Seeds Seeds Seeds

I don't think I really told you very much about the special heirloom varieties of seeds I am planting this year. I would like to take some time to describe in detail the 23 kinds of seeds I will plant this year all in one 5'x10' raised bed! I really spent a lot of time pouring over seed catalogs to develop what I think is the finest collection of seeds around for a small home garden. So if you will bear with me a bit, I plan on bragging about some of these great plants I can't wait to start growing.

The very first thing that I plan on planting outside in my garden is Sugar Ann Snap Peas. This is a great little snap pea for small gardens. It is a bushy vine that needs no staking. Sugar Ann has crisp sweet pods are edible and ripen early, thriving in cool spring weather. Snap peas are great raw for a snack or in salads, but they are also delicious steamed, sir fried, or sauteed. You can plant these peas as soon as the ground is warm enough to work. I plant my sugar peas in April, so it is nearly time to get planting. Be sure to pick your peas often and enjoy them while you can. Sadly, once the weather gets hot your peas will pea-ter out!

Another plant that gets planted early in my garden is lettuce. Lettuce also loves cool weather, so I can plant it outside about the same time as my peas. I am planting two kinds of lettuce this year. The first is Tom Thumb lettuce which has been around since the mid 1800's. I love this lettuce because its leaves feel soft and buttery in my mouth. It is the perfect lettuce to top a sandwich or burger. It also keeps well in the refrigerator which is why I buy buttercrunch lettuce at the grocery all winter. Tom Thumb, true to it's name, is perfect for a small garden because it forms a 3"-4" cabbage-like head. One plant is just about right for an individual salad. You can encourage Tom Thumb to grow a second head if you cut the first lettuce off an inch above ground.

Another lettuce I will grow this year is a gourmet mixture of looseleaf lettuces. These gorgeous red and green lettuces are more heat tolerant than other lettuces and look so pretty in a salad bowl. I can pick these leaves when they are still very small, just bite sized really. This will be the first vegetable I can pick from the garden! The best thing about looseleaf lettuce is the way that I can pick just the leaves I need for my salad, starting with the outer leaves, while the rest of the plant remains to continue growing more and more leaves for the next salad.

Here is something new to my garden this year, American Flag Leek. While it may be new for me, this is an old standard for home gardeners. It has delighted folks for centuries with its delicate onion-like flavor. You can use leeks in soups, salads and stir fry dishes. Leeks take a long time to mature requiring 130 days to harvest. I suspect this is what has kept me from growing leeks in the past as I am not the most patient gardener. Because I want to grow a garden this year that is something akin to the old victory gardens of the 1940's, leeks are being included to round out my plant list. One great thing about leeks is the way they can actually overwinter in the garden if I don't get them all eaten before frost. I think it could be great fun to run out to the garden at thanksgiving time to dig a few leeks for my turkey dinner.

While we are talking about turkey stuffing I may as well mention one of my favorite herbs which is parsley. You cant make a proper stuffing without parsley. I will be growing Italian Flat Leaf Parsley because it has better flavor then the curly leaved variety most restaurants plunk down on your plate for a garnish. Flat leaf parsley takes a few weeks to germinate, but the wait is worth it, because once it is up and running this yummy herb is perfect for salads, soups, meats and casseroles. After you have used fresh parsley in a homemade chicken soup you will never be satisfied with that dreadful dried up old stuff in the spice drawer.

Cilantro is another herb I grow in my garden. I like Santo Cilantro because it is slower to go to seed then other cilantros. The only problem I have with cilantro is that it grows too fast and begins to flower before I would like. Once it flowers you may as well tear cilantro out of the garden because it won't be any good for your salsa or thai dishes after that. I know that cilantro flowers turn into coriander seed, but honestly, I have had the same jar of coriander in my cabinet since my wedding shower, I think...so it's not something I crave. But salsa and spring rolls crammed with cilantro and fresh vegetables are two things I simply can't get enough of through the summer. Plant cilantros a week or two apart to extend your cilantro season.

Last week I started a few seeds inside. One thing I started inside was California Wonder Bell Pepper. In the past I have had mixed results growing seeds inside, mostly due to my getting lazy about watering. Last year I said forget it and planted all my seeds straight out in the garden. This worked fine for everything but my peppers. I think my bell peppers just moped along until August. This year I really don't care to buy peppers at the market in July so I am more determined than ever to baby these seedlings inside so they can get the head start they deserve. I don't have to tell you about all the wonderful traits of California Wonder Bell Pepper because I am certain you already have your own favorite ways with this famous sweet pepper.

The other pepper I planted inside last week was Banana Pepper. This is another sweet pepper with a bit more zing. I love banana peppers because they ripen before the other peppers and they have some bite to them if you pick them young and green. The longer you leave them on the plant the richer their flavor and color will be. Perfect to top salads, sandwiches, and pizzas, no garden of mine would be complete without banana peppers.

Red Rhubarb Swiss Chard is one of the prettiest plants I grow. It deserves a place in the front yard. But instead I tuck it into the vegetable garden and forget about it until my spinach burns out. When it gets too hot for the spinach I move to the chard which I use like spinach. You can saute it with garlic, or toss baby leaves into your salads. When the leaves get mature I like to add them to soups or toss them in the crock pot with chicken breasts, chicken broth, garbanzo beans, sun-dried tomatoes and garlic. Chard really shines at the first frost, turning wine red, and tasting great till a really hard freeze.

Every garden needs green beans. They are so easy to grow and delicious. I like to grow Royal Burgundy Bush Bean because the bugs don't bother these beans like they do the greener varieties. This tender and beautiful bean is tasty fun. After about a minute of cooking they turn from purple to green. Use these beans just like any other green bean. You won't be disappointed.

Rutgers Tomato is a well loved old standard. It is perfect for slicing or cooking. This tomato has a great flavor and is not too seedy. It should be staked or planted with a tomato cage for the best results. Use
stretchy ties to secure tomato vines to stakes. The other tomato I grow is the famous Roma Tomato. This popular pear shaped paste tomato is productive and disease resistant. It is beloved around the world for sauce making. Stake or cage roma tomato just like the rutgers variety. There is nothing that beats the taste of a garden fresh tomato. If summer had a taste it would have to be tomato flavored.

In my mind you must grow basil if you grow tomatoes. My favorite Basil is Genovese Sweet Basil. It has a great flavor and the nicest big fat leaves. Genovese sweet basil is an Italian heirloom that cooks love. Use it to flavor dipping oils, pestos, sauces and dressings. My favorite way to use basil is to chop it up with tomatoes, and garlic. I top crusty french bread slices with this mixture and add a dollop of olive oil and sea salt before warming it for a few minutes in the oven. I go into a bit of a funk when my basil succombs to the first frost. I dread having to resort to dried basil for my bruschettas. The scent of basil is so wonderful that I have been contemplating the idea of making basil scented bath salts this year to soak away next winter's blues.

I have a few more seeds to tell you about but I think it will have to wait for now. If you like the selection of seeds I am growing you can grow them too with one of my U "can" garden kits. But don't wait too long to order a kit, because they are going fast and the planting season is nearly upon us.