Thursday, January 14, 2010

More Seeds

I've been remiss on thanking people for their seeds. I did one post earlier on what came in but more have been coming in over the last couple of weeks. I have a little container I've been collecting them in so they don't get lost before I sorted them out. Today was the day to do that. They are now all labeled with who they were from. Here is what I've received in this second wave.

Jane from A Kitchen Garden in Kehei Maui sent me some French Breakfast Radishes and some New Zealand Spinach. My mom used to grow New Zealand Spinach when I was young. I don't remember much about it. I know I didn't like it as much as the real thing (spinach and Brussels sprouts were my favorite vegetables when I was young), but I don't remember disliking it either. I'm going to try it again and see if I like it, though it will be hard to beat chard as a summer green.

Jody from the Paw Paw Patch sent me two types of lettuce: Dazzle Romaine and Bath Cos. Also she described one of her beloved vegetables, German beer radishes. I just had to try them. I've never had a radish with butter and salt, but it seems like a excuse to drink beer so I'll try it. The seeds she sent were saved from her garden.

Stefaneener from the Sicilian Sisters Grow sent me her favorite lettuce, Tom Thumb. I've never grown a small headed lettuce before. This year I will.

Annie's Granny from Annie's Kitchen Garden got thanked last time around, but then she decided to send me more. Now I have Purple Haze carrots to try. Most of my carrots will be SugarSnax or Mokum, but I really love the look of the colored ones so I'm trying again on another variety.

Miss M from The Informal Gardner sent two kinds of leeks for me to try, Hannibal and Malabar. I've also bought a third, so I'll have a nice little leek trial going on. Last year my leeks were pretty mediocre. I'm hoping for a better show this year.

Emily from Greens and Jeans sent me Freckles Romaine. I was going to order this from Fedco under the name of Forellenschluss. I think Freckles is a prettier name. Or at least easier to pronounce. It is a very old heirloom (1793) so had gotten more than one name over the years. Another name is Trout Back. Again I think I'll stick to Freckles.

Michelle from From Seed To Table sent me Senposai seed. She noticed it on my Fedco order and said she had plenty to share with me. She says it is very prolific. I hope so. I wonder if it will out grow Komatsuna.

My biggest surprise was from Mac at High Desert Garden. I was sent a massive quantity of mostly Asian greens, including some that I had almost bought but decided I'd wait another year for them. There were many different seeds some of which I won't grow (cauliflower is not a favorite of mine and watermelon is hard to grow here because of the short cool summers). Others I will most likely grow: Tokyo Market Turnip, Napa Cabbage (no variety given), Michihili Chinese Cabbage, Chinese Kale, Choy Sum, Shanghai Bok Choy, white stem bok choy (no variety given), Roselle, Anuenue Lettuce, Manoa Lettuce, Korean Lettuce, Hawaiian Chili, Sweet Cherry Pepper. Roselle really intrigues me. I'll have to research it and see if it will grow here. Hibiscus are not usually northern plants. I hadn't a clue that there was a variety that was edible.

So a big thanks to everyone that sent seed. I've already placed my Fedco order and it ought to show up soon. When it does I'll have to make my seed chart and figure out exactly what and when it all needs to be started. I'm really starting to get excited about spring, but I've got two more months to wait until the ground is unfrozen.

20 comments:

  1. Wow! You are swimming in seeds!

    Lots of varieties I have not heard of before, so it should be fun to see what your garden grows this year.

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  2. Wow. That's a lot of seed swapping. I need to ask Mac to hook me up. Maybe I'll start a fall/winter seed swap later this summer.

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  3. Gosh, you certainly have all of the lettuce varieties covered. I can't wait to try the deer tongue lettuce you sent me. WooHoo!

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  4. Very generous folks out there, Daphne! I am having the hardest time not starting seeds now, knowing it is too early but so antsy to do something it is killing me!
    Frances

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  5. kitsapFG, I love the unusual varieties. They may or may not grow well here, but for some reason trying something I've never even heard of before really appeals to me.

    Thomas, if you want I have more than I can ever use of the bok choys, Michihili, Chinese Kale, and Choy Sum. There was more that was sent that I won't use that wasn't listed. Email me if you are interested and I'll send you a list. I know Mac is a blogging friend of yours so it seems right to send the excess to you.

    EG, Oh it will be fun to try them all out. I just hope I have space to do it. I might have to do a spring trial and a fall trial if they won't all fit.

    fairegarden, garden bloggers are such generous people. And that isn't the last of it either. I have others that are sending me things too. I'm going to start seeds soon. Probably shortly after my onion seeds show up. Thank goodness for them. They take so long to grow they will let me do something soon.

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  6. Oh, what a bounty. It's lucky for us that you give such detailed responses too.

    Enjoy your new tries.

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  7. Roselle is wonderful, it's a beautiful plant and a great addition to herb teas. It does like warm weather so start it early indoors and then put it in a warm sunny spot. It caught my attention in your post because I was considering trying to grow it again, it hasn't been part of my garden since I moved.

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  8. Stefaneener, I will.

    Michelle, I just looked up the cultivation of it. It won't grow here :< So many fun things won't grow here. It is a short day plant. So it wouldn't bloom until fall and then we get frosts and it isn't frost hardy. In Florida they start harvesting in November. So if you want the seed, let me know and you can use it. Since sadly I can't. It seemed like such a cool plant too.

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  9. Wow, such great varieties ! Cool !

    I'm glad the seeds got to you. There weren't many left, as you surely noticed. Fingers crossed they all sprout !
    Can't wait to get the lowdown on all those asian greens. I ordered okra this year and was surprised to learn it's in the hibiscus family. I'm looking into that roselle, sounds interesting.

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  10. Ribbit, hmm which one? To me they all sound divine. Hopefully they will be, but sometimes I'm surprised (both ways too).

    Miss M, well okra doesn't grow well around here either, but I think it is possible. I really didn't need a lot of seeds. I'm thinking of three rows of leeks this year which means eight plants of each variety. Hopefully I'll get at least that much.

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  11. Thanks Daphne! I think I'll take you up on your offer. I'll email you tonight. Let me know if you don't get my email by tomorrow. I think I had issues trying to email you before.

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  12. wow!! I'm also trying Tom Thumb and purple carrots!

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  13. Look at all those seeds! Very nice. You certainly did receive alot of asain veggie seeds, gardeners are so generous. I see a William Dam packet in there, they are about 30 minutes from our home. Great seed house.

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  14. Wow, your network is very large. Like Dan's and AG's. Next year I'm just going to trade some seeds. Hopefully I have some cool one to contend with. lol

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  15. LoveMeKnot, I really hope the purple carrots do well.

    Dan, I got so many. I'd never heard of Willian Dam before. But I got a lot of packets from places I hadn't heard of before. It is kind of fun seeing the different packets.

    Kalena Michele, trading seeds is so much fun. Though to be honest I don't really trade. Anyone that wants some of my seed can have it with no strings attached.

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  16. I vote you try the watermelon, because last year summer wouldn't end! of course, I'm not actually offering to help, so, it's your call:)

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  17. JP, if I grew a melon it would be cantaloupe. It is my favorite melon. I've grown them before, but you need either a really warm year or lots of plastic. I've found they usually aren't worth the trouble.

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  18. It's nice to get all that seed in isn't it? One of my favourite things about this time of year.

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  19. Ottawa Gardener, I love all the seeds. I can't wait for my Fedco order either.

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