Thursday, July 9, 2009

Seed Starting Time

Believe it or not, fall is just around the corner (I say that sort of tongue-in-cheek as we are definately in the throes of the summer heatwave). At least, I am dreaming it is. And with the fall, I will be starting some new tomato plants. Some people just cut theirs back and keep them, as they really aren't annuals, although we treat them as if they were. But I always seem to do better with new plants, so that is what I am doing. I definately still have lots of new green fruit on the ones I have, so I won't be pulling them out any time soon. However, I am thinking I would like these new plants to be plenty big by September, so I am starting seeds now. I am starting seeds instead of buying plants at the nursery, because I have decided that I really do prefer the flavor of heirloom tomatoes. It is so hard to describe the difference, but take my word for it, they are so much better. And because it is hard to find heirloom tomato plants, although it can be done, I am starting mine from seed. I have purchased some of my seed from local stores and some I have ordered from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds at this link: http://rareseeds.com/ And I recently came across this wonderful pdf file at http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/farmgirl-connection/. If you haven't seen Mary Jane's Farm magazine, it is definately one to check out. Love it! And they have an awesome forum. You do have to become a "farmgirl" but since I consider myself one that is living in the city, that was easy! The pdf file link is: http://www.feldoncentral.com/garden/CaseysHeirloomTomatoesofAirdrie.pdf. It is full of really great pics of heirloom tomatoes. Love it too!

Listing of tomato plants started today in peat pots inside:

German Red Strawberry

Rutgers

Brandywine

Green Zebra

Sweetie

Big Beef

Sioux

Looking forward to watching them sprout!

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for the link! I'll be showing it to Bruce tonight!

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  2. I love heirlooms as well. Do you get more tomatoes in spring/summer as opposed to the fall?

    I love Baker Creek. It is my favorite seed catalog to peruse.

    I was looking at photos of your garden area and it is such a lovely area! I'm more of a find-any-old-spot-to-stick-my-plants kind of girl and would love to make my garden spaces more lovely. Someday!

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  3. I've been thinking about starting some heirloom tomatoes from seed, but I prefer to get the seeds from http://www.nativeseeds.org, which specializes in seeds from ancient crops found in the Southwest. This is a quote from their website: "We promote the use of these ancient crops and their wild relatives by gathering, safeguarding, and distributing their seeds to farming and gardening communities. We also work to preserve knowledge about their uses." The website if full of great info.
    Aiyana

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  4. I've been really curious about German Red Strawberry. Let us know how it does.

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  5. I can send you a few seeds if you would like to email me your address.

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