These are the seeds which made their way into my virtual shopping cart from all over the Internet so far this spring. I decided to share them with you so we’d both know what I’m planting this year. Some are for the vegetable garden. Others are flowers that may go in the back garden, or maybe in the vegetable garden. I have a thing for sunflowers and zinnias, especially in my veggie garden. They make me smile. I’ll also divide them into cold season crops and warm ones. All of these are in addition to seeds I already have from last year. Tomato seeds seem to live forever if you take care of them, so I keep them for years.
Franchi:
Cold Season
- Chard (Bieta) ‘Blonda Di Lione’ is a beautiful white stemmed chard with light green leaves;
- Pac Choy (Cavolo Cinese)
- Spinach (Spinacio) ‘Merlo Nero’
- Lettuce (Lattuca) ‘Franchi’
- Lettuce ‘Parella Rossa’
- Mache (Valeriana) ‘D’Olanda a seme Grosso’
- Broccoli rabe or raab (cima di rapa meaning turnip top) Not sure why this translates to turnip top, but there it is.
- Radish (ravanello) ‘Gaudry,’ the cutest little red and white radishes.
Warm season
- Green beans (fagiolo nano) ‘Boby Bianco’
- Green beans ‘Purple King’
- Cucumber (cetriolino) ‘Beth Alpha’
- Tomato (Pomodoro) ‘Fiaschetto di Manduria,’ a determinate variety that does well in dry conditions.
- Tomato ‘Marglobe’ because I love this Indeterminate heirloom.
- Eggplant (melanzana) ‘Violetta Lunga’ meaning long purple. I love eggplant almost more than squash.
- Melon (melone) ‘Retato Degli Ortolani’ is like a cantaloupe, but isn’t. Supposedly good with parma ham.
Flowers
- Cobaea scandens, cup-and-saucer vine or cathedral bells ‘Rampicante Mix’ meaning climbing mix, I think.
- Celosia cristata multicolor. I’ve developed a love for dark red celosia. I hope to select some from this mix and keep refining them.
Chilterns:
Cold Season
- Calabrese (sprouted broccoli) ‘Green Magic’ Must have been in a broccoli mood since I also bought broccoli rabe above.
- Beetroot leaf ‘Blood Red’ bought mostly for color, but I’ll eat it too.
- Orach ‘Scarlet Emperor’ bought for color.
- Mache ‘Large-leaved’ wanted to test this against the Italian variety. I’ll probably start these in cold frames this week.
- Chinese kale ‘Kailaan’
- Pak Choi ‘Canton Dwarf’ I like pak choy and bok choy a lot. Maybe too much.
Warm Season
- Basil ‘Queen of Sheba’
- Holy basil ‘Purple Tulei’
- Thai basil
- Dill ‘Tetra’
- Lemon Bergamot
- Capsicum (Pepper) ‘Hungarian Black’
- Aubergine (eggplant) ‘Ronde de Valence’ For some reason I have two packets of this. Hmmm.
Flowers
- Zinnia elegans ‘ Queen Red Lime’ Such a gorgeous thing. Pictures don’t really do it justice.
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds:
Cold Season
- Parsnip ‘Half-Long Guernsey’
- Snap Peas ‘Sugar Snap’ I find snap peas easier to grow in our unpredictable springs than shelling peas.
- Swiss Chard ‘Flamingo Pink’ How could I resist?
- Kale ‘Scarlet’ Although I love ‘Toscano’ or ‘Dragon Tongue,’ I already have seeds of these. Plus, we like to make kale chips and find the curly kale to hold the seasonings better.
- Rutabaga ‘Collet Vert’
- Lettuce ‘Beleah Rose’
Warm Season
- Tomato ‘Solar Flare’ from Wild Boar Farms
- Tomato ‘Carbon’ one of the best tasting dark tomatoes out there.
- Tomato ‘Yoder’s German Yellow’
- Tomato ‘Break of Day’
- Pepper ‘Chiltoma Grande de Ometepe’
- Squash ‘Rugosa Frivlana’ We’ll see if this lumpy squash is resistant to squash bugs. May grow squash in the cold frame this year to ward off squash bug damage. However, if I do I’ll need to hand pollinate.
- Squash ‘Lebanese White Bush Marrow’ I have no idea why I bought this seed.
Flowers
- Bachelor’s Buttons ‘Blue Boy’ Never grow a garden without it. Silver leaves and blue blooms.
- Amaranth ‘Molten Fire’ Although it’s a grain, I grow it for the leaves and flower heads.
- Hollyhock ‘Black Currant Whirl’
- Nicotiana ‘Scentsation Mixed’ It smells good.
- Zinnia ‘Burpee Rose Giant Cactus’
- Zinnia ‘Illumination’
- Zinnia ‘Mazurkia’
I will work to find enough places to grow all of these zinnias. I can see that many will end up in the vegetable bed. Franchi and Baker Creek were the clear winners in number of packets. It was probably very cold in Oklahoma the day I ordered. I bet we even had snow. Some women shop for clothes to get endorphins. I’m a plant/seed shopper, and February is the cruelest month in Oklahoma.
Although some of these are listed as warm crops like the tomatoes, basil eggplant and peppers, I’ll be starting those seeds inside by the first week of March. I promise you a seed starting post then. In the meantime, check out this one on seed starting at my 20/30 blog.
I ordered from Franchi for the first time this year. I have already started the tomatoes and peppers and Swiss chard from them. I am so very pleased with the quality and germination rate of their seeds! I put you in my blog follower (not sure what that is technically called) I am looking forward to reading about your gardening. Our areas are very similar in climate.
I love, love, love Franchi! They are so generous.
Hi Dee, Broccoli raab was probably “turnip top” in Italian because it is a Brassica rapa variety, the same one that turnips derive from. The broccoli we know today is Brassica oleracae. Check out Wild Garden Seed (my favorite seed company!). They categorize all of their brassicas by species, and it’s totally educational.
https://www.wildgardenseed.com/index.php?cPath=46
I’m a new-to-OK gardener, and I’ll be looking forward to seeing how your garden grows this year!
Ttfn,
Amy
Nice list, Dee. I think I’ll post mine when I have seed-starting well under way. I have purchased more zinnia seeds than usual this year, too, and need to find places for them. P. x
Nice list, Dee. I think I’ll post mine when I have seed starting well underway. I have purchased more zinnias than usual this year, too, and need to find places for them. P. x
Two of my seed orders arrived last week, and what a treat on a cold winter’s day. I can’t wait to get some started indoors, and some I will even scatter soon over the snow–a sure way to beat cabin fever. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who orders something and then wonders why:) I hope you’ll share your recipe for kale chips this summer, Dee. I made some last year, and I think I must have done something wrong, because they certainly weren’t very tasty.
P.S. You can never have too many zinnias!
Hi, Dee! Your list is excellent. If you’re up for some seed swapping, my list is here. http://wp.me/p1t5Ra-1sa
Oh how wonderful. I love this! The speckled lettuce is super pretty. Today is seed ordering day for me so I’ll have this list handy for inspiration. Thank you, Dee! This is a great list. Hugs. xoxoxo
You will LOVE cup & saucer vine – it took my breath away the first time it bloomed for me. I also had an affair with queen red lime zinnia. I splurged this year and ordered a passion vine start. (The seeds take months!) I cannot wait. I am amazed at all you plan on growing! Can’t wait to see. Let’s hope the snow melts by the first day of Spring!
Yum! I was drooling over your lettuce! I can’t wait to sink my teeth into fresh lettuce. Sounds like you have a great plan for your garden this year!
And here I thought I picked up too many seeds … from a February seed exchange. I got them all in one day, as opposed to you from all over the internet. (Ha – let’s have a contest and see who actually plants more of our seeds.)
-Ray
Loved your post. Delightful summer photos on this very cold winter’s day. I bought some seed packets today. Dill and parsley for the butterflies. I will stick them in among the flowers to provide a place for the butterflies to lay eggs. Thans for the lovely photos.
Thank you Marna for stopping by. Sorry it took so long to reply. Your comment was stuck in spam for some reason.
So many great veggies!! I only grow sweet potatoes and carrots and keep the growers at the farmers markets busy. I just want flowers, flowers, flowers!! Seeds are so addictive!
Hi Dee, You have a very ambitious supply of seeds! It will be fun to see what you have ripening and blooming this year. I love Zinnias. The selection seems to never end…..and the colors are amazing. We are having a dreadful winter but Spring is right around the corner! Happy Gardening!
It is a dreadful winter thus far Sally. It is a very ambitious number of seeds. Of course, it’s two different seasons, or three if I plant a fall garden too. I love zinnias. I really do. Glad you do too.
You have your work cut out for you. This seed list made me hungry. My mind is full of color too. Not an easy vision to induce with my world being all white and gray right now. Beautiful…
Lisa, I can’t imagine how tired you are of snow. It snowed here today too, but not very much. I must say I’m glad. I think I was hungry for spring, and that’s why I bought so many.
Walking through the garden daily now and everything tells me this is going to be an amazing year…I sense that you have that same feeling.
Charlie, I’ve heard from other Seattle friends what great weather you’re having. I think y’all deserve it. Enjoy the moment.
Wow. Are you really going to grow all of them?
Yup, Kathy, I’m sure I will. Except maybe all the zinnias, but remember I have a very long growing season. I’ll start planting the cold weather crops at the end of February. Then, after I harvest them, I’ll already have planted the warm season crops. Finally, in August, I’ll plant the cold frames for fall and winter. ~~Dee