BS: Seed Catalogs comin' in the Mailbox

Subject: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Janie
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 12:10 PM

This coming year was the year I was going to seriously cut back.

Can't take care of all the beds. Drought so bad this fall I didn't even plant a fall veggie garden. The lettuce, kale, etc. seeds I ordered just sitting in their packets and bags. No flower or veggie beds cleaned up and mulched for winter. No crimson clover sown. Pots of very dead geraniums and coleus lining my front steps--not one single pansy did I plant this fall. Not one tulip mail-ordered for my annual New Year's Day bulb-planting ritual.

Too busy. Too tired. Too stiff in the joints.

But....the seed catologs are starting to arrive. I'm starting to dream and drool of lush veggie gardens and flowerbeds awash in wind and bloom....asked for a gift certificate from Gardener's Supply or Smith & Hawkin from Santa Claus....when I imagine taking out some of the flowerbeds, I hear the plants and the neighbors weeping in sorrow. Been looking at photos from 2 and 3 years ago, when it really was stunningly beautiful out there...thinking....if I thinned that....moved that....maybe this year it will rain when it needs to...hmmm...says here that this plant likes it dry....maybe I could cut back some on work hours at the clinic (LOL!)....

My name's Janie, and I'm a gardeneraholic. Ya' with me? Wanna swap seeds or catalogs?

Janie, the hopeless case.

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: LilyFestre
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 12:21 PM

Hi Janie,

   Hello Everybody. My name is Michelle and I'm a seed catalog and high hopes addict. I received 2 seed catalogs this week and I know I swore that I would NEVER try to grow tomatoes from seeds again, I'm looking at those beautiful photos and just KNOW I can do it THIS year. I promise that I won't get bored with thinning and transplanting the seedlings a month after they outgrow their beginning spots. I won't bitch that I have no room on any of my tables because of all the germinating seeds, I won't. I promise. I will water/mist them as needed. I turn the flats every 4 days or so in order to help my little plants to grow up to be straight and tall. I will put a small fan on low and aim it at the seeds to help them develop stronger stalks. I also promise not to cry when the cats get in and wreck half of all my very hard earned success.

   Ah yes....the hopes and promise that only a seed catalog can bring when old man winter is howling outside my window....

I'm with you Janie....I'm with you.

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 12:24 PM

Spreading seeds can cause worse things than that!
Giok ☺

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Peace
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 12:27 PM

☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺
☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺
☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺
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☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺
☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺
☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺

Thanks, John.

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 12:38 PM

My name is Maggie and I'm also a garden-holic. But the drought messed up my routine, and I need a fix. It has been so dry that I didn't put in my onion and garlic this fall--even though they're good in cold weather they do need water, but my hoses are put away and my spigots are covered for the cold weather. No cruciferous veggies--broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, or kale.

It means that later on, once the rain starts, I'll have to do some cold weather reconnoitering (I don't really like that--my nose runs and my eyes water too much to see what I'm doing) to get the cool weather stuff in so there is some growth before the heat of next summer.

It's 12 steps to my garden from the side door of the garage. I'll be okay after a while. . . once I can get dirt under my nails and haul the shovels and the spade fork out in the wheelbarrow.

I will make due for now with a few potted plants on the front porch.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: MMario
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 12:43 PM

I managed to weed and mulch 11 of the 22 gardens on our property this year - up from 7 last year. Since we had a wedding in the family and my b-i-l (known as he who creates gardens and abandons them annually) paid to have the other 11 weeded and mulched I may actually get them all done this year. maybe. hopefully.

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: MMario
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 12:46 PM

SRS - when you talk about 12 step program you really mean it, eh?

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Janie
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 12:53 PM

This is a closed meeting of "Gardenholics Anonymous." If you believe you have an addiction to gardening you are welcome here. We are a group of people who come together to share our experience, strength and hope to enable others to also become addicted to growing plants, irrespective of climate zone and annual rainfall. (See testimonials above.)

1. We admit we are powerless over bermuda grass in our garden beds, that we can not pass up a tray of seedlings.

2. We admit the neighbors really wish we would get rid of the huge pile of black pots next to the compost that we are sure we will need some time.

3. We admit that we will do everything in our power to get other people to start gardening so that we can pass on perfectly good plant divisions that otherwise must be composted.

4. We admit that we don't care if the family can not possibly consume that much loose leaf lettuce--it just looks so pretty out there in the veggie garden.

5. And yes, we admit that we do NOT need 100 each of 30 different varieties of plants and veggies, but you don't expect me to waste all those seeds do you?

6. We became willing to let house go dirty and family go hungry to grab a few more hours of time in the garden.

7. We admit our children are late for school when we bump into a fellow gardener at the coffee shop.

8. We believe digging in the dirt is good for what ails ya'

9. We believe the $400 birdbath is a good investment--it should be worth some bucks to the kids at the estate sale (if it doesn't crack and craze from winters outside.)

10. We do not care that good, organic onions and potatoes can be bought for less than we can grow them.

11. We vow never to drive past a cute little Mom&Pop Garden Center on our way to or from the beach.

12. When we die, don't embalm us. Put our ashes in the compost or plant a tree over top of our graves.

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: LilyFestre
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 12:54 PM

known as he who creates gardens and abandons them annually)

LOLOL

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Kaleea
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 01:11 PM

Hi, I'm Kaleea, and I'm a gardenerholic.
    ("hi, Kaleea.")
I've been in recovery for for several years now. I'd prolly still be out in the garden if life hadn't thrown me a few curves & I don't have a yard now &, well, the old back & knees won't bend much anymore anyways, and now I'm in an apartment.
I used to have houseplants, but when I moved cross country, I gave away all my plants. Cold turkey. Just like that. I even gave away my beloved Shamrock I didn't think would make it all those days in the hot car. And a few packages of flower seeds I had stashed. And the few tools I had left.
No seed catalogs. No Bulb catalogs. No pots. No gardening magazines. Not even the Mother Earth News. Just a couple of vases for cut flowers.
I'm a little worried, though. Friends came over for dinner last weekend & brought a Poinsettia. I gingerly watered it yesterday. It's really pretty. I'm afraid that I'll decide to keep it after the holidays. That's where it all can start again. Waltzing it in & out of the closet. Comparing notes with others re their Poinsettias. When to bring it completely back out in the light. Keeping it out on my balcony, where it would look lonely & in need of company.
I'm planning to be gone for a couple of weeks over Christmas, & I think the best thing would be to give the darn thing away. Somebody has to come in & feed the cat, though, and it would be easy to ask them to just water it a couple of times. The Poinsettia--not the cat. She doesn't need water on her roots. Anyways, it's terribly tempting.
It's only one plant.
After the first of the year is when the real big push for getting catalogs happens. Would it really hurt to just look at a catalog?
What should I do?

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: MMario
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 01:16 PM

we've been in the house 33 years. 9 gardens have been abandoned/destroyed. 22 - oops - 23! (I forgot one) remain. He was too ill last year to put in a new garden. So except for one year - yup - annual gardens. Occasionally he will do something in them - but usually if he doesn't put in a new garden confines himself to planting a new tree smack in the middle of my mowing pattern.

Of course this doesn't count the rhodies along the drive, the rhodies along the edge of the wood, the burning bushes on the other drive, and the occsional tree. NOr the two "lilac islands" or the island in the pond, or the 3 water gardens, or the "swamp garden" or the 1/2 acre of waterlilies and lotus or the...

my veggies didn't do nuttin' this year - but I did get some very nice flowers. And the roses did wonderfully - which was a shock as we've never managed to overwinter any before.

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 01:19 PM

I knew you lived near the Finger Lakes, but didn't realise one of them was in your back garden!
Giok

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 01:25 PM

Yes! I would be richer if I didn't garden, but the thrill of walking out the back door and picking something that is going to go into that evening's meal is just too addictive for words. Knowing that the basket of onions in my pantry is from my garden gives every meal prepared with them an extra boost.

When I serve the dish I usually tell those at the table what went into it from my garden. Tomato sauce may contain my tomatoes, onions, garlic, and green peppers. I have a Middle-Eastern pork casserole recipe that I make with my home-grown onions, eggplants, and tomatoes.

Standing in the front yard talking to a neighbor who walks by can lead to a tour of the landscaping and the few veggies I've put out there. The spontaneous gift of a ripe tomato or pepper is a the best way to play "the lady bountiful."

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Peace
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 01:25 PM

I admire gardeners. My grandfather was one, my aunt another. Avid about it they were. Loved to see things grow, get dirt under their nails and tend to the flowers or vegetables. Haven't the patience for it myself, but I can see that those who garden have a contented peaceful look as they go about their self-appointed tasks. I can't claim to really understand it, but I do know that when the bug bites, ya got it forever.

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: MMario
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 01:28 PM

I love to garden - I'm not very successful at it, but I do love gardening - or gardens. Would like to resurect my "thyme garden" - (one of the ones that got abandoned - the addition to the house went on top of it.) I had 9 varieties at one point - and I know there are tons more.

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Peace
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 01:37 PM

"While there are over 100 varieties of thyme, all of which are fragrant to some extent, there are three that have a special place in the kitchen: lemon thyme (Thymus citriodorus), caraway thyme (Thymus herba-barona), and common thyme (Thymus vulgaris)."

from
here.

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 02:03 PM

Come all ye maidens young and fair
All ye that flourish in your prime
I'll have you to beware, and keep you garden fair
Let no man steal away your thyme.
G

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Janie
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 02:06 PM

Dear Kaleea,

Definitely have someone water that poinsetta while you are gone. If indeed you peek at the seed catologs just make sure your credit card is somewhere else. Not to tempt you or anything, but there are some really good "container" varieties of veggies and fruits around now...all it takes is a sunny spot.....

Enabling yours,

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: TheBigPinkLad
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 02:18 PM

I've tried to give it up, but each year stuff starts to grow and it gives off oxygen which I can't resist. It was just easy stuff like beans I grew first, but then I got in with this crowd called Seeds of Diversity and it's been bad ever since. They keep seeds every year what they got handed down from their ancestors and they're pretty potent. We share them with each other, which is OK, but I keep seeing more and more young people taking up the habit. And you don't even need money -- the seeds are bartered for stamps, other seeds or scrip from Canadian Tire stores. I'm thinking of trying basil this year ... in Zone 8! Where will it all end?

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Janie
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 02:19 PM

Maggie,

Ain't it the truth! It is just soul-satisfying to feed people with food you've grown yourself--and the additional freshness, tenderness and sugar in the veggies because they really did just come off the plant DO make a big difference in flavor. Changes the simplest salad into a gormet experience.

And getting to know your neighbors....Half the people I know in Hillsborough I met because I was out working in my front garden. The woman who lives across the street from me feels very isolated. She is not comfortable out of doors, is phobic of dogs, and bugs drive her nuts. I am the only person on the street who knows her (because I am out in the garden when she pulls out of the driveway.) One afternoon we were at the end of her driveway chatting. Several people walked by or drove by and stopped for a minute to greet me.

She said "How is it that you know so many people here?"

I replied "For the same reason I know you. Because I spend time out here in the yard."

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Janie
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 02:21 PM

TBPL,

Never! (I hope)

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Janie
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 02:35 PM

Help!

I have lost a catalog (either a home & garden or gardening supply catalog) that had a new product I was interested in. I'm hoping one of you have seen it and remember the company. It was their own design and I have not seen it elsewhere.

The product was a set of steel or cast aluminum brackets that can be bolted onto 2x4's top and bottom, and then patio pavers 12" to 24" can be slipped into the brackets to create raised beds at a very affordable cost. I explored framing in my veggie garden beds with cedar and it was going to be way beyond my means. Substantially raised beds will extend my life as a gardener for a number of years.

Thankee.

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 03:12 PM

Same here, I meet people because I'm out in the yard. Most of my nearest neighbors are also putterers, and sometimes a group of three or four of us will be standing at the foot of one's driveway, that one usually leaning on a rake or shovel. One day the sheriff drove by and asked if I'd noticed some youths go by on a bike--but I'd been busy digging and hadn't looked up for a while. I am out there, but sometimes you have to make a noise or walk over to get my attention if I'm focused on the project at hand.

This is my disease speaking: I'm going to redo several beds next year, now that I've figured out the dynamic of the soil in this yard and the best way to keep the most things looking good (plant xeriscape wherever possible and keep the moist and tender bits near the house where the soaker hose along the foundation will water them). Never plant box-like hedges around the house. Plants don't need to be architectural, I want them to look like they're supposed to look like. But I will put a few native hibiscus there because they'll grow bigger and gaudier with the extra water. And we can all use a few big bright stunners out in the front of the house.

A wonderful surprise this year--I originally had a couple of pots of spineless prickly pear cactus given me by friends that needed planting. I put them in one spot where the datura usually grows, next to a new yucca, but the datura didn't come back. The cactus was not thriving, so a couple of months later I made a sandy bed and moved them and now they're happy. Meanwhile, all of that digging stirred up the datura and we had a bumper crop after all. A few weeks ago we had our first frost, and upon examination of the spot I noticed two nice little spineless prickly pear pads that had come up under the datura. And several small yucca plants. Good! I can move this stuff around and make more desert beds next year. . .

SRS

P.S. My dogs just came in from a run in the yard. It's so cold they're staying in now, but Cinnamon (the pitbull) has a distinct scent of rosemary--she loves to go plow through my big plant in the back yard.

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: LilyFestre
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 03:15 PM

Kaleea,

   Cats and poinsettas don't mix. They can make your kitty cat very sick (or worse) should s/he chew on the leaves or petals. Can you trade it in for a Christmas cactus? Besides being safe for your kitty, you don't have to shut them up during the year....yeah...I know...some folks do...but hey...I *LIKE* that mine blooms at Easter! ;)

Michelle

PS. I love that I got a seed catalog from the Vermont Bean Seed Company.....based in Vermont? Nah..that would be far too easy...The VERMONT Bean Seed Company is based in Randolph, Wisconsin...I learn something new everyday!

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: MMario
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 03:29 PM

YOu can get "christmas" cactus that bloom at just about any time of the year - some rebloom. A family friend (now decades deceased) had, in addition to 500 plus varieties of daffodils and narcissus, about 75 varieties of christmas cactus. she said her favorite was really a "Labor Day: cactus - because it almost always started bloom the last week of August or the First week of September.

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Janie
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 04:41 PM

MMario--show me a gardener and I'll show you some one with an amazing capacity to tolerate one failure after another.

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Peace
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 05:53 PM

The kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the birds for mirth
One is nearer to God's heart in the garden
Than anywhere else on earth

Dorothy Gurney (1858 - 1952)

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Peace
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 06:30 PM

However, I saw that poem years back when I first memorized it and it scanned better:

The kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the birds for mirth
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 07:05 AM

Tip: If you don't put water on a cat's roots, you will be overrun with kittens.

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Donuel
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 09:43 AM

I'm gonna get my Morgan seed catalog, order 50lbs of "hens and chickens" and reseed my lawn with it.

If the authorities ask any questions I'll just say its a tribute to the movie Wizard of OZ.

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 11 Dec 05 - 06:01 AM

last night JennyO gave me a big bunch of silverbeet! Apparently it's removal did not even make a space in her garden bed.

I wonder why she hasn't posted to this thread?

Sandra (patiently awaiting her tomatoes)

I have a colleague who is a gardener (& probably a seed catalogue addict too) who has lots of pics of her garden as screensavers, including examples of this beautiful South African flower.   
gazanias

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Dec 05 - 10:44 AM

I'm thinking about hunting down a live xmas tree this year. I want an Italian stone pine to put out in the yard. They do much better here than most other types of pines.

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: JennyO
Date: 11 Dec 05 - 10:59 AM

Shouldn't be long now, Sandra. I've picked about 3 that were just starting to colour, to ripen on the kitchen window sill. I had the first one today - MMMMMMMM!

Not enough yet to give away, but there are plenty on the way. Still waiting for the passionfruit to ripen, too. Soon, hopefully.

Might be lotsa beans in a couple of weeks. Little baby ones are just starting. I grew those from last year's crop.

This year, a lot of things sprang up spontaneously from seed in the most unlikely places - especially tomatoes. It's always a bit of an adventure to find out what kind they will turn out to be. It's looking like a lot of those are going to be cherry tomatoes this time. Yum!

There's a very healthy basil plant growing in a crack in the path, and a few climbing beans shot up amongst the lettuce (where the beans were last year), and they have nowhere to climb :-( I'll point them towards the fence and eventually they'll reach it.

I love gardening!

Jenny

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: open mike
Date: 11 Dec 05 - 12:22 PM

the bermuda and johnson grass are VERY successful
and I, consequently and NOT.

I played the song Home Grown Tomatoes (by Guy and Susanna Clark)
yesterday, and was re-inspired to do more plamting next spring.
The last verse says "When i die don't bury me in a box in the
cemetary, out in the garden would be much better, then I can be
pushing up Home Grown Tomatoes....."

I was travelling last summer and cut way back on the planting
as i knew i would not be here to tend it. I was reminded of
what I heard about one of the former members of the Weavers,
Lee Hayes, who, as a diabetic had to have some of his toes
amputated due to poor circulation. He wrote a song "Ode to
My Toes" about them being buried in the compost pile.


Mario---22 gardens??!! do you mean garden BEDS??!!

but the best song for all of us un-wavering gardeners is
by Stephanie Davis...called Harvest time...
see www.stephaniedavis.net it is off of her Crocus in the Snow

Harvest Time, Stephanie Davis



Well, it starts with the catalog that comes in the mail
In the middle of the winter when you've had it with those pale

Thick skinned store-bought sorry hard-as-rock excuses for tomatoes with the flavor of a sock

And there on the cover sits the jucey red-ripe home grown tomato that you've had dancing in your head

Never mind you said last august that you'd had it up to here

With the hoeing and the weeding That's what you say every year



So you fix a cup of cocoa Sink into your favorite chair

Put your feet up and you thumb throught the pictures and compare

Big Boys, Better Boys, Early Girls, Romas,

The new disease and drought resistant hybrids from Sonoma

Then its onto peas and carrots, lima beans and beets and kale

and you never tried Kohlrabi, Say, the lettuce is on sale

What's a garden without sweet corn, better plant some marigolds

And you just read in Prevention about how garlic's good for colds



So you phone an order in that nearly melts your VISA card

and stare out at the foot of snow that blankets your back yard

and visualize a garden so peaceful and serene til at last

you close your eyes and slip into a dream about

Harvest Time, Bushels of red, ripe tomatoes

Harvest Time, Sweet corn that melts in your mouth



Well, the days turn to weeks, and the next thing you know

There's a robin at the feeder and the last patch of snow

disappears about the time The UPS truck backs up to your house

and you stand there awe struck as

47 perishable "plant right away" marked boxes

are unloaded on your porch And you say "are you sure?"

Yes ma'am, need your signature here

Looks like someone's gonna have 'em quite a garden this year

Well, you watch 'em drive away then you sink to your knees

cuz you feel a little woozy, 47 boxes please God I know i've got a problem

and we've had this talk before but, Help me this one last time
I won't order any more

Just then as if in answer to your prayer, Your sister's van pulls up into the driveway

with Aunt Martha, Uncle Stan, two nephews and a cousin

who just stopped to say hello, but soon are sporting callusses

as up and down each row, you , their warden, push 'em

It's a scene from Cool Hand Luke, over there, the clods need breaking

leave more space around that cuke, See those bags of steer manure?

bring a dozen over fast! Yes I see you have lumbago

But you'll thank me when at last its

Harvest Time, all the zuchinni your van can hold

Harvest Time, show you what a strawberry should taste like

Harvest Time, might even let you help me dig potatoes



Well that night it starts to sprinkle and you can't help but feelin' smug

cuz your garden's in the ground gettin' watereed while you're snug

underneath the covers, or at least until midnight when the temperature starts dropping

and in no time you are smack right in the middle of your garden

in your jammies on your knees, with a head light and a hammer

and some tarps and jeez louise it's cold

but you keep working til the last plant's safe from harm

til there's holes in your new jammies and brucitis in your arm


cuz by gosh you're a gardener, right down to your muddly clogs

and even when the rabbits take your lettuce

stray dogs pee on your zuchinni, and a fungus goes to your kale

cuz it's rained for 2 weeks solid, do you falter? do you fail?

yes of course you throw your hoe down stamp your feet

and call it quits declare for all the gods to hear

gardening is the pits, and you'll never plant another

and this one can bloody rot

and suddenly the sun breaks through the clouds and like as not

you see a couple of weeds you must have misssed the last go round

shake your head and meekly pick your hoe up off the ground and

hoe and keep on hoeing til your Romas dangle red ripe and juicy on the vine

Sweet corn towers over head, Beans hanging from their trellis

big orange pumpkins sprawl about, and you get that satisfied feeling

once more when you shout


Harvest Time, man the pressure cooker

Harvest Time, break out those canning jars

Harvest Time, you HAVE to take zuchinni, we're related

Harvest Time, now THIS is a tomato

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 05:01 AM

Open Mike - I love the song & have sent it to my gardener friend

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Janie
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 10:12 AM

So here in the Northern Hemisphere we're in daydream mode, while you Aussies are waiting on that first ripe tomato. It is good to know it is the growing season somewhere in the world.

What are silverbeets?

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Janie
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 10:12 AM

So here in the Northern Hemisphere we're in daydream mode, while you Aussies are waiting on that first ripe tomato. It is good to know it is the growing season somewhere in the world.

What are silverbeets?

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: JennyO
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 10:39 AM

Well, we also call it spinach, but it isn't the same as English spinach. Here's a picture - silverbeet

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: bobad
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 11:10 AM

It looks like what we call Swiss chard around these parts (Canada).

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: LilyFestre
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 11:11 AM

I think it looks like Swiss Chard too.

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Janie
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 11:52 AM

Me too! Do you have the latin name for it?

(sorry about the double posts above--not sure how I managed that)

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Janie
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 11:59 AM

Yes, it is the same as Swiss Chard! And it is related to beets. Have you seen or grown the "rainbow"
chard? It was originally developed in Australia. Pretty as well as tasty!

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: open mike
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 01:39 PM

how about new zealand spinach? [it has plump little leaves]
sort of a viney-thing and quite resistant to frost as i recall
and to heat, too, and salt, I see

http://www.humeseeds.com/spnchnz.htm
http://www.calflora.net/bloomingplants/newzealandspinach.html
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MV139

oops i guess that last article said it IS frost sensitive

http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/N/NewZ1spin.asp
http://www.victoryseeds.com/catalog/vegetable/greens.html

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/vegetables/spinach.html

i have never heard of Malabar spinach...

does any one have any favorite on-line catalogs they want to share
here?
mine are Nichols Garden--http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/

Papa Geno's (lots of lavendar!) http://www.papagenos.com/

and Seeds of Change that also has a newsletter, and food products
http://www.seedsofchange.com/

then there are the heritage and heirloom seed companies and groups
http://www.seeds.ca/
http://www.saltspringseeds.com/ (cannot ship sees to U.S.)
http://www.yankeegardener.com/
http://www.yankeegardener.com/heritage_heirloom.html


oh oh maybe i should not have started this
like offering a drink to an alcoholic??!!

of course there is Burpee, Henry Fields,
Jackson-Perkins, Roses, Bulbs, fruit trees,
and many other catalogs which must be piling up
but if any of you have a web site that you like for
seeds and plants, please post here! it is 12 steps from the
kitchen counter/sink area to the compost bucket....the first
step is to realize you are powerless over the gardening bug...

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: bobad
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 01:50 PM

The seed supplier we have been using exclusively for many years and have never had any disappointments with is William Dam Seeds.

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: open mike
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 02:05 PM

unfortunately THEY also now say:
*** Due to new US import regulations we are unable to ship to the USA ***

that may pose problems...
is this because of mad cow disease?

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: open mike
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 02:14 PM

www.burpee.com/
www.seedman.com/
www.johnnyseeds.com/
www.parkseed.com/
www.henryfields.com/
www.stokeseeds.com/
seedrack.com/
www.organicseed.com/
www.thompson-morgan.com

does anyone have a source for the tomato variey called
Mortgage Lifter? or Tennesee Bradley?

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 02:25 PM

I love Swiss Chard! It's great in a lot of recipes, and I also like it steamed with a little vinegar. That rainbow one looks marvelous. And it tastes okay?

No, not Mad Cow Disease. Mad Administration (Mad as in, "delusional").

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Janie
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 02:55 PM

Maggie, I confess I don't like swiss chard so don't grow it, but my friends who do say the rainbow chard is every bit as tasty as the white stemmed varieties.

Re: catalogs, I probably order from Johnnys more than any other place, then Seeds of Change (all their seed is organic, but selection is limited.)

Flower seed I get from amywhere I can find what I'm looking for. Johnny has a great selection of cut flower seed, but for common annuals I am just as likely to use Park or Burpee as any other. I don't grow a lot of annuals, though, and tend to stick with those that easily self-sow. I have enough perennial gardening buddies to swap plants with that I rarely buy potted perennials anymore.

If I'm buying seedlings I try to shop at the local farmers market or at one of several locally owned nurseries and garden centers. From my years as a cut flower grower, I have a couple of people who will start anything I want them to from seed, and grow it on until I'm ready for it.

The Wayside Gardens and White Flower Farm catalogs are a delight to browse, but I only buy from them when they threaten to stop sending the catalog.

If you like dahlias, check out Swan Island Dahlias. Great and large selection and good info in catalog. On the web I think they are just dahlias.com.

Speaking of dahlias, Mine are all coming out *sob*. I love them. More than that, I ADORE them. But they take as much work as hybrid roses (maybe more) to be at their best. Some of them I dug up and gave away last year. I kept 20 or 30 of them. This spring I'll bit the bullet and dig up the rest(eyes tearing, voice trembling, hands shaking in horror.)

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: open mike
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 03:18 PM

any news about http://www.earlmay.com

i heard they were closing? they had 50 shops...

i have used Dahlias as dye plant...esp. the big red
dinner plate varieties...

sorry you are giving up on them...what will you
replace them with? i did not find them work at
all except to protect them from gophers..

Subject: RE: BS: Seed Catologs comin' in the Mailbox
From: Cats
Date: 12 Dec 05 - 03:35 PM

Ok, I own up. I've got a greenhouse for Christmas... and I've already been out and bought loads of seeds for my borders.