This is a picture to confirm that the seeds for my 2011 garden have arrived.  If you remember my last seed post, I had narrowed down my search for the right seed company to Johnny’s Selected Seeds out of what seemed to me to be hundreds of seed catalogs that came to Glen Road.  Right after that earlier seed post , I sat down and made my order and now they are here.  It is perfect timing since this coming weekend will be about the right time to plant these seeds and place them under the grow light in preparation for planting when the soil gets to the right temperature.  I am estimating this will be mid to late-May.  While most of my seeds came from Johnny’s, I did buy some heirloom seeds from a runner-up, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  Let me share with you what seeds I have ordered for the 2011 garden.  Let’s start with the order from Johnny’s, http://www.johnnyseeds.com:

• Skywalker F1 Organic Cauliflower – best organic variety for fall harvest.  Uniform, medium-sized, self-wrapping heads.  I will start this one indoors under my grow light and place outside in mid to late-May.
• Tendersweet F1 Cabbage, Early Green – midsize, flat heads stand well without splitting.  Leaves are thin, sweet and crisp.  I will start this one indoors under my grow light and place outside in mid to late-May.
• Celebrity F1 Tomato, Red Short Vine – my father’s favorite tomato to grow.  Medium-large, 7-8 ounce tomato.  Flavorful, globe-shaped, firm red fruits that ripen mid-season.  I will start this one indoors under my grow light and place outside in mid to late-May.
• Granadero F1 Organic Tomato – wanted a great sauce tomato.  Produces a uniform, attractive, bright red fruit, 4-5 ounces in size.  Thick-walled construction makes it good for sauce.  I will start this one indoors under my grow light and place outside in mid to late-May.
• Allstar Gourmet Lettuce Mix Greens, Salad and Braising Mix – Johnny’s most popular brand of salad greens.  Able to hold its color and resist mildew.  Made up of Green Oakleaf, Red Oakleaf, Green Romaine, Red Romaine, Lollo Rossa, Greenleaf and Redleaf lettuces.
• Rover F1 Radish, Small Round Red – a great round red radish.  Smooth, round, dark red roots with a crisp, snow-white flesh.
• D’Avignon Radish, Speciality – a traditional variety from Southern France.  3-4 inches long with a mostly red root, but with white tips.
• Bull’s Blood Organic Beet, Heirloom – this beet shows a candy-striped root and the leaves are dark red and can be used to jazz up your salad.  This variety is often listed on different garden websites as one of the best.
• Touchstone Gold Organic Beet, Specialty – this beet shows smooth roots that are golden in color, even when cooked.  Sweet flavor.  Leaves are green in color.
• Nautic Organic Brussel Sprouts – a full-season sprout for late fall harvest.  Medium sized sprouts with an excellent taste.  I will start this one indoors under my grow light and place outside in mid to late-May.
• Purple Top White Globe Organic Turnip – this is a traditional American turnip.  Smooth, round roots, 3-4 inches in diameter, that are white below the soil line and bright purple above.
• Copra Organic Onion Plants F1 – onions are easier to grow from pregrown, spring dug plants.  These will be live onion plants delivered in May.
• Traviata F1 Organic Eggplant, Italian – traditional Italian eggplants from organic seed.  Glossy black fruit in classic bell shape.  I will start this one indoors under my grow light and place outside in mid to late-May.

Here’s a little glossary of some terms used above or some notes I have made that are relevant:

F1: F1 refers to “first filial” or first generation offspring. Hybrid varieties of vegetables and flowers are typically F1 hybrids.  Hybrids are the offspring of a cross between two or more varieties, usually of the same species.  Hybrids are developed by the long, slow process of traditional plant breeding, which relies on natural reproductive methods. Hybrids are crosses between two or more parents with different desirable traits. Pollen from one parent plant is transferred to the flowers of the other parent plant. The seeds that develop are an F1, first filial generation, hybrid.

HEIRLOOM: An old variety that owes its present availability to the seed-saving efforts of amateurs.

UNTREATED: Seeds that have no chemical treatments. All seeds in my order were specified to be untreated.

Here is my small order from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, http://www.rareseeds.com:

• Blue Lake Bush Bean – this dark-green bean has been a standard for over 40 years.  The bush plants set heavy yields of flavorful pods that are tender and crisp.  Developed in 1961 from the Pole Blue Lake.  I ordered these because they are listed on many garden websites as one of the best bush bean to grow.

You might see some obvious exclusions in my orders.  No peppers, squash or broccoli–I’m not really a fan of these popular vegetables.  Sweet corn, peas or cucumbers–not sure I have enough room in my garden.  You need a lot of these to get enough to eat and I have some space limitations.  Carrots–a lot of gardeners I talk to say it is just easier to buy organic carrots at the supermarket.  I take orders well, so I’ll believe them.  As Spring gets here, I have so much to share about my 2011 garden in the next few weeks.  I am busy!  I would imagine you are as well with your gardening chores.  What are you doing now to get ready for your 2011 garden?

This is where the seeds for my 2011 garden will come from this year.  These are the finalists out of many.  I have read most of the ones that were sent to me and the ones above offer what I feel I am looking for the most in seeds that I will buy and use to grow food for us to eat.  It is amazing that so many seed catalogs exist.  As a new gardener here on Glen Road, I have to say that a lot of trees go into the production of all the seed catalogs that are sent out over the fall and winter months.  Here’s hoping that most gardeners are also fans of recycling!  When I say I am a new gardener, I really mean that I’m a gardener who took a very long break.  My first gardening stint ended years ago when I left home to go to college and started back up when I moved to Connecticut and finally built a raised bed garden in 2010.  So not so much a new gardener, but more of a gardener that took a very long break from 18 years old to 47 years old. 

My parents and my grandmother were very big gardeners.  My parents moved from a small farm town with a big garden into a bigger city, but they still have a nice size garden that they tend to even to this day.  So, needless to say, I got into gardening from a very early age and being in the garden is one of my earliest memories.  I remember being very young and digging up horseradish and grinding it with my grandma on the picnic table in the backyard.  I remember joining the 4-H organization for gardening and winning a blue ribbon at the fair.  I also remember crying when my father ordered my brother and I out on a Saturday morning to weed the garden.

Trivia Challenge:  Do you remember what the 4 H’s stand for in the 4-H emblem? 

Garden seeds were also one of my earliest entrepreneurial endeavors.  Back in Iowa, 10-year-old kids like me at the time could request a box of seeds from the Burpee Seed Company and then work to sell them to friends, family and neighbors.  In those days, the seeds weren’t sold for much and my profit margin was slim.  At the end of the spring selling season, you put your unsold seeds and your proceeds for seed packages sold  (less your profit) into an envelope and sent it back to Burpee.  I remember the box showing up at the post office and my heart pounding.  Inside were the usual seed suspects,: beans, cucumbers, lettuce, zinnias, spinach, to name a few.  I would then harass any adult I ran into to buy seeds.  I harassed adults to buy seeds that didn’t even have a garden.  Some people were forthright and said “NO, GO HOME NOW BEFORE I CALL YOUR MOTHER!” and others were very kind and bought four or five packets.  Knowing how bad I wanted to have a little money, I mainly remember my parents and grandma buying most of the leftovers and planting them in their own gardens.  I’m still waiting for Burpee to contact me and give me my “Seed Salesman of the Year” award.   

In looking for seeds for the 2011 garden, I made a very short list of what I was looking for in the companies I would use to buy seeds for the new growing season.  Here is that initial list (in bold type) lifted from a little journal I keep.  The journal is not like any diary of secret thoughts and loves lost, but more a journal of things I write down to remember later when I have the time to research and investigate.  My memory is sometimes a little cloudy these days!  Here is what I wrote:

1. Seed companies I use should tell me that they have adopted the “Safe Seed Pledge”.  I have read a lot about genetically modified seeds.  I personally do not feel that a seed produced outside of normal reproductive methods is one that I want to plant, grow and eventually eat.  I can’t find any proof that they are good for us.  I can’t find any proof that they are bad for us.  So until I find out one way or the other, I don’t want them in my garden.  The “Safe Seed Pledge” tells me that the seed company is one that does not knowingly buy or sell genetically modified seeds. 
2. Seed companies I use should offer a large selection of organic seeds and be able to provide a copy of their organic product verification form.  I most closely associate the term organic to be one that symbolizes that no chemicals were used in the raising and harvesting of the seeds I am using.  Chemicals are not good for the environment and not good for me.  I am sure there is much more to the term organic, but I always think about the non-use of chemicals.  I don’t want seeds that aren’t organic because I don’t want the chemicals inside of me or in the environment that I live in here in Connecticut.
3. Seed companies I use should give me detailed explanations on how to sow the seeds and what I should do and expect during their growing season.  I am a perfectionist, which is not something I am particularly proud of in my life, but is something that I need to confess and accept.  I want my garden to look great and produce to the best of its ability.  I think that the plants are my babies and I want to do what is right for them.  I could spend hours doing research on the internet, but who has the time.  I want a company that spells it out for me in a concise manner.  God forbid that I should do something wrong!

So you have seen the finalists in the picture above.  Now it is time to announce the winner for seed catalog to use the most for Glen Road’s 2011 garden.  The winner is…..

Johnny’s Selected Seeds!  You can find them at www.johnnyseeds.com.  Johnny’s Selected Seeds is a privately held, employee-owned seed producer and merchant headquartered in Winslow, Maine.  The company was established in 1973 by Founder and Chairman Rob Johnston, Jr.  Johnny’s mission is helping families, friends and communities to feed one another by providing superior seeds, tools, information and service.  Their products include vegetable seeds, medicinal and culinary herb seeds, flower seeds, cover crops, farm seed and pasture mixes, fruit plants and seeds, and high quality, problem-solving tools and supplies. They carry sizes ranging from small to large to suit the needs of home gardeners and small growers as well as retailers and wholesalers.  Johnny’s Selected Seeds also meets my three criteria in a big way.  They adhere to the “Safe Seed Pledge”.  They offer a wide variety of organic seed and have the proper certificates.  The also give great “how to” information for this perfectionist.  I have placed the bulk of my order with them and will share my goodies with you when they arrive. 

Here’s hoping for a great 2011 garden here in Connecticut.  I hope you will be with me every step of the way.  I’m looking at the raised bed garden I built right now through the window and it is still covered in snow.  Can anything grow there this spring and summer?  Let’s hope so.  It all starts with the right seeds.  Do you have any seed or gardening advice that you want to share with the “new again” gardener here on Acorns On Glen?