PDA

View Full Version : Self Sustaining Living: Gardening



Mr. Freeze
12-31-2013, 11:36 AM
I am really big on living anarchism and being the change I want to see in the world. Not only do I raise pigs but I also work with seed banks and believe in growing my own food.

This company "Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds" have a neat homestead set up that you can visit once a year. I just got my catalog in the mail and ordered my seeds for the year.



http://www.rareseeds.com/


Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Jere Gettle always had a passion for growing things, and at age 3 he planted his first garden. Ever since that day, he wanted to be involved in the seed industry. So at the age of 17, he printed the first small Baker Creek Heirloom Seed catalog in 1998. The company has grown to offer 1600 varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs—the largest selection of rare, heirloom varieties in the U.S.A.


http://www.rareseeds.com/assets/1/7/2014catalogpart1-1.jpg (http://www.rareseeds.com/request-catalog/)Baker Creek carries one of the largest selections of seeds from the 19th century, including many Asian and European varieties. The company has become a tool to promote and preserve our agricultural and culinary heritage. Our company and seeds have been featured in The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/15/magazine/15food-t-000.html?_r=0), The Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323648304578495062906227352), The Associated Press, O, The Oprah Magazine (http://www.oprah.com/world/Heirloom-Seeds-for-the-21st-Century-Gardener), NPR, (http://www.npr.org/2011/10/07/141012824/gardener-gives-heirloom-life-to-forgotten-flora) Martha Stewart, and many others. Gardeners can request a free 212-page color catalog (http://www.rareseeds.com/request-catalogUS/) or buy our 356-page Whole Seed Catalog (http://www.rareseeds.com/the-whole-seed-catalog-/). We now distribute to 430,000 catalogs to gardeners nationally.


Baker Creek started hosting festivals in 2000 as an idea to bring gardeners, homesteaders and natural food enthusiasts together to exchange thoughts, seeds, listen to speakers and enjoy vendors, old-time music and much more. These festivals gave birth to the idea for our pioneer village, Bakersville. Other projects include our trial gardens, seed collecting expeditions, our popular online forums at idigmygarden.com and educational produce exhibits.
Over the last several years, Jere Gettle and his wife Emilee have branched out into other related projects as well, including the nationally distributed, Heirloom Gardener magazine (http://www.rareseeds.com/resources/magazine/), which is now in its tenth year of publication. They have also expanded to a location in Sonoma County (http://www.rareseeds.com/get-to-know-baker-creek/petaluma-seed-bank/), California, in the beautiful town of Petaluma. Their most recent project is the restoration and preservation of the Wethersfield, Connecticut landmark, Comstock, Ferre & Company (http://www.rareseeds.com/get-to-know-baker-creek/comstock-ferre/), the oldest continuously operating seed company in New England. They have written two books with Hyperion, a division of ABC/Disney. These works feature heirloom vegetables and their work with seeds and food.


They also work extensively to supply free seeds to many of the world’s poorest countries, as well as here at home in school gardens and other educational projects. It is their goal to educate everyone about a better, safer food supply and fight gene-altered, Frankenfood and the companies that support it.



All of our seed is non-hybrid, non-GMO, non-treated and non-patented.
We do not buy seed from Monsanto-owned Seminis. We boycott all gene-altering companies. We are not members of the pro-GMO American Seed Trade Organization! We work with a network of about 150 small farmers, gardeners and seed growers to bring you the best selection of seeds available! Many of our varieties we sell were collected by us on our travels abroad.



I've had a lot of luck with their seeds on my rooftop garden in Brooklyn and in Virginia last summer. I highly recommend them.

I also like Seeds of Change but they are moving more to large scale things like alfalfa.


I love salsa so I grow a lot of different types of tomatoes. My favorite or a sweeter salsa is the Purple Calabash

http://www.rareseeds.com/assets/1/14/DimRegular/Purple-Calabash-Tomato-web.jpg

donttread
12-31-2013, 12:10 PM
I've ordered from Baker before. I tried to go with more heirloom seeds vs. plants last year but had an awful year. Grew beautiful plants but horrible production compared to a great year in 2012. Factors might include and extremely wet spring and early summer interfering with pollination and the use of poorly composted horse manure , but it was very discouraging. I do grow both Sunchokes and groundnut and want to look at perennial "weed" gardening more seriously this year. Any suggestions?




I am really big on living anarchism and being the change I want to see in the world. Not only do I raise pigs but I also work with seed banks and believe in growing my own food.

This company "Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds" have a neat homestead set up that you can visit once a year. I just got my catalog in the mail and ordered my seeds for the year.



http://www.rareseeds.com/




I've had a lot of luck with their seeds on my rooftop garden in Brooklyn and in Virginia last summer. I highly recommend them.

I also like Seeds of Change but they are moving more to large scale things like alfalfa.


I love salsa so I grow a lot of different types of tomatoes. My favorite or a sweeter salsa is the Purple Calabash

http://www.rareseeds.com/assets/1/14/DimRegular/Purple-Calabash-Tomato-web.jpg

Mr. Freeze
12-31-2013, 12:13 PM
donttread

I had the same problem due to the wet and the shift in season. I am compensating this year by starting earlier indoors and putting sand at the bottom of those raised beds and then layering it with compost and earth.

My compost is: scraps, manure, lime, and worms. How about you?

Ethereal
12-31-2013, 12:51 PM
Here is a very good file I found on native species in Virginia: http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/ANR/ANR-23/ANR-23NP_pdf.pdf

Mr. Freeze
12-31-2013, 12:56 PM
Here is a very good file I found on native species in Virginia: http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/ANR/ANR-23/ANR-23NP_pdf.pdf

I'm about to go. Mom called to say things are good. I guess I have guests this weekend Ethereal. Don't worry I'll put you to work.

I found 2 of these trees native on the land and I'm ordering more to plant. You can use them in anything you use banana for.

http://www.eattheweeds.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/paw-paw-fruits.jpg


Talk to you soon, and Happy New Years.

donttread
12-31-2013, 09:17 PM
Not much luck composting yet, I need to build a composter



@donttread (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=922)

I had the same problem due to the wet and the shift in season. I am compensating this year by starting earlier indoors and putting sand at the bottom of those raised beds and then layering it with compost and earth.

My compost is: scraps, manure, lime, and worms. How about you?

countryboy
12-31-2013, 09:29 PM
Yeah, I had a crappy year too. I think I actually added too much organic matter. Not going to amend the bed at all next year and see what happens. I even did a ph test and adjusted with lime, because leaf compost tends to be on the acidic side.

Germanicus
01-01-2014, 02:15 AM
I have a war garden. (:

5151

Or victory garden.

5152

fyrenza
01-01-2014, 03:24 AM
I'll get back to this, but DO, in the meantime, look up the ... circular pyramid gardening that is being done in Africa ~ low water needs, and max production. It was in National Geographic, I think. Perhaps one of my gardening mags. Whatever.

donttread
01-01-2014, 10:45 AM
Great group and thread, I've ordered my Baker catalog and heirloom gardener book and I'll be back for more advise.

Ethereal
01-01-2014, 10:49 AM
I'll get back to this, but DO, in the meantime, look up the ... circular pyramid gardening that is being done in Africa ~ low water needs, and max production. It was in National Geographic, I think. Perhaps one of my gardening mags. Whatever.

Like this?

http://www.gardenharvestsupply.com/ProductCart/pc/Durable-Nylon-Netting-for-the-Pyramid-Space-Saver-p794.htm