Friday 27 January 2012

New Directions!

We have directions!  Directions for all of the seeds can be found on here in document form (specific to our seeds) or on Johnny's Seeds Website here.  Our goal is to start this year following the directions to a "T"...and if we have any issues...try some new techniques next time around. 

We've also started a few seeds indoors at the farm just to get the party started.  We planted 15 Asparagus seeds on January 17, 2012 in seed starting mix in 2" pots.  They are sitting on a heat mat in the house and we are waiting for signs of life.  The asparagus, once established, will be placed in a cool setting to simulate winter, and will be planted outside in the spring.

We've also planted Tomatoes:
  • Heirloom Tall Vine Moskvich
  • Hybrid, Red Grape
  • Heirloom Tall Vine Brandywine
  • Heirloom Tall Vine Debarao
We planted one pot of each kind, with 2 seeds per 2" pot in seed starting mix, on January 18, 2012.  By January 20th, the seeds started to germinate.  By January 23rd, both seeds in each pot are 1-2 inches tall and have 2 leaves.  On January 23rd, they were moved off the heat mat into the East kitchen window.  As you can see...they are all doing well and pretty much even at this point.  The plan is to start another round of tomato seeds next months.  We're doing test plantings this year to see if we can get tomatoes growing in the greenhouse and perhaps ready for pollination in early summer!

Tomatoes 01.27.2012

Tomorrow is a big day - we are finishing the floor substructure in the greenhouse at the farm...which should put us one step closer to a working, unheated space.  More pictures to come...


Thursday 12 January 2012

They're Here!

Our seed shipment arrived today!  It was shipped via USPS using standard shipping and arrived within two days - how cool is that?!?

Soon to come - growing instructions!

Wednesday 11 January 2012

January, 2012 - A Beginning

Vegetable gardening is not what you immediately think of when you think of January in Minnesota - but here we are, January 11th, and gardening is on the mind.  The goal of this blog is to track our successes (and failures) in 2012...

The garden in question is located in Eagan, Minnesota.  A nice little zone 4 location with all of the little hassles found in every suburban backyard:  weeds, rabbits, lack of space and weather that doesn't cooperate!

Our 2012 garden will be expanded a bit from the below, adding about 5'x15', and giving us a 15'x36' space to work with.  Our biggest issue seems to be the furry critters running around, nibbling on things.  We've tried different scent deterants, but since my lettuces, carrots, beats, asparagus, and bell and hot peppers ALL got eaten to the ground last year - this year we are trying a fence!

Vegetable Garden - July, 2011
Yesterday, we posted our seed order online from Johnny's Seeds.  The order has shipped!  Here is what will hopefully be going in the ground next year - all of which are new to us.  We'll do reviews of the seeds at each step of the process - including photos!
  • Pole Beans:  Fortex
  • Peas:  Sugar Snap
    • I've only tried Beans & Peas once before without much success.  We'll try again and try out some 4-pole teepee trellises.
  • Beats:  Red Ace
  • Carrots:  Mokum
  • Kohlrabi:  Korridor (white)
  • Scallions:  Nebechan
  • Radishes:  D'Avignon (french long)
  • Summer Squash:
    • Spineless Perfection (green)
    • Slick Pick (yellow)
  • Cucumbers:  H-19 Little Leaf (pickling)
  • Lettuces:
    • Arugala:  organic (note - bunnies don't seem to like arugala)
    • Kale:  Toscana
    • Green Leaf Lettuce:  Tropicana
    • Red Leaf Lettuce:  Red Sails
    • Green Romaine Lettuce:  Ridgeline
    • Red Romaine Lettuce:  Red Cash (Pelleted)
    • Green Butterhead:  Sylvesta
    • Spinach:  Corvair (smooth leaf)
  • Tomatoes:
    • Grape:  Red Grape
    • Sauce:  Debarao
    • Heirloom:  Brandywine
    • Heirloom:  Moskvich
      • My mother will be starting the tomatoes from seeds this spring!
  • Herbs:
    • Basil:  Genovese (Pesto)
    • Cilantro:  Calypso
    • Dill:  Superdukat
    • Oregano:  Greek Oregano
    • Thyme:  German Winter Thyme
Others:
  • Sage - supposedly a perrenial in zone 4, so we'll see if it comes back this spring
  • Peppers - notoriously hard to grow from seed, so we'll be purchasing sweet bell and hot peppers locally
  • Potatoes - will be a first try for me.  Will buy locally.
  • Onions - from sets.  Will buy locally.  Tried last year and they were delicious, but they didn't grow very large.
  • Scallions - from sets.  Will buy locally.  Also new for us this year.
  • Sweet Corn!  Will be grown off-site on the family farm :-)
I can taste the sweet, crunchy, freshness already!  Maybe spring will come early this year?