Posted on 11/22/2013 12:40:12 PM PST by greeneyes
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Thanks so much for the additional info, Marcella! I will read it all carefully!
This one has had a good track record of blooming, but I suspect it may need to take a break this year!
Thanks for confirmation of Marcella’s urging the importance to read the book I ordered.
Noting your suggestion to get the “Back to Basics - etc.” I have a book entitled “Back to Basics” but am not sure if it is the same one you are referencing. Who is the author of it? Thanks!
I have the Back to Basics book you are talking about, mainly just a recipe book. In my opinion, it is not very helpful as you need refrigeration. I found errors in some recipes and contacted one of the authors (maybe there is just one but I seem to remember there are two), and she was really snarky and would not tell me the correct whatever to fix those recipes - I don’t think she knew but she didn’t say that. I don’t know if I even kept the book after that.
“What catalogs do you all recommend, for good seeds cheap?”
I know you asked about catalogs, but I have had great luck trading seeds with other gardeners. Join a few garden forums and participate a while, then when people get to know you, you can trade.
Yes, there’s a chance you’ll get bum seeds or people will take your seeds without sending you seeds in return. But many gardening forums have some kind of a feedback thread where members can post who is - and is not - good to trade with. Also if you are new to gardening, sometimes gardeners will send you their surplus seeds if you send them a SASE. Gardeners often save far more seeds than they need, and are happy to find people who want to grow them.
So far I’ve had excellent luck with trading, with my trade partners often sending me more than promised and throwing in “bonus” surprise seeds as well.
For trading stock, learn to save true (non-crossed) seeds from as many non-hybrid vegetables as possible. Save seeds from those non-hybrid flowers and herbs, too! You especially want to save lots of seeds from unusual and/or heirloom varieties, because you can always find folks who want those.
In addition to learning to save your own seeds, you can use extras from your commercial packs for trading stock. For example, if you buy a commercial pack of 25-50 tomato or squash seeds, will you actually grow out 25-50 plants of that variety before the seeds get old? Why not trade some of those seeds for something else you want? Just like with home-saved seeds, seeds from heirloom and/or rare varieties will be in more demand for trading.
One last thought: dollar-type stores often have seed packs for 2/$1 or even 3/$1. Don’t be shy about end-of-the-season clearance racks, either. Most of the seeds you find there will be hybrid varieties, but occasionally there are unusual open-pollinated varieties, too. Voila, more cheap seeds to grow or use for trading stock.
If you get a reputation as a good trade partner in a few garden forums, in a couple of years you’ll find yourself wanting a bigger garden to try all the cool seeds you got in your trades.
Marcella stated:
“I have the Back to Basics book you are talking about, mainly just a recipe book. In my opinion, it is not very helpful as you need refrigeration. I found errors in some recipes and contacted one of the authors (maybe there is just one but I seem to remember there are two), and she was really snarky and would not tell me the correct whatever to fix those recipes - I don’t think she knew but she didn’t say that. I don’t know if I even kept the book after that.”
How very interesting, Marcella. Thank you for that information as well!
I have the utmost respect for those teachers of long ago....I had nuns and they would have complete control of 35 kids in one classroom, no questions asked...then again, that was in the days when your teacher was always right, and if she told your parents anything, they would believe her over you....
I am not sure we are talking about the same back to basics book. This book is 447 pages, and only 63 of those could even remotely me called a recipe.
It tells how to build a green house, and igloo, put in a year round solar water system for your water heater, even tells how to build an igloo and lots of other stuff like that. It has lots of stuff about how things were done in the “old days”.
How many pages did your book have, Marcella?
Good luck - looking forward to pics.
Sounds like a good year to me. We are expecting 17 degrees tonight. I didn’t hear about it till about 9 pm. Not going out in the dark. Que Sera Sera. LOL
You are welcome.
That’s what I always think too. Where the heck is global warming when you need it?
I like the stakes better than the cages for some reason.
I hate cold weather!
Just a medium to smaller size recipe book - it is not the one you are speaking of.
I had a low of 43, which is the current temp at 8am. Our low for Wed is now 25, then back to 43 by next Sat. I do wish I had brought in some dry firewood before all this rain. Only got to make 3 fires last year and the same the year before. My firewood is gunna rot before it gets burnt.
I’ve participated in seed trade forums in the past and people have nearly always been honest and generous. At this point though I’m looking for specific, not always easy to find varieties, and the amount of time tracking down those varieties on an exchange just isn’t worth it. I do save seeds, lots of beans and tomatoes. Still I like to try new varieties, and I haven’t settled on my favorite squash for instance.
I looked up the title given in post 50 on Amazon,
Marcella, is this the book you were referring to? I’ll be very surprised if it is, but in any case, I’d like to know.
I can tell you it is not the one I have. I can’t find the one I have at this moment, but I do not have this particular book. Thanks for the tip, Greeneyes. Based on the Amazon reviews and your own recommendation I will certainly consider obtaining this one.
I can’t begin to thank both of you enough for all the information and tips you both have been giving me!
You needn't dump the extra seedlings. If you grow your seedlings in peat pellets or peat pots, they are portable until such time as you transplant them into the ground. You can either make room for the extras within your garden, or give the extras away.
As far as growing extra seedlings in the garden itself (in the ground; not in pellets or pots) and thinning out the extras, this is a common gardening practice. However, I do it only with species where I can eat the thinned plants. Many thinned plants such as lettuce, greens, etc. can be eaten although they are small. Some thinned plants such as corn, tomatoes, etc. cannot be eaten because they have not matured enough to produce food.
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