more seeds, for late summer planting

This is what I'm ordering right now from Botanical Interests.

Yes, I'm already obsessed about winter harvests.  Most of these go in the ground in August, so I'm not *that* premature in ordering.

Some of these are super exciting - like the delicata.  I could only find some here once for a minute.  It's an amazing winter squash, so easy to deal with, and such a pity it's not more widely grown and sold.

If you've never had mizuna, I pity you.  While it makes a great salad, soup, or stirfry, my absolute favorite way is to boil new potatoes, put in some olive oil (or a little bacon with grease), freshly ground pepper, and then coarsely chopped mizuna.  Putting it in with the hot potatoes makes it wilt a bit.  It is SO GOOD.  I ate so much of that last year.

Note that I'm not trying crops that are more challenging to me or I've never tried.  I want some successes first.

The thing about growing my own food is that there are MILLIONS of seeds to choose from. But in a typical American grocery store, only a few of those things are on offer.  It makes me sad.

So here's to the future, and the hope that seeds bring. 

garden progress

Little happening ... with not knowing where I'll end up, it's hard to throw seeds into the ground. Those that I did plant a couple months back - many have been eaten. A few things are thriving - see some beautiful purple cabbage plants, finally some cilantro, one beet plant, and the one dill holds strong.

It's sparse out there once I weeded extensively. So I did go ahead and throw some seeds: spinach, carrots, beets (red and golden), green cabbage, cilantro, broccoli de rapa. Many are seeds that I got for free or on sale, so it hurts less - and the others are for gardening in 2007, so I should use them up. These are all things I eat a lot of, so I would really appreciate a good crop.

Thought about doing some transplants of tomatoes and peppers, but with being gone/busy last bit of February, don't want to lose any of the work I'd put out. Will clear out the other bed, where I left the okra be, and plant tomatoes and peppers there.

The potatoes died in the cold we had a couple weeks back, though I wonder if they'll come back (my Norwegian landlord says so). The garlic and carrots survived fine, and while the beets and cabbage and cilantro wilted, they're back stronger than ever.

For snails, I'm stunned at how prolific they are. The slug/snail bait Sluggo does seem to work some wonders, but they just keep coming back in droves and that stuff ain't cheap. So what I do now is: lay big plastic pot bottoms upside down near where I've spotted snail damage. Each morning (or most mornings), collect snails underneath. I've found cardboard really doesn't work as well, though I've captured a few that way. Most days I collect anywhere from 5-20. It's crazy how many there are! I have a yogurt container filled with water/soap/vinegar, and I toss them in there. I used to crush them by hand/foot - and while that was rewarding for a while, it lost its charm. Probably next week I should throw out more Sluggo, to protect the new seedlings - if there are any. Not sure what nutrients my garden bed needs, but things are slow-growing.