Post by sphinxeyes on Dec 15, 2008 2:30:02 GMT -5
Hi everyone! I'm new to this forum after hearing about it from canadamike through Seed Savers Exchange. ;D
I'm a novice gardener, having only gotten into veggie gardening and heirlooms this past spring. In the past my family has grown mostly flower gardens with a few tomato, pepper and herb plants thrown in the mix. This past summer we dug up a little more of our small side yard and planted brandywine toms, chocolate beauty peppers, bull's blood beets and sultan golden cresent beans.
While New Jersey is touted as "the Garden State" our weather patterns in the past few years has made for some trial and error planting. Last summer there was a lot of heavy rain for days at a time, then a long hot, humid period, which caused a lot of cracking in the tomatoes. We had some freak frosts as late as May, so I didn't start planting until mid-June. I'd like to be able to start earlier this year, but I'm not sure when is best. I've heard of some people in the northeast starting as early as February with indoor seedlings. I live in southern NJ, close to Philadelphia...so I'm assuming that I might be able to start in February too.
Since I'm new to the routine of seed saving I didn't save huge amounts this year, and what I did save I've already given away to friends and family. But if anyone has recommendations for what would do well in my zone (6b), I would be very glad for them. Anything that would work in containers is especially good, since we have a large back deck. The mosquitos are brutal in the summer, too brutal for anyone to sit outside on the deck and enjoy themselves. So that space would be better served as a container garden jungle. ;D
Some other info about me: I'm currrently finishing up my degree in Global/Multinational Studies. I love to travel and learn about new cultures. My hope for a future career would involve working with an international NGO, maybe something that has to do with providing sustainable agricultural practices and using that to promote dialogue and understanding between nations. My ethnic background is mostly English and French, and I've recently been doing more research into my French roots (and trying to relearn the language a bit). So if any French/French Canadian gardners out there know of any French veggie varieties that would do well in my zone, I'd love to give them a try and discover new flavors!
Looking forward to sharing stories, advice and seeds!
Lauren
I'm a novice gardener, having only gotten into veggie gardening and heirlooms this past spring. In the past my family has grown mostly flower gardens with a few tomato, pepper and herb plants thrown in the mix. This past summer we dug up a little more of our small side yard and planted brandywine toms, chocolate beauty peppers, bull's blood beets and sultan golden cresent beans.
While New Jersey is touted as "the Garden State" our weather patterns in the past few years has made for some trial and error planting. Last summer there was a lot of heavy rain for days at a time, then a long hot, humid period, which caused a lot of cracking in the tomatoes. We had some freak frosts as late as May, so I didn't start planting until mid-June. I'd like to be able to start earlier this year, but I'm not sure when is best. I've heard of some people in the northeast starting as early as February with indoor seedlings. I live in southern NJ, close to Philadelphia...so I'm assuming that I might be able to start in February too.
Since I'm new to the routine of seed saving I didn't save huge amounts this year, and what I did save I've already given away to friends and family. But if anyone has recommendations for what would do well in my zone (6b), I would be very glad for them. Anything that would work in containers is especially good, since we have a large back deck. The mosquitos are brutal in the summer, too brutal for anyone to sit outside on the deck and enjoy themselves. So that space would be better served as a container garden jungle. ;D
Some other info about me: I'm currrently finishing up my degree in Global/Multinational Studies. I love to travel and learn about new cultures. My hope for a future career would involve working with an international NGO, maybe something that has to do with providing sustainable agricultural practices and using that to promote dialogue and understanding between nations. My ethnic background is mostly English and French, and I've recently been doing more research into my French roots (and trying to relearn the language a bit). So if any French/French Canadian gardners out there know of any French veggie varieties that would do well in my zone, I'd love to give them a try and discover new flavors!
Looking forward to sharing stories, advice and seeds!
Lauren