ABOUT

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

garden surprises

lookie - our first broccoli floret! this certainly wasn't expected. i wonder if it will grow larger?


seems like the warm winter is fooling the plants. here are (about forty!) garlic sprouts.


some strawberry plants are showing signs of life...


and i brought home a sprig of rosemary and flower seed pods.

 two echinacea, one zinnia and another mystery flower seed pod

it's time for me to sort through my seeds. many seeds were saved from last season so hopefully i'll only need to order a few packets. in the past i've used ohio heirloom seeds and was happy with the price, fast shipping and quality plants. however, they're not selling corn, beets or edamame. can any gardeners recommend a reliable source for non-gmo seeds?

and do you think i can plant the sunflower seeds from my bird seed mix? some kind of sunflower's gotta grow from them, right?

8 comments:

  1. That's great you already have some things sprouting in the garden. There's nothing like fresh homegrown broccoli.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the broccoli was planted last summer. i didn't think they were going to make it!

      Delete
  2. Everything is budding here, too. It looks like it may not get too terribly cold between now and spring. Fingers crossed for an early one.

    I use Ohio Heirloom Seeds, too. Just ordered a big batch of lettuces and greens from them. We get our corn seed and things at a local feed store, but you might be able to find what you're looking for from ebay sellers. That's where I found Ohio Heirloom, and I just found a seller of all kinds of heirloom pumpkin seeds there, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. fingers crossed here too. thanks, lisa, i'll have to check it out.

      Delete
    2. I'm going to try to document the garden this year ... fingers crossed about keeping up with that, too. Stop by if you get a chance ... http://goosecreekgardens.blogspot.com/

      Delete
  3. There are lots of good seed companies still out there. I like Johnnys seeds, Bountiful Gardens, Seeds of Change, I have never used them but many love Bakers Creek. Just make sure to read the mission statement and the companies who do not support GMO will all state it bold print. If they dont mention it, look out. Now as for your bird seed, all of those seeds are treated not to sprout so they dont go to mush in your feeder. Some will sprout if planted but the ratio would be so low it would not be worth it. But if your looking for only a couple sunflowers, then you have nothing to lose.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks jane! i used baker's creek two years ago and may try them again. it's just when i order from a catalog like theirs i end up buying much more than i really need, like three varieties of sunflowers! good to know about the bird seed - i want to grow a yard full. maybe i'll just have to treat myself again this year, for my birthday;)

      Delete
  4. What fun garden surprises! Spring is around the corner and it's time to plan out the garden.

    If you're still looking for seeds resources, let me know and I'll check with Sam. He's familiar with many and believe me, we have a ton of catalogues!

    ReplyDelete