January 13, 2010: My 2010 Friendship Garden

Yesterday it felt like Christmas all over again! Not only did my seed order arrive, but I also got a nice package from Dan of Urban Veggie Garden Blog. With seeds from Dan, Daphne, EG, Kelly and Stefaneener, 2010 will truly be the year of my Friendship Garden. I will sow the seeds they have given me, and each harvest will remind me of the wonderful friendships we have formed here among our fellow garden bloggers.


Almost my entire 2010 garden. I still have to pick up a packet of Provider bush beans, and look for some really bolt resistant lettuce, such as Burpee's Looseleaf Heatwave.


I have Kentucky Blue pole beans, saved from my 2009 garden. These might not grow true, as they are a cross between Kentucky Wonder and Blue Lake, but if they turn out to be either one of those varieties, I'll not be disappointed. I also saved a lot of Royal Burgundy bush beans. I liked the flavor of these, and they were easy to pick, as the purple pods showed up well in all the green foliage. Well worth planting again.


How generous is Dan? He shares with so many of us, and I am very appreciative of all the seeds he sends. I didn't think I'd ever get any Sungold tomatoes, but Dan came through!


Kelly is another generous person! Notice both she and Dan are contributing to my tomato passion ;-)


I'll be growing both dry and green beans from Daphne! Aren't those cranberry beans just gorgeous? The pole beans are Fortex, another variety I have been wanting to try.


Hometown Seeds contributed to my garden this year. They sent more than I could use, so I've passed a few on to others. Notice they sent a lot of flower seeds that I'll be incorporating into the garden.


I didn't have to put in a very big order at Ed Hume Seeds this year, thanks to having quite a few seeds left over from last year's garden, and the generosity of others.


2010 Vegetable Garden Seeds
(* = old seed, will probably replace this year)

Basil - Italian Large Leaf......Ed Hume Seeds (2009)
Basil - Mrs. Burns Lemon...... Seed Saver's Exchange (2009) - Kelly
Beans, Bush - Contender...... Ed Hume Seeds (2010)
Beans, Bush - Dragon Tongue...... Seed Saver's Exchange (2009) - Dan
Beans, Bush - Royal Burgundy...... self saved (2009) - my garden
Beans, Pole - Fortex...... Johnny's Selected Seeds (2009) - Daphne
Beans, Pole - Kentucky Blue...... self saved (2009) - my garden
Beans, Pole - Trail of Tears...... self saved (2009) - Daphne
Beans, Pole - Cranberry...... self saved (2009) - Daphne
Beets - Bull's Blood...... Ed Hume Seeds (2010)
Beets - Red Ace Hybrid...... Ed Hume Seeds (2010)
Broccoli - Calabrese*...... Leftover (2008) - Wintersown.org
Broccoli - De Cicco*...... Leftover (2008) - EG
Broccoli - Waltham...... Hometown Seeds (2010)
Cabbage - Golden Acre*...... Leftover (2008) - Ed Hume Seeds
Cabbage - Red Acre...... Ed Hume Seeds (2010)
Carrot - Ingot Hybrid...... Ed Hume Seeds (2010)
Carrot - Red Core Chantenay (Organic)...... Ed Hume Seeds (2010)
Carrot - Short 'n Sweet (Chantenay)...... Leftover (2009) - Burpee
Cilantro...... Stefaneener
Cilantro - Slow Bolt...... Hometown Seeds (2010)
Cucumber - Double Yield...... self saved (2009) - Dan
Cucumber - Spacemaster*...... Leftover (2008) - Ed Hume Seeds
Dill...... self saved (2009) - my garden
Lettuce - Buttercrunch Bibb...... Ed Hume Seeds (2010)
Lettuce - Gourmet Mix...... Hometown Seeds (2010)
Lettuce - Little Gem Romaine...... Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (2009) - Dan
Lettuce - Parris Island Romaine......Leftover (2009) - Ed Hume Seeds
Lettuce - Red Romaine......Leftover (2009) - Ohio Heirloom Seeds
Lettuce - Red Sails...... Ed Hume Seeds (2010)
Melon - Petit Gris......self saved (2009) - my garden
Parsley - Moss Curled......Leftover (2009) - American Seed
Peas, Shelling - Little Marvel (Bush)...... Ed Hume Seeds (2010)
Peas, Snap - Sugar Lace...... Ed Hume Seeds (2010)
Peppers - California Wonder 300 TMR......Leftover (2009) - Ferry Morse
Peppers - Golden Calwonder......Leftover (2009) - Ohio Heirloom Seeds
Peppers - Hungarian Wax......self saved (2009) - market
Peppers - Mini Yellow Bell...... Seed Saver's Exchange (2009) - Kelly
Peppers - Quadrato Rosso D'Asti...... Leftover (2009) - Ohio Heirloom Seeds
Peppers, Early Jalapeno......Leftover (2009) - Ohio Heirloom Seeds
Radish - Champion...... Leftover (2009) - Ed Hume Seeds
Radish - Cherry Belle...... Leftover (2009) - Ed Hume Seeds
Radish - Sparkler...... Leftover (2009) - Ed Hume Seeds
Spinach - Melody Hybrid...... Leftover (2009) - Burpee
Spinach - Tyee (F1)...... Ed Hume Seeds (2010)
Tomato - Homestead...... Wintersown Org; SASE (2009)
Tomato - Velvet Red ......self saved (2009) - Dan
Tomato - Black Cherry...... Wintersown Org; SASE (2009)
Tomato - Cherry Roma...... Seed Saver's Exchange (2009) - Kelly
Tomato - Sungold F1...... (unknown) (2009) - Dan
Tomato - Sudduth's Str. Brandywine...... Tomato Fest (2009) - Dan
Tomato - Amish Paste...... Seed Saver's Exchange (2009) - Kelly
Tomato - Cherokee Purple...... self saved (2009) - Dan
Tomato - Kellogg's Breakfast...... self saved (2009) - my garden

Seed sources:

Dan - Urban Veggie Garden Blog
Daphne - Daphne's Dandelions
EG - Our Engineered Garden
Kelly - How My Garden Grows
Stefaneener - Sicilian Sisters Grow Some Food

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Burpee
Ed Hume Seeds
Ferry Morse
Hometown Seeds
Johnny's Selected Seeds
Ohio Heirloom Seeds
Seed Savers Exchange
Tomato Fest
WinterSown Org; SASE

29 comments:

  1. That sounds like truly rich gardening to me.

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  2. Hello,

    Wow! That is a lot of seeds. Doesn't it make it that much more special when they come your fellow gardeners? I look forward to seeing your harvest later this year :-)

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  3. Can't wait to see all that you grow from my seeds for a second season. It truly is amazing the production you get. Who knows what we will trade next year, maybe a trip south out of the cold :-)

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  4. Stefaneener, did you notice the kale seeds were missing? I hate to tell you this, but I gave away your "cilantro" seeds, because I had a whole package of them from that seed company. And I planted your "kale" seeds. We know how that turned out, don't we, LOL!

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  5. Noelle, yes, it makes the harvest so much more special. Last summer, each time I picked something from my garden, I thought of Dan and Daphne and Cheryl and EG....the fruits of my labors were so much sweeter because of them.

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  6. Dan, my AZ place is for sale...cheap! Don't you need a warm winter home for your garden? LOL!

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  7. That sounds very tempting, how many seeds do you want for it, lol ;-)

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  8. Great haul there AG! It's amazing what a nice circle of good folks seem to form around good garden blogs like yours. You have a fun collection of seeds and your garden will be particularly interesting this year. I was fortunate to be the recipient of some seeds from both Dan and Daphne myself. I hope to be able to share more with others next year. I used alot of my extra saved seeds this year for a personalized Christmas gift to several family members - between reserving some for my own use and those gifts, I did not have a lot left over to share. Hopefully next year though since I won't be doing the same gift idea two years in a row.

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  9. Wow! That's so amazing, AG. I know that you'll go through as many of those seeds as possible this year. You're truly blessed. That's evident!

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  10. A wonderful list! Granny, I see that you are using leftover Jalapeno seeds, but didn't you have a heat problem with them? I ask because I have a bunch of the Jalapeno Gigante seeds still from last year and remember how prolific they were, lol, and had the heat! If you want some, drop me an email and I will get some out to you!

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  11. I posted about seeds I've gotten in the mail too. I wrote the name of the person who gave it to me on the package so I don't forget. I've gotten so many packets from so many people this year that I'm going to have to label them all to remember. And I want to because it is fun to think about all the people who gave you the seed when it is growing.

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  12. I need to get on the seed swapping bandwagon! Maybe I'll start a fall/winter swap later this summer.

    I love the varieties you have Gran. I'm growing sungolds this summer as well. I've never tasted it so I'm excited to see whether or not it lives up to it's grand reputation.

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  13. Kitsap, I've never been the seed saving type, and I don't tend to buy "fancy" seeds, so I don't usually have many to trade. I'm terribly frugal with the seeds I do have, so they often often get old before they get used up. Especially now, when I use the seed mat method of planting the small seeds! I quiver with fear that the bean and tomato seeds I saved from last year, and shared, will not be viable! It was my first foray into seed saving.

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    Kalena Michele, I'm already wondering just where on earth I'll plant all I want to plant! I think it's already outgrown my 2010 garden plans.

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    Erin, the jalapeno seeds are fine. I did grow hot ones in a container, it was the rich soil and abundant water in the main garden that made the others sweet. I'll be sure to grow them all in containers, away from the lawn sprinklers, this year. Thank you for the ofer, though.

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    Daphne, and in some cases the seeds that were shared live on and on. My dill will forever be a mixture of seed I've saved from what you and Dan originally sent. It will be interesting to see which seed got saved, the common or the compact...I kind of forgot to label it :-(

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    Thomas, I have shown some restraint. I'm keeping my tomato seed list down to 4 cherries, 4 large indeterminates and two-four plants of 1 variety determinate. Ten or twelve plants is still a lot, but less than last year! BTW, I saved a lot of Petit Gris seeds (originally from Dan) if you want to try them. I'm hoping they aren't a hybrid, I don't think they are. They are a small, delicious melon, but it's difficult to judge when they are ripe. If you time it right, they taste heavenly.

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  14. Hi AG ...I am new to following your blog and I really enjoy it...My seed list is starting to look like yours...it keeps growing! btw I think we are practically neighbors..well sort of...you are in eastern wa during the summer? I'm in Post Falls Idaho. Happy gardening!

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  15. And I thought I had a lot of seeds! lol I'm all worn out and it's only 4:30 am here. I'm excited about this gardening season, although my body says 'you're going to do what?! expand your garden?!!

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  16. Sunny, welcome to my blog! Yes, I'm in eastern WA (Pasco) during the summer. But I'm an Idaho gal, born and raised in Lewiston.

    I'm ready to get this gardening season going. I sometimes forget it's still winter up there!

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    Di, I'm sure my seed list will grow. Don't know where I'll plant it all, but it will grow ;-)

    My grandson, Kevin, is a big strong boy. I'll get him to help me with the "grunt" work this year ;-)

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  17. AG...I have fond memories of Pasco...i used to spend summers there on my aunt and uncles farm...that's where I got my first horse!.... my aunt still lives there on a street named Kau Trail...pronounced cow trail lol!..

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  18. Sunny, small world! Before we moved into town, I lived on Valley View Place, which is off Road 68 just as you drop over the hill heading into town from Kau Trail. I had friends that lived on Kau Trail, Hawleys and the McClures. The Harlan McClure family lived next door to us before they moved out on Kau Trail. The Hawley kids ran around with my two youngest.

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  19. Wow ....small world is right...i don't really remember names of folks that my aunt lived near but she knows a lot of people there...i will ask her next time i talk to her..btw her last name is Butterfield...

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  20. Sunny, I'll bet she knows McClures, as I think most of their large family lives on Kau Trail! I was wrong about Hawleys, they are just off Kau Trail....but it seems like one has to go down Kau Trail to reach their road.

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  21. I will ask her if she knows them...I'm sure she does...that area is (or at least used to be) a real tight knit community...I remember many of them would get together and have roping contests and Luaus on a regular basis...that was many years ago though....those were fun times....take care!

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  22. It really is wonderful how we all share seeds.

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  23. Nice inventory of seeds. I thought of you and your jalapenos from last year that weren't hot when I saw a "Fooled You" jalapeno. They're supposed to have all the flavor of a regular jalapeno but none of the heat. I wonder if they accidentally mixed up your seeds.

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  24. Cheryl! Where have you been, girl? Get your butt back on your blog ;-)

    As to the jalapeno seeds, it was just the fertile soil and abundant water that made them sweet. The ones I grew in a pot by the shed were good and hot. I'm putting all the hot peppers in pots this year, rather than in the main garden.

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  25. Ottawa Gardener, yes it is! I need to be a better seed saver, so I can be a better seed sharer.

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  26. HI. My name is Kim and I am from Tacoma, WA, now gardening in Mohave Valley, AZ. Whereabouts are you?

    Very happy to find your blog!

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  27. Kim, hello! I'm about 100 miles SE of you, in Bouse.

    I'm glad you found my blog, but I hope your Arizona gardening skills are better than mine!

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  28. Granny, Well if it grows five feet tall you know it is mine :> I wonder if they all hybridized anyway and now you might have some different dill.

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  29. Well, Daphne, at least I'll be a bit smarter about planting it where it will be sheltered from the wind! I was sad to lose it last summer.

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