Confessions of a Seed Horder

Ahem.  Time to come clean seeing as everyone else has been.  I really, truly think I am done now.  "Done", as in if there is some crazy end to cyberspace next year and the United States Postal Service has come to grinding halt I will still hold enough seeds to grow my own garden, as well as 6 or 7 others.  It all comes down to security, cause you know, I am a little bit nutty when it comes to this stuff.  (I actually have one of those emergency kits complete with the whistle and heat blankets, and copies of all important papers, etc. stashed away in case we need to evacuate in a hurry.   Don't tell the dogs they are screwed though since I can never seem to keep that 'extra' bag of food in rotation.  Bad doggy mama!)

SO, here is the latest list, MUCH longer than the original 11 packets of seeds I ordered not too long ago.  Wanna know the worst part? These seeds were purchased in multiple orders.  It's like I know I shouldn't be buying them so I remove half of them from my cart only to go back a few days later and buy them anyway.  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

All-righty, confession done.  On to the good stuff!  :)

1. Minnesota Midget Melon
2. Far North Melon
3. Gentilla Lettuce
4. Bianca di Maggio Onion
5. Dragon Tongue Bush Bean
6. Tam Jalepeno
7. Extra Dwarf Pak Choy
8. Tim's Black Ruffle Tomato
9. Woodle Orange Tomato
10. Amazon Chocolate Tomato
11. Japanese Yubari King Type Cantelope
12. Golden Midget Watermelon
13. Eva's Burgundy Lettuce
14. Martin's Carrot Pepper
15. Chervena Chushka Sweet Pepper

Look at all those heirlooms!!!!  And yes, that is why most of these seeds won't make their debut until 2011.  I have done a bit of seed trading this year and it has allowed me to see that when you save your own seeds (and they germinate), there is a whole world of 'I'll trade you this for that' out there with complete strangers.  Pretty cool huh?  Hopefully next year I will be trading saved seeds, not purchased seeds.

(Trades in the works are for  Principe Borghese, Brandywine, and German Red Strawberry Tomatoes.)

Amishland Seeds

This year I have become quite brave (or is it cocky??), I have ordered more than a handful of heirloom seeds.  Since this seed ordering thing is a bit of an addiction (or in my mind 'seed money' in the bank), I ventured out of my comfort zone and visited a familiar site, Amishland Seeds.  If you have never gone through the many varieties offered here it's worth a trip over.  Now.

I have ogled this site for a year now but have not had the courage to purchase these carefully raised, often times rare seed.  What if I screw up and kill the seedling?  Or what if pest and disease pressure is so high I don't get a successful harvest?

Where do I find the room?  The answer to that question may lay in next year's garden.  Am I insane to be ordering seeds I won't even grow this year?  I think not.  I did the same last year and am glad I did as at least one of the tomato varieties I ordered is not available this year.   With the poor outcome of last year's gardening season for so many I am not taking any chances this year either.  So, the variety I am most excited about is ......................



AMAZON CHOCOLATE!

I have read so many good things about this variety, I just hope it does as well for me as it has for others since soil, climate, yadda-yadda-yadda can all influence taste.  Mmmmmm.  Can you taste those sun warmed summer tomatoes yet?

Today's Happenings

So today has been interesting. We started the morning off blueberry picking. The farm was perfect- they do p.y.o. raspberries and blueberries, plus raise animals for meat. I had intended on going raspberry picking, but after traveling 35 minutes to get there it was blueberries that were ripe. A bit disappointed, but no big deal. The folks were some of the nicest people I have run into in this type of establishment, DuFort Farms over in Rehobeth.

So off we went with our milk jugs tied around our necks. We were escorted to suggested row and off we went! The kids discovered a cat along the way and that was the end of their picking, but it was just as well since the little one was eating three for every one that went in her jug despite the continuous scolding. We left with 5.5 lbs of blues and just under a pound of breakfast sausage, all for around $22.00- not bad!

This is by far the largest blueberry inventory I have ever had..... 2 quarts went into the freezer, 3 cups will be going into a dessert, Blueberry Galette with Lemon Ice Cream, and I am not sure yet about the rest.

Look at this little piece of gorgeousness! An heirloom dwarf glad from Old House Gardens, Boone maybe?? Anyway, the darlings are so pricey I only ordered one bulb, but it is stunning. I love the blue pollen against the red.

I came to the realization tonight while making bread and butter pickles that I made a crucial error when making the zucchini pickles. I taste tested one while still warm and found it unappealing and salty. Yeah, that's because the pickling salt that was meant to only be used in a water soak went into the liquid pickling mixture instead. OOPS! Not sure if this will affect the whole acidity balance for storage/spoilage.....hoping not! After perusing more recipes they will taste more like a dill (which I can only stomach while preggers), luckily it was only 1/4 pickling salt for something like 6 pints of pickles. Should I chuck these babies or risk food poisoning, lol!?!