Kiwano, African Horned Cucumber
Ganjyu Bitter Melon
Albino Beet
Cherry Vanilla Quinoa
Sunset Runner Bean
Rose Red Soba (Buckwheat)
Ailsa Craig Onion
Black Goji Berry
Connovers Colossal Asparagus
Kiku Chrysanthemum Melon
Thethree bonus seed varieties they included were Amarillo Carrot, Purple Russian Tomato, and Bee Balm Lemon (Monarda citriodora). We have all three already in the collection, but it's always good to have a bit more to share.
I had a bit of a rough day for really no reason at all. Just one of those days where I'm stressed and irritable and snappy with everyone. Not a good feeling. But I took a break from kids and updated my seed wish lists on a couple different vendor sites. When Tony got home (he brought me Bosc pears - I'm so happy), I showed him my lists. He asked me what varieties I had my eye on and why I selected them. After several minutes gushing over the seed sites, I felt so much better (fellas, seriously, just listen to your lady - it means the world). Anyway, after I went through all the things I wanted on two different sites, he asked what it would cost. Well, since they are two of the cheapest vendors on the internet, the total for 20 varieties came to $19.74. He said go for it. So I bought more seeds. I have an addiction... but my garden will be fully stocked...
From MIGardener, I selected:
- Triticale grain (because of the Trouble With Tribbles episode of Star Trek)
- Hollow Crown Parsnip (because the Terra vegetable chips from Costco have parsnip and they are delicious)
- Oaxacan Green Dent Corn (because green corn flour should make green corn bread and that is something I want to try)
- Little Potato Cucumber (something I've had on my wish list for a while, a novelty that's cute and worth a space in the garden to trial)
- Mixed Colors Sorghum Broom Corn (because the seeds can be popped like popcorn, and the dried flower heads and stems are what used to be used for the old brooms - great for crafting or decoration)
- Virginia Peanut (because I have four varieties in the collection and want to try them all this year to see which does best in our climate and soil)
- Harris Model Parsnip (same as above, I want to slice them up and dry them to eat as a chip)
From Artistic Gardens I chose:
- Garlic Chives (because despite buying and planting them every year, we never have any and I'm always out of seeds)
- Fraise des Bois Alpine Strawberry (because it has amazing reviews when I researched it, and with a family of seven, we will never have enough strawberries to actually preserve any - they get eaten right away)
- Coco Rose de Prague bush bean (because it is advertised as a "heavy producer" and our big family could use a high production variety)
- Daisy Haricot bush bean (because the description called it an "Eat-All-Bean" and that sounds delicious)
- Blanche a Collet Carrot (because it's a white carrot I've never seen available locally, advertised as a good keeper)
- Blue Popcorn (because we have strawberry popcorn seeds, so it seems like these might be good to try too)
- Carousel Corn (because the description says the ears have mixed colors)
- de Barbentane Eggplant (honestly, because it's a variety not already in my collection)
- Kagraner Sommer leaf lettuce (because the description says the leaves are "blonde" and I want to see this in real life)
- Ciboule Welsh Onion (because the description calls it a perennial and suggests fall planting, and I'd like to see if that works here in the cold climate of Minnesota)
- Demi-long de Guenesey Parsnip (because if I'm going to be growing parsnip this year I may as well try multiplevarieties to see which ones I like more)
- Serpette Pea (because the description called it a good producer with fine texture)
- White Snowball Tomato (because it is a low-acid variety, and I don't care for highly acidic tomatoes)
Artistic Gardens offers "sample size" packets for just 40-cents each. These are fantastic for trying a new variety, for small gardens, and for square foot gardens where you don't need as many seeds as most commercial packets have. The total for Artistic Gardens came to $9.70 for 13 packets (75-cents per packet once tax and shipping is factored in).
I have ordered from Artistic Gardens in the past, and the thing that struck me was how long it took for seeds to arrive. I was starting to think maybe it was a fraudulent site, but the seeds did eventually come. Looking up reviews for their seeds on Dave's Garden, it looks like they can be pretty slow sometimes getting seed (and catalog) orders out. If you buy from them, I'd advise you to order early to your seeds won't come too late to plant.
This is my first time ordering from MIGardener, so we will have to see. Everyone I've heard from has nothing but positive feedback about them, so hopefully I can add to the glowing reviews.
A couple days ago, Tony and #5 went to the local grocery store and picked up a little locally grown head of lettuce. It still had all the roots in a ball (looks aquaponically grown with a plug). Having seen me grow and re-grow all kinds of things, #5 was thrilled to find this little gem because he knew he could put it in dirt after eating most of the leaves and it will continue to grow. Today he ate the last of the big leaves from it, and I helped him to put some potting soil in the plastic clam-shell it came in. We now have a little lettuce plant on the kitchen table. He's so excited that he wants to water it every day. He was pretty disappointed that it only needs water about once a week. We will be putting it under the grow lights tomorrow. We will transplant it if it does well and needs more space in the future (this is a shallow container).