Seed order this Thursday ...

I'm pretty excited to meet some gardeners this Thursday from the Sustainable Ballard community. These folks have been gardening and ordering seeds together for years so I will get to see their own collections of seed from their plants. I will have nothing to contribute there but will bring the pea seed from Aslan's How CSA. I will be that new kid but oh well. Territorial differentiates their seed by conventional from certified organic/biodynamic (the latter of which they have few). This is different from Abundant Life who separates all three (and labels the conventional seed "sustainably grown"). I wonder why Territorial lumps the two categories together? They would certainly have a market for the biodynamic standing on it's own. Not how they roll I guess. Maybe next year they'll get it. Also unfortunate that they have virtually no organic varieties of herbs and flowers. At this rate I won't be growing too many herbs this year. Boo. So when my turn comes to order I'll be asking for:

Apiaceae: Perfection fennel
Chenopodiaceae: Bull's Blood beet,
Brassicaceae: Purple Peacock broccoli (broccoli/kale cross!), White Russian kale, Sylvetta Wild arugula
Asteraceae: Flashy Trout's Back lettuce, Continuity lettuce, Red Velvet lettuce
Amaranthaceae: Brightest Brilliant Rainbow quinoa, Galilee spinach
Lamiaceae: Sweet basil
Solanaceae: Healthy sweet pepper, Hot Claw hot pepper, Beaverlodge tomato, Early Cherry tomato, Cherokee Purple heirloom tomato

By the way I just looked up "spinach" on wiki and according to that page spinach is no longer in the cheno family with beets, but in with the amaranths. Times are always changing.

Biodynamic inspiration

One neat thing about Abundant Life Seeds are their handful of certified biodynamic seed varieties. I haven't looked into the biodynamic certification process but my understanding is it's as complex as certification can get. As a gardening system biodynamics is one of the most rigid, precise, and rule-bound. I wonder how closely the certification follows the science itself. I just checked out https://www.biodynamics.com/ and am interested to bring this philosophy into the North Beach garden this year. But I don't want to mess around so must obtain resources quickly. I will experiment with the biodynamic-certified seeds, and do my best to grow these plants under the right conditions. Then compare them to the non-biodynamic plants/conditions. Why not? That farm in Battle Ground I mentioned was doing similar quests and were more legit because they had their own cows. Oh well. I will still have some fun. I will order these seeds Thursday:

Apiaceae: Nantaise Narome carrot
Chenopodiaceae: Rote Kugel beet
Fabaceae: Ura pole bean, Major bush bean, Blauseh Okker pea
Lamiaceae: Summer Savory

One thing I'm unsure about is if I will grow them in the same bed as the nonbiodynamic plants. I think that would complicate "the experiment".

Also here is an interesting article published in the Seattle Times from 1993 (I was 7 years old then)

Also! There is a biodynamic farm on Bainbridge Island, Tani Creek Farm... I am keeping my eye on this place

More seed catalogues ... and facebook friends

Although I didn't check the mail all week... nevermind that... I was happy to receive 2 more catalogues today from Abundant Life Seeds and One Green World, also a newsletter from Burnt Ridge Nursery. See, waiting brings happiness. Although for the seed ordering (coming up this Thursday!) we are going via Territorial. I don't really need to order additional seed beyond that. These catalogues are just fun and games, and really I just need to get some seed in the ground. Today I "liked" half a dozen urban agriculture groups on Facebook so that I can start following them. Some of their websites are listed below! So many amazing groups I could become involved with if I just got organized and clear enough. Right now I am listening to the Weird Weeds on grooveshark. I like this youtube video linked here for you, particularly of the dog walking about at 1:00!

UW Student Farm - Go figure I wouldn't have been a part of this when I was a student there

Alleycat Acres - They're doing a bike ride fundraiser Streets & Beets Mar 3. Totally signing up. I would really like to get to know the urban farms under their banner.

Beacon Food Forest - This project is in Jefferson Park and is legitimized by the city. Sweet.

Also, Urban Farm Hub has many more organizations listed on their fabulous website.

If the weather's warming

Someone posted on the bioregional list-serve a link to a map of the U.S. depicting changes in hardiness zones. Which you click play you watch the progression 1990-2006 raising heat. It's not dramatic and gives you that feel people can adapt. The message also included a reference to Albert Bates. He is a permaculture activist, laywer and author. His most recent book (which I will look for - I haven't read it) Biochar Solution is about living carbon-negative lives. I wonder if growing food is considered carbon-negative. Maybe experimenting with growing warmer weather crops  is part of that. There are many farmers doing that right now, I imagine. One farm in Battleground, WA was trying to grow olive trees when I interned there briefly in winter 2008. (Why was I there only in the winter? I liked that part of the state, and it's close to Portland. I enjoyed traveling there on intercounty transit.) There are five farms for sale in Battle Ground, WA.

The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide

The other post I mentioned this guide and how I went to the website to purchase it, but didn't. Today in my boss' office, trying to communicate with my insurance regarding a dental appointment, I saw three copies just sitting there. Like a gift from the gods not quite a gift. Where did these come from? I'm sure they're not my boss' and I'm sure they're not for me. But I borrowed one to look over this morning just to get me moving for Jan/Feb and before the Food/Garden Guild meeting Feb. 6. I was only going to sow straight outdoors but then my friend said I could sow indoors with her growing lamps. Nice!

Sow Indoors
Alliaceae - onion
Asteraceae - chamomile
Brassicaceae - broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower
Solanaceae - pepper, tomato


Sow Outdoors (late Feb)
Apiaceae - fennel
Brassicaceae - arugula
Fabaceae - pea


Sow in cloche (late Feb)
Chenopodiaceae - beet, spinach
Apiaceae - cilantro
Brassicaceae - arugula, cress, pac choi, chinese cabbage, mustard
Asteraceae - lettuce

Not sure how much space I have to grow the larger Brassica plants. Also I will sow the leftover poppy seed in the staircasing beds along with wildflower mix I will purchase. Basically it's the beginning of February so I will spend the next couple of weeks getting supplies lined up. More seed starting flats, seed starting mix and cloches. Also need to clean up the cascading beds.

Also here are more seed companies I didn't know about before!~

Horizon Herbs (Williams, OR) - seeds of medicine!!!

West Coast Seeds (Delta, BC) - I wanna visit BC!

Yay!

Another garden blog suggests:

If you are considering growing some food in your yard but don't want to go overboard, but do want to save some money on your groceries, consider these top money-saving food crops:

Cilantro
Arugula
Salad Mix
Chives
Dill
Lettuce

Go figure they are all herbs or lettuce. So if you don't like salads you probably don't care these are profitable plants. But consider that cilantro seeds the great spice coriander, and that the flowers of chives and dill are beautiful. Also lettuce is the grossest produce you can find at the food bank, and in greatest need of fresh harvest. Arugula happens to be my favorite green, for what it's worth.

I need help

So last night at the Sustainable Ballard monthly gathering the icebreaker was: What is a green new years resolution? I said I want to meet more gardeners. This morning I was chatting with a friend about bulk seed ordering and mentioned Titlth's Maritime Northwest Garden Guide, which I once owned but gave away. I went to their website, thinking I might purchase another copy. Everytime I go to their website I think about the numerous internships they offer. If I need to meet more gardeners than I need to get involved with one of the strongest gardening organizations in Seattle. How cool would that be to score an internship? So I am going to try. The application for Garden Steward Intern is February 10. The 6 month internship ends Aug 31. Of course I can handle 12-24 hr commitment per week if I am only working 24 hours a week. We'll see what happens.

The bed plan

So first of all here's a rough sketch of where each family will be planted. Those highlighted green represent beds undergoing change. The beds previously occupied with beans, peas and sunflowers are being rotated. I'm removing some of the strawberries on the edge that didn't grow well and planting beans/peas. Not sure if that will shade out the producing strawberry plants but at least they are partial to shade. When Dita sees this she will immediately see some of the beds have been resized - there are numerous beds that have been broken down into smaller sizes. I did that back in the fall. It adds a little character I guess. And walk space. A permaculture enthusiast wouldn't be that impressed since there aren't any curves.

On another note I've been keeping that Best Garden Blogs book in the back of my mind. I googled that and came across a couple websites. Will continue to check that out and follow what I can. It only makes sense.

blogs.com top 10

blog rank top 50

Planting calendars

I just constructed a rudimentary planting schedule! It's color coded to visually help me focus on specific plants each month. The green is for sowing seed directly into soil, and purple regards transplanting. The time frame is from February-June... Subject to change depending on which seeds I end up getting. Just going through the motions! Gotta keep up the energy. Still need to develop a weekly schedule but I feel like that will fall into place after I purchase seeds. I googled "Planting calendar Seattle" and found some resources. Those are listed here:

Small Wonder Farm

Seattle Times Home & Garden

Oregon Tilth

Almanac - I like this one because it includes "Moon Favorable" dates & I think I will purchase the book

I see there are many plants not accounted for in these online template plant calendars, leaving room for intuition. Also I just found out there is a Horticulture Best Gardening Blogs 2011 book. The kind of people that are in that book have been gardening over 20 years.

Possibilities...

I went looking through the Osborne Seed catalogue today. I was disappointed they couldn't include all Latin names; but maybe I should memorize them anyway. They are based in Mount Vernon, WA so very accessible. I have some time to think about visiting that place. In the meantime I'm participating in a seed bulk order with the Homemakers and will bring up the idea with Sustainable Ballard Monday to see about finding more participants. In terms of the North Beach garden these plant possibilities inspired me:

Apiaceae: Bolero or Maestro carrots, Atlas baby carrots, Florence fennel, Greensleeves dill
Asteraceae: Lovelock lettuce, Roxy butterhead lettuce
Brassicaceae: Fast Vantage cabbage, Scarlet kale, Red Knight mustard, Garnet Giant mustard
Chenopodiaceae: Touchstone gold beets, Cello spinach
Fabaceae: Lewis bush beans, Ladi Di pole beans, Cabree peas, Sugar Flash snap peas, Sweet Horizon snow peas,
Solanaceae: Sweet Hearts tomato, Plum Crimson tomato, Green Zebra heirloom tomato

+ culinary and medicinal herbs, flowers and wildflower mixes

I would plant some of each in each family bed and see how they fare. How much diversity is there between different varieties of the same plant or different plants in the same family? I will have a lot of seed left over after this growing season, maybe.

Seeds, yes!

I have mixed feelings about ordering this year's array of seed catalogues because I never end up ordering the seeds. I just pick up seed packets here and there. Also I have never been equipped for starting seeds in an ideal way. No greenhouse. I just need to get more creative about this. There should be a community greenhouse somewhere. Still haven't been to the Ballard Community Garden, but I have not yet come across a community greenhouse at one of the p-patches. Ballard HS has a greenhouse but that's for the students. I wonder if I volunteered there if I could snag a bit of space... In due time I will find that greenhouse.

I will still order seed catalogues this year because the Seattle Homemakers Guild will do some bulk ordering in the next month and perhaps I can have a say. In addition to ordering these catalogues, really what I should be doing is paying visits. Check out these awe-inspiring companies if you're curious about what their websites look like:

Abundant Life Seeds (Cottage Grove, OR)

Burnt Ridge Nursery (Onalaska, WA)

New Dimension Seed (Scappoose, OR)

Nichols Garden Nursery (Albany, OR)

One Green World (Molalla, OR)

Osborne Seed (Mount Vernon, WA)

Raintree Nursery (Morton, WA)

Territorial (Cottage Grove, OR)

Wild Garden Seed (Philomath, OR)

A Snowy Planday

The beds have officially received this season's first snow - they were frost covered when I went outside this morning, with garlic peeking up. I decided to walk to Swansons to see what they are selling today, and to ask the managers if they ever donate plants (for the community garden). Sunday is never a good day to seek out managers. There was very little activity at the nursery today. After I left and walked down 15th I saw there is a store called Herbal Healing near 80th, then further down, some Garden Collective I must find out more about, and on the way to the library (on 58th) what looks like a community garden in an old house lot. There's a big sign that says SLUG. I got to chat with no one about these sweet finds because Sunday is not a good day to chat. I'll have this upcoming week for that.

At Swansons right now there are many native plants hardy below 0 degrees. So when I see snow on the beds I am reminded I could, indeed be gardening right now. I could pick up some plants and care for them in their pots until the right time to transplant. Such as the Gemo St Johns Wort now 75% off in the nursery's very back corner. As a curious consumer, I'm wondering what they do with the plants that don't sell beside tossing them to the back and out of sight. Plenty of herbs like rosemary, bay and lavender have been shelved, while mixed herb pots (Henry's Herbs) are being promoted. So what's going on with all the shelved plants? Can we donate them to the community center? Is it better to keep them shelved overwinter in the nursery or to fare them to the outdoors with some prayer?

I would love to take the numerous neglected St Johns Wort (the photo is not mine. Still don't have a camera) plants off their hands to nurture and harvest. What a useful plant that could be for loved ones. The herb is considered an effective antidepressent, and I know many people who would benefit from taking this plant if they are open. I drink a blend of St John's Wort with other relaxants as a winter tea to ride the cold. You can't go wrong with yellow flowers.

New Seeds in 2012

It's been one year since I visited Aslan's How Organics in Bow, WA - my inspiring friend Aaron and his very cool wife Carolyn are continuing to expand their CSA operation. When I lived in Skagit I became acquanted with some of the community gardens and helped establish one in Anacortes. I got to bike by farms everyday, trying not to fly off into a ditch with those insane winds and narrow side lanes. It felt so good to bike out there again, too much time later. In the upcoming year I will re-root as a farm tourist since there are so many amazing operations to witness in this area. Of course I say that in the winter when little is growing except my wild imagination.

On the other hand, I hope I can continue to receive inspiration. Aaron and Carolyn gave me a sampling of Territorial climbing snap peas, "Oaxacan Radish" from their friend Nelida, and Seed Savers evening sun sunflowers leftover from their wedding. The snap peas and sunflowers will be perfect to re-establish in the North Beach garden, playing off Dita's plants in 2011 and the radish must continue passing right along to the BCC community garden. Now I have to do the work of cultivating their best chance. Researching on a winter's day.

Sunflowers were my grandmother's favorite flower, and my goodness, look at those beautiful colors. And the dark center. I'm excited to plant these seeds to see what colors emerge. Accordinng to Seed Savers Exchange this variety produces multiple heads on a plant, and may grow 6-8' tall - but Carolyn said they grew a couple feet tall on their farm. Maybe they were planted late. Dita's sunflowers grew over 6 ft this summer, which she planted in full sun but this variety also enjoys partial shade. The North Beach garden receives full sun in about half of the space and partial shade due to an enormous hedgerow separating our yard from the street. She had planted them in one row but I think I will plant them in a couple places to experiment with sun. The sunflowers were my favorite part of her garden last year because they towered above me, and I felt like an insect walking under them. Their stalks were so strong I took pruners to them at the end of their season. I hope I can grow sunflowers that big this year. 

I tried to find an image (on google) of the trellising that best resembles what Dita constructed last year but was a bit unsuccessful. That is a good lesson I should have taken photos throughout the growing season! A nice reminder to get photos this year! Although I don't have a working camera at this point... She angled the sticks, bamboo and plastic along the rows forming cross hatches. She also used tomato cages, which proved to be inconvienent when I finally removed the plants (I am still wondering if I should have left them overwinter, planting the cover crop around them) I have seen these and runner beans trellised up walls. I'm not sure where I will plant these snap peas in the garden. I just checked out the territorial blog after a long time and have found they are posting how-to videos. That's so awesome. Perhaps these will be the first plants I will harvest this year (60 days) along with greens. Can't wait to eat them straight off the vine.