5 Year Garden Plan: Buying Seeds

About the middle of January the weather here was FREEZING cold! With the windshield the temperatures reached below zero. While the wind was howling outside, I resisted the urge to annoy Charles by loudly singing "Baby it's cold out SIIIDE!!!" Instead I poured over my seed catalog, coffee mug in hand, and planned my garden for this year.

 I bought from the Botanical Interests website. I bought their seeds last year and was impressed with them. They are a small family-run company who offer a large variety of organic, heirloom, non-GMO seeds. Their prices are reasonable too and their seed packets come packed with information. This year I bought my seeds with the following strategy in mind:

1) Vegetables/Herbs that I buy every week at the grocery store (like tomatoes and cilantro)
2) Vegetables that are the most expensive at the grocery store (like brussel sprouts and peppers)
3) High yield vegetables (like beans and peas)
4) At least 1 vegetable that I'm not familiar with (like Kohlrabi)

And this is the list of seeds I ended up buying:

Bean Bush Blue Lake 274 Organic HEIRLOOM Seeds

Bean Pole Trionfo Violetto HEIRLOOM Seeds

Beet Gourmet Blend Organic HEIRLOOM Seeds

Cabbage Chinese Michihili HEIRLOOM Seeds

Corn Sweet Sugarbaby (bicolor) Seeds

Cucumber Homemade Pickles Organic Seeds

Onion Bunching/Scallion Tokyo Long White HEIRLOOM Seeds

Onion Ringmaster Seeds

Pea Snow Oregon Sugar Pod II Organic Seeds

Pea Shelling Green Arrow HEIRLOOM Seeds

Pepper Sweet California Wonder Organic HEIRLOOM Seeds

Turnip Purple Top White Globe Organic HEIRLOOM Seeds

Rutabaga American Purple Top HEIRLOOM Seeds

Spinach Bordeaux Seeds

Tomato Pole Red Siberian HEIRLOOM Seeds

Tomato Bush Glacier Seeds

Tomato Cherry Sun Gold Seeds

Bok Choy Toy Choy Seeds

Kohlrabi Purple & White Vienna Blend HEIRLOOM Seeds

Micro Greens Savory Mix Seeds

Lettuce Romaine Little Gem Organic HEIRLOOM Seeds

Lettuce Romaine Parris Island HEIRLOOM Seeds

Kale Dwarf Blue Curled HEIRLOOM Seeds

Kale Redbor Seeds

Stevia Organic HEIRLOOM Seeds

Cilantro/Coriander Long Standing Organic HEIRLOOM Seeds

Basil Italian Genovese Organic HEIRLOOM Seeds

Celery Utah Organic HEIRLOOM Seeds

Brussels Sprouts Long Island Improved HEIRLOOM Seeds

Garden Stakes 10/pack

I'm pretty sure I bought way too many seeds (and Charles raised his eyebrows when he found out I spent $70 on seeds), but I'm sure I will have some leftover for next year's garden plus if when this garden is a success I will be saving twice that much each month this summer on my grocery bill AND hopefully have enough to preserve for fall/winter.

I'm also planning on buying some seed potatoes this spring and trying to grow those for the first time as well. What's your favorite thing to grow in your garden every year?

5 Year Garden Plan: The Ultimate Kitchen Garden

I have wanted a huge vegetable garden for years, but our backyard in Greenville was way too small (and the soil too hard) and the last two summers we were living at my parent's house (where we did have a medium-sized successful garden the first year). Now that we have our own place again, and plan on this being our "forever" home I'm dreaming BIG when it comes to my garden.

This is the plan I drew up to visualize my dream and so that as we work on the rest of the landscaping we can keep this in mind and not  put a sprinkler head in the wrong spot or pay to seed an area I want to rip up and plant next year. (Excuse my horrible sketching skills. Charles always laughs at me when I play pictionary)

 While I would love to have my ultimate garden right away the cost is too phenomenal, plus I like having something to new to look forward to each year. This is my "5 Year Garden Plan" and while I'm sure I won't follow it exactly it's nice to see my goals have a timeline.


Year One: Raised Beds and Apple Orchard
Year Two: Fence with Chicken Wire and Arbor with Gate
Year Three: Fruit Bushes and Grape Vines
Year Four: Greenhouse
Year Five: Outdoor dining set


My ultimate goal each year though is to keep a gardening journal so that I remember what grows well in my garden, what we actually eat, how much of it we eat, if it preserves well and take that date and use it to grow the variety of vegetables I grow each year (like tea, pears, endive) and have a garden that work specifically for our family.