Branching Out's Seeds and Sprouts

[heirloomgal]

Agreed--- and how fortunate we are to have extra plants to experiment with. One of these three is a dwarf by the name of Andrina, and she is rapidly earning my admiration. The other two strong Andrina starts that I had have already produced cute little green tomatoes-- and the plants are only 5" tall. Remarkable. I have two of them in a low oblong patio planter, and they are quite ornamental as well. (I will try to add a photo of them soon). And all things being equal, by the end of the summer I will have seeds of this one for sharing Heirloomgal. Wouldn't it be great if we could have fresh home grown tomatoes to sustain us through the long winter months?

Renaissance Farms indicates that this is their favourite red micro-dwarf tomato; they even grow them indoors under light in the winter. https://renaissancefarms.org/product/andrina-micro-dwarf-tomato/

I check out Renaissance Farms too! Such a great website for info on tomato varieties. I believe Casey's of Airdrie out in Alberta has been selling Andrina for as long as I've been shopping there, and I've considered trying it over the years. He has some very nice tomatoes. There's just so many to try!

 

[digitS']

I have bought tomato seed from Casey's.

That was my source for Kimberley, small indeterminate plants. They were a potted backsteps choice for several years.

Branching Out, Kimberley B.C. is not all that far from here .

Steve

 

[Branching Out]

I have bought tomato seed from Casey's.

That was my source for Kimberley, small indeterminate plants. They were a potted backsteps choice for several years.

Branching Out, Kimberley B.C. is not all that far from here .

Steve

I have never heard of the Kimberley tomato-- but I have visited Kimberley, many years ago. It's a pretty little town. And I agree with Heirloomgal that there are just so many varieties of tomatoes to try. I hope that I can reign in my seed shopping during the coming year, so that I can focus on growing out the same ones that do well for me this year instead.

 

[Branching Out]

Three thoughts on a theme of lavender: first, a note to myself to really try hard this year to harvest some of the actual lavender for drying-- before the blossoms open too much. I always hope to do that, yet it never seems to happen. Secondly, the flowers of Kiwi Blue Cerinthe are actually kind of purplish blue-- and are very unique to have in the garden. And lastly, the bracts of wisteria blossoms wafting gently in the breeze on a spring evening are one of the great joys in life, and have to be seen in order to fully appreciate their beauty.

 

[heirloomgal]

Three thoughts on a theme of lavender: first, a note to myself to really try hard this year to harvest some of the actual lavender for drying-- before the blossoms open too much. I always hope to do that, yet it never seems to happen. Secondly, the flowers of Kiwi Blue Cerinthe are actually kind of purplish blue-- and are very unique to have in the garden. And lastly, the bracts of wisteria blossoms wafting gently in the breeze on a spring evening are one of the great joys in life, and have to be seen in order to fully appreciate their beauty.

That wisteria is a whole nother dimension of beautiful. Isn't Cerinthe so wonderfully different? It will do really well in your climate, especially as your season cools a little, the purple really pops.

 

[Branching Out]

That wisteria is a whole nother dimension of beautiful. Isn't Cerinthe so wonderfully different? It will do really well in your climate, especially as your season cools a little, the purple really pops.

So far the Cerinthe is smoky and sultry looking. What a cool flower. I have never seen anything like it before, and am so glad that I tried it.

 

[Branching Out]

I am sweet on Sweet William. Last year I grew it for the first time, and it produced tiny, spindly little clumps that were not impressive. Flash forward one year, and it has filled in beautifully to form a large patch. It seems carefree, and very drought tolerant once established.

 

[heirloomgal]

I find biennials, like Sweet William, to be some of the most beautiful and lovely flowers. Canterbury Bells is another one.

 

[Branching Out]

Sometimes I have fast growing seedlings that are not easy to keep indoors, yet they are still too small and vulnerable to be planted out. I am trying out moving them to a seedling bed for a week or two, so they can get used to being outside while putting down strong roots. The first seedlings I tried were zinnias, and they did well; transplanting them was really easy too. This week it is marigolds. The container that I am using is a big perforated metal colander that is the size of a kitchen sink, so the plants get lots of air on their roots.

 

[Branching Out]

Yesterday I picked up a pristine copy of The Victory Garden cookbook at a thrift store. It is in impeccable condition; I suspect that no one has ever even leafed through its pages. I like the fact that the recipes are organized alphabetically by vegetable and am hoping that this will be a valuable reference cookbook this summer, to motivate us to try new recipes with the produce that we grow. There is even a chapter on 'Greens', so I should be able to find lots of inspiration for collard and mustard greens.