Catalog season has begun!

Wonder of wonders, while down here in Sonoma Wine Country, we visited Baker Creek Seed Bank in Petaluma, CA (their catalog will be mailed shortly). For the past 2 years, we've ordered seed from Baker Creek, but when I found the corner where they had seed packets not listed in the catalog, I went over budget! Amongst others, bought Squash Mongogo Du Guatamala to plant with Cherokee White Eagle cornmeal corn. Also bought something called: Swiss Chard Perpetual Spinach. Anyone out there with experience growing/using this variety? Nonna, who is in 7th Heaven!

Nona ,
UK wise , cooked the swiss chard / leaf beet is slightly earthy like plain boiled cooled skinned beetroot.

It's OK as small salad leaves as part of a salad but I didn't like a plate full of them on their own .
Never let the leaves get more than 6 inches long .. they can reach over 18 inches long and the earthiness seems to increase the longer they get .
Eat it as cut and come again salad
or
As a green veg by lightly boiling in slightly salted water ,drain and add a small knob of butter , then toss it around the pan to distribute to butter flavour & grease.

I for one wouldn't let it over winter into the next season for it runs to seed very quicly in the spring as temps warm up , and then it tastes even more earthy .

Once it has seeded , it is in my mind ... vile. Mine when lrft to see what they woulfd become eventually grew to over four feet tall masses of very long broad leaves , despite having the seed stalk cut out a couple of times . But big plants do help to make compost so I was not too worried.
I've never tried to eat the roots as they are like very long thin whitish carots and smell really earthy, like cooking beet root .. they also went direct into the compost as my lass would not allow them in the kitchen.

Thank you so much for the info, Plantoid, but question arises: what do you mean by "earthy"? Bitter? Or like some parsnips? or ? ? ? ? I like your idea of using the very small leaves in a salad mix, and will certainly concentrate on cutting leaves when less than 6" for table. Then, as you suggest, shred longest leaves for compost. Nonna (who is still flinching over the "shooting season for the cats" comment--glad I read the rest of the post)

I use the 3-4 inch as salad and 4-10 inch as boiling greens. And yes, they develop not a bitter taste but a stronger than spinach or beet green taste as they get bigger. But I've eaten them up to 12/14 inches shredded and with a hot pepper sauce or vinegar to offset the flavor. Fresh greens are a premium sometimes.

Kay

And thank you, too, Kay, for the info on "perpetual" spinach. We love greens cooked like Southern collards, so I shall try that technique on the perpetual's larger leaves and try to remember to post my experience. Two reasons why I wanted to try this veggie: (1) seems to be a cool weather crop good for Western Oregon, and (2) we have trouble growing true spinach. Nonna, who wants Spring NOW!

Nona
When we simmer beetroot for 45 minutes or so prior to letting it go cold/ cool and rubbing the skin off in readiness for eating or preserving or it there is a strong earthy smell in the kitchen .

To me swiss chard leaves taste like the beets smell when they are cooking .

I see what you mean about shooting cats .. No ...I don't mean moggies or any felines , I meant shooting the "CATalogs .. er cataloggs .. arrgh dyslexia rulz " ... cats through the post to as many people as they can .
I hope your heart race has now safely simmered down .

Nonna (who is still flinching over the "shooting season for the cats" comment--glad I read the rest of the post)

NOW I understand.....
One way to get rid of cats....catalogues... is to move to another country. I had tons of them daily in the use and nary a one here.
Nonna, I am so envious, to be able to just shop for what you want in a store.
Myself I am really trying to save seeds from what I can to minimize the whole catalogue thing this year. I have joined a seed exchange up here in Canada, and plan to so a lot more of that, rather than buying seeds.
It just seems like you get so many seeds per package that you never use.
It would be great for a group to get together and buy some seeds then have a meeting where you divvy up the amounts that would be reasonable for each person to have, after all they are only good for so many years and so many of mine just outdate....

Swiss Chard Perpetual Spinach.

It sounds to me like plantoid is talking about beets and Nonna is talking about something else.
Nonna is this all one thing.....

Yup, it's all one thing: the perpetual spinach is a (I'm guessing) antique type of Swiss Chard; beetroot is what we Yanks truncated from beetroot to just beet; "earthy" means different things to different people--it can even describe a taste found in some wines (but I've also heard the earthy taste called "barnyard"--as if THAT wouldn't kill your desire for wine with dinner).
Nonna, who is in Sonoma area for wine tasting festival--PapaVino collects wines, Nonna collects seeds, plants and recipes. Win-win, right?

I guessed, after reading more of your post, what you were talking about. Here Stateside cats can also refer to the big earth-moving equipment made by Caterpillar Tractors.

(BTW, don't you mean: dyslexia zlur?) Nonna

Nonna.PapaVino wrote:I guessed, after reading more of your post, what you were talking about. Here Stateside cats can also refer to the big earth-moving equipment made by Caterpillar Tractors.

(BTW, don't you mean: dyslexia zlur?) Nonna

Couldn't find a glass of wine to toast you with .

Here Stateside cats can also refer

Hmmmm we have just gotten back from Oregon and mushroom picking, and for us "cats" are short for Catathalasma mushrooms that are huge mushrooms that no one else seems to find use for but Ken and I just love, and they are the most fun to find since they are hard to find.

Gurney's is having a pre-CATalog sale good through 11-10-12: $25 off a $50 order, $50 off an $100 order and $100 off a $200 order. I may put in an early potato seed order since I've got pretty much all the veggie seeds I need. Anyone else having a pre-sale?

I've got swiss chard that I planted around a year ago. Curious to see when it will go to seed/bolt. I love the fact that it does just fine in our heat as well as any freezes we might get. I like the look of that Perpetual Spinach variety...I don't do much with the stems anyway.

Here's a link to the Baker Creek catalog:
http://rareseeds.com/requestcatalog/
It's a good one. If you haven't already, sign up

I just recently got my catalog from Johnny's Selected Seeds. I've not ordered much from them, for I didn't need much.
I am very impressed with their catalog. It's made of good paper and put together very well. I'd say that it is better quality than most magazines these days.
I'm making my list and checking it twice!
Jo

littlejo wrote:I just recently got my catalog from Johnny's Selected Seeds. I've not ordered much from them, for I didn't need much.
I am very impressed with their catalog. It's made of good paper and put together very well. I'd say that it is better quality than most magazines these days.
I'm making my list and checking it twice!
Jo

They also have some fantastic garden planning tools on their website.

Still waiting on my seed catalogs. Hope they get here soon. I'm drooling with anticipation. Don't know how much I'll order, as I have alot left over from last year, but I want to try some new things this year. Wife didn't care for the green beans I planted last year (Bushmaster I believe). Any know a good green bean for northeast growing?

gurgi1970 wrote:Still waiting on my seed catalogs. Hope they get here soon. I'm drooling with anticipation. Don't know how much I'll order, as I have alot left over from last year, but I want to try some new things this year. Wife didn't care for the green beans I planted last year (Bushmaster I believe). Any know a good green bean for northeast growing?

I love, love, LOVE the Rattle Snake pole beans. You can eat them green or dried they are a lot like turtle beans. I planted 8 squares last year, at first picking took off 6 pounds of beans. I think I will add 4 more squares next year and give up on the bush beans.

I agree, camprn, pole beans are THE WAY TO GO! Nothing beats standing under a curved cattle panel and picking beautiful, long beans (green and/or dried) from vines above your head. I used to HATE squating and duck-walking along the aisles to pick bush beans. Haven't logged yield from pole versus bush beans, but my arthritic knees really prefer pole beans! Besides, some heirloom beans do not come as bush beans, i.e., Good Mother Stallard. Nonna

I love the Dragon Tongue beans. They are a compact bush bean that did very well in one of my table top beds. They are yellow when cooked but so good.
I tried Rattlesnake beans in my problem bed and they did not survive. I will try them again.

Anyone know if if beans would survive in the winter here in so CA, zone 9b (we seldom get frosts here)? I'm tempted to try some as I have plenty of room now.

Lindacol wrote:Anyone know if if beans would survive in the winter here in so CA, zone 9b (we seldom get frosts here)? I'm tempted to try some as I have plenty of room now.

No harm in trying - remember, it's only seeds!

GG

Goosegirl wrote:

Lindacol wrote:Anyone know if if beans would survive in the winter here in so CA, zone 9b (we seldom get frosts here)? I'm tempted to try some as I have plenty of room now.

No harm in trying - remember, it's only seeds!

GG

Here in the same zone in south Texas I have bush beans producing right now. Last year I had some that started blooming just before Christmas and they produced all through spring. We didn't get a freeze last year.

I just pulled up my bush beans after a couple of pickings and replanted peas. I have eight tomato plants that should start producing in January. Difficult for transplanted hillbilly from West Virginia to comprehend that the winter is the growing season in Florida. Summer is unbearable with the heat and humidity, so most of the veggies go north for the summer with the birds.

Goosegirl wrote:

Lindacol wrote:Anyone know if if beans would survive in the winter here in so CA, zone 9b (we seldom get frosts here)? I'm tempted to try some as I have plenty of room now.

No harm in trying - remember, it's only seeds!

GG

I tell ya, seeds are really darned expensive in these parts. Do you get frosts or freezes? Check and see if you usually have frosts at a specific month, then wait until after that. That's what I would do.