Last year I ordered a Baker Creek catalog and looked through it, but I didn't end up actually ordering anything, because it was too late in the season and also I knew things were going to be way too busy.
This year when the Baker Creek catalog came, I decided I would go for it! I read through all of the descriptions and picked out some plants that sound fun to me. I ordered them, and then I talked about them with J to try and get him on board for a big garden next year. He was not as excited about it as I am, but he decided he would garden with me and it can be something we enjoy together. Good!
Christmas came early for me this year--on Christmas Eve, my seed order arrived!
Here are the things that I ordered:
Melons
1. Early Hanover - small, sweet green melons that were famous at the turn of the 20th century!
2. Ginger's Pride - The largest melon they carry, which averages 14-22 lbs. per melon! "The flesh is very sweet, melting, and of excellent quality."
3. Petit Gris de Rennes - Small, orange melons with a grey-green rind. French melon, rare in USA.
4. Rich Sweetness 132 - From the former Soviet Union. Red, striped with golden yellow. Tiny melons.
5. White Sugar Lump Watermelon - Rare, with creamy white flesh. Light, sweet taste.
Berries
6. Hardy Kiwi - Little kiwi without fuzz! Eaten like grapes. Grow on vines.
7. Yellow Wonder Wild Strawberry - Creamy yellow strawberries that are supposed to be very tasty and also easy to grow.
8. Narangilla - Fruit from the Andes. Sweet-and-sour, orange flavor fruit. Good for juice.
Tomatoes
9. Brave General - Big, beautiful Russian tomatoes from Kazakhstan. Rich, sweet taste.
10. Violet Jasper - "Tzi Bi U." Asian tomatoes that are violet purple with iridescent green streaks. Dark purple-red flesh. Very high yield.
11. Hawaiian Pineapple - "1 lb fruit with yellow-and-red mottled flesh." Sweet, fruity, pineapple-like in taste.
12. White Queen - White tomatoes! sweet, citrus taste. Part of American history.
Vegetables
13. Corn Rainbow Inca Sweet - Multicolored corn, good fresh, or good for grinding into flour.
14. Squash Zucchino Rampicante - Italian vining zucchini, which is used in Italy to stuff gnocchi and ravioli. (I remember it!)
15. Lettuce Little Gem - very small, green romaine type. Heat tolerant variety.
16. Carrot Jaune Obtuse du Doubs - A lemon-yellow carrot that comes from France. Originally used for livestock, but popular now because of its sweet taste.
17. Artichoke Purple of Romagna - Large, round purple chokes.
18. Cauliflower Purple of Sicily - Purple cauliflower. Sweet. Cook to bright green. Easier to grow than white varieties.
19. Asparagus Mary Washington - Popular, long green spears.
20. Cucumber Sikkim - Fat, large fruit. Good cooked or raw. Rusty red color.
21. Carrot Parisienne - Small, round carrots. Popular in France. (These ones were my free gift; every order comes with a free pack of seeds!)
Herbs
22. Hyssop Blue - Attracts bees and butterflies. Antiviral plant used to treat flus, etc.
Anyway, that's everything. My father-in-law has already started looking at our backyard to think about where my garden will go. I don't actually know what can be grown in this climate, or how to grow any of it, so it will mostly be a big experiment. I'm looking forward to it.
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10 comments:
I'd love to hear how you like these varieties. We like heirloom seeds, but haven't done a complete garden with them. We are still trying to find the varieties we like.
I'm heading up an activity for my ward where we will be canning seeds. I'm just getting started with this...
Your garden looks like so much fun! That is one of my goals once I finish grad school. I look forward to hearing how it goes.
Isn't it fun to get seeds in December??? I love it! And weeds are far, far away.
We ordered the Jumbo bucket from them this year. Man, it's a lot of seeds! 42 varieties of tomatoes alone! Anyway, some year, try the Hero of Lockinge melon. It is awesome!
Really, I think we should be better friends. I read your blog and you're always doing everything I've wanted to do. I have been wanting to do heirloom seeds for years now. I just have never felt like my current garden was the right one to start it in. But doesn't it just sound like the most perfect way to be self-reliant? Not only do you know how to grow a garden, but you aren't reliant upon a nursery to get your seeds every year. (Just be sure to research how to properly store seeds.)
Have you ever looked into Square Foot Gardening? I think you might enjoy it. I've loved it.
hei
i'm a Romanian gardener starting a heirloom collection of vegetables and while looking on the internet for the rich sweetness 132 melon from baker creek (they sold out) i found your blog.
would you be interested in swaping a few seeds for some Romanian beans?
if you're interested leave a message on my blog.
razvan
I tried to order the rich sweetness 132 but they are out. any chance you would be willing to trade some seeds? http://www.idigmygarden.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41439
David - Sure!
Sent you some info on the forum about the seed trade
Emily - Not sure if you would be willing to trade or sale me 2-3 rich sweetness 132 seeds. My almost 3 year old picked them out of the catalog to grow because he loves the color orange, but Bakers creek is all sold out. We grew all kinds of melons and cantaloupes last year trellising all of them. The kids had a BLAST! Anyway I thought it would not hurt for me to ask, right? Thanks a buch and good luck in your garden this year!
Aunalise,
Sure, I would be willing to send you 2-3 seeds. E-mail me your address.
e l y o n s @ g m a i l . c o m
(spaces removed)
They seem like fun melons, don't they? Too bad they ran out of seed so quickly. I've already shared with a bunch of people. We might as well all have fun growing it, because I sure couldn't plant a whole packet of the seeds in my garden anyway!
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