Get Ready for Spring Gardening

Gardening Quote by Helen Hayes

Hi and welcome to the Garden for Eatin' blog.

The folks digging out from the snow and bundling up in coats and boots are ready to see a few signs of spring. This long, cold winter makes us long for the warm sunshine, gentle breezes, and spring flowers. Hang in there, it will be here. 

Grab those seed catalogs and dream of fresh veggies and tasty meals. It may be too early to actually start your seeds, depending on what plant hardiness zone you are in, but you can check out what you have in stock and get what you need ordered now. Also clean out containers and check on your supply of seed starting soil.

Green pepper seedlings.

You don't have to start seeds for your tomato, peppers, lettuce, or cole crops such as cabbage and broccoli, but you will save a few bucks  by starting your own. If you prefer to purchase plants this spring, they will be available at stores. Be sure to pick up healthy ones. Check on the underside of the leaves and stems for bugs, black spots, and yellowing leaves.

Taking some time now assures that you'll be ready to hit the ground running when the sun shines and spring arrives.!

Looking forward to sharing this 2015 gardening season with you!

Please take a minute and leave a comment to tell us what you are planning to grow in your vegetable garden. Do you have a garden plot, containers, raised beds, vertical beds for growing? Thank you.

Be sure to subscribe to the Garden for Eatin' blog for blog post updates. It's going to be a great garden this year!!

Saving Seeds

Saving seeds is an old tradition handed down from our earliest forefathers to preserve the  best seeds for generations. Saved seeds are the strongest ones from the best plants in your garden..perhaps the biggest, the tastiest, the healthiest, the prettiest...I don't know about that one!

This practice can save you money since you need not purchase the seed packs. And you have experience with growing this vegetable in your own garden..a track record of sorts, so you know what to expect from it next year, especially if you keep a garden journal.

We love picking off the seed pods and showing our grandchildren all the seeds packed in there. Their eyes open wide with wonder. Even I am in amazement that a little seed can produce abundant food for us. Seeds truly are a miracle you can watch in progress.

For information about seed saving go to Urban Farm Online article or pick up their latest magazine issue of Urban Farm .

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

Seed Starting

In this photo my DH placed the seeds on a wet paper towel and set them in a warm place to sprout.

Time to check the backs of your seed packages for seed starting time. Read the instructions on the back of each seed packet so will be able to transplant a strong healthy plant in the garden this spring.

Check my previous post on seed germination for helpful information for giving your seeds a good start. There are so many containers to use and methods of transplanting.

A video by Peaceful Valley is interesting, but definitely not the only way to start seeds. Watch it and you may find some interesting tips and of course feed your urge to get out the seeds and go...LOL..Be patient, you Northerners. You don't want to get too anxious and have the seeds indoors growing too large to transplant this spring. Yep, we've been there and done that!! Have fun!

Toilet Paper and Beet Seeds



Yes, this is Scott's toilet paper with beet seeds glued to it.



My ever resourceful DH is using toilet paper to plant beet seeds. He mixes flour and water in the cap of a gallon milk jug, lays out the TP on the table, dips the beet seed into the flour glue with tweezers and then sets the seed in a row. After they are glued on, he gently folds the paper over, digs a trench in the garden soil, and places the strip into the ground and covers.

This method of planting beets is certainly easier on the back and knees. He also plants radish seed this way now too. He experimented this summer in our Michigan garden using newspaper, but the little roots couldn't get through the newspaper. The TP is perfect for the roots to establish themselves.

My DH also mentioned that after the seed sprouts, remove extra sprouts in order to make a nice size beet.

Sprouting Seeds--Awesome!

I love this photo of the tiny sprouted seeds in the container. My DH needs tweezers to handle the delicate miracles. Some day these seeds will mature into Christa tomato plants and Red Derby bibb lettuce plants, then develop the fruit that we can eat and enjoy.

It takes patience and care from you, the gardener, and rains and sunshine from Heaven. I am beginning to understand the gardeners who do this year after year. The awe and wonder of this mysterious seed producing food is always thrilling and satisfying for the body and the soul.

For more information on starting seeds for your garden, check out my post on planting seeds for your garden.

Waiting for Spring is Difficult

I know the waiting for decent weather is almost unbearable. The winter has been long and hard. You are ready for some warm sunshine to warm up those spring bulbs, to melt the snow off the garden, to brighten your day. You are ready to dig in that dirt preparing it for those baby plants you are so lovingly nurturing these dark winter days. You realize that the day will come when you will actually plant the seed in straight (?) rows and get the fence up around the plot to keep out the varmints.

Don't fret about it. Read those seed catalogs and check out some gardening books from the library or research on the Internet. There are some great blogs about gardening and information on vegetable gardening at http://www.squidoo.com/ Enjoy them while you have time to dig around, not in the dirt, but in the pages and websites.

I know this year you will truly appreciate the signs that spring is just around the corner. Take it all in, perhaps photograph some of them. Crocus breaking through the snow or a robin looking for worms in your yard.

I know the waiting is difficult. But, oh the celebration, when spring gets here! Woot Woot!!

Sprouting Onion Seeds

These tiny little black seeds are the beginning of candy onions to eat this fall. We discovered these delicious candy onions while shopping at the Shipshewana, IN flea market in September. They are a mild, sweet onion good for cooking or in salads.

My always adventurous DH decided to sprout these seeds and start the plants while we are here in FL. Yes, we will baby them until we leave for Michigan in April.

In the first photo, he is scoring the hard shell of the seed in order to make it easier for the little sprout to get through the covering.

He put the scored seed on a wet paper towel in small plastic containers (including the lid from the Miracle Whip jar). My DH placed them on the wireless router and on the cable modem box (shh, don't tell the cable guys). The temperature on top of the boxes are just warm enough to coax the seeds to sprout. In the picture, you can see one container on the router right next to our electric pencil sharpener.

Within a few days, the seeds sprouted. Next he will plant the seeds in cell packs.

It's always fun to play with seeds. They are powerful little mysteries of creation.

Waiting for Spring

There's not much you can do about hurrying up nice spring weather for planting. Let's face it. You are chomping at the bit after looking through those seed catalogs and you are ready to get some dirt under your nails. Alas, after looking out the window or walking outdoors, you realize there is no way that spring is close. (unless you live in a Southern state..)

So what do you do to chase away those can't-garden-blues? Now is the time to prepare for gardening such as:

1. Clean out pots/containers that you will need for transplanting.
2. Inventory for transplanting--such as germination mix, soil, ingredients for mixing soil, cell packs, warming mats, lights.
3. Clean and sharpen tools.
4. Find that soil report from the extension office.
5. Look over your journal from last year and make notes for improving this spring's garden. If you didn't keep a journal, look into ways of keeping one for this coming year. It can be a spiral book for jotting notes or something you use online. Decide what will work best for you.
6. Go through photos from last year and organize them into digital folders that make sense. Group photos of the tomatoes in one, beans in another, etc. You may even want to play with making a movie of your garden using Movie Maker or other programs.
7. Look for recipes you want to try this year using your fresh garden produce. (and please feel free to share them here for all of us. It's fun to experiement.)

Waiting for spring to arrive will drive many gardeners to start planting seeds indoors too soon. Oh yes, we are guilty of getting too anxious. Know when you can actually set out transplants in your zone without worrying about a heavy frost killing them. Then backtrack from that date so you can figure out by reading the seed packet the dates for planting the seed indoors. Seeding too soon can lead to plants overgrowing while waiting for the optimal planting weather.

Before you know it you will be out in the dirt again. Oh, maybe you should add to the list--buy some Ben Gay and and a hot pad for your aching back!

Garden Seed Catalog Time

We received our first seed catalog in the mail yesterday from Stokes Seeds. My husband spent the evening perusing it. A garden seed catalog for a gardener is like a toy catalog to an eight year old. The excitement, the possibilities, the new seeds, the heirloom seeds, and all the gorgeous pictures of products.

If you want an overview and review of companies and their garden catalogs check out this link to Dave's Garden. The site offers "the Garden Watchdog, a free directory of 6,964 mail order gardening companies." Now this may take you more than an evening to figure out what catalogs NOT to order. Have fun. It is a great way to spend a cold winter evening.