I just placed our big seed order for the season. I think every seed company in the world has found out that we are farmers, so we get all of their catalogs in the mail. We have gigantic stacks of them piling up everywhere. I have three favorites - Johnny's Select Seeds, Seed Savers Exchange, and High Mowing Organic Seeds.
It's my job to look through them and decide what we'll be growing. So, I spend lots of time reading descriptions of various vegetable varieties, looking at pictures, and comparing types. I choose varieties based on flavor - the best tasting, size, disease resistance, and the number of days to maturity. I also try to pick ones that will thrive in our region. And sometimes I pick ones just because I think they'd be cool to try, like golden beets or red okra.
It's fun, and sometimes I get carried away. I went through four catalogs, circling tomato varieties that I wanted to grow. But when I counted them, there were something like 35 varieties! Obviously, I had to narrow it down. I think I ended up with about 13 varieties.
A few of the new things we're trying this year are (click on the links to see pictures):
Sanguine Ameliore lettuce - a bright green butterhead with red speckles
Orangeglo watermelon - a large melon with bright orange flesh, considered by many to be the best tasting watermelon ever
Lemon Drop tomato - a light yellow cherry that won the Seed Saver's Exchange 2010 taste-test
Purple Viking potatoes - a white-fleshed potato with bright purple skin
And lots more...
We'll be growing around 150 varieties of vegetables, herbs, and flowers!
My three favorites
Seed order, page two of four
Mickey wondered why on earth I would take pictures of papers when I had such a cute kitty to take pictures of.
Up next will be a few shots from our family photo shoot. Stay tuned!-Tricia Ann
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