Spring Seeds

The seeds came in! In what must have been a fit of gloominess on some lonely, dark day a couple of weeks ago, I ordered (too many) seeds for the Spirit Gardens. They are all spring flowers (not a respectable vegetable among them) and they are all Very Bright. I was obviously trying to cheer myself up when I placed the order; I don't really remember what I was thinking, but whatever it was, I'm glad, because if these guys come up HALF as boisterous as they look in the pictures, we will have nary a frown among us come June. Or maybe May. I didn't exactly plan for staggered blooming, so we'll just have to see what comes up when it comes up. I ordered them from www.seedsavers.org, which has the most wonderful ideas about saving the diversity of the earth's flora, and therby saving the future of humankind.

In addition to the sunny flowers, I have several seeds that I got from a seed saving workshop last year at New Leaf Market. The farmer who gave the workshop was named Tommy Simms, and his farm is called Bellevue Gardens. He shared a variety of cucumber called "Alabama Rambler," his famous "Scarlet Sweet" watermelon, okra, tangerines (that grow north of Gainesville), cataloupe, a special kind of butternut-like squash, and several kinds of sunflowers from his patch. (I'll put his information on the webpage -- you will want to get some seeds from him for sure.)

So that should give us quiet a good little start. Our last frost is usually around March 15, so we're planning our before- and after-plantings now. If you find yourself with an extra seedling or two come March, bring it by on some Saturday morning -- we'll find a place for it!