Can I tell you how giddy I am that the plethora of garden catalogs has been arriving in my mailbox over these first few weeks of January? Surely, spring cannot be far behind. (Right?)
I’m eager to explore planting grafted tomato and bell pepper plants in my small backyard garden this year. Grafted plants (standard varieties like “Big Boy” are grafted onto hardier, disease-resistent rootstock) are reported to be better growers and heavier producers than conventional vegetable plants. I first started seeing grafted plants available in garden catalogs last season; this year, it seems they’re more widely available and in greater variety. I plan to order 3 varieties of grafted cherry tomato plants from Jung Seeds. My other garden plans include spinach, arugula and Swiss chard (with early spring and late summer plantings), French filet beans (which I love to harvest when they’re teeny and thin), bell peppers, and lettuce (the variety ‘Salad Bowl’ did exceptionally well for me last season, producing from spring through fall).
And, of course, I planted hardneck garlic in my vegetable garden a few months ago. It’s so incredibly easy (and gratifying) to grow your own garlic. I’m already looking forward to cooking with garlic scapes, and then harvesting my own crop of garlic bulbs in early summer.
For a real treat, go on line and order a Territorial Seed catalog. Not only do they have incredible seeds, but wonderful instructions for growing and harvesting.
Hi, Carol — I’m a fan of Territorial Seed Co! I had good success last year with their bean and lettuce seeds, and plan to order from them again. I think that Territorial and Jung will be getting my business this season.
I’m a triple F’er! (french fillet freak). The seeds I got from Burpee last year never germinated (two plantings)!!
Are you getting yours from Jung?
Hi, Steve — I share your affection for those French filet beans! They’re so crisp-tender and intensely flavorful … I pick ’em tiny and saute them in lots of butter.
I got my filet bean seed from Territorial Seed Co. last year — a variety called ‘Nickel’. They grew beautifully and were highly productive. If you’re a veteran gardener, you probably know to order a packet of pea/bean inoculant, which I’ve found makes for 100% germination. I did 3 successive plantings from June into early July and had beans well into September.
See the variety here:
http://www.territorialseed.com/product/512
Thanks Bryn,
Will give them a try. Thinking about it, our peas didn’t germinate either!
I don’t recall the inoculant, did add some sort of “starter” – unless that’s the same thing.
Thanks for the tip!
Steve