This year marks my second full fledged attempt at heritage gardening and as such I've expanded my heirloom seed collection for the season. A month or so ago I experimented with a seed germination technique using an old aquarium and a set of plant bulb lights with much success. Unfortunately several days out of town and a cold snap finished off the early bird seedlings.
I've replanted those seed trays and also added my new acquisitions. For this year I'm starting with a second generation of last year's Arkansas Traveler summer tomatoes along with a batch of Aunt Ruby's German Green. I may plant a few hybrids also but it depends on space and how well my seedlings fare.
While tomatoes are a popular part of the garden I've also acquired a few seed stocks that I'll try to multiply for next year. These include my King of the Garden giant lima beans which bear the most resemblance to the "butter beans" I remember as a kid. I'm also planting the usual suspects of cantaloupe and watermelon however this year I've added a new comer, a pumpkin called a Queensland Blue which should make an excellent and scary Jack-O-Lantern.
The last of my plantings for this season will include various herbs and green peppers. Hopefully I'll be able to find a home for my heirloom golden sweet corn which, if it does as well as last year's Hickory Dent, will produce gobs of corn as well as kernels to save.
Ambitious? You could say that. I have no doubt that a few of the tomato plants will survive. Last year's crop were late bloomers but several produced enough fruit to enjoy and collect seeds. I'm on the fence about the pumpkin crop as it requires a lot of time to develop, but I may get a melon or two out of the deal. At any rate it'll be an adventure and besides the kids love checking in on the "baby plants" as the spring forth from the starter trays.
PSA - I purchased all of my heirloom seeds from Baker Creek |
