2010 Garden Planning

It's the beginning of a new decade. I am excited to start the new year by planning my garden. I received the new Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Catalog over the Christmas holiday. I spent about a week reviewing the abundant selection of heirloom seeds. I want to grow everything, however I do not have the space. I had to be selective and narrow down my choices for this year's garden. I live in the city and am limited in the amount of space available for planting. Be that as it may, I am slowly turning every inch of yard into edible landscape with heirloom and native plants and trees. I am on an adventure exploring new territory and experimenting with new seeds. What results will be in store? Based on my experience with several new seed selections last year, this year will be even more spectacular.

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For the 2010 season I selected the following vegetable heirloom seeds:

• Green Zebra Tomato: Chartreuse with deep lime-green stripes. Flesh is bright green and very rich tasting, sweet with a sharp bite. A favorite tomato of many high class chefts, specialty markets, and home gardenders.
• Striped Roman Tomato: Stunning and unique, these long pointed, red fruit have wavy orange stripes. A perfect midsize beauty with brilliant color, meaty flesh, and excellent flavor.
• Purple Podded Pole Bean: This delicious heirloom was discovered in the Ozark mountains by Henry Fields in the 1930's. The pods are bright purple, stringless, and tender.
• Calabrese Green Sprouting Broccoli: An Italian heirloom brought to America in the 1880's.
• Tete Noire Cabbage: The traditional French variety is very rare outside of Europe. Solid, deep-red heads are of good quality and are mostly grown as an autumn variety in France.
• Glory of Enkhuizen Cabbage: Introduced in 1899 by Sluis & Groot in Holland. Has medium-large, hard round heads.
• Little Finger Carrot: A superb baby carrot with deep orange color.
• Country Gentleman Sweet Corn: Introduced in 1890 by S.D. Woodruff & Sons. Sweet, delicious and milky; tender white kernels on 8" ears. The ears have no rows, as this is a shoepeg type, and kernels are packed in a zigzag pattern. One of the best heirloom corns.
• Yellow Wonder Wild Strawberry: This creamy yellow-fruited variety is a favorite of many in Europe. The small fruit are very tasty and unique looking. Many prefer the taste of this yellow-fruited type to the more common red strawberry. These are served in only the finest restaurants, and are easy to grow from seed!
• Cimmaron Lettuce: 65 days. Very nice, deep red, romaine-type heads, good resistance to bolting. Crisp, juicy texture and delicious flavor. This heirloom dates from the 18th century.
• Little Gem Lettuce: 50 days. Very small green romaine-type, one of the very best tasting lettuces. A superb heat tolerant variety that is sure to please!
• Yellow of Parma Onion: Long-day type--Large, golden onions are oblong-globe shaped. This late onion makes an excellent keeper; a rare and hard-to-find Italian variety.
• Jalapeno-Craig's Grande: A big, fat jalapeno that is perfect for making lots of salsa. Perfect for anyone who loves jalapenos. It has thick, flavorful, hot flesh. Developed at Redwood City Seeds.
• Charleston Belle Pepper: The first nematode-resistant bell pepper. Large, beautiful fruit are smooth and of good quality. A great pepper for the South or areas where nematodes are a problem. Attractive, compact plants produce fairly early. Developed by the USDA in Charleston, South Carolina.
• Sante Fe Grande Pepper: Spicy, 4" peppers are a glowing gold in color and quite warm. Makes pretty pickles and salsa. Ornamental plants give heavy yields over the entire summer, making this variety choice for home or market gardens. Introduced in 1965. Yummy!
• Broom Corn Multi-Cir Sorghum: The multi-colored tassels are so popular for fall decorations. Colors include red, gold, burgundy, black, bronze and more! Broom Corn can also be used to make brooms.

This seed selection along with the heirloom seeds I saved from last year will make for one abundant garden. My next entry will cover herbs and flower heirloom seed selections for the 2010 season.