Free Seeds from Renee’s Garden
Renee’s Garden was kind enough to send me a package filled with all 16 varieties of new seeds they have for this year along with two bonus garden packs.
The box was filled with all kinds of lovely seeds. I love the seed packs from Renee’s because they’re so beautiful.
Here’s a list of seeds that came in the box:
Cosmos, “Rose Bon Bon” – Extra fancy, uniformly double blossoms packed with frilled petals in a rich romantic rose. This exceptionally beautiful and care-free new cosmos produces 3 inch flowers that bloom non-stop on long stems.
Four O’Clocks, “Broken Colors” – A special variety whose starry 2 inch blossoms are beautifully splashed with showy contrasting colors. Their delicious jasmine fragrance floats on summer breezes. Easy to grow and reliable.
Hollyhock, “Apricot-Peach Parfait” – Exclusive – Beautiful new double hollyhocks in luscious colors. Sturdy tall 5 to 7 foot stalks are packed with powder puff blossoms that unfurl in delicious shades of apricot and rosy-peach.
Larkspur, “Singing the Blues” – Exclusive – Our premium mix features tall flowers with double blossoms in royal blue, violet, blushed blue and soft white. Early blooming for casual bouquets that arrange themselves in the vase.
Morning Glory, “Dawn Star”– This treasured heirloom is a vigorous midsummer climber and has scarlet trumpets blossoms with dainty white throats that lure hungry hummingbirds.
Poppy, Shirley, “Falling in Love” – Satiny blossoms in entrancing Valentine shades to light up the spring garden. Includes singles and doubles in glowing crimson, rose-red, white rimmed rose and the occasional peach, many with picotee petals.
Sweet Peas, Knee High, “Jack & Jill” – Blooming in dainty salmon-rose and soft mid-blue, our perfumed duet grows just 3 feet tall. These nostalgic and charming flowers bloom early offering heat tolerance and strong garden performance.
Celery, “Amsterdam Seasoning” – A Continental favorite resembling Italian parsley. Grown for its sprays of glossy green, intensely celery-flavored leaves; it does not form thick stalks. Adds a rich, mellow undercurrent to cooked dishes.
Beans, Pole, “Rattlesnake & Purple” – Heirloom mix: the pretty patterned Rattlesnake beans are delicious as fresh pods or for dried beans. Purple pods are renowned for tenderness, flavor and reliability and their color stands out from vines.
Beans, Pole, Filet, “Emerite” – Elegant, classic French “haricot verts” pole beans with especially slim, long rounded pods. Flavor is beany-sweet, delicate, and Emerite’s tall vines are vigorous and high yielding. Perfect for gourmet gardeners.
Beans, Pole, Filet, “French Gold” – These hard-to-find, handsome yellow beans are true “haricot verts:” classically slim, round 7 to 9 inch pods with delicate, sweet flavor and a crispy snap. Especially choice eating. Heavy bearing, vigorous vines.
Beet, “Golden” – Golden beets are a beautiful golden-orange color throughout. They stay tender-fleshed and particularly sweet and mild in taste, whether pulled very young or allowed to size up. Cooks love them.
Kohlrabi, “Crispy Colors Duo” – Our fast-growing purple and green-skinned Kohlrabi mix makes a pretty picture in garden beds. These extra-fancy hybrids rapidly size up into crispy bulbs with thin skins and crunchy, sweet, white flesh.
Lettuce, “Sea of Red” – Exclusive – Beautiful new lettuce whose sword shaped leaves are an intense deep, mahogany-red that doesn’t fade in the sun. This richly-colored lettuce is a true showstopper in both garden and kitchen.
Lettuce, “Sweetie Baby Romaine” – Exclusive – New baby romaine bred to be compact, juicy and delicious. Petite vase-shaped heads are heavy for their size with a wonderful, sweet flavor and crisp texture. Long-lasting, slow bolting, heat tolerant.
Peppers, Tapas, “Spanish Padron” – Exclusive – Gourmet gardeners will love these hard-to-find, authentic little peppers, for easy, “pop in your mouth”, delicious sizzling “Tapas” appetizers. The tapered fruits grow abundantly on early bearing, vigorous plants.
Of course I couldn’t keep all these lovely seeds to myself so I’ll be giving away two bonus packs, one each to two of my lucky readers. I have a Butterfly Garden Bonus Pack and a Three Sister Garden Bonus Pack to give away. All you have to do to have a chance to win is to comment below and let me know which one of these two you’d like. I’ll choose one winner from the pool of readers for each pack on Friday. *Winner Chosen* While you wait to see if you won head on over to Renee’s Garden and check out all the wonderful seeds they have. They specialize in seeds for the home gardener so you know what you get will do beautifully in your garden.
Seeds for a Butterfly Garden – Attract “the flowers of the air”. Our 4″x 6″ bonus pack contains three inner packets of easy to grow butterfly flowers whose ample nectar will bring butterflies to the garden all summer long. Includes complete planting and growing instructions and garden design information. Includes: Heirloom Zinnia “Persian Carpet”, White Cosmos “Purity”, Red Sunflower “Red Sun”.
Native American Three Sisters Garden, A Living History Trio – This handsome 4″x 6″ bonus pack contains three inner packets of heirloom seeds with complete growing instructions. Includes: multi-colored Earth Tones Dent Corn, Rattlesnake Beans to twine up the corn stalks and Sugar Pie Pumpkins to cover the ground.
So what would you like in your garden; a butterfly garden or a three sisters garden?
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Quote of the Day: Robert Louis Stevenson
“Judge every day not by the harvest you reap,
but by the seeds you sow.”
-Robert Louis Stevenson
It’s that time of year to put aside thoughts of harvesting and canning and plan out your fall garden. I started seeds for mine last week (which is a tad late, but oh well). A lady at the farmer’s market had good luck growing a fall crop of green beans last fall, so I’m trying it this year.
I’m planning on covering them with plastic on those hoops we built. If this fall is colder than usual, as our summer has been, I’m only out $1.50 for the seeds. If it works out, I’ll be eating fresh green beans in October. I also started: red cabbage, brussels sprouts, radicchio, broccoli, cauliflower, and zucchini for my fall garden.
Are you planning & planting a fall garden this year?
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Thinning the Seedlings
I started these broccoli & cabbage seedlings back on March 2, they germinated quickly. Since most of the seedlings had their first set of true leaves I decided it was time to thin them to the strongest seedling in each cell (I typically seed 2-3 seeds per cell).
When they get to this stage I cut all but the strongest best looking seedling. It’s tough to do, as gardeners we want every plant to succeed; but the truth is that the strongest ones will make the best plants and produce the most in the garden.
I really hate cutting down the little seedlings, but since I use the thinnings for a salad, it makes the process a little more bearable. I also like knowing that I will have the strongest plants for the garden and hopefully I will have a bountiful harvest in a few months because of this small effort now.
What’s your strategy for planting/thinning seedlings?
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Starting Onions from Seed
I have always had much better luck starting my onions from seed than growing them from sets. Last year, my red onions from seed grew much larger and stored much better than my yellow onions from sets. Many of my set onions failed to do anything at all. Because they do much better and you can get a much great variety, I decided I wanted to grow all of my onions from seed this year. Onions are easy to start from seed, and since you start them 8-10 weeks before frost they’re a great way to cure that gardening itch you get in January.
This year I started 2 flats of red onions in late January and I started 4 flats of onions the day before yesterday (they’re a little late but they should do alright). Everyone has their own method for starting seeds, this is how I do it.
First I start with some soilless mix that I mix up myself and an empty seed flat (I reuse mine from year to year making sure to wash them well between uses). I usually mix some Dr Earth Starter Fertilizer in my starting mix and this has given me great luck with my seedlings.
Soilless mix is often dry and if it contains peat moss it doesn’t moisten evenly unless you use warm water. So usually I warm some water to moisten the trays, I let it cool before I add the seeds.
I sow a few seeds per cell in my flat and then I dust lightly with some more seed starting mix and then mist lightly with water to moisten the top. Then on the covers go waiting for the seeds to germinate. Some seeds like it warm, and onions are one of those, I use an electric blanket on low wrapped around the other flats to warm them (make sure you use plastic so you don’t get your electric blanket wet). Keep an eye out for germinating seeds and then under the grow light they go.
These are both heirloom onions that I got from Baker’s Seeds, I chose them for their keeping abilities. I’m also planting the rest of my Burpee Red Delicious Hybrid seeds for my red onions this year (those are pictured already sprouted above).
Jaune Paille Des Vertus (onion) – Introduced about 1793, this old onion is now hard to find. It is also called Brown Spanish by French seed house Vilmorin; in 1885 they said, “The winter supply of Paris and of a great part of Europe consists chiefly of this variety, which may be often seen hanging up in dwelling-houses in long hanks formed by interlacing and plaiting the withered leaves together.” The roots are flattened and 3″-4″ across, the skin is a brownish yellow and the flesh is flavorful. This antique is known for its keeping qualities that made it a standard in Europe for over 200 years.
Yellow of Parma (onion) – Long-day type–Large, golden onions are oblong-globe shaped. This late onion makes an excellent keeper; a rare and hard-to-find Italian variety.
I’ll keep you posted on how these onions do. I’m looking forward to enjoying these all next winter in my soups and stews.
Do you start onions from seed or you do you prefer sets? Or do you prefer buying them in the supermarket?
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Trading Seeds
A few of you commented on my Cinderella Pumpkin post about being interested in some seeds. I mailed those off last week (so if you wanted some and didn’t get you packet let me know, they may have gotten lost in the mail).
It’s been very fun because I have received some seeds back as a trade for my pumpkin seeds. It’s very exciting to get free seeds in the mail, particularly for a kind of tomato you’ve never heard of. I’m very excited to try these tomatoes out this summer. So what kinds of seeds did I get back in trade for my pumpkin seeds?
So far I’ve received San Marzano, Dr Wyche’s Yellow, Black from Tula, and Brandywine Tomatoes from Chicago Mike.
I also received Stupice (Czechoslovakian heirloom, early & delicious), Wapsipinicon Peach, and Zapotec Pleated Tomatoes from Kelly over at Populuxe.
Have you traded seeds with other gardeners? Did you get something exciting?
