For all I love the internet and seed sites (I have a very long history with seed companies..we won’t even go into that), there is something totally different about reading a catalog. I find I get so much more out of what’s on offer and this year, because the long range weather forecast is so weird (cool but dry), I have to scan more carefully than ever for magic words such as: ‘tolerant’ and ‘cold tolerant’.
I also like to get right to what is new. I think every gardener is like that. Yes, we all love our Danvers Half-long Carrots and San Marzano Tomatoes, but it’s always interesting to see what stars the seed companies have hitched their wagons to this year. Here are some interesting things that I’m looking into.
Kosmic Kale (Territorial Seed): PERENNIAL Kale. Perennial is one of those words I look for also, as I’d rather plant something once and then…move on. This is something you have to buy (right now – if it’s like other new introductions, seed will be available down the road) as a plant, but if you eat kale (and who should not?), then this is something you might want to consider.
Wasabi ‘Daruma’ (Territorial): OK, so Wasabi is not new, but it IS something, like ginger, which is getting more attention in terms of people’s trying to grow it here (esp in the Pacific Northwest). Again, this is something for people who love a challenge (for most of us, tomatoes and peppers are challenging enough).
Grafted Vegetable Plants (tomatoes, Peppers, et al.) Now, Territorial seemed to be the seed house that introduced this a couple of years ago. I have to admit that I saw this as a totally cosmetic and ridiculous offering until a friend of mine got some grafted tomatoes to try last year. His success rate with them vastly beat his seed-grown plants. Territory also offers grafting rootstock seeds and clips, so for those folks who want the benefits of grafting (disease resistance) but don’t want to pay the heavy freight, that might be the way to go.
Rapper Basil(Territorial): The magic words here are ‘slow-flowering’ — one of my biggest annoyances with growing basil is bolting, so this is something to look at. It also has huge 4-6 inch leaves, which not only plays into my urge to throw basil into sandwiches but also my need for lots and lots of basil for drying.
Spring Beet Blend (Territorial): OK, so you’ve had it with kale and are still not ready to take on Brussels Sprouts. It’s time to do some beets. OK, so you don’t like the fact that they bleed. This blend has orange and white beets which don’t bleed. Plant a whole row out as thickly as you can — pull up the small leaves, thinning the plants as you go so that you leave(heh) a couple of inches between to grow the rest of the beet below ground. Beet greens are nutritional powerhouses so this is a plant where you get a two-fer out of it.
Merida Carrots (Territorial): For those of us who just can’t seem to get out into the garden in the fall to harvest, this is YOUR carrot. 240 days, people — this is an overwintering carrot. I’m not sure this will work up here (probably better suited to more southern areas), but I’m certainly willing to give it a try. Plant in September and harvest… the next May. How cool is that?
Celery: Now, if you had to ask 1000 gardeners to list their top 5 vegetables that they absolutely grow, celery is not one of them which is too bad. Celery is also one of the ‘Dirty Dozen’ in terms of the sheer amounts of chemical residues found on them in produce bought at the grocery store — in commercial production, they are sprayed like fury. And I can tell you from my experience that celery is actually … quite easy to grow. As a matter of fact, one year, I grew it and then dug up a plant for the greenhouse for wintering over and eating and it was tender and quite delightful. Territorial has an organic and stunningly colored one called ‘RedVenture’. Just don’t plant it next to your rhubarb chard.
