I have been missing in action for the last few weeks after gracefully dropping my laptop onto the floor and smashing my little traveling computer into messy bits. For those that know me well, the fact that I dropped something would come as no surprise. They would know that I should not be trusted with walking and carrying breakable items. Growing up, my grandfather would blame others if they made the mistake of having me carry the glass objects, I was only in charge of the plastic items. I guess some things never change. Another thing that will never change is the excitement that comes when my seed catalogs start coming in the mail for the next year. I just received my 2021 Pinetree catalog, my favorite place to buy my seeds from, and have spent the last few nights combing through it. I did start seed saving this year, so may not buy as much, but I am sure I will find some things I just can’t pass up.
One thing I won’t need to buy this year are beans. I decided to experiment with a 15 bean soup mix and see what I could germinate. I emptied the bag into a stock pot and picked through looking for the best of the bunch, also giving my best guess of which bean I was working with. In the end I think I planted a few kidney beans, navy beans, black beans, cranberry beans and red beans. I soaked them for 24 hours and planted them in the green house on November 4th. I made a delicious vegetarian bean soup with all the leftovers, so nothing went to waste!
To be honest I was not expecting much when I planted these guys, so you can imagine my surprise seven days later when I came out to a bunch of baby bean sprouts! They are growing well and I have added two tomato cages around them to give them a place to climb as they grow and stretch their vines. I am planning to add twine that will run up to the ceiling of the greenhouse. I am curious to see if I get beans from the plants and if I can save them to plant another generation next year. Either way, it was a fun experiment and hopefully a fruitful one!
Along with the beans I have planted eight King of the North pepper plants in one bed with my garlic bulbs and a Big Rainbow tomato plant among my carrot bed. I was originally not going to try to grow tomatoes or peppers, but after some reading found that they are both self pollinating so I figured I would give it a shot. In one of the other beds I have bush beans coming up, with a germination rate of about 50%. I normally have good luck with them in my normal summer garden, usually having all germinate with the exception of one or two beans. Maybe the fluctuation in the temperature in the greenhouse while we were trying to figure out the best way to heat the area and the most efficient amount of time to have the heat on and off.
Overall, I am happy with how things are coming along. My marigolds are still going strong, but as some go past their prime I am collecting seeds from them. Once I take them out of the beds I am planning to add purple top turnips and either spinach or swiss chard; this will be our cool bed. Any suggestions for some new seeds to try out? I am always looking to add a new tomato or two (or three!) to the garden.
Wishing you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving! I hope it is filled with good food, good friends, family and happy memories!
Acorn & Birch 