Time To Order Seeds

It’s another frigid winter day in January with a high of about 16oF.  So what did I do?  I spent most of the day thinking warm, sunny thoughts about my garden.  There’s nothing that warms me up more – at least in mind, if not body – than looking at seed catalogs.  The colorful pictures allow me to dream of the abundance I hope to harvest in just a few months, when I can feast on fresh-picked, homegrown vegetables, rather than the dull, winter stuff at the supermarket.

Copyright © Max Strieb 2018

I looked at all the seeds unused from last year and tallied up all that I need to order.  I looked through the seed catalogs to see if there are any new, exciting varieties and to see what vegetables I should grow that I’ve never tried before.

This year I plan to try two new varieties of beets – Golden Detroit, which are the color of the summer sun, and Chiogga, which displays a red and white bullseye when cut in cross section.  I hope to slice them thin using a mandolin and add them to traditional red beets, to make a colorful beet salad.

I am switching the variety of Shishito pepper I grow.  I grew Shishitos last year for the first time and loved them seared in a bit of oil with sea salt.  They were a great new addition to my small plates menu, especially alongside a Chinese-style pork dumpling.  Unfortunately none were spicy.  I love the game of Russian roulette you play with other varieties of Shishito peppers, never knowing if you are going to get one of the 10% that are spicy.  The new variety – Takara Hybrid – promises that we will all take our chances when we munch on them in the summer.

Since I was young, a family staple has been homemade refried beans, which we make spicy with a type of chili known to me as long hot peppers.  I didn’t know that these peppers have a history in Italian families in the Philadelphia region where I grew up, where they are known as “long hots” or “Italian long hots” and are prepared by frying or roasting with olive oil and garlic.  While I can find them in some supermarkets on Long Island where I now live, this year I decided to grow my own.  The problem was finding seeds; none of the seed catalogues or companies reference them.  It took an hour or two of research to discover that they may be a variety known as Mesilla peppers, and it took more effort to locate a source of seeds.  Luckily I found a supply and they appear to be as easy to grow as any pepper.

This year I also plan to try pole beans in addition to my traditional bush beans.  I have no idea why I have always grown bush beans rather than pole, but they have always been one of my most successful crops.  I guess I never saw a reason to switch.  This year we’ll see how a small crop of pole beans does and whether a transition is in order.

I am adding a new type of tomato this year as well – Yellow Pear – a small, sweet heirloom with pear-shaped fruits, an inch or two long.  They will look beautiful with tomatoes of other colors, shapes, and sizes in a summer salad in late August.

Finally, I am trying a new cucumber, a burpless Persian variety known as Summer Dance Hybrid, which promises thin skin, sweet flesh, and minimal seeds.  I hope it is a welcome addition to my usual Kirbys.

While the cold wind blows outside today, I can only dream with anticipation of the bright colors and fresh tastes my harvest will bring in just a few months.  I can’t wait to incorporate these varieties into new recipes and menus.

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