I started canning in 2014, which led to having a garden in 2015. And I’m planning one for 2016. In fact, I think I’ve gone a little crazy with my box of seeds, considering that I don’t really know much about gardening. I just stick stuff in the ground and hope to end up with vegetables later.
Well, not quite that clueless, but it’s not a terrible exaggeration.
I finally pulled out some documentation that I copied from a seed company website, so I could figure out when I need to start some of my seeds in order to have viable, transplantable seedlings at the end of May. Lo and behold, I need to start stuff this weekend! Nothing important in that it’s not one of the food-producing plants. Just one of the trailing flowers I thought would be neat to put in baskets to attract pollinators.
Like last year, I’ll be growing in some self-watering containers, a couple of beds around the house, and a raised bed. Plus a large set of raised beds that I still need to build and fill. Anyone feel like helping to move 4 yards of dirt once I have it delivered?
My seed list is pretty extensive. Some are things I will use fresh, like radishes. Many are things I plan to can. And since Car Guy got me a pressure canner last year, I can do things like regular canned veg that aren’t pickled.
My list:
- Herb mix to attract pollinators, though I will use them for cooking, too.
- blanket flowers
- hollyhocks
- cosmos
- daisies
- four o’clocks
- marigolds (to put around edges of veggie beds to keep away pests)
- zinnias
- Beets: Detroit dark red, touchstone gold
- Radishes: several kinds including a mix that has many colors
- Little Finger carrots
- El Dorado Swiss Chard
- Summer Squash: Partenon, Gold Rush, Eastern Delight (I make a Bread and Butter Zucchini Pickle using multiple kinds of summer squash that is out of this world, and pretty.)
- National Pickling Cucumber
- Peppers: Sweet Pickle (bush style, mini peppers), Sweet Rainbow Blend (6 colors in one packet), Jalapeño, Impala (cayenne), Habanero
- Tomatoes: Cherry Sweetie, Golden Rave, Chocolate Cherry, Tumbling Tom Yellow, Costoluto Genovese (Italian sauce type), Cherokee Purple, Brandywine, Amish Paste
- Spinach
- Kohlrabi
- Okra
- Black Magic Kale
- Black Beauty Eggplant
- Brussels Sprouts
- Asparagus (yes, I know these take a couple of years to get going from seed but I’m going to try anyway)
- Sugar Snap Peas
- Beans: Blue Lake 274 bush, Rodcor bush
I’ve got a few asparagus and rhubarb that I put in last year. The hostas that I planted last year are going to be pulled and replaced with more rhubarb. (I just got my copy of Naturally Sweet Food in Jars, and there are several rhubarb recipes that I just must try.) We put in 3 fruit trees at the end of the season: a pear, an apple, and a peach. I’m toying with the idea of getting a couple of sour cherry trees, a persimmon, and some hearty figs.
And the summer-blooming bulbs I pulled in the Fall need to go back into the ground soon, too.
Hmm…. looking at that list, I think I’m crazier than previously acknowledged.
Are you planting anything this year? What? And do you have specific things you plan to do with it, like family recipes?
InTheMitten 