Exciting times on the homestead in February – this is the time of year for dreaming. We spent January organizing our seed stash and perusing many seed catalogs, both paper and online. We have bought our seeds and started planning our gardens for the incoming spring season.
This year we split The bulk of our order between Burpees Seeds and Johnny’s Select Seeds.
Johnny’s is our go to, but Burpee’s was having an amazing BOGO sale on all seeds with $2.99 shipping. And then, they had another 25% off site wide sale a week later- so we went back and got some more.
We got some oldies and goodies, but also some really extravagant newbies.
So here’s a taste of what’s in store for our garden this year- like Always, I have included plenty of links, and I am not being paid in anyway. I just really like these companies and am happy with my seed purchases this year.
Artichoke– this is really for me- I love artichokes but they’re pretty expensive. So I went with a variety that is gonna do well in Maine because it’s stock is from here- the Colorado Star from Johnny’s. She’s an early maturing, purple beauty. This will be a first attempt too, so wish me luck.
Asparagus– As we mentioned in our 2019 Goals, we are eager to expand our perineal gardens each year. This year is Asparagus and we went with one type from each place: Started Purple Passion roots from Johnny’s and 1500 Martha Washington seeds from Burpee’s. We know the seeds will be an extra years work but the investment will be worth it- that pack of seeds was $9. Our 100 started roots were $82.
Beans– we plant a lot of beans every year, and a large variety as well. We used up most of our bean seed last year, and would have gladly grown more. So for this year we got the Burpee Dragon Tongue Wax Bean and Amethyst and Provider Beans from Johnnys.
Leftover from last year: light red kidney beans, Kenearly yellow eye, stringless green. And a very small amount of black bean. Still on the search for pinto and black beans.
Beets– we had plenty of beet seed ( babybeat) from last year, but I like a variety. So I added in Touchstone Gold from Johnny’s (on sale!) and Bull’s Blood from Burpee. I’m excited to use the bull’s blood in yarn dying projects as well as food.
Carrot– we had a fair amount of carrot seed left, but it’s some of our oldest, dustiest seed. We also have a small amount of So we bought one pack of Sugarsnax from Burpee.
Flowers & Herbs – also mentioned before, we are getting bees this spring. So we need lots of beautiful perineal flowers and yummy herbs that bloom at different times to accommodate them. We also need certain culinary, tea and medicinal herbs. We purchased Chamomile, Nema-gone Marigold, Mammoth Sunflowers, Delphiniums , Nasturtiums, Dill, chives,Ring of fire, Valerian, Borage, Mexican mint marigold, Anise Hyssop, Calendula, and Echinacea. As many years past, I’ll end up buying individual herb plants as I see them I’m sure.
Greens– we still have a fair amount of mixed salad greens, lettuces and cabbage seeds, so all we invested in this year was a large pack of Seaside Spinach. Supposedly has an extended baby leaf harvest, but we shall see.
Melons– we live in a climate that isn’t exactly conducive to growing melons. But we do. Every year we get something for our labor and it’s usually amazing. It requires early seed starting under Grow lights, planting with water retention weed restricting fabric and watering deeply. Throwing blankets over the plants when early frosts hit… This year we are trying out the Savor melon and the Sugarbaby watermelon, both from Johnny’s.
Onions– we bought 300 Patterson Onion Bulbs from Burpee as they were on sale.
Peas- we used every single pea seed we had in last years garden. Last year we got a couple different types, but the one I really liked was the Golden Sweet Pea from Johnny’s. We also selected a Sugar Sprint from Johnny’s and a fun new Purple Podded Pea from Burpee’s.
Pepper– we have a lot of pepper seed left over from last year – jalapeño, red hot, sweet chocolate and lunchbox minis… this year we added the Amazing 2.
Pumpkin– my very best friend is getting married this September, and other then being a bridesmaid( lol at 33, with two kids) she asked us to grow her some pumpkins. The weddings in late September, so we ordered a lot of varieties hoping that we’ll get her some decorations. From Johnny’s- Cinnamon Girl, Jill-be-Littles, Rouge Vif D’Etampes and Big Moose. From Burpees we selected the Musquee De Provence
Squashes– as always, these fall into two categories- summer and winter. For summer squash we went with two new types of zucchini’s from Burpees- the Mixed Color Ball Hybrid and the Sure Thing. For winter squashes we got the Boston Marrow from Burpees, and Blue Hubbard, Black Forest and Winter Sweet from Johnny’s.
We decided to have some fun and plant some gourds too- the Loofah (spelled Luffa on site), and two ornamental mixes- one small and one large.
Lastly- not seeds, but in an effort to ditch plastic, we invested in soil block makers- a 4 pack and a 20 pack. They’re apparently kinda hard to learn but worth every penny once you get it.
We had plenty of cures, tomatoes, corn so we didn’t order any new types of those. I could have tho. I love seed shopping.
Until next time, have a wicked good day! We
Gillis Gardens, LLC 