Hello 2009, more seeds!

My husband and I spent New Years day up in snowy Flagstaff, AZ. Living in Phoenix, snow is a very novel thing so we pulled over by the side of the highway as soon as we could, made a sled out of a stiff sunshade for the car and had a great time. It was a clear 55 degree day though my husband was wearing enough gear to get him through a Yukon winter. After sledding and snowball fights we went into town and I stumbled on a used copy of Rodale's encyclopedia of organic gardening for $8 (which I bought with store credit), I found two dimes, then we ate pizza, and bought some carmel on the way back, so it was an all around awesome day.



I am still waiting to receive my seed order from Baker Creek, It seems like it's been forever, though it's only been 4 mail days since I ordered it. I just can't wait to find out what free seed packet they send and get started planting everything. I'll be using my seedling heat mat that I got off ebay for $20 (including shipping) so I can really get an early edge on those tomatoes. All right Christmas money!

Every year gets a general heirloom seed order and a native heirloom order. When I read the rest-of-the-country catalogs where it says that a certain something produces well in the heat, I always have to stop myself from getting excited and realize that they probably mean 88 degrees, not 115+. Sometimes I try anyway. I wish they had a separate zone system for the upper limits of what solar beatdowns plants can take, the closest I get to this is my native heirloom order. We're fortunate to have a place like Native Seed Search in the state that caters to our 'specialized' climate. Nothing as exciting as white tomatoes, tigger melons and ground cherries, but I did order some nice varieties of beans, squash, okra, pollinator-attracting flowers and a few other experimental things. I would show pictures, but I think you all know what black beans look like.

I'm looking forward to 2009 on the tiny farm. We will soon have all 10 chickens laying, over 50 heirloom varieties of fruits/vegetables along with about 30 fruit and nut trees. Most everyone will be pinching pennies this year, but at least urban farming is a fun way to do it.

The front yard garden

I am taking some major steps forward to utilize the front yard as a growing space. We have decided that while the backyard garden has the standard fruit trees and garden plants, the front yard will be entirely native (with the exception of the palms that are already there). I am getting several varieties of seed from a fantastic non-profit in AZ called Native Seed Search. They include varieties of Amaranth (for grain and greens), Black-eyed peas, lima beans, chiles, corn, tepary beans, peas, greens, sorghum, squash, gourds, melons, herbs and even cotton. I am hoping by planting all of these in the front yard where passers-by will see them, I will have a chance to help educate others about them (I'll of course be doing a lot of self-educating first). It also seems like a prudent step to take in case we do get water shortages, these varieties will be easier to sustain in our very hot, very dry climate.

In other news, the incubator got here today! Now I've just got to figure out what to hatch first.