Starting a garden...

[irishserra]

Hey there,

I'm getting ready to start some huge gardens to supply my family with lots of organic fruits and veggies. I'm so excited about this.

Does anyone know of a website where I can order seeds that have not been genetically modified to yield only once like the popular name brand seeds have been? I know Mexico boasts some hundreds of varieties of non-modified corn and I was thinking about tracking down some of those. But what about other vegetables and fruits? Any direction would be greatly appreciated.

[contessa20]

Try Baker Creek Seeds (http://rareseeds.com/). I haven't ordered from them yet but I have one of their (beautiful) catalogs and I plan to order a few packets in the next couple of weeks.

[MrsJ]

Oh my god, this is my sector: http://survivalseedbank.com/

You have to check it out.

[michigan roman]

www.territorialseed.com ...

theyre in the pacific northwest thusly the climate may be somewhat like i invision irelands , which could lead to their seeds doing well in your area .
theyre my favorite seed company . their prices can be high , but say youve a $40 order you coulda got somewhere else for $30 . well the high quality seed territorial organically produces shall way more than make you back that ten bucks .

edit : ide get their tried and proven for decades BLOOMSDALE varity spinach . i buy it and its excellent . ide buy an ounce (2000 seeds) for around $5 . then an ounce (20,000 seeds) of their ROMAINE LETTUCE VARIETY VALMAINE at around $5 . the romaine stands long and into summer heat . and new zeland spinach is also a great and way different than regular spinach crop . it stands whole season , and you cut it and it grows back . plus returns year after year . but if you dont cut it after its matured itll get bad tasting , so you cut it at a cetain point even if your not gonna eat it all because itll sart tasting bad . where as after cutting the new wave tastes tender / delicious again .

between these 2 greens youve a great salad base . ide also get kale , very nutricious and goes deep into the cold season .

i know you didnt ask all this but im getting gardening hyper for spring
and it just comes outta me :-)

[irishserra]

Thank you, Thank you!!

I checked out these web sites and thus far, I've spent $60.00 on seeds today!

Michigan Roman: I love detailed responses to my questions. I'm thrilled to have all of the information. I, too, get excited about gardening. The problem is, it's hard for me to maintain that excitement when my gardens don't turn out so fruitful. I'd say I'm a moderate gardener. I hope to be successful this year.

Also, I bought lots of things I'd never seen before: Purple carrots; purple tomatoes; purple okra; purple green beans (can you see a theme here?); and some odd garden fruits that I've never even heard of and all sorts of multicolored corn and peppers!!

I'm so excited; I can't wait!!! :D

[michigan roman]

Thank you, Thank you!!

I checked out these web sites and thus far, I've spent $60.00 on seeds today!

Michigan Roman: I love detailed responses to my questions. I'm thrilled to have all of the information. I, too, get excited about gardening. The problem is, it's hard for me to maintain that excitement when my gardens don't turn out so fruitful. I'd say I'm a moderate gardener. I hope to be successful this year.

Also, I bought lots of things I'd never seen before: Purple carrots; purple tomatoes; purple okra; purple green beans (can you see a theme here?); and some odd garden fruits that I've never even heard of and all sorts of multicolored corn and peppers!!

I'm so excited; I can't wait!!! :D


heres a shocker for ya :eek: = the purple string beans are delicious raw :D

they look untasty because of purple , but theyre great and more juicy than green ones . another great bush bean is ' dragon tongue ' , its big / flat / long / yellow with PURPLE :D stripes . its my favorite string bean .

and if you grow pole beans the KENTUCKY WONDER is very good , great taste / giant and productive plant .

www.motherearthnews.com + www.organicgardening.com have excellent gardening info .

and a good book is eliot colemans ' four season harvest ' , he gets into how you can get the most production from the length of your growing season with things like cold frames / hardy varietys / etc .

and greatest herb seed company on earth www.richters.com .
their catalog is a wealth of herbal info .

and if you wanta get alot of seeds cheap , though theyre not into organic / ngm or that , go to texas . like they say they do things big in texas , well this company www.willhiteseed.com gives great prices on giant amounts of seeds . worth looking into for anyone planting a big area .

[michigan roman]

and also on being a moderate gardener = its all in the soil .
compost / mulch / feed the soil .
my mulch piles about %25 the size of my garden ,
and i keep feeding it leaves / grass / tree bark / wood chips /
lime / straw (alot , love straw) . then i pitch fork the compost after its
breaking down around all my plants to keep weeds down / keep moisture in /
feed the soil . easy recipe . the limes to prevent soil from getting too acidic which many leaf types tend to cause .

[irishserra]

Awesome. I will definitely remember the tip regarding the soil.

Recently, my husband and daughter have been really into juicing and they've been dumping the pulp, rinds and peels into a gigantic plastic tub and setting it outside, for composting.

I also ordered varieties of various herbs that I had never heard of. I can't wait for Spring!

[oceanluv]

check out the ruth stout book, forgot the title, sorry. all about mulching--makes gardening easier, enrichesthe soil, etc.

[michigan roman]

check out the ruth stout book, forgot the title, sorry. all about mulching--makes gardening easier, enrichesthe soil, etc.


' how to have a green thumb without an aching back ' ;)

edit : its in my bookcase ;-)

[livin]

Please see other thread. This post was deleted after realizing it was posted in the wrong place.