Yes, it is that time of year when winter may be melting away to spring and the clocks have leapt forward. Each year I garden, I begin to use more planning to relieve some of the spring planting crunch. This year, I am sorting through my seed box early and choosing seeds for the mid-March and early April indoors sowing and the early May direct seeding. Also, I need to remind myself of when to remove straw mulch from strawberries, see this excellent Extension article, and garlic.
To me, the quintessential summer vegetable, is the tomato. It reminds me of my grandfather's garden. He would compete with his neighbors for plant vigor and earliest vine-ripened tomato of the summer. His buddies would debate the best sources for starter plants, varieties, and planting techniques. Each winter, I dream, plan, and strategize to produce delicious tomatoes before July 4, boost yields for sauce-making, and grow flavorful tomatoes for a caprese salad.
The 2014 growing season was one of my least successful growing seasons based on my three goals. Many tomatoes were harvested green and ripened on the kitchen counter. Aside from fresh eating, I only had enough tomatoes for 1 batch each of ketchup and sauce. Flavor was at times bland and occasionally sublime.
The biggest surprise of the summer was a new variety 'Schmmeig Striped Hollow' from Fedco Seeds. It outproduced all my other paste and slicing tomato varieties. The fruit cavity is hollow with little seed production making them ideal for stuffing and an interesting addition to summer tomato salads.
The two hybrids that I grow each year, 'Juliet' and 'Sungold', performed as expected. The season was just too cold for the 'San Marzano' plants. My best paste tomato variety of the year was 'Grandma Mary's', which I grow every season to compare to new (to me) varieties. I tried Weisnicht's Ukranian tomato, great flavor, meaty texture, and worth trying for a second season. All varieties were purchased from Fedco Seeds.
Why kale?
Kale is a green, leafy vegetable in the Brassica or cabbage family. Most preparations of kale are similar to collards. In my experience, kale is easy to grow and withstands extremes of soil moisture and air temperatures. It is one of the last vegetables to succumb to freezing weather when it is unprotected and is a robust addition to unheated low tunnels for winter and early spring harvests. Kale in its seedling stage is an excellent green to add to salads and keeps well in a salad mix when properly harvested and stored.
My favorite varieties of kale include 'Red Russian', 'Beedy's Camden', and 'Nero di Tuscano'. All three varieties sailed through the polar vortex winter of 2014 in an unheated low tunnel. I had seeded very heavily for salad greens and braising mixes at the early spring harvest timing. The spring of 2014 harvest was two weeks late compared to 2012 and 2013. After the spring harvests, I removed the 'Nero di Tuscano', for whatever reason, it was not as vigorous. I thinned the 'Red Russian' and 'Beedy's Camden' and harvests continued through the summer and until a killing frost in November. Many suppliers offer 'Red Russian' and 'Nero di Tuscano' but I have only found 'Beedy's Camden' from Fedco Seeds.
A comfortable chair, a mug of tea, and a couple of seed catalogs- these are the winter highlights. Each year, I plan on starting a mixture of old, trusted stand-bys and new varieties. Dreams of gardening splendor.
The performance, including taste, yield, and pest resistance, of a variety is dependent on its environmental conditions, for instance, soil type, rainfall, irrigation, sun exposure etc. Heirloom vegetable varieties are selections from a plant breeder, gardener, or farmer that are usually site and trait specific. A great resource for learning about heirlooms and seed-saving is the Seed Savers Exchange. For heirloom variety recommendations, Slow Food USA has a list, the Ark of Taste, with descriptions and links to seed sources. Bonus! They have a list of the varieties by region, which is incredibly helpful for selecting heirlooms that will work well in your climate.
The List:
Tomatoes: Juliet and Sungold. Juliet is a small roma or saladette tomato that is prolific, disease-resistant, and a must-have for the garden. The other variety that I plant every year is 'Sungold', a delicious, fruity, orange cherry tomato. Caution: the fruits crack after a heavy rain. Watch the weather and harvest before a rain or thunderstorm.
Onions: 'Redwing' is a red storage onion that I continue to grow year after year because of its consistent performance. In 2013, I planted two varieties of yellow storage onions, 'Copra' and 'Dakota Tears'. I preferred the strong top and bulb growth of 'Dakota Tears' over 'Copra' this season. I've been growing 'Copra' for a number of years and have found it to be a reliable variety. This is the first year for 'Dakota Tears'. I'm curious to see how it performs over several seasons.
Leeks: Bleu de Solaize successfully germinated in the low tunnels last winter and was ready to harvest by late April. This variety develops long, slender shanks. The key to growing leeks with plenty of white, edible shank is to create a furrow about 6 inches deep and plant the seedlings into this furrow. Over the course of the growing season, rain and irrigation events wash the soil into the furrow. No hilling necessary!
Cucumbers: Last season, I trialed three varieties: 'Calypso', 'Super Zagross', and 'Poona Kheera' from Fedco seeds. In 2012, the cucumber plot was heavily infested with cucumber beetles. Based on observations of defoliation and disease levels, 'Poona Kheera' was the most resistant compared to 'Super Zagross' and 'Calypso'. The fruits of 'Poona Kheera' change in skin color and texture from a milky white to yellow and then a beautiful russet-brown. Even at the later stages of maturity, the fruits remain sweet not bitter. This variety performed well in the hot, dry beetle-infested 2012 season and the cool, wet disease-ridden 2013 season.
The best part of the winter holiday season is the arrival of this year's seed catalogs. Right when day length is diminishing and my tea consumption is rising exponentially, the best seed catalog that I have ever read arrives in the mailbox, the Fedco Seeds catalog. Am I biased? Absolutely. I read this catalog cover to cover multiple times during my daily bus commute.
Fedco Seeds is a cooperative owned by its employees and grower members in Clinton, Maine. In my opinion, the seed selection and price can't be beat for vegetable, flower, and herb growers. They offer volume discounts and accept group orders. In addition, if you are looking for an eco-friendly school fundraiser, they offer a seed packet selection for fundraising!
Each catalog is chock full of growing resources and information. Each crop, where applicable, is divided into at least two sections with hybrid and open-pollinated varieties for the seed-saving enthusiast.
To go to the main Fedco Seeds site, click here. For a downloadable pdf copy of their catalog, go here.
