2015 Seed Catalog!

The 2015 seed catalog arriving is pretty much the best thing that happens in winter (Well, aside from my birthday!) It combines two of my favorite things: garden planning and list making. There is something so euphoric about putting pen to paper to make a list. It's a bizarre fetish I have had since youth. When that is coupled by all the daydreaming of what spring will bring it almost makes winter bearable.

Following the practice of last year we will only be planting heirloom varieties and will be ordering seeds from Baker Creek again. I love growing food with history as well as with health benefits and tastes untouched by the modern food industry, which is the driving passion of Baker Creek. I like being able to support a company whose ideals I can stand behind and they have very reasonable prices and great turn around on orders.  If you haven't had a chance to check out this company and what the stand for take a minute to look at their website www.rareseeds.com.

This year my focus will be on new/more varieties as well as seed saving. Here is what will be in the garden in 2015:

Beans
     Blue Lake Bush
     Beurre De Rocquencourt
     Dragon Tongue
Beets
    Chiogga
Broccoli
     Waltham 29
Cabbage
     Red Express
Carrots
     Amarillo
     Nantes Scarlet
Corn
     Golden Bantam 12 Row
Cucumber
     Muncher
Eggplant
     Rosa Bianca
Lettuce
     Rocky Top Lettuce Salad
     Little Gem
Melon
     Minnesota Midget
     Blacktail Mountain Watermelon
Onion
     Red of Florence
     Stuttgarter
     Zebrune Shallot
Peas
     Tall Telephone
     Sugar Ann
Peppers
     Anaheim
     Poblano
     Thai Chili
     Bullnose
     Jalapeno
Radish
     Early Scarlet Globe
     Purple Plum
     White Hailstone
Squash
     Lemon Squash
     Black Beauty Zucchini
     Butternut Waltham
     Bush Buttercup
     Table Queen Bush Acorn
     Vegetable Spaghetti
     Connecticut Field Pumpkin
     Sugar Pie Pumpkin
Swiss Chard
     Vulcan Chard
Tomatoes
     Ozark Pink
     Comstock Slice and Sauce
     Black Cherry
     Chocolate Pear
     Dr. Carolyn
Herbs
     Basil, Genovese
     Chamomile
     Chives, Common
     Cilantro
     Dill, Bouquet
     Parsley, Giant of Italy
     Rosemary
     Sage
     Thyme

Is anyone else spending their winter dreaming of warmer days? Any garden planning and/or seed ordering keeping you going until spring?

Putting the Garden to Bed

We spent a bit of the day yesterday and today putting our garden to bed for the winter. It was so nice to stand out in the sunshine and breathe in some fresh air before the weather turns colder. I had the chickens and the girls to keep me company as I got started turning it under yesterday and I had my handsome husband to help with the shoveling of our lovely compost and carrying of the hay bales today. I walked my garden behind my tiller (that I love more than one should probably love a piece of machinery) and I sang loudly along to my Pandora 90's Country station (with head phones on..I'm that girl. I don't mean to be, but I am. I'm sorry to anyone who has to hear me!) I walked and walked and found myself thinking of each thing that we grew as I went section by section. I was so pleased with how our first year garden grew and I went from reminiscing to planning for next year. I began to think of all the things I would grow, how they would look, taste and who I would share them with. One of my favorite parts of gardening with year was to have something I grew using my own hands to share with someone who would enjoy it. I think that sometimes when you find something you truly enjoy doing you want to show everyone how great it can be and convert them! Until next year garden...

A Stroll Through the Garden

I took a stroll through my rain-soaked garden this morning and since the ground is too saturated to weed I decided to bring my camera. I've been snapping shots with my camera and phone to document my first year of gardening. I figure it will be much like my children, I'll forget how far we have come until I look back. (Comparing children to plants? I may have jumped off the deep end- I'm okay with that.)
I have high hopes for a good harvest and despite some set backs due to pests, frost, and 70 mph winds I think we will still have one!

One crop that has succeeded my expectations was our salad bed. Even though the seeds washed together into lower lying areas after a substantial rainfall after planting we have harvested more lettuce than we could eat on our own and we still have a full garden bed full!

What's in the Garden

I had to come inside from planting and weeding the garden to cool off and reapply sunscreen so I thought I would take a minute to share what is in the garden this year. My long term goal is to grow all the vegetables my family eats, but since that is not practical for me to attempt this year the goal is to establish a good garden plot and grow a portion of our food. Since we are starting with a yard full of grass just getting the plot cleared and planted was a task. Many, many hours later we had our 25' x 45' cleared and ready for planting.

After researching where to get non GMO seeds I came across Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, who sells all types of open air pollinated heirloom seeds. They have the best story as to how they got started in seeds and a huge variety of seeds to choose from.  You can find more on them HERE. After deciding I would buy my seeds from them my dilemma became narrowing down my selections to a reasonable amount for our first year of gardening. (If you ever get a chance to browse their catalog you will see why that was so hard to do!) Here is what we planted:

The Orchard

Top priority after purchasing our home was to plant trees in our orchard. Fruit doesn't start growing for a few years so there could be no delay in getting them in the ground! We took breaks from home remodeling to dig holes and stand out in the back and water them faithfully. It was well worth it, as they are all doing great! Even though they are still pretty small almost all of them had blooms on them this spring and it makes me anxious for the day they will start to produce.

Our orchards consists of: 2 Kieffer pear trees, Bruce plum tree, Granny Smith apple, Fuji Apple, Elberta peach, Reliance peach, Van cherry and Royal Ann cherry tree. This year we will add a second variety plum to complete the orchard.

Lynch Homestead Orchard Year 2

The Orchard