I try to contain myself when flipping through the 2011 seed catalogs on a zero degree morning. The sun comes out and warms the room, but outside it remains painfully brisk. The warm photos in the catalog entice our gardening minds to wander toward possibilities and good intentions. I intend to weed and water more frequently this season. I intend to protect my garden from molds and pests. I intend to mulch and fix up some row covers. I intend to plant some cover crops and enrich our soils.

Who knows what will really happen? At this stage, who cares? Let’s just dream for a while.

Our Pinetree Garden Seeds order:

SCARLET SPINACH (F1 hybrid 40 days)
HABANERO HOT PEPPER (heirloom)
BLOOMSDALE LONG STANDING (heirloom)
STARBURST BLAZE SUNFLOWER (F1)
DELICATA SQUASH (heirloom)
ARACHIS HYPOGAEA PEANUT (120 days)
JACOBS CATTLE DRY BEAN (83 days heirloom)
KELLOGGS BREAKFAST TOMATO (79 days)
PACKMAN BROCCOLI (F1 hybrid 52 days)
TENDER SWEET CARROT (heirloom)
PURPLE RUFFLES BASIL
BIG RED PEPPER (75 days)
BEER FRIEND SOY BEAN
LEMON CUCUMBER (65 days heirloom)
ORANGE SUN PEPPER (81 days)
HORN OF PLENTY SUMMER SQUASH (F1 hybrid 45 days)
HOMEMADE PICKLES CUCUMBER (54 days)
MATTS WILD CHERRY TOMATO (55 days)
LAVENDER TOUCH EGGPLANT (F1 hybrid 66 days)
EARLY GIRL TOMATO (F1 hybrid 60 days)
FANTASIA MIXTURE SUNFLOWER(F1)
REDBOR KALE (F1 hybrid 55 days)
PINETREE LETTUCE MIX
MINNESOTA MIDGET MELON (60 days)
SUGAR LACE II SNAP PEA (65 days)
PURPLE CAYENNE PEPPER (70 days)
ITALIAN LARGE LEAF BASIL

I also purchased some Burpee seed packs today:

BIG MAX PUMPKIN
HOT LEMON PEPPER

Please indulge a little introspection. I am not much of a planner – while I enjoy puzzling things out from every conceivable perspective, I don’t ever really want to begin. To begin would mean all perspectives have been exhausted, and how likely is that really?  I have learned/inherited some pack-rat tendencies. Thanks M & D! “I might need this” is etched into my bones.  I’m nowhere near hoarder status, but I sympathize with the psychology. And I am certainly a good consumer – a sucker for seed catalogs in the Winter or any time of year.

Red Burgundy Okra Seeds and Pods. Click image for larger view.

With all this in mind, I collected seeds today. This appeals to the perspective seeker and saver in me. It disrupts the good consumer, but I’m okay with that. As a Midwesterner, I am certain my consumption is well beyond my needs.

Cleome Seeds and Pod. Click image for larger view.

Seeds are relatively inexpensive and hold much promise during those cold Winter months. Low cost and promise is marketing genius.  Their shapes and sizes are as interesting as they are extreme. The general size of the seed tells us little about the size of the plant. And each holds the genetic key to an entire plant that might grow over 100 feet tall. The tobacco seed pods hold hundreds if not thousands of tiny little specs of seeds. I have a feeling we will see some volunteer tobacco next year, but I saved some seeds anyway.

Tobacco Seed Pods. Click image for larger view.

From the tiny to the large – the sunset pole bean wasn’t my favorite fresh green bean, but the blooms were a subtle salmon color and the seeds are dark with bright pink blotches. The seeds appeal to me, and so they win the game of natural selection. This is a plant I am actually considering growing again for the seeds themselves! Yes, the blooms are nice, but the seeds are even better.

Sunset Pole Bean Seeds and Pods. Click image for larger view.

Starting vegetable seedlings indoors seems to awaken a completely irrational part of my brain. I even planned things out this year with a spreadsheet and everything. Didn’t matter. When it came time to actually plant these cute little storehouses of potential, I couldn’t help but do one more flat of peppers, and entire flat of basil, several extra okra… Whatever I was planting, I consistently over-planted.

Naturally, I justify such actions with a nod to science (“with one seed per cell, I can better calculate germination rates”), and a glance to past experience (“I will likely lose some of these to carelessness and weather, so I better plant a few extra”). It’s all a bunch of crap really. I want to watch my forest of seedlings grow. I want to plant them all in this magical garden that weeds itself and only takes a few bug-free moments to harvest. I want to eat the freshness of  the sun and rain. That’s my intention with these seeds. My expectations are enormous, and completely irrational.

*Click on the images for a better view*

I did plant many of these to sell at the plant sales – so I haven’t completely lost my mind. So, come shop for plants and buy a few veggies while you are at it. More info coming soon on the sale days, times and location.

I’ve waited as long as I can possibly wait. This weekend the veggie garden seeds were started in a bigger than usual way – a full orchestra accompanied the task, complete with oboe! Okay, that’s a lie, but I did plant more seeds than before. I normally seed two/three seeds per cell, but given the small-celled plug trays we bought, I decided planting just one seed per cell would be a more economical use of seeds. Less economical use of soil, but these are really small cells (200 per tray in the photo).

Yep, I planted 200 pepper seeds. It seems like a lot for us, but some varieties are interesting (YumYum Gold, Healthy Organic Red, Bulgarian Carrot…) and could possibly appear at our plant sales starting in May. I anticipate more potting-on will be required with these plug trays. That will be time-consuming, but worth it maybe. I also started tomatoes, artichoke, eggplant, a few Chinese lantern flowers, and radish this weekend — the radish were planted in the hoop-house. Obviously, there are no guarantees on any of these. Our seedlings usually do very well until we neglect to open a cold frame and fry them, or forget to close a cold frame and freeze them. With any luck, we will have learned these lessons already and not need to learn them again.

We’ve placed our first seed order for 2010 from Pinetree Garden Seeds. Take a look at the potential garden.

SMALL SUGAR PUMPKIN (95 days heirloom)
KIWANO HORNED MELON (90 days)
RED BURGUNDY OKRA (55 days)
BEER FRIEND SOY BEAN
ROSE ORACH (heirloom)
TABASCO PEPPER (85 days)
MINNESOTA MIDGET MELON (60 days)
KENTUCKY WONDER BEAN (66 day heirloom)
CYLINDRA BEET (58 days heirloom)
GERMAN GIANT RADISH (37 days heirloom)
CHERRY BRANDY RUDBECKIA
TENDER SWEET (heirloom)
LEMON CUCUMBER (65 days heirloom)
HOMEMADE PICKLES CUCUMBER (54 days)
TURKISH ORANGE EGGPLANT (heirloom)
LAVENDER TOUCH (F1 hybrid 66 days)
PENGUIN GOURD
PEPINO (95 days)
BANANA MELON (80 days heirloom)
FRECKLES LETTUCE (70 days)
SUHYO TK CUCUMBER (65 days)
ORANGE SUN PEPPER (81 days)
PAPRIKA PEPPER (80 days)
CAYENNE-LONG PEPPER (70 days heirloom)
EIGHTBALL ZUCCHINI (F1 hybrid 35 days)
PAPAYA PEAR SQUASH (F1 hybrid 40 days)
CARNIVAL SQUASH (F1 hybrid 85 days)
DELICATA SQUASH (heirloom)
OREGON SPRING TOMATO (68 days)
KELLOGGS BREAKFAST TOMATO (79 days)
WHITE SWAN ECHINACEA
CHIOGGIA BEET (55 days heirloom)
VIRGINIA GOLD TOBACCO
MOULIN ROUGE SUNFLOWER
FANTASIA MIXTURE SUNFLOWER(F1)
STATE FAIR MIX ZINNIA

Planting greens and other cool weather crops into the hoop house has been on the list of things to do for a couple of weeks now. Now we have six bags of spinach, radish and butterhead lettuce seeded. We’re guessing the bag planting will be fine for these shallow root crops. I did over-plant each bag so heavy thinning will be in order, but the seeds are older and germination might be less than optimal in these cooler conditions. Although it wasn’t cool in the hoop house at all when I was planting. The sun was shining and with only a light wind – probably over 80 degrees. It’s all a big experiment — later we will share some wildly anecdotal conclusions based on our initial results and experiences.

We could not have asked for a nicer weekend in the middle of March. Not too windy, lots of sun, mild temps all help to make my winter lethargy melt away. I seriously feel like I got some sun today. 

And we were productive too! How can you not be when the weather is finally this beautiful?! And it was just in time for the grapevines. Any longer and they might have started bud swell. About half of our grapes needed to be cut back to year one. They were not tall enough. This year they should easily reach the first wire. Installing the wires is a project for when the ground is completely thawed as I still need 22 line posts and two end posts.

Planted more seeds today too: 2 hot peppers, 2 sweet peppers, brussel sprouts, artichokes, yellow tomato, and some zinnia from last years garden just to see what might sprout. Good times ahead!

Signs of Spring are not limited to the outdoors. Actually, the outdoors is still a bit cold. Well, freezing really. 9 degrees! And as depressing as that may be, there are pleasant signs of the upcoming season in our kitchen.

I’ve prematurely started some tomato and bluestem grass seeds inside. The tomatoes have started while the grass seeds remain unmotivated. I say I started these “prematurely” as most literature I’ve found indicates tomatoes should only be planted 4 weeks prior to your last frost, and not planted outside until 2 weeks after that last frost date. You can hasten the outdoor planting with covers (waterwalls, gallon jugs, etc). Our last frost date is optimistically May 15th. That means, if these other garden people are to be trusted, I have started these seeds about 8 weeks too early. We shall see.

Boxelder bugs are another clear, yet much less exciting, indoor sign of change in seasons. (Note – the photo is a bit doctored, boxelder bugs are really black with red markings)

And they really like computers. Is the warmth? The light? And more importantly, will someone come and get them out of the house? They are not dangerous and they can be interesting – the way fish in a fishbowl are interesting – but twice now I have found myself taking a sip of coffee and spitting the coffee out along with one of these guys. They don’t taste as bad as the multicolored asian lady beetles, but they still ruin an otherwise good cup of coffee. Jake has recently taken to eating them. Thanks Jake!

I finally convinced Anne to order seeds with me from Pine Tree Garden this morning. Here is what’s coming to the garden this year, assuming things go well. 

KOLIBRI KOHLRABI (43 days)
GOURD MIX
ARMENIAN CUCUMBER (90 days)
JADE CROSS  (F1 hybrid 87 days)
IMPERIAL STAR ARTICHOKE (F1 Hybrid)
LANCELOT LEEK (F1 hybrid 100 days)
MATINA SWEET LETTUCE (50 days)
AMBROSIA MELON (F1 hybrid 83 days)
CASCADIA SNAP PEA (48 days)
TABASCO PEPPER (85 days)
PASILLA BAJIO HOT PEPPER
SWEET RED CHERRY PEPPER (75 days)
MANYEL TOMATO
DIAMOND PEPPER (78 days)
HOWDEN PUMPKIN (105 days)
PINETREE RADISH MIX
SPINACH MIX 1 oz
SCALLOP-SUNBURST (F1 hybrid 50 days)
VEGETABLE SPAGHETTI SQUASH (100 days)
DELICATA SQUASH (97 days)