SEEDS

by Robin

I ordered seeds from Burpee!!

Normally, I go to the local fix-it store or WalMart to get my seeds & seedlings, but I had such an awful past couple experiences with Jalapenos being mealy, non-producers (last year) and my bell peppers seedlings fizzled before they barely got going. The years before, I had great production from seed, so I wanted to stay away from the Bonnie products. I also wanted to explore the idea of high-producers, heirlooms and exclusive varieties.

I didn't bother to cut/paste Burpee's pictures but here is a list of what I bought, in no particular order.

* Kale, Red Russian (heirloom). Starts green and turns purple in cold weather, which won't be happening here. Good flavor.

* Cucumbers, Sweet Burpless Hybrid. High yields!!

* Spinach - Dark green & upright. (Going to try this now that I have the new garden, different soil & more irrigation than previous years.

* Squash, Summer sunray Hybrid. Beautiful straightneck with buttery color.

* Sugar Snap peas. All-American winner.

* Jalapenos, med-hot peppers. Thick-walled, 3" long, 1" wide. Should make great poppers! My goal was to find the least hot.

* Porterhouse Tomato Hybrid - Greatest x-lrg tomato they breed. 1-2 lbs!!!

* Black Krim Tomato - Heirloom, med-size, bred for rich flavor.

* Big Mama Tomato Hybrid - Enormous Roma, great flavor, made for making sauces & pastes.

* Sweet Bell Peppers - Carnival mix. Used this before and loved it.

Of course, I still will have my regular characters in the main garden. My hurricane cherry tomatos, the Big Ugly, ? Walmart big tomato - the will all be producing well in no time.

I will be planting more sunflowers too. I'm going on my 4th year of this in order to attract bees to my area. Sunflowers are great companion plants to the cucumbers & squash because they bring the bees into the area for pollination.

When I first moved here and began gardening, I couldn't pursuade a bee to visit my veggies. I had to hand pollinate with a q-tip. It will be very interesting to see if I have made progress with luring the honey bees in. It also seems that my purple heather & thai basil bushes are keeping the bees happy through the winter.

God bless & Happy Gardening!