2007 Planting

I finished my planting yesterday, April 30th, except for the last few tomatoes, which are still too small to put out. I don't have my map drawn out yet, but when I do I will insert it here.

In the top three boxes I have snow peas, sugar snap peas, cucumbers, Delicata squash, bush beans, onions, lettuce, carrots, beets, chard and broccoli rabe.

In the second row of boxes I have summer squash, garlic, peppers, and shallots.

In the bottom row I have the kids' box, a green bean teepee, tomatoes, Alabama green beans and basil.

I've planted about a week or two earlier this year. The winter has been incredibly dry and mild. The boxes dried out and the dirt cracked. My young neighbor came over and turned 3 cubic feet of organic chicken manure into each box for me. The soil levels were still too low, so I added another 4 cubic feet of organic compost/soil mix to each box and turned it in myself.

Many of the seeds I picked out this year are the same as last year, either because I liked the vegetable or the picture on the packet was just so pretty!

The Seed List
Botanical Interests "Beet, Early Wonder"
Renee's Garden "Jewel-Toned Beets, Red, Gold & Candystripe"
Renee's Garden "Gourmet Ruby Chard, Scarlet Charlotte"
Garlic "ala supermarket"
Elephant Garlic "ala supermarket"
Red Shallots "ala supermarket" (bigger than last year's yellow shallots)
Botanical Interests "Broccoli Raab"
Botanical Interests "Carrot Baby, Little Finger"
Renee's Garden "Yellow and Orange Carrots, Sunshine Mix"
Burpee's Heirlooms "Lettuce, Tom Thumb Butterhead" - YUM!
Botanical Interests "Lettuce Butterhead, Speckles"
Botanical Interests "Lettuce Leaf, Lolla Rossa"
Burpee "Spinach, Avon Hybrid" - supposedly slow to bolt
Burpee's Heirlooms "Pea, Mammoth Melting Sugar"
Botanical Interests "Pea Snap, Cascadia"
Renee's Garden "Specialty Sunflowers, The Joker"
Renee's Garden "English Cucumber, Chelsea Prize"
Renee's Garden "Bush Beans, Classic Slenderette"
Grandpa Norman's (from George Royce) Alabama Pole Beans
Botanical Interests "Squash summer, Baby Round Zucchini"
Botanical Interests "Squash summer, Clarinette Lebanese"

Kids Box - C
Renee's Garden "Giant Sunflowers, Sunzilla" (10-14 feet tall!)
Botanical Interests "Pumpkin, Jack-O-Lantern"
Botanical Interests "Pea Snow, Oregon Sugar Pod II"
Botanical Interests "Spinach, Bloomsdale"
Botanical Interests "Carrot Baby, Little Finger"
Burpee "Zinnia, Thumbelina Mix"

Kids Box - K
Botanical Interests "Zinnia, California Giants"
Renee's Garden "Jewel-Toned Beets, Red Gold & Candystripe"
Botanical Interests "Carrot, Royal Chantenay"
Botanical Interests "Lettuce Butterhead, Buttercrunch"
Renee's Garden "Icebox Watermelons, Rainbow Sherbet"
Botanical Interests "California Poppy, Mission Bells"


I will create a new post to review last year's seeds, but here are the
big winners and losers:

Winners:
Burpee's Heirlooms "Lettuce, Tom Thumb Butterhead" - compact little heads of the most delicate wonderful butter lettuce. Relatively bug free too.

Burpee "Cucumber, Sweet Burpless Hybrid" - prolific, easy to digest. I don't know why I didn't plant them this year. Maybe I'll stick a few in the ground somewhere.

Burpee "Oriental Vegetable, Pea Snowbird" - C always picks out the best peas, and he has a magic touch with them.


Losers:
Renee's Garden "Specialty Salads, Gala Mache" - if you like eating grass, go for it.

Seeds of Change "Perfection Fennel" - I just don't have enough sun to do fennel right.

Renee's Garden "Long-standing Spinach, Summer Perfection" - summer what? it never came up!