The Easy Care ground cover blend should keep us from having to mow grass around the front beds while still keeping a neat and pretty appearance. I may have ordered a tiny bit too much considering the area covered by the beds but I'd rather over seed than under seed, especially in pathways.
Instead of getting multiple packets of various seeds that I'd only want about 4 of each at a time, I chose a wild-flower blend for the front and back. The Partial Shade mix contains a bunch of the flowers I had selected for bed #9 and will also thrive as pollinator attractors in the front flowerbed by the rose and nasturtiums.
The Calibra onions look a lot like the small onions we buy in bags at the grocery store and say they're good for storage. The Walla Walla onions are the over wintering type and will be planted much later in the season for next year's harvest.
We have enough of the Amazing cauliflower seeds from last year for our first crop and I've ordered the Galleon cauliflower seeds to over winter at the end of this season and ripen for May 2014.
Last year I tried in vain to get carrots growing in soil that was too wet, too hard, and too nutritionally devoid. This used up all the seeds I had on hand so I'm buying some new ones to hopefully get a nice full crop this year. I chose the Scarlet Nantes carrots because they're good, basic, standard carrots.
The zucchini I chose is an unusual variety named Ambassador. Instead of creeping or climbing vines, this variety has a central stalk with leaves, flowers, and eventually fruit sprouting from it(Similar to brussel sprouts). This compact design is not only space efficient but it keeps all the produce in one easy to locate spot so they don't get overlooked and old.
I'm planning on buying the herbs, potatoes, raspberries and strawberries from local suppliers (Probably VanLuyk) so I don't have to start the whole spiral from seed and to ensure healthy sprouts. The herb garden won't be producing this year as it'll probably be barely planted in June but it'll have a few leaves to give and a good solid foundation for 2014.
I need to sort last years seeds and order more. I didn't take any care with last years, so I may just throw them into the corner and see what comes up.
ReplyDeleteAll mine are in the seed bin in the mini-fridge in the basement along with the extra pickled garlic and pickled onions. The pickles are in their jars.... not the seed bin... aaaanyway,
ReplyDeleteClick Here for post from last winter with pics.
It's a simple set-up but it keeps them cold and dry.
Hi Shannon, mind telling where you got your ground cover blend from. I'm looking for something like that myself.
ReplyDeleteNo problem. It's linked above(I added a LOT for links in this post) but it's from WestCoastSeeds.com
ReplyDeleteI chose this one Easy care Ground Cover but they have a lot of different mixes so look around for one that suits your yard best.