January has been a long slow month. I’ve enjoyed being home and settling into a winter routine after the holidays. I would have preferred more snow, but the earth does not take my preferences into account!
After some serious procrastination, I finally placed my seed orders yesterday. I always order too much.
What I ordered:
Johnny’s:
- Spring rabe
- Conservor shallot
- Vroma fava bean
- Salanova red and green butter lettuce
Pinetree:
- Aunt Molly’s husk cherry
- Bumblebee Sunrise cherry tomato
- Red Kuri squash
- Broccoli rabe – Novantina
Fedco:
- Borretana Cippollini onion seeds
- Bleu de Solaize leek seeds
- Windsor fava bean
- Tomatillo Purple Blush
- Waltham butternut squash
- Blue Hubbard squash
- Buttercup squash
- Indigo radicchio
- Broccoli blend
- Kestrel beet
- Brilliant celeriac
Fedco Potatoes and Onions:
- Gardeners onion medley
- Classic keeper potato mix
- Specialty organic potato mix
- French fingerlings
- Magic Molly fingerlings
What I didn’t get:
- Strawberry plants. I wanted to replant my strawberry bed which is infected with a bad case of leaf spot fungus. But Johnny’s shipping charge of $10.00 was too much for me. I love homegrown strawberries but finding them really difficult to grow and keep healthy.
- Purple Haze carrots were not yet available at Fedco. They say “mid-January.” I might order these later if they become available because I really like them.
- Andover parsnips. Not available. What’s the story? I will plant the Harris Model seeds I have, although I think parsnip seed germinates better when fresh (?).
- New (large) tomato variety. We vow to grow more tomatoes this year, and I would like to choose a new variety. There’s still time. I did buy a packet of Bumblebee Sunrise, which is a super-cute name.
- Jerusalem artichokes. I really want to try these but I know nothing about them.
Sam has been monitoring temperatures carefully in the hoophouse. His system of row covers weighted by dowels and supplemented by silver foil insulation is working well. Keeps the beds 10 degrees or more warmer than the outside air temperature at night. In sunlight, the hoophouse heats up to about 60 degrees! I want to set up a soil blocking operation in there — maybe next week.