Thursday, February 5, 2009

What to grow this year?

After selecting all the tomato varieties I am going to grow this year, it is now time to tackle what else to grow. This year I am planning on growing more things that can be preserved, froze or stored. I am also going to try and grow only things that will actually be eaten. Some of the things from last year that will not be grown this year are:

  • celery - I really don't like celery and what is one to do with a whole row of celery when it is ready all at once.
  • potatoes - I love eating potatoes, however they take up an enormous amount of my limited space and don't produce enough to be worth the space. I will get my fresh potato fix from the farmers market
  • bell peppers - they took forever to produce and tasted awful. I will be growing a few chili peppers though. I may also grow some sweet banana peppers, they did really well last season.
  • lima beans - was not really a fan of these.
  • eggpplant - I may or may not grow these. They did not produce anything last year.
With that out of the way, I have decide to grow almost everything from seed this year so I can select the variety of each plant. Being that I received next to no seed cataloged this year, which really isn't a bad thing, I set out looking through all the seed houses online. I ended up finding what I wanted but it was from 3 seed houses and the cost had escalated a little higher then I was interested in. The approximate total was $45 w/ shipping for 12 varieties of seed from the 3 seed houses.

My memory then kicked in and I recalled a post on Daphne's Dandelions Blog about Pinetree Garden Seeds. She was remarking how inexpensive they are and how you could then order many more varieties. I headed over to their page and was pleasantly surprised. Not only are they very inexpensive, they carry all kinds of different varieties and many are the same varieties that the other seed houses have but charge 300% more for. They had everything I was going to order from the other 3 seed houses, one stop shopping! The total from Pinetree was approximately $20 w/ shipping for 13 varieties of vegetables. I think pinetree is my new place to go for seed, everyone should check it out. Don't forget to look at their around the world vegetable section, I found many of my varieties there.

Once I finalize my order I will post a list of all the varieties I am going to grow this year.

12 comments:

  1. I do love Pinetree. I actually dislike their Around the World section. I like the seeds they have there, but when I'm looking for a pepper, I want them all in the same spot, not scattered in different countries. Their price is worth the effort however.

    I've thought about growing celery, but I think I'd grow one plant and just take the outside stalks off over time. I really don't eat that much celery, but do love it for soups.

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  2. Daphne - I agree, I almost did not find half of the things I was looking for because it was hidden in the "around the world" section.

    I grew celery last year from purchased transplants. I then blanched them with 1 gallon plant pots with the bottoms cut off. It did grow very well, I'm just not a big fan of it.

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  3. I think it's great that you are gonna preserve alot of your harvest. I think it's very wise, in this day and time.

    EG

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  4. I love it when he saves me money.... LOL ...

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  5. I think I have told you this before, but Pinetree's patio garden section is great for hydroponics and indoor gardens. It's where I got my seeds for this year.

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  6. Hey Dan

    I found your list of veggies you will not be growing this year pretty helpful for planning my own garden this year. This is my first year planting more than just some tomato plants and peppers on my porch and with all the choices I was having considerable trouble narrowing down. Does anyone have any advice on where to go for cost-efficient organic veggie seeds??? - I do live in Canada so shipping is sometimes a problem...

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  7. Hi Dan! I'm working on the same thing -- what (other than tomatoes) am I going to be planting in the garden this year!! I actually already have a few things planted right now that should be finishing up before I get ready to do my spring/summer planting.

    And, I've already planted some of my potatoes. The Yukon Golds seed potatoes I had harvested last year were sprouting out so I really needed to get them in the dirt. I'm been keeping the garden covered with plastic for the nights and mornings that we dip below freezig temps.

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  8. EG - It is a good idea to preserve the produce, it keeps the garden going even when it is under snow. I may even get around to making a tiny root cellar in the basement.

    Hendria - haha, so funny!

    Red Icculus - I don't recall you telling me that, I will have to check out their patio garden section too.

    Urban Environmentalist - Hi, I have found specifically organic seed is some times hard to come by and at a reasonable cost. There are however many seed houses that sell open pollinated heirloom seed that is not treated & most likely the plants have never seen a pesticide or chemical fertilizer. Good places to look are Seed Savers Exchange, Seeds of Change, OSG, William Dam, Pinetree Garden Seeds, Stokes etc. You may also find this link interesting, it is a list of Organic seed growers, many of them Canadian.

    Judy - you're so lucky to be planting already and to have space to grow spuds. I sent your seeds during a snow storm, lets hope none of that fallows them :-)

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  9. Dan - Thanks so much for the detailed reply and the list was very helpful :)

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  10. Dan, funny you planted celery and don't like it. I hope someone in your family does... that's why I planted onions.

    As for potatoes, do my BAYG bins... no space whatsoever. Or buy them from the market, whatever, hehe.

    Glad you found a great deal. I'll have to check out Pinetree for next year. This year was Territorial and Tomatofest for me.

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  11. I totally agree that you shouldn't grow things you don't love. This is the reason why I will only grow one zucchini plant this year. One will be more than enough!

    Sandy

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  12. Sinfonian - Pinetree is worth a look, great deals to be had. I think I might try one of your potato bins this year, if I can find room after getting all these seeds.

    Sandy - Some times I think zucchini's want to take over the earth.

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