMArU0e6E-W1B1B5C2ZuN2VYYnIlkW1hDfOxAAEmWbmazkhmvCGY8eJtv7j94/s1600/peas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy8vb9bAGhvklFqqDWVb0pVnqiFPx5_FB_SFRikyYa4EDovl1xSCl7XZHdrSAp8zXgd_WNo7VeqiTTo1sUMArU0e6E-W1B1B5C2ZuN2VYYnIlkW1hDfOxAAEmWbmazkhmvCGY8eJtv7j94/s1600/peas.JPG" height="640" width="450" /></a></div>
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I have similar tip pages at my website: w<a href="http://ww.growgreatvegetables.com/">ww.GrowGreatVegetables.com</a></div>
<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-23628502690267912942013-01-20T08:11:00.001-08:002013-01-20T08:11:10.838-08:00Seed Company Shipping Charges<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHcG6PDMb1pg85c3S35RlmdF-D6aso6lBxyDVv7w0ksTlvHNPvbDNdUdQOO7bJfsHG0EBQB-v5zHsgDekX8aWTw8LNZ9oTX-YHLFvHpK-EbFyMg7OQc0ep-ypDN09f5KALDH66TEzC5btg/s1600/2013+seed+shipping+charges.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHcG6PDMb1pg85c3S35RlmdF-D6aso6lBxyDVv7w0ksTlvHNPvbDNdUdQOO7bJfsHG0EBQB-v5zHsgDekX8aWTw8LNZ9oTX-YHLFvHpK-EbFyMg7OQc0ep-ypDN09f5KALDH66TEzC5btg/s640/2013+seed+shipping+charges.JPG" width="428" /></a></div>
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<span class="size12 Georgia12" style="color: #b91806; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">I'm on the mailing list for all the major seeds suppliers. Today I sat down and compared their shipping and handling charges.</span></div>
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<span class="size12 Georgia12" style="color: #b91806; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">If you only need a few packets of seeds, and you're not wedded to any particular variety, you may be able to buy from any company. You may want to choose to buy from a company that keeps their shipping (and/or handling) charges low.</span></div>
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<span class="size12 Georgia12" style="color: #b91806; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Bountiful Gardens has the least expensive charge. Bountiful offers heirloom untreated, open-pollinated seeds from their Ecology Action operation in California. Bountiful has signed the safe seed pledge meaning they do not knowingly sell GMO seeds. </span></div>
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<span class="size12 Georgia12" style="color: #b91806; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Bountiful offers a great number of outstanding varieities, including some of my </span><span class="size12 Georgia12" style="color: #b91806; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://www.growgreatvegetables.com/whattogrow/myfavoritevarieties.html" target="_blank">recommended varieties</a>:</span><span class="size12 Georgia12" style="color: #b91806; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Winter Density lettuce, Chioggia beets, Jimmy Nardello peppers, Sugar Snap peas, and Glacier and Pruden's Purple Tomatoes They also have the Cocozelle zuchinni which I intend to try. It is one that is very good tasting. </span></div>
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<span class="size12 Georgia12" style="color: #b91806; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">The runner up is Pinetree Seeds out of Maine. I love looking at the Pinetree catelogue for the wide variety of seeds and accessories. They have several of my recommended varieties including the Sun Sugar cherry tomatoes, Diva cucumbers, Mokum carrots and Cheddar cauliflower. </span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-51661034956972484042011-04-18T08:10:00.000-07:002011-04-18T08:10:47.036-07:00For OUTSTANDING Flavor, Plant these now<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you want to kick your vegetable gardening pleasure up a notch, plant for flavor. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here are some flavor winners I will be planting this week.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdhR0MfeY8NI8Qx6kq__UiHZTSM34z27qt9gDMEYvttIEbw7QgybqCdm-LevCxe54dnyxxLJsDwBR-7T_b9_PNDATOV8_h_cEtNvhNT-jxhNh_9piDwsQigTO_eBJBy7_m1YxFwk-z2Ydb/s1600/carrots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdhR0MfeY8NI8Qx6kq__UiHZTSM34z27qt9gDMEYvttIEbw7QgybqCdm-LevCxe54dnyxxLJsDwBR-7T_b9_PNDATOV8_h_cEtNvhNT-jxhNh_9piDwsQigTO_eBJBy7_m1YxFwk-z2Ydb/s1600/carrots.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Mokem carrots - oh so sweet. Plant enough to munch in the garden, for meals, and later for long term winter storage.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOLz3vVA-3p1tBnwvqT5OqDwCsSPKuzHndvK7eSE0s_JG9mjvjPPkw4PzybP6iJBiYigjfJB1G2PmHKoDwZXQyojUcC7Oi80zlOZ5cM9Wy0ZuFAAQXnATWdhOW2hBGj1bQY6_cNE_h4EX4/s1600/chioggia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOLz3vVA-3p1tBnwvqT5OqDwCsSPKuzHndvK7eSE0s_JG9mjvjPPkw4PzybP6iJBiYigjfJB1G2PmHKoDwZXQyojUcC7Oi80zlOZ5cM9Wy0ZuFAAQXnATWdhOW2hBGj1bQY6_cNE_h4EX4/s1600/chioggia.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Chioggia beets - these beets have a mild delicious flavor. I like the regular all-red kind, but these are so much more scrumptious. They are a must-have. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSfBb8Llx7Xc36ziZHI5Eg8IyKrpVwvI7yDFZYU6YjHPxUyl9W1_310ADEVFMQnpP2wb1vnkv86IezXvwV6uq8IucI7PqlvxOHBDlO-hUMuCxGFefHuKyHjC7HB5y2pfs0dSjm45fR1LDt/s1600/turnip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSfBb8Llx7Xc36ziZHI5Eg8IyKrpVwvI7yDFZYU6YjHPxUyl9W1_310ADEVFMQnpP2wb1vnkv86IezXvwV6uq8IucI7PqlvxOHBDlO-hUMuCxGFefHuKyHjC7HB5y2pfs0dSjm45fR1LDt/s1600/turnip.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Hakurei turnips - There would be no point to me planting regular turnips. But these are oh so absolutely delicious. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI8esbGvnXTkI5lLIAwnqQEymq-PmiIof7-liNR_SkXuDTv-mb7Nzan5F1JugRt3VBl3oeV2lWKyHrVNXttudcWkbwz8XRP_f1Ed1mt9551RS6O4BIxo9k4fdBC2l8Xwb9ZkyRnNHC1uAZ/s1600/sugar+snap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI8esbGvnXTkI5lLIAwnqQEymq-PmiIof7-liNR_SkXuDTv-mb7Nzan5F1JugRt3VBl3oeV2lWKyHrVNXttudcWkbwz8XRP_f1Ed1mt9551RS6O4BIxo9k4fdBC2l8Xwb9ZkyRnNHC1uAZ/s1600/sugar+snap.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Sugar Snap Peas - We grew two varieties side-by-side last year, and this variety really was much better tasting than the other one. The flavor was very sweet. Between the mokum carrots and these peas, I could successfully sate any hunger pangs right in the garden.<br />
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These are four of my favorite varieties, and the ones that I will be planting in my zone 5 garden this week.<br />
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To see all my favorite varieties at my website, <a href="http://www.growgreatvegetables.com/whattogrow/myfavoritevarieties.html">click here</a>. This page has further descriptions of the above varieties, and links to see the seeds at Johnny's Seeds' website.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-13070157322632591582011-04-15T19:19:00.000-07:002011-04-15T19:20:43.732-07:00Weeding<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's time for things to start growing. Yay!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But that also means the weeds will grow. Oh darn.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is information on weeding, pulled from my website:</span><br />
<div align="center"><span class="size16 Georgia16" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><br />
<span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are two reasons to eliminate weeds. First weeds within your vegetable crop steal soil nutrients from those vegetables, and second, your vegetable garden will look much more beautiful with the weeds gone.</span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><br />
<span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We all know, to make weeds go away, you get out and pull them. That’s pretty easy advice.</span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><br />
<span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But there are other things you can do to control weeds.</span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><br />
<span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Herbicides</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687;">Spraying them with a product like Round Up may seem like an easy solution, but Round Up is not organic. It is dangerous for pets and wildlife, and may cause cell damage, be dangerous to pregnant mothers and may be a carcinogen. Round up will also kill the good plants along with the bad if the plants are close together. It will also do damage to your </span><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687;"><a href="http://www.growgreatvegetables.com/Soilandcompost/soil-importance.html" jquery1302880014015="1" target="_self">soil food web</a></span><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687;">.</span></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/roundup.cfm" jquery1302880014015="2" target="_self">Here is a link</a></span><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to more information on the dangers of Round Up. </span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><br />
<span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Organic Herbicides</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687;">There are </span><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687;">organic</span><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687;"> weed control products on the market. I have had luck with a product called Burnout II, but only with weeds that very delicate and easy to hoe or pull anyway. It did not do a great job on our quack grass. This product, and others like it, contain clove oil as the main ingredient. </span></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><br />
<span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Corn Gluten Meal is another weed control product, but it must be applied before the weeds emerge. </span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><br />
<span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vinegar is another product that can be used and I found verification, written in 2004, that it was approved for organic commercial growers. For weed control, 10% vinegar works well and 20% vinegar works even better. These are stronger than household vinegar at 5%. </span><br />
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<span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(To save money the 20% could be purchased and diluted 1:1 with water to try a 10% solution first on your weeds. If that didn't work, you could then try it full strength.)</span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u></u></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Mulching</u></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My greatest success with controlling weeds has come from mulching. A layer of leaves, compost, or aged manure will shade the weed seeds so they will not sprout. To control really tough weeds, a layer of newspaper under the mulch adds more control. </span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><br />
<span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Flaming</u></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another method I highly recommend is a flame weeder. This is a wand that has propane attached to it. A small flame comes out. Weeds are touched for only a second or two until they start to wilt. That’s enough to kill the weed. </span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Solarizing</u></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Clear plastic is another tool for your weed arsenal. Lay down the plastic in early spring over the area. Let the weed seeds germinate in the warmth under the plastic. Then remove the plastic and hoe the weeds (don't rototill, it will bring more weed seeds to the surface). Then you can plant in an area where many of the weeds have already been taken care of. </span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><br />
<span class="size10 Georgia10" style="color: #6c4687; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good luck with your weeds!</span></div>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-39016030300317490952011-04-12T07:25:00.000-07:002011-04-12T07:25:57.328-07:00Special SpinachI've finally put some seeds in my outdoor ground!<br />
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I planted spinach, kale, chard, radishes, kohlrabi, and turnips. It's a start.<br />
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I debated on whether or not to plant spinach. Our <a href="http://www.bakerfoodcoop.org/">food co-op</a> has bags of baby spinach every week that look wonderful. I buy one or two bags a week, bring them home and give the bags an extra washing. I set them in the refrigerator, and when I'm feeling hungry, I pile a big plate with the leaves, drizzle on some olive oil, and add some roasted/salted sunflower seeds. <br />
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It's a pretty easy way to get some significant nutrition. <br />
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Because I have this vegetable gardening addiction, of course I had to plant my own. Part of the joy for me is watching the growth and seeing the green treasure. I'm sure it's the same for you. It's just so satisfying to see the growth. Especially when <a href="http://www.growgreatvegetables.com/Soilandcompost/soil-importance.html">grown in good soil</a>, a vegetable garden is a work of exquisite beauty. <br />
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And growing our own means less time from harvest to plate. This can mean significantly more nutrition.<br />
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Below is another fabulous way to eat spinach. I bring this salad to potlucks sometimes and always get requests for the recipe. <br />
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<div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><u><b>The Best Spinach Salad</b></u></span></span></span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Dressing:</span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2 egg yolks</span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2 tablespoons limeade concentrate</span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1 tablespoon lemon juice</span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1 tablespoon white wine vinegar</span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2 tablespoons granulated sugar</span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">½ teaspoon dry mustard</span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">½ teaspoon salt</span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2 cups vegetable oil</span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2 tablespoon poppy seed</span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">¼ cup honey</span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"></span></span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">In a small heavy saucepan, stir together the egg yolks, limeade, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, mustard and salt. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken, about 2 to 3 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature and then transfer to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. With the processor running, drizzle the oil slowly into the feed tube of the processor. This should thicken like a mayonnaise. When all of the oil is incorporated, add the poppy seed and honey and mix well. </span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"></span></span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Salad: </span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">1 lb. spinach, cleaned, dried, with tough stems picked out, and coarsely chopped</span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">½ lb bacon, fried until crisp and chopped coarsely</span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">½ lb mushrooms, cleaned and sliced</span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">¼ red onion, very thinly sliced</span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Mix all ingredients. Add dressing as desired and toss.</span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"></span></span></div><div align="left"><span class="size10 Helvetica10" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Fresh strawberries can be added to this salad for a delightful twist.</span></div><br />
Additional spinach recipes can be found on <a href="http://www.growgreatvegetables.com/greatfood/spinach.html">my website here</a>.<br />
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Here, from my website, are my tips for growing spinach.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4TiZzPXQkZS1w7mh_at1P2RtJoKFzYgXyvDGA8NJEy3Djg3VJdURmWhMN5JQSZILJ2yNJRlDL0UeYmpbGRyYjuXOmLhJi684zLZH_9Uk-or6Ccp8yqyr5o7nkOG8DESPHsSEfZWOp2cwn/s1600/spinach.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4TiZzPXQkZS1w7mh_at1P2RtJoKFzYgXyvDGA8NJEy3Djg3VJdURmWhMN5JQSZILJ2yNJRlDL0UeYmpbGRyYjuXOmLhJi684zLZH_9Uk-or6Ccp8yqyr5o7nkOG8DESPHsSEfZWOp2cwn/s640/spinach.JPG" width="520" /></a></div><br />
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Other <a href="http://www.growgreatvegetables.com/plantinggrowing/Specific-vegetable-advice.html">vegetable growing tips can be found by clicking here</a>.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-26280415323547824892011-04-09T07:28:00.000-07:002011-04-09T07:28:30.014-07:00Seed Quality<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve always purchased seeds from mail order companies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A treasured winter activity is studying the catalogues and planning my summer fun in the garden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Being a seed addict though, I will often peruse the seed racks at the department stores.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Recently, I found a variety of broccoli there that I hadn’t seen in the catalogues recently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The variety was Early Dividend, and when I grew it a few years ago, it was a great early season performer with good-sized heads and numerous side shoots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was thrilled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bought a packet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, the packet had only a few seeds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I start broccoli seeds indoors in 32-celled trays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would have filled a tray with this Early Dividend, but I ran out of seeds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had two rows left so decided to plant another variety of broccoli to fill out the tray.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Packman is another variety of broccoli that like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also performs well for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have 2009 seeds that I purchased from Johnny’s Seeds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This variety was going to be all that I grew this year before I found the Early Dividend seeds.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I filled the last two rows with Packman seeds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF1VazYv6TSpRqHTwtjtwNp86f_zUjTktTtnSonevywNdhFwo64_Iphdh23C3bYdIRDGYHWyk5ncciUzoxtA4l0eeNKNc937BhlVqAdu_66M4OaM2upHwiLSVzfdHexhLC5ZTiVxtB6Ppe/s1600/DSCN2225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF1VazYv6TSpRqHTwtjtwNp86f_zUjTktTtnSonevywNdhFwo64_Iphdh23C3bYdIRDGYHWyk5ncciUzoxtA4l0eeNKNc937BhlVqAdu_66M4OaM2upHwiLSVzfdHexhLC5ZTiVxtB6Ppe/s320/DSCN2225.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is how the tray looks today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last two rows of four on the right are Packman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other six rows are the department store Early Dividend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Packman seeds have all germinated well. I put two seeds in each cell and they all came up so I will need to thin them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Early Dividend seeds are hardly germinating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are lackluster and substandard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This goes to show that, at least in some cases, department store seeds are inferior to the (often more expensive) mail order seeds. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUV7iBLGOh7j5RuN6B_jcptuVOXkuIf_7zLvIt75OLV-IvY6jYqG0R3VGLu1R1nxHCR_v9fmqVmXICiPRCr5MKjAjlBiBTACHdzrbLKrccg6KIMOnxn-9SYRtxP8J2maEqliLmFjlFbgk/s1600/DSCN2227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUV7iBLGOh7j5RuN6B_jcptuVOXkuIf_7zLvIt75OLV-IvY6jYqG0R3VGLu1R1nxHCR_v9fmqVmXICiPRCr5MKjAjlBiBTACHdzrbLKrccg6KIMOnxn-9SYRtxP8J2maEqliLmFjlFbgk/s320/DSCN2227.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Above is a photo of 2009 tomato seeds that I also recently planted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sowed these heavily because I wasn’t sure how well they would germinate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But they are also a high quality mail order seed from Johnny’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It <span style="color: black;">shows</span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have also germinated well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do believe that those higher priced mail order seeds (and the dang shipping charges) are worth the money.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-71003758025247126552011-04-08T07:52:00.000-07:002011-04-08T11:36:49.721-07:00Nutritionally Worthless Foodlike Substances<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Nutritionally Worthless Foodlike Substances" - I like this description of junk food and have used it many times since I read it in </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Michael Pollan’s letter</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to the Farmer-In-Chief-Elect before Obama’s inauguration 2+ years ago.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He was referring to the substances that make up about 75% of the floor space in most grocery stores.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pollan encouraged the president-elect to modify the items that are allowed to be purchased with food stamps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Worthless substances like most chips, crackers, cookies, candies, desserts, fruitless drinks and many prepared foods like pizzas should not be allowed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recently, I was behind a lady in the grocery store check-out line who had her cart overfilled with NWFSs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And you guessed it, she was paying with food stamps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was frustrating for little ole judgmental me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, she didn’t have any coupons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This store (Safeway) had a coupon in the paper that week for $10 off a $50 purchase.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Safeway runs</span> run these coupon ads about every four weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since Safeway doesn’t limit the number of coupons a customer can use (the only limit is one per store visit) I usually buy four copies of the newspaper and make four trips to buy $50 worth of groceries at a time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The coupons are good for a week, so I have plenty of opportunities to use them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Limiting my purchases to just over $50 and using a coupon means that every single thing I buy is 20% off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if I limit things I buy to things that are on sale, many items can net out at around 50% off or more.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mainstream stores like Safeway do have several worthwhile substances like toilet paper, laundry soap, some organic produce like bananas, and whole grain high fructose corn syrup free breads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So my family of four can benefit from many purchases at this mainstream market</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most of our food shopping though is done at our </span><a href="http://www.bakerfoodcoop.org/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">local food co-op</span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They aren’t totally void of worthless substances, but the percentage that is worthwhile is much higher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I digress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would love for somebody to figure out a way to change food stamp policies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can we do it for our children’s health, if not for any other reason?</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-86835509822152303722011-04-06T09:03:00.000-07:002011-04-06T09:03:27.101-07:00Basil's BirthBasil is a great addition to the garden. But we don't have to wait for our outdoor garden to produce this warm weather herb. Basil is only two weeks away if started indoors in a sunny window or under growlights. If enough seeds are sown, some basil can be harvested while the plants are still very small for a light flavor boost. Other plants can be left alone to grow larger. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLGKnba3s64mHGbrkjoJGsNv3LZPSsJR1DKS9h49wzbb1tlvLkMLZCoAM2HlgfWZVJn73kNKU_WCmtgHFSE36M6IQZA-QXgXmYXwlw7Wlf9fxrM0bPyCCBYS6_LjdW4JmLYbZBpT6uu8gC/s1600/DSCN2187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLGKnba3s64mHGbrkjoJGsNv3LZPSsJR1DKS9h49wzbb1tlvLkMLZCoAM2HlgfWZVJn73kNKU_WCmtgHFSE36M6IQZA-QXgXmYXwlw7Wlf9fxrM0bPyCCBYS6_LjdW4JmLYbZBpT6uu8gC/s320/DSCN2187.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> <br />
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Indoors is the only place I grow basil. My zone 5 summers are too cold and too short for growing this very cold sensitive herb outdoors. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjcjrL0W-2UmdjZDZ3FRzsxMUp-N4o8c97IpTTYKnZAuYTAKGgnvvV7_unRjuOJ3LKeRCdWWh69NMwM9VkO9kF-62Xc5fnjokLuUMFOjZm-oqF_cuuwvd8l0OaU8TGZY3Hy5YBrjPaLtF/s1600/DSCN2202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjcjrL0W-2UmdjZDZ3FRzsxMUp-N4o8c97IpTTYKnZAuYTAKGgnvvV7_unRjuOJ3LKeRCdWWh69NMwM9VkO9kF-62Xc5fnjokLuUMFOjZm-oqF_cuuwvd8l0OaU8TGZY3Hy5YBrjPaLtF/s320/DSCN2202.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The basil shown in these photos was planted a few weeks ago. It replaces another crop of basil that was growing under the lights. That basil had become stragglely and worn, and so it was time for a new crop. Basil grows faster if growlights are kept within an inch of the top of the leaves. <br />
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I have a recipe called "Potato Basil Puree" from The Barefoot Contessa's new cookbook that I checked out from the library a few weeks ago. It was the impetus for this new crop. The recipe calls for two cups of lightly packed basil, so it'll be another few weeks before I can try it.<br />
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But I can rob a few of these leaves now to add some flavor to various dishes. <br />
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I am happy with this basil's arrival. <br />
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I have more basil recipes on my website. <a href="http://www.growgreatvegetables.com/greatfood/basil.html">Click here to see them</a>.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-66929886548960230742011-04-05T09:23:00.000-07:002011-04-05T09:23:17.731-07:00A productive April vegetable garden<a href="http://www.hoeandshovel.com/2011/04/early-tomatoes-or-late-tomatoes.html">Check out this blog post</a> if you are wondering what it's like to vegetable garden in April someplace warm like Florida. <br />
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Oh, I spend a lot of time being envious this time of year.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4851726556877164907.post-50961559189673532272011-04-05T07:45:00.000-07:002011-04-05T07:45:29.278-07:00Miners lettuceI'll share with you <a href="http://www.mysuburbanhomestead.com/vegetable/">this post at my daughter's website</a> about miners lettuce. It sounds like a delicious green, and particularly good for us in cold climates.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500905915329661899noreply@blogger.com1