Seed-Starting Begins

I've been wanting to write a new post for over 2 weeks now, but alas, I was waiting for all my seeds to arrive before blogging and one company was running a bit slower than usual it seems. I finally got all my seeds in last Friday and then spent the weekend out of town to celebrate my nephew's first birthday.

This year I'm trying to improve on my planning and get as much out of the garden for as long as I can. I'm also maintaining my crop rotation design (based roughly on suggestions in Rodale's Illustrated Encylopedia of Organic Gardening). Already I've got lots of plants sprouting, some of which will be ready to plant once the soil dries.

Here are the varieties I ordered this year:

Territorial Seed Company
Fava Bean, "Broad Windsor"
Potato, "Caribé" (Organic)
Dwarf Pac Choi, "Ching-Chiang"
Shelling Peads, "Dakota"
Buttercup Squash, "Discus Bush"
Romaine/Cos Lettuce, "Flashy Trout's Back" (Organic)
Kale, "Improved Dwarf Siberian"
Bush Beans, "Jade"
Crisphead Lettuce, "Reine Des Glaces" (Organic)
Broccoli Raab, "Sorrento"
Sugar Snap Peas, "Sugar Sprint"
Romaine/Cos Lettuce, "Winter Density"

John Scheeper's Kitchen Garden Seeds
Shelling Beans, "Black Turtle"
Romanesco Broccoli, "Shannon"
Collard Greens, "Morris Heading"
Tomatoes, "Enchantment" (F1 Hybrid)
Cilantro, "Caribe"

Pinetree Garden Seeds
Bronze Fennel
Nasturtium, "King Theodore"
Flat Leaf Parsley
Dill, "Dukat Strain"
Basil, "Italian Large Leaf"
Broccoli, "Waltham 29"
Broccoli, "Nutri-Bud"
Cabbage, "Early Jersey Wakefield"
Cabbage, "Danish Ballhead"
Cauliflower, "Early Snowball"
Yellow Wax Bush Beans, "Gold Crop"
Summer Squash, "Ronde De Nice"
Tomatoes, "Black Krim"

That's a lot more than last year. One of my big shifts in strategy was to focus attention primarily on open-pollinated strains in order to eventually achieve a level of self-sufficiency. I've also invested in early and late season brassica varieties, so I will ideally be able to harvest in late spring and autumn. I'll see how this works out as the season progresses.