Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

Maybe I am the last person in the gardening world to learn about this, but if not, I pass on my new knowledge to you with joy. I received the Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalogue in the mail today. Did I order it? Maybe, but I don't think so. I don't know how they found me, but I sure am glad they did. It is, by leaps and bounds, the most comprehensive and beautiful seed catalogue I have ever seen in my life. If you are into collages or have kids, order the catalogue. It is free and great art projects are waiting to be made from it's gorgeous pages. And maybe you'll be tempted to order the jelly melon or yellow wonder wild strawberries. I know I am. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

Spring! Spring! Spring!

Probably a false alarm, but everything seem to point to spring today. I started a class at Durham Technical Community College last night called Landscapes You Can Eat. It is taught by Sarah and Keith from Bountiful Backyards and promises to be a great learning experience for me. Then I got home and my seeds had arrived!!! And my spring issue of Urban Farm arrived as well. I went to bed and it stayed light out until 7pm in my dream. I woke up and it is 48 degrees outside with a predicted high in the upper 50s. I did not wear the puffy coat. I know it won't last and that winter will come back soon....but I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I think I just might hear my garden waking up.

Ice and snow mean it is time to order seeds!

It snowed and iced last night, so that means it is time to order seeds! I am slowly getting my act together; I took stock of the seeds I still have from the last two seasons, the seeds I saved last year, and the seeds I was thrilled to get at the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association's Sustainable Agriculture Conference . Next year, the conference will be in Raleigh and I will be bringing seeds to share!

I have a lot of seeds; nevertheless, it might be impossible not to buy new seeds. Everything sounds amazing- every new seed is a chance for a miracle. Kind of like Seminole pumpkins. If I don't see another Seminole pumpkin miracle until July, that will be fine with me. We gave I don't know how many away and we are still eating them! So, despite the surfeit of seeds, I did in fact just place a $90 order with Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. Fully half of that cost went toward perennial onions, a new seed potato, and soft neck garlic; things that I will hopefully not have to buy again. And I didn't have to buy the potatoes, it just seemed like the right thing to give the amazing Carola some company. I am sure that I have mentioned this before, but I say it again. Potatoes are the best thing you can plant. Ever. I strongly recommend the Carola. SASE sells it. It is prolific, disease resistant, and has been pest free for two years here. Okay. Off my potato soap box.

The 2011 highlights are..... Baby corn! Lots of beans! And of course a reappearance of the never ending Seminole pumpkin. If you are hungry in September, please stop by and pick up three or four or ten of these prolific bastards. And (drumroll.......) BEES! Yes, we will be adding bees to the hive in March. I am very pleased and excited. Chickens may make their appearance in 2012.

Organic farm!

I revoke my previous posting about Darko Urban Farm going inorganic. I stopped by Stone Brothers last week to ask if I could use the cow pesticide on the alarming aphid infestation that took over the crowder peas. They assured me that I could, and in passing, mentioned that the cow pesticide (I call it that because it has a picture of a cow on the bag and states that you can apply said pesticide to livestock!) is pyrethrin!

I certainly abhor a broad spectrum pesticide, and I don't know what I will do once I have bees, but it certainly suits me just fine to use an organic broad spectrum pesticide rather than a synthetic chemical one.

Upshot: I am still killing bees, which sucks, but I am killing them with flower powder. And it really has done an amazing job of killing pests.

Shout outs

Having been away on vacation for a few days, I would like to recount some garden adventures. Driving through Richmond to avoid a traffic jam, I saw a beautiful urban garden. It may have been on the corner of Decatur. I am inspired by it to try and make a cucumber room similar to theirs next year.

I also passed through Pennsylvania Dutch country. The farms were so beautiful and prosperous. I am insanely jealous. Will and I stopped at a small dairy farm that has 50 cows and sells the cheeses the family produces out of a store located on the farm. The cheeses were excellent and the farm beautiful.

I also visited a farmers market that reminded me that I love Durham and that there is no place that can replace its primacy in my heart. I overheard someone ask (the farmer??) where his berries were from and he responded that they were from California. WHAT? I was in upstate New York! There was plenty of lovely, fresh and local produce! I love you, Durham! I love you DFM!

Pea aphids

The water blast method of getting rid of aphids is officially a failure. The crowders are COVERED in aphids-- more aphids than before. It appears that water blasting may actually cause them to multiply.

Here are the more useful things I learned:
Pea aphids overwinter on red clover, vetch or alfalfa. Awesome, since those are all great winter cover crops.

They don't, generally, lay eggs in NC, though they are capable of it. Instead, it appears that they have live baby aphids. Great. No pause to the sucking.

Apparently they are susceptible to a fungus of some kind that will kill them all pronto, but I couldn't find anything explaining how to introduce this dread disease, and when I tried, I discovered websites indicating that at some point in their evolution, pea aphids genetically morphed with some fungus and that is why they are green. Super great. Now the uugy aphids are kind of neat and interesting. . .

Tomato redux

I harvested so many tomatoes a couple of weeks ago, I thought I could never deal with them all. We canned and dried and ate and ate and ate. Then, one day, no more tomatoes. The plants didn't die or get sick, the tomato train just slowed WAY down. I was out in the garden scrounging for something to feed the bunnies (high summer may be even more difficult than February for collecting bunny food) this morning, and I think the respite may be over. There are a lot of green tomatoes and a wicked lot of flowers. Here's to round two!!!