Carrots and beets and greens, oh my! And thus, finally, we get to the end of the never ending seed justification :)
One bed this year will get planted with beets and carrots - the so-called root bed. And once again, I have multiple varieties, for multiple reasons. For beets, I want some to can, some to eat fresh, and some to store.
I still have old seeds, as well as the seeds from the great beet challenge of 2011. But my stock of those is low, so I bought some more - of course. And once again, a seed mix has saved me some money: I get to compare three different varieties, as well the three that I already have. And Linda from Tree & Twig was selling a VERY interesting beet this year: 3 root grex. I could try to explain it here, but Margaret, from "A Way to Garden", does such a good job, so go there to read about it. I'll wait ;) Final total: 6 varieties of beets.
For carrots, as well, I want some for both fresh eating and storage. Both Scarlet Nantes and Chantenay Red Cored are said to be good storage carrots, and a mix of different coloured carrots will give me some variety for fresh eating. And a total of 6 varieties.
I'm starting to think I'm addicted to seed mixes....
The last bed will be a mixture of greens and the oddballs. Lettuce, of course - a leaf mix and a romaine mix (really, it's cheaper to buy mixes vs. all the individual varieties! Really!!), as well as a butterhead lettuce variety (I love sweet, tender butterheads!), and Cracoviensis, which is said to be a cold-tolerant variety. As lettuce seed doesn't store well, I have no old seed to use up (which is probably a good thing!). I also plant Swiss chard and spinach in this bed - one variety of spinach, and two of chard, for a total of 14 varieties.
I need professional help.
But wait, there's more!
I'm trying celeriac again - I planted it two years ago by direct seeding, and it didn't do much. So this year, I'm starting the seeds inside, and will try again. And, since I use a LOT of celery in my cooking, I decided to try and grow it. Adding two more varieties to the grand total.
This last one, I'm blaming solely on my friends from Texas. I tried fried okra there for the first time this past fall, and loved it. So it too is going in the garden, and of course, I can't plant just one type. So let's add both red and green okra to the heap.
30 more varieties to add to the total. So what's the final tally? I have no idea, and I refuse to add them all up.
I can justify (almost) every variety I'm planting this year. It's a combination of planting to compare varieties, to fulfill different roles, for hardiness in different seasons, as well as a few just for interests sake. It all sounds so reasonable... right up until it comes time to plant everything!
HELP!
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