what time is it? seed ordering time!

As an impatient, perfectionist, semi-gardening-noob, I need all the help I can get when it comes to seed selection.  I don’t have the skill to mess with finicky plants not suited to grow in Montana’s temperamental climate.  I need sure bets!  Seeds that will go the distance, sprout easily managed plants, and will give me a little grace if the soil doesn’t have the perfect ph levels :P

Apologies in advance to all you master-awesome-how-I-wish-I-were-you gardeners out there – I’m sure one day I’ll get to a point where I can think about ALL the minute details of growing vegetables that you take in to account i.e. fertilization, pollination, ph levels, soil composition… the list seems endless.  But frankly my dears, I don’t give a damn about every little detail. ;)  At least not yet.  I’m still in the working-out-the-basics stage where I need seeds that will just GROW!  So here I am, looking up seed catalog reviews and checking out the All-America Seed reviews to find plants that will simply “get ‘er done.”

What I learned from last year…

Last years' corn, tomatoes, peppers, and onions... planted them all WAY too close together but hey, I learned something right?!

WINNERS (in my south-facing, very sunny bed):
Onions – Evergreen Bunching
Tomatoes – Early Girl and Celebrity
Zucchini (duh!)

These did alright:
Corn – Early Sunglow
Peppers – Green Bell, Mohawk, Red Beauty
Carrots – Carrots, Rainbow and Little Finger
Lettuce – Grand Rapids TBR (Leaf) and Select Salad Blend (Crimson Butter, Red Salad Bowl, Iceberg, Bibb, Lolla Rosa)

Will never plant these varieties again:
Peppers – Early Red
Beans – Blue Lake Pole Stringless FMI
Pumpkins – Small Sweet Sugar/ Pie
Spinach – Bloomsdale Long-Standing

We’ll see what I end up with seed-wise this year!