This Year's Garden

This is a non-comprehensive list of the veggies, herbs and flowers that I am/will be growing. I spent the afternoon cataloging them and assigning each a start/transplant date, except for the varieties that are sown directly outside at a specific time of the year. I still have to order cabbage, pumpkins, potatoes, onions and two or three additional varieties of herbs, but this is the bulk of what I believe will be an aesthetically pleasing, diverse and delectable garden. Some of the seeds are rare and difficult to find, having been handed down in isolated geographic locations for many years (in the case of the Crapaudine Beet, a thousand years); some varieties were, at one time or other, on the verge of extinction.

Of course, everything is Heirloom/open pollinating/non-GMO.

We have an old plow that can be attached to a tractor; our neighbor offered to come over and hook it up to his Oliver so it can be used to turn the soil, after which the soil will receive amendments in the form of beautifully composted manure before it is tilled to receive seeds/transplanted seedlings.

Other projects in the works: Possibly incubating some Guinea fowl and Silkie eggs for live births. Guinea fowl are wonderfully adept at keeping pests under control. Because we have had a relatively warm winter, we have already seen ticks in the area; starting soon, it will be both chickens and Guinea fowl to the rescue!

I am praying for a robust and bountiful harvest; enough to keep us in vegetables all winter long, with plenty left over to share with others.

Tomatoes:
Cherokee Purple
Southern Night
Cour Di Bue
Rose
Brandywine
Jersey Giant
MamaLeone
Pantano Romanesco
The Dutchman

Gourds (might as well give it a try):
Gakhaa Gourds
Bushel Basket Gourds
Other Saved Seed Gourds

Rhubarb:
Victoria Rhubarb

Eggplant:
Diamond Eggplant
Arumugam's Eggplant

Cauliflower/Broccoli:
Cauliflower (Purple Sicily)
Broccoli (Waltham)
Broccoli (Romanesco Italia)

Corn:
Country Gentleman Shoepeg Corn

Carrots:
Parisienne Carrot
Cosmic Purple Carrot
Atomic Red Carrot

Beets:
Mangel Yellow Beets
Crapaudine Beets
Detroit Dark Red Beets

Zucchini:
Lungo Bianco Zucchini
Black Beauty Zucchini

Parsnips:
Guernsey Parsnip

Peppers:
Ozark Giant Pepper
Quadrato d’Asti Rosso
Golden Marconi
Purple Beauty

Beans:
Dragon Tongue Beans

Spinach
Gigante d’Inverno Spinach

Sunflowers:
Tiger Eye Sunflowers
Lemon Queen Sunflowers

Herbs:
Broad Leaf Sage
Common Thyme
Oregano
Echinacea Purpurea
Fine Verde Basil
Cilantro
Rosemary