Seeds, Seeds, and more Seeds

Johnny's had a $1 bin the other day! That is a rarity so I took at advantage and bought a few ;) packs of seeds that were on the verge of expiring. Depending on who you talk to and what you read germination may not be as good but I DON'T CARE! We have seeds from years back that still seem to produce. For me it was an opportunity to try products we've never grown and/or tasted before. There was a mix of hybrid and heirloom seeds available. We grow both but my interest in heirloom seeds is increasing as I plan to learn more about seed saving. Next time I go to the library I plan to take out a book on seed saving and see what I can learn and put to action this year.


So here are some of the goodies we are going to plant this year. And I SWEAR this is the year that I am going to keep track of what is where! I can always tell what is what, those are pumpkins, here is the corn. This year I WILL go beyond that by knowing the variety. For instance, Winter Squash, Specialty Long Island Cheese

My plan is to make a map and track the varieties Maine Man plants where. He truly is the brains behind this operation! The garden is the one place I do as I'm told as he is the Master Gardener;) He does give me free range in my assigned herb area, that is about it. Harvest and preservation, that is a whole different story!

I am so excited to grow the above squash. If you click the link there is lots of great info! I have always admired them year after year at the Common Ground Fair. Now I am going to have them growing in my back yard! They are said to be a great for cooking. This past year was the first time I've ever cooked up pumpkins and froze. I have enjoyed having a pumpkin/squash stash to cook with but I really can't wait to see what this year's bounty taste like.

Basil Dark Opal is another variety I picked up. This with be my 3rd year of growing herbs. This year's herb patch will be bigger & better then previous years. I am amazed how easy they are to grow!

To list a few of the seed packets pictured above: Sorrel (I have never tried but heard of), Endive (Is known to be winter hardy. This will be our first year attempting 4 seasons growing/harvesting), Chinese Lanterns (I have always wanted to grow these), hedgehog gourds (just for the fun of it!) then there are the traditional peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, corn and so on.
So psyched for Spring! The past few weeks in Maine the weather has been UNUSUALLY warm and recent rains have wiped out much of the snow in our area. Wouldn't it be sweet if this was our end to winter? Ha, we will see what March brings!


On a final note, a FYI for my fellow bloggers:

I have previously mentioned printing out my blog into a book and I have finally taken a step towards this. Reasons why ..... 1) if the internet crashed and burned I would be distraught at the thought of loosing documentation of the last 3 years of our life. Not to mention the recipes that I recall almost on a weekly basis. 2) as a keepsake for my children 3) in this world of digital photography the days of photo albums (at least in this house) are over. Back in the days of film photography I was faithful at filling my albums but right around 2003 that all ceased. Now I rarely print them out except if I plan on framing, giving as presents, an occassional photo book for family or friend, and my annual calender that I give to our parents as a Christmas gift.

The secret is Blog2Print . It literally only takes a few minutes! You type in your link and a few minutes later you can view the book and see what the cost will be if you decide to order. No cutting and pasting, Quick & easy! I made and ordered a book from the first year of my blog, 2008. The more information you have naturally the more you will pay. I also made a book for 2009 and placed it in my shopping cart. I am waiting to see if I like the end result. I did not include comments as that added many more pages which = more $ and I ordered soft cover to limit the money paid out. My plan is to print one at at the end of each year therefore making the cost more managable.
I will let you know how I like. In the meanwhile I encourage any of you fellow bloggers to give it a try. Hope you all find this helpful!