Gobblegobble

Wow, it's been a while since we last posted. We've been busy making plans for the next year. Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving! We're thankful for everyone who helped support our efforts this past year, and hope you enjoy a great day with family and friends!

Seeds on the Brain

Well here it is, past Thanksgiving and I'm still saying goodbye to my summer garden in Baltimore, MD. Except for the basil, the herb garden is still going fine. I even have a random tomato plant which I left up with the slowest ripening tomatoes in existence. I've had a hard time 'letting go' this fall so it's only natural that I am already thinking about next spring. I can't help but turn to the web, to find some treasures to plant in April. So I've dug up some links to some great seed websites, I hope you enjoy...


Rare Seeds
I wish I had planted some of these squash this summer & was enjoying some pumpkin curry right now. Great website (I hope they add more photos) there is a huge variety of esoteric verdura, it's great.

Territorial Seed Company
Great website with a bit of everything, including citrus trees. I know it's not a seed but I'm eying this pink lemon.

D. Landreth Seeds
Pennsylvania based Landreth Seed Company has a large selection of veggie seeds, bulbs, and starts. I'm love these Purple Majesty potatoes.

Southern Exposure Seed Company
SESC has an interesting southern slant on veggies... lot's of peppers and peanuts. Check out this special melon which only a gardener could enjoy because "Some gardeners say there is no better melon for flavor if you harvest at the right time".

Seed Saver's Exchange
Seed Saver's Exchange is a non-profit organization of gardeners dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds. I became a member and I'm looking forward to my 2010 catalog very soon!

I'm also into saving seeds too, more on that later. If anybody knows of a great resource for heirloom varieties, then please let us know (via the handy comment feature below).

Happy (almost) Halloween!

Hooptie Houses: A winter container garden experiment

Optimistic is the nice way of describing what we did. We kept waiting for that magical stretch of sunny autumn days to squeeze the last remaining redness out of the clusters of unripe green tomatoes on our tomato plants. Yeah, that didn’t happen. It’s been pretty rainy so far. The result is we planted our winter garden way late.

So what to do? Get cheap and crafty.

We're trying this experiment to see if we can make up for lost time. We built some small DIY hoop houses for our containers: micro container-garden greenhouses to kickstart our late plantings. We made ours from things you probably have hanging around the house. They’ve been working like fantastic little charms, getting our seeds to sprout and grow quickly. And, the benefit has also been that we can make the overall roof taller by raising the metal spans as the plants grow. Here's what we did if you want to try it out yourself (click to zoom in on the image):

A Delicious 180-Day-Old Apple?

It’s apple season. If you’re finding yourself with more than you can cook, cut, candy, swap, etc., consider this tip from the Old Farmer’s Almanac… According to their site, apples can be easily stored and stay good for up to six months. All you need is a cool place in your home and a couple of cardboard boxes.

Donate! Another Way to Give Your Extra Veggies a Good Home!

Veggie Trader believes in putting good food to good use. Last month we picked and donated some Asian pears ready to go to waste on a neighbor’s property (yes, we asked first!). Our neighbors were happy to oblige.

In the spirit of sharing, we’ve also just connected with Ample Harvest, a national organization putting backyard gardeners in touch with local food pantries. And, you’ll also find local organizations in need in our Donate section of the Veggie Trader listings. We’d love to see this section grow as many people are in need these days.

So, if you run or work for a food pantry or other group that can put fresh produce to use, please consider posting a free listing in our Donate section. Let gardeners in your area know what you're looking for. And if you're a gardener with a backyard overrun by tomatoes, zucchini, or whatever, please consider checking the Donate section for local groups that can use your produce. Donations are often tax-deductible. Plus, it's just a great thing to do for your community.

We've Got Bumper Stickers!

Lots of people have asked us for Veggie Trader bumper stickers, so we now have a couple of bumper stickers available via cafepress.com. Find them here. If you have any ideas for bumper stickers you'd like to see, please let us know.





We're also working on creating Veggie Trader shirts, totes, etc. and hope to have these available soon. Again, if you have ideas for designs you'd like to see, let us know.