Order Seeds, check

Picture by Grow Girl

One task down, four million to go - I completed my seed ordering today. I am very excited about the promise of what these little packets will produce in the coming months. Every year I like to try planting something new - last year it was tomatillos and peanuts, which were a bit hit and failure respectively.  The new items in my garden this year are: potatoes and scallions and some unusual melons (below). I have also purchased different varieties of vegetables I regularly plant, like golden beets and Mexican Sour Gherkins, which I can hardly wait to put in a pickle jar!  Look at them (above) don't they look like mini watermelons?  I am so excited about them I can hardly stand it.   I have also resolved to be better about   making notes in my garden journal so that I can keep a more accurate record of my gardening.  

 (Picture Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds)

I bought some of my seeds, including the Fond Blanc Melon, through Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.   They describe the Fond Blanc as:  The most unique and beautiful French melon we sell! The fruit is 4-9 lbs., very flattened and ribbed, with warts and bumps. Melons have grey/green skin turning straw color; flesh is salmon-orange. Once one of the best known melons, it was mentioned in the 1860's, but it likely is much older. The flavor is very rich if picked at perfection and the fragrance is heavenly. This is a favorite melon of mine, almost unheard of in this country.  I haven't always had the best of luck with melons... I worry that my problem is that the melons don't have enough time to mature before they frost.   Enter the other melon I ordered from Baker - a Tigger Melon.

(Picture Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds)

How fantastic is this melon?   Baker describes this melon as: The most amazing melon we have grown. The fruit are vibrant yellow with brilliant fire-red, zigzag stripes, (a few fruit may be solid yellow), simply beautiful! They are also the most fragrant melons we have tried, with a rich, sweet intoxicating aroma that will fill a room. The white flesh gets sweeter in dry climates. Small in size the fruits weigh up to 1 lb. - perfect for a single serving. The vigorous plants yield heavily, even in dry conditions. This heirloom came from an Armenian market located in a mountain valley. It was the most popular melon at our Garden Show last August and makes a unique specialty market variety.  I ordered this melon because someone from North Dakota commented that they were able to get this melon to mature before the first frost... and if they can do it so can I.

Aji Amarillo

Purple de Milpa Tomatillo

Dinosaur Kale

(Pictures from Seeds of Change)

Aztec Red Spinach
(photo from Underwood Gardens)

Strawberry Spinach

(photo from Underwood Gardens)

Violettta di Choggia Artichoke

(photo from Underwood Gardens)

 
Seeds I have purchased this season
 
Heirloom Seeds.com
White Wonder Cucumber, Rouge Vif’d Etampes Pumpkin, Golden Detroit Beet, Chantenay Royal Carrot, French Breakfast Radish, Italian Vegetable Marrow Squash, Cream of Saskatchewan Watermelon, Heirloom Salad Blend,

Seedsofchange.com
Dinosaur Kale, Orange Fantasia Chard, Purple de Milpa Tomatillo, Black Plum Tomato and Aji Amarillo Pepper.

Reneesgarden.com
French Gold Pole beans, Tricolor Bush beans (which are a combination of Golden Roc d'Or, Purple Queen, Green Slenderette Pole Beans)

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Mexican Sour Gherkin, Rocky Top Lettuce Mix, Tigger Melon, Prescott Fond Blanc Melon.

Trade Wind Fruits
Bolivian Rainbow Pepper, Early Jalepeno Pepper, Costeno Amarillo Pepper, Ampuis Pepper, Violetta di Choggia Artichoke

Underwoodgardens.com (Terroir Seeds)
Winder Bloomsdale Spinach, Strawberry Spinach, Aztec Red Spinach

On to the next task... which now might have to include moving to a house with a bigger yard!