Survival Seeds

Well, the bug hit me....or fever, or whatever trigger causes the need to play in the dirt long before it's safe. I ordered from the Gurney seed catalog this week. My hubby has been concerned that I didn't plant enough garlic last fall (mainly because I waited too late to order the bulbs from the dealer I like.) So I just reconcile myself to make do with planting what I put aside for seed stock. Turns out, with an unlimited supply on hand we used way more garlic this fall/winter than ever before and my hubby has developed an addiction so severe he depleted our years supply of culinary garlic by January - with no fresh garlic until June/July we were very susceptible to vampires! I resorted to using the garlic in the decorator braids hung in my kitchen window. Not to fear, this was home grown garlic I braided. Thinking I had such a plentiful supply when I harvested the garlic last summer, I made a yarrow and garlic valance - the garlic is totally edible and organic, but I'd have liked to preserve my window treatments a few more months!

As we were preserving our salsa last fall, Ashley - AKA The Princess, recommended a salsa garden . We put up 12 jars of salsa and it was gone within six weeks. The child absolutely loves anything with vinegar in it and downed a pint of salsa in one setting. This left the extended family members highly disappointed because she ran through the entire stock of "Christmas salsa" in said six weeks. The salsa was intended as gifts to those who loved it the year before.

Back to the catalog order... I was looking for things I couldn't find locally. With The Princess's idea in mind and thinking this sounds like a great project for a mother-daughter duo I ordered some interesting tomatoes - my friends will not be surprised to note that I picked a variety called Flamingo's....they are an undersized plum tomato with raspberry pink interiors....It just sounded like to much fun to resist! They come as seeds which I don't generally have good luck growing tomatoes from seed, but for $2.45 it's worth the gamble.

Can't have salsa without onions - so I found an interesting variety of those also. Candy Apple Red's - supposedly eatable raw although I don't know why people do this - the plant makes you cry when you cut it - what makes you think you should eat it raw? Go figure....anyway, it looks pretty and if it is mild with a good flavor, will do nicely in the salsa. I generally saute my onions and garlic for the salsa and have had good results with the flavor.

To round out the salsa garden order I found some softneck garlic still in stock. So I ordered Pioneer Whites and Silver Reds....I hope they come soon so I can get them in the ground while it's still cool. With the softnecks I already planted and these, I should have enough to last through next winter and give some garlic braids as gifts. Maybe I can even replace my window treatment! If not, I'll double the order in the summer and hope I have help planting it all!

With those items added to the cart I decided I'd like some tomato plants - to get a jump on the season. I went out on a limb and ordered Black Krim heirloom cherry tomatoes. I've never had heirloom's before - I guess I felt they were to delicate for me to grow - I've got a limited budget - both financially and time - and I generally don't like to take a chance on something that's not going to produce. I thought I'd give through caution to the wind...

Before I log off, I wanted to share with you another site on seeds - Hometown Seeds they have a grouping of seeds called Survival Seeds. Hormone free and packaged to last for an extended period of time. Once you plant the seeds the resulting fruit produces seeds suitable to save for next years planting. Sounds very interesting to me - especially the hormone free aspect.

Although it is not very warm today - I have a need to prepare homes for the soon to arrive seeds and plants. This means raised bed preparation - I'm off to the rock pile to start hauling them up the hill for a bed near the house.....

Finishing Up Friday!

Yesterday I started a fiber project - yes I know you find that hard to believe. At this moment your mouth is hanging open and you are just finishing up the end of a long incredulous sighing "nnnnaawww".

Here is what I'm working on... a crocheted sachet - garnished with a delicate pansy and some ribbon.

Do you know who it's for? Possibly one of you. Terri (that's her to the right) over at Clay Hill Farm is sponsoring a giveaway and I so graciously agreed to be a part of it - she is so cool to let me join in~!
Terri's portion is a really cute tote bag which she'll fill with Easter goodies. My portion is a crocheted sachet.

While looking for an appropriate item to crochet my thoughts turned to Spring - I know - you're thinking I'm a mind reader, your thoughts are on Spring too right? Aren't I like --- AMAZING?

One of my favorite spring flowers is the Pansy. Any type of pansy - plain, ruffled, old fashioned, viola, yellow, pink, blue, purple, orange....

Now for the lecture portion of my post: The word pansy comes from the French pensee or pensie which means remembrance. So named because the first occurrence of the wild pansy was found in a French field after the 4th century. The origin of the plants we now call pansy began in Iver, Buckinghamshire, England in the 1800's by two guys messing around crossing Viola species.

These plants are easy to propagate and take little care to grow. Water and sunshine that's all they really need as they are pest resistant. Their enemies are drought and heat. Believe it or not pansies can have a delicate aroma in the early morning and at dusk when the humidity is high. The yellow and blue ones are more likely to have a smell.

Both the leaves and flowers of pansies, and violas for that matter, are edible and high in vitamins A and C. (I recommend using organic ones or grow your own to avoid pesticide/herbicide ingestion. The flowers impart a strong flavor and can be used to make syrup, flavored honey and salads. Both the leaves and flowers can be used as a garnish, such as on cold fruit or cream soups. The flowers are also useful as a dye. I like to freeze pansies and violas in an ice ring and add them to a punch for a pretty touch - especially for Mothers Day celebrations.

The most important reason I like pansies is because I can indulge my passion. I love to deadhead flowers. You know my motto - "Off with their heads". It is a stress reliever for me and an obsession - I can't hardly pass a bed with spent flowers without deadheading. It is embarrassing sometimes - especially if I am around a certain person, who shall remain nameless, who considers my passion - planticide! But she must concede that I have prolific blooms on my pansies and petunias.

So my Spring fever has led me to crochet a sachet which I shall include in Terri's giveaway. Don't forget to sign up by tomorrow and Think Spring!