I finally got to planting out my vegetables with the kids this weekend in the Children's Garden. According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, I made it just under the wire to plant many of my spring crops. In the early vegetable raised bed, I planted beets, onions, leeks, Swiss chard, carrots, lettuce, sugar snap peas, and broccoli raab.
In zone 6b, beets, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, parsley, onion sets, peas, and turnips need to be done now. The vegetables which can be started now until early to mid April are brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, leeks, radishes, spinach, and Swiss chard. I have planted a mix of heirloom and modern hybrids. The following are the heirloom varieties I've sown:
- Lettuce Mix from Seed Savers Exchange of Amish Deer Tongue, Australian Yellowleaf, Bronze Arrowhead, Forellenschuss, Lolla Rossa , Pablo, Red Velvet, and Reine des Glaces
- Bull's Blood Beet purchased from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello; the Monticello online store is a good source of heirloom early American plants and seeds
- Nantes Carrot, also from Seed Savers Exchange; "Seed Savers Exchange is a nonprofit organization that saves and shares the heirloom seeds of our garden heritage, forming a living legacy that can be passed down through generations"
Related posts: How to Build Raised Vegetable Beds; Organically Preparing the Soil for Vegetable Planting; and Old Farmer's Almanac Gardening 2008 Calendar
Follow-up: Old Farmer's Almanac Spring Planting Schedule (May)
6 comments:
Just found your blog and enjoyed reading it so much.
Our garden is planted and things are up already. We are eating asparagus. Wisteria, iris in bloom, hollyhock plants getting bigger every day. I even saw a rose bud yesterday.
Very nice and informative post, got to get the Old Farmer's almenac. Do you know were I can get seeds for the Bull's Blood Beets?
Have a wonderful weekend/
Tyra's Garden
I've never used the Farmer's Almanac but I hear it's pretty accurate.
I just stumbled in here through Heirloom Gardener. Very nice blog. I'll stop by again soon.
Tyra,
I purchased my Bull's Blood Beets from Thomas Jefferson's home: www.monticello.org. It's a good source of heirloom plants.
-Heirloom Gardener
I have been veggie gardening for my whole life, but have only really just discovered the world of heirloom seeds in the last couple of years. Your blog is a joy! Here in the UK there are so many different varieties which our stupid Euro laws will not allow us to buy and sell. Here we join a heritage seed bank, pay money and then receive 'free seeds' This year I have been given some purple podded peas and some crimson flowered broad (fava) beans.
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