Sowing Seeds

By Carol Woolum Roberts

I got so excited when I saw the white package arrive in the mail today.  Some of my seeds had arrived.

I ordered seeds from two different seed companies this year.  Today, the seeds from Territorial Seed Company arrived.  I also ordered seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. 

Today my order included Neon Pumpkin seeds, Mammoth Choice Mix Sweet Peas, Heavenly Blue Morning Glory seeds, and Lady Di Pole Beans.

I grew the Sweet Peas and Morning Glory last year and both did well, so I look forward to having them in the garden again.

I experimented with the Neon Pumpkin seeds last year.  I planted them in pots inside, and they grew fast.  And I found out that was a problem.  Because the stems were very fragile, when I transplanted them to the yard, many split in two.  Then the day I transplanted them was not ideal.  I think it was about 80 degrees that sunny, early day in May.  I think I planted them early because I was excited to have my painted tire pyramid planter and wanted to fill it with some pumpkin plants.  I did have one of about 10 pumpkin plants survive.  This year, I will have a better plan, with the hopes of getting at least 5 this year to survive and grow pumpkins.

Green beans have always thrived in my vegetable garden.  I have a big circular trellis for them to climb up, and typically I yield a very large crop of green beans.  Except last year.  I think I got a mixture of pole beans and bush beans in my seed packet.  Because only two or three of my seeds climbed the trellis.  The rest stayed close to the ground and didn’t end up producing much.  This year I saw the Lady Di variety that have a red blossom, a little different than the white blossoms I usually have on my pole beans.  I bet it will be very pretty.

A few weeks ago I went through my box I keep my old seed packets in, and found I had quite a few leftover seeds from last year.  A little savings on my seed money.

Soon I will be preparing pots on my dining room table to start some seeds indoors. I love watching the seedlings poke through the soil.  Sometimes you can almost watch them grow bigger over a days’ time.

I mentioned the pumpkin fail last year.  Another one was the sunflower seeds I planted.  What I can’t figure out is I planted the same seeds in the exact same place the year before, and those sunflowers thrived in that location.  But not last summer.  I got small, spindly plants that never got bigger than a foot or so.

This year I have a new plan of attack.  I have four big blue pots I am going to put in the upper left corner of my front yard and fill them with big and small sunflower seeds.  I hope they receive all the sun they need so they grow tall and thrive in their nice blue pots.  We will see.

That is the kind of gardener I am.  I like to experiment.  If something doesn’t work one year, I try something else.  But if something is working, then I don’t try and fix it.  Unless something fails, as in the green beans last summer!!

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What seeds are you planting in your garden this year? 

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