So many seeds to choose from!

One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides. ~W.E. Johns, The Passing Show


I just ordered my seeds! Now I am just waiting for them to arrive…

I used to think there were only red tomatoes and green green beans, and that carrots only came in the long, pointy, and orange variety. Well, let me let you something: that is not the case! Not by a long shot. Here are a sampling of some of the plants I am hoping on growing this season:


Black Valentine (bean) – it’s a compact stringless bean bush with green beans that have black beans inside! You can eat them fresh, steamed, or wait until the pods dry out and harvest the beans to keep for later. It’s an heirloom introduced back in 1850’s.





Rainbow Cherry Tomato mix – red, pink, green, yellow, brown, orange, and white cherry tomatoes… just wow! Anyone else curious about a white tomato?! Or pink? What a cool salad this is going to make!



Miniature White (cucumber) - Produce small, very flavorful cucumbers that are (as the name suggests) white!





Silver Fir Tree (tomato) - Russian heirloom tomato that has silvery, oddly carrot-shaped leaves and produces an early crop of red 3-4 inch tomatoes.


Things I have found useful when picking plants for containers!

1) make sure the container is deep enough (don't want to limit growth/production)
2) really think about compact varieties of plants (one’s that do well in small spaces) -- a few examples: get determinate tomato varieties (versus indeterminate varieties that need pruning, bigger pots), smaller or shorter root crop varieties (like spherical carrots! and no, I am not making that up!) grow better in containers than long ones, bush peas/beans (versus runner beans/peas)
3) some plants just don't do well in containers or are a lot of work for little yield : big tomatoes, broccoli, artichokes, most squashes, just to name a few...

A few places to get some pretty cool seeds:

Seed Savers Exchange - http://www.seedsavers.org/
Seeds of Change - http://www.seedsofchange.com/
Heirloom Seeds - http://heirloomseeds.com/
Native Seed Search (for southwesterns in particular) - www.nativeseeds.org/
Kokopelli Seed Foundation - http://www.kokopelli-seed-foundation.com/