First Seeds of 2012

My seeds from Seed Savers Exchange arrived on Friday! In case you haven't heard about them, they're a non-profit with the mission of saving and sharing heirloom seeds. So they have both "normal" varieties and some really strange ones. I've started forming my list of favorite varieties that work well for me. Some of them are in this picture. But each year I try to experiment with at least one new thing.

The rest of the seeds that I'll use this year are leftover from last year or still on order. But I'll do new posts once they come in and I start doing things with the seeds. Even though its warm outside, the soil is still cold so I'll be starting most of my stuff inside again. But for some cold hardy veggies, you can go ahead and plant now. I'm not planting carrots so radishes will be the first seeds that go into the ground in our garden this year. And if you haven't planted these or other really small seeds that have a suggested spacing for direct sowing (planting seeds straight in the ground), you should know that getting the correct spacing is a pain. So folks have figured out ways around it.



You can purchase pre-made seed tapes like the ones sold at Gardeners Supply. I'm not recommending those because you can make them yourself but in case you're curious, check it out.

To make your own seed tape, cut strips of newspaper about 1 inch wide and lay it on a flat surface next to a ruler. Then dab (I use my finger) a small bit of flour paste (mix flour and water so its about the consistency of glue) at the spacing called for on the seed packet. My radishes call for being sown 1 inch apart so that's the spacing I used here. Then drop a seed on each dot of paste and let the tapes dry. They plant them at the depth designated on your seed packet.

Is it really winter?

A head of lettuce from the market (January 2012)

I don't know about y'all but I think this weather is especially mild and finicky even for a winter in NC. Yes, its been cold- for about 3 days at a time. I had to go out with my headlamp to pick the last of the tomatoes on my plants a few months ago when it looked like we'd get our first frost. And a lot of my wildflowers have died back for the year. But its January and I have bulbs coming up. I'm not so confident that they'll be successful this year.



The upside is that there has been a wonderful array of fresh vegetables available at the farmers markets. I've found myself able to enjoy experimenting with greens since I can still get some other things to go along with them. And you can always grow your own to supplement the market. I've already done a few batches of sprouts this year and continue to add them to salads and other dishes whenever I can.
And growing sprouts isn't hard. The most difficult part for me is remembering to rinse and drain them a couple times a day. But thats all you have to do :)







An especially exciting salad I made lately- I loved all of the colors!



Ingredients:
purple cauliflower
spinach
beets
pickled radishes (get the recipe from me at the carrboro market)
pea shoots
carrots
alfalfa sprouts
lettuce
egg
croutons from leftover bread
(avocado, nuts & olives not local)

Happy New Year!

Last year I didn't do a great job of blogging- I'll admit it. Many of the things I did in the garden were the same or similar to the previous year. And I don't like being repetitive. But I did take some pictures and I'll work to catch up as the garden slumbers through the winter.

This year we started off in locavore style for our new year's meal that will hopefully bring us luck and money in 2012. Because I've been spending more time this year cooking and preserving my harvest (and that others) it seems fitting to share our cooking adventure with y'all.



Menu:
sweet potato biscuits (with sweet potatoes from my grandad's farm)
hoppin' john (with peas from the Cranford Sr. garden)
greens (from the Heeks Family Farm)
flounder (caught by my uncle)

As much as I'd like, we don't always cook this straight out of the garden/ocean. But when it does happen, I like knowing that I'm eating things grown/caught by people I know and love.

In case you didn't know, I've been doing some work with the Heeks Family Farm in northern Durham County. So far I've worked on the actual farm, which uses organic practices but isn't certified organic, and am currently selling their produce at the Carrboro Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. If you're around, stop by and say hello :) And I'll try to do a post about the farm sometime soon.