Second seed catalog has arrived

My second seed catalog arrived today.  This one was from Vermont Bean Seed company.  While they do not participate in the Safe Seed Pledge, it is always fun to look at colorful seed catalogs during the winter. And dream.  And plan. I like to order from those companies that promote non-GMO, open-pollinated, and heirloom seeds. One of my favorites is Baker Creek Seeds.  They have seeds from all over the world and an incredible variety.
Does anyone else have a favorite seed catalog they like? Gotten any in the mail yet?

Happy New Year!

So, the new year is upon us.  Time for thought, reflection, and resolutions.  Boy, do I have some for my gardens this year! 

• Start more flowers from seed.  I always think that I will have these wonderful plans and know just what flowers that I want to put in which containers.  Well...ummm...that never happens.  I tend to be a great veggie seed person and the flowers get put to the side.
• Start reasonable numbers of vegetables from seed.  I need to not feel that I am feeding the masses when I seed.  :)  I always over plan for seed failure, which leads me to the next bullet...
• Rethink how I start my seeds.  I usually start my seeds in small dixie drinking cups.  I know that this is not environmentally friendly which goes against most of what I believe, but I continue to do it.  It reminds me of my great grandma.  She started seeds this way.  I need to be better about starting in small containers and pot up frequently. 
• Better planning of my family's needs.  What veggies do I need and how many.  I have been bitten by the raw food bug and hope to increase my vegetable juicing this year.  That will mean more beets, carrots, spinach and adding some kale perhaps.  Celery would be good, but I am not sure about how to grow it.  Not that I couldn't try and learn.
• Move my raspberry patch from the main garden area.  My husband told me in the beginning that putting the raspberries in the garden was not a good idea.  Being my hard headed, stubborn self, I persisted that I wanted them in the garden.  Now I tell him that he was right.  :)  They have become invasive with their runners.  I think that having them in raised beds in the yard where I can go around with the lawnmower will help keep those runners in check. 
• Redo my south facing flower bed.  I had torn this bed apart when we first moved to this house nearly 11 years ago as well as expanded it.  I accepted a gift of a sunflower type flower from my neighbor that she promised was only a couple feet tall.  Needless to say, my dirt must have radioactive properties.  Those darn things grow to well over 5 feet tall and are as invasive as any plant I have grown.  They have overtaken the bed.  The bed is getting everything removed and replanted in the spring.
• Last but not least, weeding.  Ugh.  The bane of my existence.  What can I say, my blog is aptly named.  Spring always starts with the best of intentions and energy.  Along comes the Illinois heat and humidity which I do not like, throw in a summer vacation or two, and you no longer have a neat and tidy garden, but a rambling plot of opportunistic weeds!  This year's plan is to be a better weeder.  How will I accomplish this goal?  The basics of more frequent weeding.  Weeds in general brings me to the last bullet which I need help with from my gardening friends.
• How to control the weeds between my raised beds.  How do others accomplish this?  I don't want to use a pesticide at all.  We have used straw with some success.  Any suggestions?

Soaking okra seed

I had received some Cowhorn okra from my aunt in Alabama a couple years ago that I have never gotten planted.  I love that this is the okra that my family in Alabama, including my Grandma, has grown this variety for more years than I have been alive....truly an heirloom.

She had told me that she keeps hers in the freezer and then soaks it in bleach to soften the seed coat.  That just seems not right to me...  I kept thinking straight BLEACH??  The organic in me couldn't wrap my arms around that.  I went online and found many different formulas for softening the seed coats with bleach.  Hmmm....there must be something to this?  I decided to go for it.  Especially with my older seed.  I need every bit of help I can get to get those seeds sprouting.  I decided not to use straight bleach.  Instead I used a mixture of a pint of warm water with a few tablespoons of bleach.  It is supposed to rain here for the rest of the week, so I may push it and try to get them planted tonight.  We'll see what happens.

Spring fever

Spring fever has hit central IL.  Funny how it gets around 40* in the winter, and everyone thinks it is warm.  :)  It is just the opposite in the fall...we think we are freezing at that temperature.  Today the forecast is calling for 47* and mostly sunny with temps rising to 61* by Friday.  It is hard to believe that not quite two weeks ago we were experiencing a blizzard with 12 inches of snow!  Even with the warmer weather and the melting snow, everything is still covered in a blanket of white.  I had a dream that my chives were sprouting the other night.  Let the gardening dreams begin.
The lettuce seeds have not yet sprouted.  They should take 10-14 days, so I have up to another week to go.  I keep checking for that little bit of green....