It Has Begun. . . !

The seed orders have been placed!  Well, one order was placed through Gardens Alive! on Friday.  There will be an order placed through Gurney's soon, and possibly an order for some herb plants.  My tomatoes and some other, more common, herbs will be purchased from local nurseries.  (These will most likely be Mother's Day gifts.  I like the idea of getting a gift that gives all year long.)


I still have in stock the seeds for my personal sized watermelons, Jack-B-Littles, large gourd mix, small gourd mix, tobacco box gourds, large Martin gourds, and Roger 6.2 gourds.  


Organic New England Sugar Pumpkins from Garden's Alive! are the smaller "baby bear"-type pumpkins that I've chosen for this year.  They will be perfectly sized for Bug to carry around and feel special, and they are supposed to be great for cooking.  The "organic" label is an added bonus.


The green beans were chosen by my mother.  Organic Haricot Vert Maxibel beans are the same type used in some of her favorite restaurants.  They have incredible flavor, and, again, they are organic.


For pickles--which I toyed with last year, but not to my satisfaction--I chose the National Pickling cucumber.  My understanding is that this cucumber is one of the best to use for pickling.  I love pickles, and would like nothing more than to grow and pickle my own.  These are also organic.


Now, as far as my herb garden goes, this year I want to expand.  That's not too difficult a task since last year's herbs were basics--rosemary, basil, oregano, thyme, lavender, and spearmint--grown in containers on my deck.  They were easily accessible for cooking, but I want more.  I've decided that I want to grow herbs for making my own teas, too.  I realize this type of endeavor will probably be a trial and error learning curve, and involve using other areas for growing, but I'm willing to take it on.  


My first herb choice for the tea garden was Organic German Chamomile seeds.  Chamomile is great for helping you relax and is the primary herb used in "bedtime" teas.  I recently read that it's also good for rinses for blond hair.  (Whereas Rosemary is better for brunettes.)  Maybe my herb garden will branch into homemade beauty treatments, too.  


For the culinary herb garden, I've ordered Organic Garlic Chives and Organic Cortland Onion seed.  I'm new to the root crops, so hopefully I'll do alright.  In Fall I'll add garlic, which I'm excited for because I love cooking with garlic.  


Coming with the garlic chives and German chamomile is also a lettuce mix they call "Cut n Come Again."  I will probably grow this in a container, or a nice idea I found for converting rain gutters into a sort of hanging garden.  (I'm not sure where I originally saw that, so I can't give credit to anyone.)


One more thing I have coming with this order is a plant called Scarlet Bee Balm.  This plant is supposed to be great for attracting beneficial bees and other insects to your garden.  I have one for the herb garden, and one for the veggie garden.