Buying Seeds for the Garden

Miracles of seeds...a tiny plant pushes through the soil.

We made our annual spring trip to DeBruyn Seeds in Zeeland, Michigan to buy the seeds for our garden. We like DeBruyn because he has a huge variety of seeds in bulk. Picking out seeds here is like going to a candy store for kids. So many delights.

I have included the seed varieties we are planting in the garden this year. Do you have a favorite place to buy seeds? What seed varieties do you favor for your garden? Leave your answer in the comment section. Thank you.

SEED VARIETY


BASIL LARGE LEAF

BEAN JADE

BEAN POLE KENTUCKY BLUE

BEAN PURPLE

BEAN YELLOW CARSON

BEETS RUBY QUEEN

BROCCOLI PACKMAN

CABBAGE EARLY GOLDEN ACRE

CABBAGE EARLY WAKEFIELD

CABBAGE RED

CAULIFLOWER SELF BLANCHE

CORN SWEET N. XTRA SWEET

INOCULANT

KOHLRABI

LETTUCE BUTTERCRUNCH

LETTUCE PARIS ISLAND ROMAINE

MUSKMELON ATHENA

ONION WHITE

ONION PLANTS WHITE

ONION SWEET DELITE

OREGANO

PEAS OREGAN GIANT

PEAS SUGAR DADDY

POTATO AUSTREIAN CRESENT

PUMPKIN HOWDIN FIELD

RADISH RED CHERRY

SPINACH TYEE

SQUASH BUTTERNUT AVALON HYB

TOMATO SWEET 100

WATERMELON SEEDLESS

WHITE ONION SETS

YELLOW ONION SETS

ZUCCHINI BUSH

ZUCCHINI YELLOW PROLIFIC STRAIT

Time for the Greenhouse

Spring in Michigan..My DH put the greenhouse up. He is roarin' to get out and garden, but do you see those snowflakes falling in this picture? Oh yes, the snow fell even harder later on Tuesday/Wednesday.

Snow, snow, go away. We want to garden, dig, and play.

The bathroom is now the official growing/holding chamber till the plants are moved to the greenhouse. These are the plants my DH started in FL and yes, we hauled them all the way home in the back of our pick-up truck. They don't look any worse for wear, but really need a good dose of sunlight.

Check out the video to the right of the page on how my DH builds his greenhouse. If you have questions, please ask in the comments.

Happy Easter, Happy Spring

Happy Easter, Happy Spring

Wishing you Easter blessings, sunshine, love and joy this spring season and all year!

Video--How to Start a Vegetable Garden from Howcast

This video has lots of quick information if you are beginning vegetable gardener or an experienced one. I learned to leave the top of a fence unsupported so a varmint can't climb it due to his weight. Interesting. Hmm...what about digging under it?

Hope you enjoy this entertaining video. Have questions? Please ask.

Earth Day 2011 is April 22

I believe gardeners have a kinship with the earth and want to do all we can to sustain it. Earth Day was founded by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson on April 22, 1970 as a teach-in. This is considered to be the beginning of the conservation movement. The day is observed to create awareness about the destruction of our natural environment and a call to take action to care for our air, water, and vegetation. Many groups emphasize the need for re-cycling and promote community events for recycling.

The Nature Conservancy is promoting a Picnic for the Planet on Earth Day. Join thousands of people around the world by choosing healthy foods for your outdoor picnic.

Heading North

We leave tomorrow for the northern regions. We've had a wonderful time in Florida this winter and a very successful growing season. Check out my previous posts on this garden.

I love Florida in the winter. It is a great place to be to escape the snow and blizzards of the north country. But I am so ready to return home for kisses and hugs. Emails, Facebook and phone calls, not into texting yet, will never replace the actual touch, smell, and loving embrace of my family.
My DH has the back of the blue Dodge truck, named Big Blue, packed with eight flats of vegetable plants..all cold tolerant e.g. cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and more...all ready to share with his brother and our grandson for their gardens.

Spring is such an exciting, hopeful time. Go out and enjoy!



Garden Publisher: Timber Press

If you need a book on gardening, ornamental and edible horticulture, sustainabiltiy and more, Timber Press probably has a book on that topic. Located in the Pacific northwest, this publishing house covers a lot of information for gardeners in all four corners of the US, Canada, and the UK.

The gorgeous photography in the books of  this premier gardening publisher is breathtaking. Check the page where the subjects of the books are listed. I am sure you will find one book out of the 431 published books that will interest you. The categories help you decide which one or more to choose on a topic.

Happy Reading!

A Visit to a Florida Hydro Vegetable Farm

We visited the Hydro Harvest Farm in Ruskin, Florida, recently. It is an amazing sight to see this unique growing operation on one acre producing veggies that would normally take six acres. The plants are grown in styrofoam containers stacked six high on a pole and watered through a piping system over the top. Enough water has to be delivered to each stack in order to flow through the top container all the way to the bottom. Of course it is all automated, so no standing around with a hose in the farmer's hand all day. The plants are grown in a mixture of vermiculite and perlite, no dirt..soil.

Hydro Harvest Farm sells the home-grown vegetables in their farm market. The prices are understandably a little higher than in grocery stores, but are called organic. People seem to want to buy the products because this is the fifth year for the growing operation whose season is from October-June in Florida.

You're invited to check out my attempt at entertaining you with this movie I made of our visit. Enjoy.

Starting Seeds? Here's a Unique Idea...

Little miracles inside these seeds.

It's that time again. Start those seeds for your garden.

My fellow blogging friend, Celia Leaman, and avid gardener shares her unique idea for starting her seeds-Wishing to start some seeds, and lacking a dedicated bottom heater, I had the brilliant idea of sowing the seeds in trays, placing them in a shallow box lid and encasing the whole thing in a large polythene bag which I slid into one side of our large king bed. My husband being away, I kept them there for a day or two, the heater turned on low. I slept in the other side! So warm and cosy, those seeds germinated in no time!

Celia's idea for sprouting seeds is very creative. Check out this previous post on how my DH sprouted seeds too.

Do you have a tip on germinating your seeds? Please let us know your secret...

Celia and I post blogs at Women Etcetera and you can too. It is a group dedicated to women over 50. The blogs are inspirational, poignant, funny, thoughtful, and sometimes controversial. Come join us. Learn more about this wonderful group of women whose "diverse pasts have brought us to this point--our mutual desires, wisdom to share, and hope for the future bring us together." Check out this site. You may want to sign up to join a local group in your area or to blog along with us.

April Fool's Day

http://www/I bet you thought you were going to read a blog about gardening. Not today--it's April Fool's Day so I am tricking you into discovering another part of my life. I am an author writing as J. Q. Rose.  My mystery/light horror e-book, Sunshine Boulevard was released March 1. Go to the J. Q. Rose website to find out more about me and the e-book.

E-books are the newest technology and are turning the publishing world upside down. There are so many positives for e-books--saving trees, no return fees, cheaper than print books, storage space not necessary (Kindle holds 1000 titles), and some day kids won't have to haul heavy books in their back packs. I love my kindle. You don't need a special e-reader or phone, etc to read an e-book. Just download it to your computer and read it there.

So, did I fool you?