seed catalog

I use to get so many catalogs, but not anymore. I love to pour over them in February and plan my garden. I start my tomato plants indoors around the end of February or the beginning of March. I tell myself I'm not going to try anything new but the tried and true varieties but I always do. Something always catches my eye and I can't resist. The fun of gardening.
 
Oh, how I envy you gardeners! My gardens were flowers; bulbs, perennials, flowering shrubs, annuals, etc. Loved the catalogues. Next door neighbor had a horse and a tractor and huge vegetable garden. He let me grow my own green beans and Italian style plum tomatoes and always gave us some of everything else except his corn.
 

A stack of seed catalogs makes me think of the various homesteading and back to the land movements.

Ed and Carolyn Robinson wrote about their experiences with country living in the 1940's and were rediscovered in the 1970's.

51Elysqr8jL._SX370_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg


http://www.webpal.org/SAFE/aaarecovery/1_farm_recovery/ftpfiles/the_have_more_plan.pdf
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
I use to get so many catalogs, but not anymore. I love to pour over them in February and plan my garden. I start my tomato plants indoors around the end of February or the beginning of March. I tell myself I'm not going to try anything new but the tried and true varieties but I always do. Something always catches my eye and I can't resist. The fun of gardening.
Click to expand...

DW and I are with you! I just spent some time in the last hour looking at catalog from Territorial Seed Company out of Oregon. We seem to have better luck with their seed, but always difficult to tell since each season is so different as far as weather.
Just curious, how do you start your plants? You have grow lights, a nice window? We start everything from seed. I built a box (about 3 foot square) from scrap wood, put it on wheels, and use translucent plastic over the top, and have some heating wires to go inside. I do that after starting in the house and it's warm enough outside. The heating coils aren't large enough to handle much cold.
 
I have a rather lengthy system that works for me. For tomato seeds I use standard potting soil and add just a bit of sand. I plant in a container that has drainage holes leaving enough space so I can cover them with plastic wrap. If you buy the rotisserie chickens in the grocery store and poke holes in the bottom they work great because they come with a nice lid. Once planted I water them lightly and cover and put them in a sunny window. Never have to water them again because the condensation does the job. When they have their first true leaves I uncover and just wait until they get to a good size, then pick the strongest plants and transplant into 8 oz paper cups. Again punching holes in the bottom for drainage. I plant them very deeply and place back in the window. Now they will be ready for the garden when the danger of frost is over. Around here it is May 15th but I usually wait a bit longer. When I plant them I immediately put a tomato cage around them and put squares of a heavy clear plastic around the cage fastened by clothes pins.I save these from year to year as well as the original containers I started the seeds in. This makes it easier to remove if it gets hot during the day or put back if cold at night. Flowers don't seem to need all this. I just start later in the house and plant right in the garden. All other veggies that I grow I seed directly. Good luck retiredtraveler with your garden. I've had a garden since I was five. My Grandpa started me out with radishes and carrots. From then on I was hooked and learn something new every year.
 
I, too, enjoy gardening. I usually figure on Mother's Day as being the appropriate time to plant, in this area. I started some tomato plants from seed a couple of times, but the grocery store in town sets up a greenhouse every Spring, and their price for the plants is quite low, so I just get some from them....we like cherry and grape tomatoes...snack on them throughout the day. Generally, I get so many cucumbers and cantaloupe, that we can't eat them all, so when the kids come by, they usually leave with a good sack full...and if we still have excess, the senior center in town likes to get fresh vegetables for its residents. For us, it's just a hobby, but I can sure tell the difference in taste, etc., between something picked fresh, vs. what winds up in the grocery stores.
 
I start most things from seed. I will be planting beets, hopefully in early February if the grounds not frozen. It usually isn't but you never can tell about the weather around here. I plant potatoes at the same time but don't plan to have potatoes this year. We have a freezer full from last year.
 
We have a lot of deer roaming our forest, so keeping them out of the garden is a yearly "challenge". I started setting up a couple of motion sensor sprinklers a few years ago, and that does the trick...most of the time. The biggest problem is trying to grow corn, as the local raccoons seem to know when the ears are about 3 days from being ripe...and they sneak into the garden and rip up many of the ears. Now, I set a couple of "Hav-a-hart" traps, using baby marshmellows as "bait", and every year, I capture a half dozen coons, and release them way back in the forest...the "trauma" of being trapped seems to keep them from coming back before I harvest the corn.
 
We have a lot of deer roaming our forest, so keeping them out of the garden is a yearly "challenge".......
Click to expand...

I have some raised beds in an area that is roughly 30x30 feet. We did a major project and fenced in the whole area. I started digging holes for the posts in the fall, and continued with the project into the next spring. A lot of work, but nothing gets through that fence. Of course, my pride was wounded when birds got into some of the veges. Didn't think I would have an aerial assault -- only prepared for the ground offensive. :p
 
retiredtraveler said:
I have some raised beds in an area that is roughly 30x30 feet. We did a major project and fenced in the whole area. I started digging holes for the posts in the fall, and continued with the project into the next spring. A lot of work, but nothing gets through that fence. Of course, my pride was wounded when birds got into some of the veges. Didn't think I would have an aerial assault -- only prepared for the ground offensive. :p
Click to expand...

A good tall sturdy fence certainly helps keep some of the critters at bay....deer, for example....but our raccoon population quickly adapts to climbing fences. Trying to grow a garden in a rural environment is always a contest with the critters....but we usually get more than we can eat, so I don't begrudge the occasional deer who braves a good soaking from the sprinkler to get a bite of a sweet and juicy cantaloupe.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top