The Arrival of the Seed Catalogs...

   Just when you think that you might succumb to cabin fever and do some damage, the seed catalogs begin to arrive in the mail and instantly all is right with the world. I sit on the couch with a large sheet of paper, surrounded with my catalogs and begin to diagram where we will plant everything. The beautiful illustrations of fruits and vegetables have a fairy tale quality about them and the hardest part is showing a bit of self control and limiting the list to a manageable amount. We have a core group of favorites that we plant every year; Heirloom Brandywine tomatoes, Black Beauty zucchini, green beans (this year we are planting purple ones too!), Butternut squash, Straight Eight cucumbers, green and purple peppers, Yukon Gold potatoes, sweet corn, and last but not least...pumpkins! Last years yield of pumpkins was insane (see my first blog) and I can't wait to do it again. I still have a few Jack-Be-Little pumpkins, only one of them started to get soft so I decided to cut it open and harvest some seeds from it.

   I save the plastic boxes that the organic greens come in (that I buy in the winter) because they make great seed starters. I use seed starter mix as a growing medium and fill the container about half way up. I planted six pumpkin seeds in this and even though it is rather early to start these in the house I couldn't wait to get started! 

   
   After you get the seeds planted, replace the lid on the plastic container and the condensation that forms will help keep the soil moist. The herb planter (the one that says 'Herbs') pictured here is a good example of planting when you have limited space. I made a few of these out of wooden pallets that were given to me. They also make great wall racks for spices, magazines, mail, in the bathroom for toiletries, the possibilities are endless! I will post a tutorial for making these at a later date; in the meantime, if this interests you, you can start collecting some pallets now. I suggest that you check them out for any stains that could be from a  dangerous chemical, and try to make sure they are dried naturally, if they are you will see the letters "HT" somewhere on them. This stands for "Heat Treated" and that's what you want, otherwise they have probably been dried through the use of chemicals and you don't want to plant anything in them you will ultimately ingest. I'm using this particular planter as a holder for the last of the bread and butter pickles and a bundle of Sweet Annie that I'm planning to use for some other crafts (the Sweet Annie, not the pickles! hehehe). When Spring arrives and I'm ready to plant herbs in it I'll put it back outside.

   

   I have a couple of favorite mail order places to order seeds from. They both offer heirloom seeds and both organic and non-organic:

"Botanical Interests" is located in Colorado and they have a great selection of fruit and vegetable seeds. Here's the link for them:  https://botanicalinterests.com/ If you go to their website, check out their blogs, they have a wealth if information in them. "Hudson Valley Seed Library" is located right here in New York and they are one of my favorite sources. Great seeds, beautiful packaging (and artwork) and they also have a wealth of information to offer. Here's their link: http://www.seedlibrary.org/ I haven't bought any seeds from the "Southern Exposure Seed Exchange" but I think I will this year. Here is their link: https://www.southernexposure.com/ Catalog has beautiful illustrations and a lot of info!

   I'm sure there are quite a few more sites that sell heirloom and organic seeds, if anybody has a favorite feel free to include it in the comments section.  
   It may not feel it right now, but Spring is right around the corner and once again we will all be out side digging in the dirt planting beans, pumpkins, tomatoes, herbs and flowers.

 I am planting some dent corn this year so we can grind it into meal for baking and...wait...that reminds me of a song....

 Maybe the best video ever....enjoy!