Little Seed so Small and Round...

Pushed way down into the ground.
With water and some sunshine glow
God will help you grow, grow grow!

That time of year is almost upon us, and I think I'm the last one to plan for it. Spring! Sowing seed! Weeee!

While thinking about what I'll be growing this spring and summer, I decided the first step would be to reduce the seeds I already had on hand. Last year I went a little overboard with seed purchasing--especially considering my lack of space to grow things. At one point I was buying a pack almost every time I went to a store that sold them. It was bad. Bad enough that I ended up with 3 packets of cilantro, and 4 different kinds of beans. I would see a pack, forget that I already had some at home, and convince myself that these plants would fit wherever felt logical at the moment. Oh, the follies of a novice gardener. My seed box was packed to the hilt with unopened or barely used packets, so I ended up Freecycling seeds I won't be using this season. Oh yes, I have learned my lesson. I will not buy seeds unless I already have somewhere to put them. In other words, no unplanned purchases!
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I should mention that I started the above portion of this post a few days ago LOL. Silly me...
After going out for Thai last night, I stopped by OSH to pick up my seed starting containers. I told myself not to stop by the seed rack, but how could I avoid it when it was right next to where my containers were? I had to look at what they had. Reminding myself that I had changed my ways, I visualized the plans I've been staring at for days, and walked out of there with Renee's Container Bush Slicer Cucumber, and Heirloom Leaf Cutting Lettuce Mix. GRRR! It must have been the endorphins coursing through my blood from all that spicy Thai food I'd just eaten. Yeah, that's it. Why did I buy those? We rarely eat cucumbers, and I had previously decided I wouldn't buy mixed lettuces again since there are usually one or two types in each mix that we end up not enjoying. You understand, right? I couldn't help myself!

This reminds me of something I've been grappling with since the beginning. How can I grow what I want, in the quantities I'd like, with so little space? Well, dear readers, I ended up applying for a plot at our community garden (enter girlie squeals here)! I've thought about this off and on, and each time we go to the park next to the garden, I longingly stare through the fence at all of the things growing in those 32 plots of land. Admiring the individuality of each gardener, and how they've utilized their 255 square feet of space... What in the world would I do with that much space? Well, I won't be getting myself all excited about 225 square feet of loveliness just yet. After my application was submitted, I received an email from the garden coordinator informing me that there are 20 people ahead of me, and only 5 plots opened up this season. It looks like it could be two years before my name even comes up. *sigh* Oh well... At least I'm on the list now...


Ok, back to the topic at hand. Seeds. Now that I have room in my seed box again (snicker), I've chosen plants that are compact, will be happy in our blazing Cali sun, we will definitely use, and use a lot of. Hey, the cucumbers were an impulse buy, ok, and therefore does not count in this conversation. hmph. I think I did pretty well. I only bought one or two packs of seeds that I won't be able to put anywhere LOL, and one repeat--doh!

 

Here's what I will be growing this spring & summer (excludes what's already growing).
Baker Creek Heirloom:
Tomato: Peasron
Pepper Hot: White Habanero
Basil: Fine Verde (not using this season)
Parlsey: Brayour
Lettuce: Lolla Rossa (not pictured, sown 1/29)

Territorial Seed
Tomato: Viva Italia
Oregano

Burpee
Melon: Isabella Charentais
Watermelon: Bush Sugar Baby (decided not to use after reading of low fruit quantity per plant)
Gazania: Creamcicle

Renee's Garden
Basil: Italian Cameo
Cucumber: Bush Slicer
Pepper Sweet: Baby Belle
Nasturtium: Whirlybird

Irish Eyes
Potato: Russet Burbank Minituber (sown 2/1)
Potato: Sangre Minituber (sown 2/1)
I purchased these in November, but they took *forever* to sprout

Sustainable Seed Co.
Royal Burgundy Bean (already had from '09 but never planted)

I also received a free packet each from Territorial Seed and Baker Creek Heirloom. They were both carrot seeds. This annoyed me slightly because I have yet to grow carrots successfully, and because of this, had given away 3 varieties of them only days before my orders arrived. Maybe I'm not supposed to give up on this delicious root?


In my next post, I'll share where these goodies will grow, and my strategies for this season.

Warm weekend wishes!