Re: What varieties are you excited about trying this year?

**AtlantaMarie** 1/3/2016, 4:33 pm

LS - a hint a friend suggested for keeping birds out of blueberries... put plastic snakes in and around the plants. Move them around every day. Works for me!

Here is a link to an article on blueberry leaf tea:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/24647-blueberry-tea-benefits/

**Scorpio Rising** 1/7/2016, 9:34 pm

Excited about these varieties!

Peace vine cherry tomato & ox heart..thanks, littlesapphire!

Ground cherries, beit alpha cuke, Minnesota midget melon, Super sugar snap peas, Big Red sweet pepper, Tokyo across turnip...

Lots of other stuff, this is my stuff from Pinetree!

**sanderson** 1/8/2016, 1:45 am

Scorpio Rising wrote:Minnesota midget melon

The cantaloupe? I enjoyed them one summer.

**Scorpio Rising** 1/8/2016, 7:15 am

sanderson wrote:
Scorpio Rising wrote:Minnesota midget melon
The cantaloupe? I enjoyed them one summer.

Yep! Short season, small fruited variety. I have never grown a melon of any type, I have 3 to try this year. Sakatas melon and Black Mountain watermelon. All suitable for trellis.

littlesapphire 1/8/2016, 7:52 pm

Scorpio Rising wrote:
sanderson wrote:
Scorpio Rising wrote:Minnesota midget melon
The cantaloupe? I enjoyed them one summer.

Yep! Short season, small fruited variety. I have never grown a melon of any type, I have 3 to try this year. Sakatas melon and Black Mountain watermelon. All suitable for trellis.

Oh, I can't wait to hear how your melons do. I've been wanting to try the black mountain variety because it's a short season melon. I've only grown melons successfully once; it was sugarbaby watermelon, and I got three apple sized melons from my two plants. And even though they were only apple sized, they still had the amount of seeds a normal melon would have!

**Scorpio Rising** 1/8/2016, 9:42 pm

Ewwww, jeez, that is a lot of seeds, right thinking

I hope these are good producers...

**sfg4uKim** 1/9/2016, 8:51 pm

I'm most excited about this Kosmic Kale. It is a PERENNIAL kale that can't be reproduced from seeds - only from root cuttings. It was given to me by Garden America at the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show. LOL now I have to learn how to take root cuttings. Very Happy

What varieties are you excited about trying this year? - Page 4 Kosmic10

My other score from MANTS . . . seeds from Lake Valley Organics. They gave me a variety of sprouting seeds and a couple packets each of 37 different types of veggies imported from Italy. Think I'm gonna try my hand at selling transplants at a local farmers market. This will also be great for the school garden(s) on tap for this year. Here are just a few:

What varieties are you excited about trying this year? - Page 4 Italia10

What varieties are you excited about trying this year? - Page 4 Italia10

littlesapphire 1/9/2016, 9:17 pm

Oh, that kale sounds so interesting!

**sfg4uKim** 1/9/2016, 9:19 pm

It's quite mild. I've got to stop eating it until I get what I need to do the root cuttings.

**Scorpio Rising** 1/12/2016, 8:08 am

Perennial in any zone? It is a pretty plant!

MelF77 1/13/2016, 8:33 pm

I'm excited about my platinum cucumbers, french cantaloupes and I have a good selection of early Ukrainian/Russian tomatoes to pick from, plus all the other tomatoes Very Happy

I was very excited about the 2 asparagus varities I have seed for, but I'm not sure I want to give up the space I will need for asparagus, when I could grow something else.

**Scorpio Rising** 1/13/2016, 9:47 pm

MelF77 wrote:I'm excited about my platinum cucumbers, french cantaloupes and I have a good selection of early Ukrainian/Russian tomatoes to pick from, plus all the other tomatoes

I was very excited about the 2 asparagus varities I have seed for, but I'm not sure I want to give up the space I will need for asparagus, when I could grow something else.

Mel, I am in your camp on asparagus...I love it, and all my kids even?! But it takes a while, and a committment, because it is so long-lived, so siting is very crucial. But I am prepared to commit a full 4x4 to Asparagus none the less

That will probably bemy next year thing. Bummer, though. If you have ever had fresh picked asparagus, it (like many other things, I guess) is very different.

MelF77 1/14/2016, 6:53 am

I have never grown asparagus myself, but have had it freshly picked in a soup. I am a firm believer in if you grow it yourself, it's fresh and tastes better.

We'll see what happens, I know this year at least I will not be starting any asparagus.

The cantaloupe is what I'm really excited about as I have never had enough sun in a suitable area to successfully grow cantaloupes. Can't wait Very Happy

**Scorpio Rising** 1/14/2016, 7:33 am

I have never grown any type of melon, and I have 3 to try, a watermelon, and 2 others! Hope they do well!

**Turan** 1/14/2016, 11:55 am

MelF77 wrote:I was very excited about the 2 asparagus varities I have seed for, but I'm not sure I want to give up the space I will need for asparagus, when I could grow something else.

If you start the seeds this year in a small area you can get them started. The first year they have stems like toothpicks and only take maybe 2-3 inches so guessing at 9-16/square. The next year you can transplant them to either their permanent home or an intermediate setting like about 4/square. I have also seen them in nurseries in deep pots, seedlings in 2" pots and second year in 6" pots.

Which varieties of seed did you get?

MelF77 1/14/2016, 1:09 pm

Turan wrote:
MelF77 wrote:I was very excited about the 2 asparagus varities I have seed for, but I'm not sure I want to give up the space I will need for asparagus, when I could grow something else.

If you start the seeds this year in a small area you can get them started. The first year they have stems like toothpicks and only take maybe 2-3 inches so guessing at 9-16/square. The next year you can transplant them to either their permanent home or an intermediate setting like about 4/square. I have also seen them in nurseries in deep pots, seedlings in 2" pots and second year in 6" pots.

Which varieties of seed did you get?

oh, thank you Turan. I didn't think about a smaller "holding" bed for the first year. I may start them both tomorrow than. I have the day off and planned on getting the most winter sowing done that I can before hubby gets home from work. I think asparagus would do very well with winter sowing so I can save more spots under my lights for my tender stuff.

I have seed for both Purple Passion & Precoce D'Argenteuil.

**sfg4uKim** 1/16/2016, 8:58 am

Scorpio Rising wrote:Perennial in any zone? It is a pretty plant!

Not sure about that. You could probably contact Garden America to find out. HOWEVER, kale is naturally a pretty hardy plant and if you add some protection (dome & plastic) . . .

**Scorpio Rising** 1/16/2016, 10:41 pm

OK, thanks, Kim! True about the hardiness of kale, however, I have never (yet) grown it!

countrynaturals 4/17/2016, 11:38 pm

For me, everything is new because I haven't had a decent garden since 2004, but here's a list of plants I've never grown but trying this year from seed:

vine peach (mango melon)
celeriac
strawberry spinach
Summer purple broccoli
Armenian Metki white cucumber
Walla Walla onions

Anyone have experience with any of these? Wish me luck. Rolling Eyes

**Scorpio Rising** 4/17/2016, 11:55 pm

sfg4uKim wrote:
Scorpio Rising wrote:Perennial in any zone? It is a pretty plant!

Not sure about that. You could probably contact Garden America to find out. HOWEVER, kale is naturally a pretty hardy plant and if you add some protection (dome & plastic) . . .

Kim, I did my homemade cloches, and my 2 kales still survive! cheers

Not so much fir spinach, which seems to be stressed out by going from 28F to 78F in 3 days to be a bit icky tongue

**Scorpio Rising** 4/17/2016, 11:59 pm

Honestly, I just gave up on making this post make sense. The autocorrect is dampening me. Hope ya figure it out! hiddenID

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