Comments on: Headfirst into the new year http://blog.blithewold.org/editorial/headfirst-into-the-new-year/ a garden journal about public garden maintenance, seasonal tasks, garden events, stories about gardening, volunteers, flowers, bugs and wildlife Sun, 19 May 2013 12:25:33 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Norma http://blog.blithewold.org/editorial/headfirst-into-the-new-year/comment-page-1/#comment-4348 Norma Sat, 10 Jan 2009 05:53:28 +0000 http://www.blithewold.org/blog/?p=1750#comment-4348 Hi kris, Just getting a chance to look at the blog...yes, a new catalog arrives every day, and i sit with it and my espresso at breakfast...do you get The fragrant path catalog from Nebraska? Every year I have that fantasy of having LARGE plots of land(that someone else has prepared),planting scads of seeds,and having gardens full of every plant that i don't yet know., is a funny color, or just plain strange,,,Norma <em>Norma, I'm going to have to look for Fragrant Path - that's not one we get - and it sounds like we might need it if it has just plain strange things! -kris</em> Hi kris,
Just getting a chance to look at the blog…yes, a new catalog arrives every day, and i sit with it and my espresso at breakfast…do you get The fragrant path catalog from Nebraska? Every year I have that fantasy of having LARGE plots of land(that someone else has prepared),planting scads of seeds,and having gardens full of every plant that i don’t yet know., is a funny color, or just plain strange,,,Norma

Norma, I’m going to have to look for Fragrant Path – that’s not one we get – and it sounds like we might need it if it has just plain strange things! -kris

]]> By: Layanee http://blog.blithewold.org/editorial/headfirst-into-the-new-year/comment-page-1/#comment-4314 Layanee Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:09:35 +0000 http://www.blithewold.org/blog/?p=1750#comment-4314 Kris: Love both of those books and it might be time to read them again. Put Michael Pollan's 'Botany of Desire' on your list as it is also a great read. 'In Defense of Food' is on the shelf waiting to be read. Barbara K's book was inspiration but, at the same time, exhausting as I would never have time to live that way...well, maybe when I retire. She had lots of great plant tips also didn't she. I am loving the Baker's Creek catalog and did order some seeds from them last year. Genetic diversity can save the world! Great post. <em>Thanks, Layanee - I think I might be ready to try 'Botany of Desire' again (I made it only partway through the last time - but now I'm on a Pollan jag) and I agree with your assessment of the Kingsolvers'/Hopp's endeavor. It would be a full-time job and if you already have one of those (or even a part-time) it would be tough to do what they did. But even just growing some food and patronizing local farmers markets would be good for us and the world. Happy seed ordering! -kris</em> Kris: Love both of those books and it might be time to read them again. Put Michael Pollan’s ‘Botany of Desire’ on your list as it is also a great read. ‘In Defense of Food’ is on the shelf waiting to be read. Barbara K’s book was inspiration but, at the same time, exhausting as I would never have time to live that way…well, maybe when I retire. She had lots of great plant tips also didn’t she. I am loving the Baker’s Creek catalog and did order some seeds from them last year. Genetic diversity can save the world! Great post.

Thanks, Layanee – I think I might be ready to try ‘Botany of Desire’ again (I made it only partway through the last time – but now I’m on a Pollan jag) and I agree with your assessment of the Kingsolvers’/Hopp’s endeavor. It would be a full-time job and if you already have one of those (or even a part-time) it would be tough to do what they did. But even just growing some food and patronizing local farmers markets would be good for us and the world. Happy seed ordering! -kris

]]> By: Mr. McGregor's Daughter http://blog.blithewold.org/editorial/headfirst-into-the-new-year/comment-page-1/#comment-4304 Mr. McGregor's Daughter Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:21:50 +0000 http://www.blithewold.org/blog/?p=1750#comment-4304 Happy New Year! Don't you just love catalog season? I haven't had much success with seeds, but I do save Columbine seeds. I'm trying to limit myself to ordering seeds that can be direct-sown in the garden. Those seem to work best. I'm going to get hybrid Zinnias because I want a mildew-resistant variety. <em>MMD, Some of the hybrid zinnias are such perfect plants... We've been using them so much (like crutches) that we're going to <strong>try </strong>to wean ourselves off them this year. We love the Profusions and Z. angustifolia 'White Star' for low color (12" or so) and the Benary's for tall (they're perfect for cutting...) Direct-sown seeds are very gratifying and don't need to be babied like the starts. Happy seed shopping! -kris</em> Happy New Year! Don’t you just love catalog season? I haven’t had much success with seeds, but I do save Columbine seeds. I’m trying to limit myself to ordering seeds that can be direct-sown in the garden. Those seem to work best. I’m going to get hybrid Zinnias because I want a mildew-resistant variety.

MMD, Some of the hybrid zinnias are such perfect plants… We’ve been using them so much (like crutches) that we’re going to try to wean ourselves off them this year. We love the Profusions and Z. angustifolia ‘White Star’ for low color (12″ or so) and the Benary’s for tall (they’re perfect for cutting…) Direct-sown seeds are very gratifying and don’t need to be babied like the starts. Happy seed shopping! -kris

]]> By: Lynn http://blog.blithewold.org/editorial/headfirst-into-the-new-year/comment-page-1/#comment-4301 Lynn Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:44:04 +0000 http://www.blithewold.org/blog/?p=1750#comment-4301 Talk about parallel lives again :) I'm in the middle of "Omnivore's Dilemma" now and have "Animal, Vegatable..." waiting (a Christmas gift from LAST year!). Reading the book has me at once hyper-aware of what we're eating and more glum than ever about where industry has taken us, the animals, the land. But with so many people becoming more aware of these issues, there is hope for change! I have never had a big veggie garden, or any other garden, so never ordered seed before, but this will be my first year! My neighbor and I are talking about ordering together to make the most of some of the bigger seed packs that neither of us could use on our own. One of my garden goals is to make the veg garden a lot more varied and productive (we don't need 16 tomato plants), and another is to make the most of natives in our ornamental plantings. I'm saving plastic gallon jugs so as to cold stratify some seeds I collected and that were given to me--a measly 6 or 7 varieties but a good start :) Also, I'm hoping to find some interesting things in the NARGS seed exchange. Our ACNARGS group is doing Stage 2 of the seed exchange, so I'll get to participate on the ground in a vibrant community of seed savers and starters! Psyched! <em>Lynn, it sounds like you are totally set! It's a great idea to share seeds with a neighbor and it'll make choosing varieties a lot easier and more fun too. And if the natives take off in your garden (no reason why they wouldn't) you'll have some very happy wildlife too! There's hope indeed. -kris</em> Talk about parallel lives again :) I’m in the middle of “Omnivore’s Dilemma” now and have “Animal, Vegatable…” waiting (a Christmas gift from LAST year!). Reading the book has me at once hyper-aware of what we’re eating and more glum than ever about where industry has taken us, the animals, the land. But with so many people becoming more aware of these issues, there is hope for change! I have never had a big veggie garden, or any other garden, so never ordered seed before, but this will be my first year! My neighbor and I are talking about ordering together to make the most of some of the bigger seed packs that neither of us could use on our own. One of my garden goals is to make the veg garden a lot more varied and productive (we don’t need 16 tomato plants), and another is to make the most of natives in our ornamental plantings. I’m saving plastic gallon jugs so as to cold stratify some seeds I collected and that were given to me–a measly 6 or 7 varieties but a good start :) Also, I’m hoping to find some interesting things in the NARGS seed exchange. Our ACNARGS group is doing Stage 2 of the seed exchange, so I’ll get to participate on the ground in a vibrant community of seed savers and starters! Psyched!

Lynn, it sounds like you are totally set! It’s a great idea to share seeds with a neighbor and it’ll make choosing varieties a lot easier and more fun too. And if the natives take off in your garden (no reason why they wouldn’t) you’ll have some very happy wildlife too! There’s hope indeed. -kris

]]>