it's too late to order seeds

it's a joke that my father-in-law always says about any gardening activity. just after he'd plant beets he'd say "it's too late to plant beets."

we made our seed order from baker creek and johnnys seeds.

baker creek

beans purple potted pole
we like our pole beans grown on cattle panels as arches. not only is it way easier to pick but it makes such a wonderful shady spot in the garden. the purple pole bean is new for us this this year. it is purple on the vine and should be easier to see for picking. the kids like to help and i like to make it as easy as possible on them. these are also stringless the rattlesnake pole that we've grown for the past few years albeit delicious has a string and is a bit irritating when they are pressure canned. we just don't use frozen beans as often as canned beans.

cucumber japanese long
we love this cucumber and it will take some serious convincing for us to drop this one from our garden.

hot pepper serrano tampequino
a person needs some heat for their salsa (pico de gallo) tristan loves salsa and i'm sure that toly will like it also. kassi is another story

okra star of david
tabitha makes a mean pickled okra and all the kids love it. my preferred okra recipe is a simple marinate whole okra in soy sauce and skewer together as many will fit on the stick and toss on the grill. yummy

winter squash waltham butternut
throughout the winter we'll eat many butternut squash. the kids have been known to eat it too.

winter luxuary pie pumpkin
tabitha has taught herself to make incredible pie and pumpkin is a household favorite.

summer squash crook neck early golden yellow
yes we are gluttons for punishment. the squash bugs or vine bores always get these little guys. but, we almost always get a few meals from them before their demise. my favorite is sautee'd with butter then scrambled into some eggs. tristan can be counted on to make these and brag incessantly afterward. "don't i make the best squash?"

tomatoes they probably deserve a post of their own because we love them so much.

we like the amish paste for canning but they work in salsa too.

omar lebanese it is the crown jewel of our garden. these babies are huge and delicious and pink. mild but full flavored if that isn't a contradiction?

green zebra i just like the looks of these and people whom i trust say they are tasty. after all it is a tomato. the green tomato makes the salsa more interesting.

yellow pear it's the the kids favorite. they love these tomatoes and very few of them make their way into the house. these plants are prolific and tristan and kassi will stand there in the garden and eat them until they are full and will skip any meal just afterward.

johnny's seeds

beets we tried something new and we got a 1/4 pound of them. we eat beets around here. my favorite vegetable, baby beet salad, beet tops in salad especially tuna salad, steamed beet tops yum, steamed beets the glorious red bulb, pickled beets and finally beet soup. i love beet soup. and for desert beet chocolate cake--you wouldn't believe how good it is.

red chard a staple green vegetable around here. it is great in chicken soup

bush beans tabitha will be picking these... and canning them but i still get to eat them;)

carrots we had pretty good luck with these last year.

arugula my favorite green i graze this stuff right out of the garden on all fours and munching like a cow;)

toscano kale our neighbor grew this and has kept us in supply this winter. i love this stuff too. it is a young romance but strong and true.

basil tabitha freezes pesto and uses it in everything all winter long.

we have great garden plans for this up coming year. tristan is eating more than i do at each meal and we'll really need the fruits of our gardening labor this next year.

i'll be working on my annual garden map very soon.

plus things are really looking up. we got nine, count them 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9, eggs today. i'm proud of those girls. they took their sweet time getting started.