Today We Ordered Seeds...

Selecting seeds either through a commercial catalog or one's own seed stash seems the gardener's deepest expression of and commitment to hope. Those little seeds come in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors. They embrace a kind of magic or "awe", as they both hold the great gift and great mystery of life. While friends of the gardener, seeds wash over him/her a humility which is nourishment, comfort, and reward. This season of selection reminds us that we plant these seeds but, no matter what we do, the growing inside them is a force far beyond ourselves.

We live in modern age which tests some of these deep spiritual beliefs about gardening and the practical notions of the gardener's (the people's) role in protecting seeds for all time. Our society's obsession with technology and justification of any approach if it returns economic gain create some potholes we need to work through, both as a society but also as gardeners.

We 3 Crawfords are deeply concerned about the loss of genetic diversity of seed stock, the concentration of the "ownership" of seeds in the hands of a few multi-national corporations worldwide, and the manipulation of seeds beyond what would be seen in nature. As a result, we do our best to find heirloom seeds. We feel a commitment toward growing plants that represent diversity of seed stock and somehow connect us to the work of gardeners across time (including our own family members). Seed Savers Exchange, Seeds of Change, and Shumway's offer heirlooms and practices which mirror our concerns. Pinetree Garden Seeds, Johnny's Selected Seeds, Gurney's, Burpee's, and Totally Tomatoes are also sources we used this year.

Today was that magical day we ordered seeds. Here is a sneak peak of our list. This is by no means an endorsement. Plus we have other seeds in our gardener's stash and trees/shrubs already sinking roots into the soil.

Veggies:

• Amaranth (Burgundy, Manna De Montana, Red Garnet)
• Arugula (Apollo)
• Asparagus (Jersey Knight Hybrid)
• Beans (Baby Thorogreen Lima, Blue Lake Bush, French Horticultural, Tendergreen Improved)
• Beets (Beet Queen, Bull's Blood)
• Broccoli (Packman)
• Broccoli Raab (Di Rapa Novantina)
• Brussels Sprouts (Jade Cross, Tasty Nuggets Hybrid)
• Cabbage (Best Kraut, Chinese)
• Cantaloupes/Muskmelons (Ambrosia Hybrid, Amish, Banana, Athena Hybrid, Bidwell Casaba, Boule d'Or, Casaba Crenshaw, Collective Farm Woman Melon, Dessert-Swan Lake, Eden's Gem, Eel River, Gurney Giant Hybrid, Hales Best Jumbo, Haogen, Healy's Pride, Pride of Wisconsin)
• Carrots (Bolero, Danver's Half Long, Nantes Coreless, Negovia, Oxheart, Scarlet Nantes)
• Cauliflower (Early Snowball)
• Celery (Giant Pascal)
• Corn (Bon Appetit, Gotta Have It Hybrid Sweet, Incredible Corn, Mandan Bride)
• Cucumbers (A & C Pickling, Diva Hybrid, Sweet Marketmore, Sweet Success Hybrid)
• Eggplant (Casper, Fairy Tale, Florida High Bush)
• Fava Bean (Windsor)
• Fennel (Florence)
• Kale (Lacinato, Red Russian, White Russian)
• Kohlrabi (Early White Vienna, Kossak Giant Hybrid)
• Leeks (Blue Solaize)
• Lettuce (Amish Deer Tongue, Black Seeded Simpson, Buttercrunch, Bronze Arrowhead, Crisp Mint, Forellenschuss, Gold Rush, Grandpa Admire's, Iceberg, Mascara, Paris Whtite, Red Salad Bowl, Slobolt, Yugoslavian Red Butterhead)
• Mustard (Green Wave)
• Okra (Clemson Spineless, Red Burgundy)
• Onion (Ailsa Craig, Australian Brown, Red Wethersfield)
• Pak Choy
• Parsnip (Hollow Crown)
• Peanuts (Jumbo Virginia Type)
• Peas (Amish Snap, Eclipse, Green Arrow, Maestro, Sugar Ann, Super Sugar Snap)
• Pepper (Banana Bill Hybrid, Beaver Dam, Big Chili II Hybrid, Bulgarian Carrot Pepper, Buran, Costa Rican Sweet, Garden Sunshine, Jalapeno Goliath Hybrid, Purple Beauty, Quadrato Asti Giallo, Sweet Goliath Hybrid, Sweet Red Ruffled Pimento, Yummy)
• Popcorn (Giant Yellow Hybrid, Snow Puff White Hybrid)
• Potato (All Blue, Caribe, Carola, Red Gold)
• Pumpkin (Amish Pie Squash, Rouge Vif d'etampes)
• Quinoa (Faro)
• Radicchio (Red Surprise)
• Radish (Cherry Belle, French Breakfast, German Giant Parat, Minowase)
• Rutabaga (Joan)
• Sesame (Afghani)
• Soybean (Shirofumi)
• Spinach (American, Bloomsdale Long Standing, Nobel, Red Malabar)
• Summer Squash (Black Beauty Zucchini, Summer Crookneck, Woods Prolific Bush Scallop)
• Swiss Chard (Five Color Silverbeet, Fordhook Giant)
• Tomatillo (Green Husk)
• Tomato (Big Beef Hybrid, Brandywine, Celebrity Hybrid, Crnkovic Yugoslavian, Druzba, Early Girl Hybrid, Early Goliath Hybrid, Green Sausage, Homestead, Hungarian Heart, Isis Candy Cherry, Italian Goliath Hybrid, Moonglow, Nyagous, Old German, Original Goliath Hybrid, Principe Borghese, Speckled Roman, Suncherry Extra Sweet Hybrid, Sunsugar Hybrid, Sweet Baby Girl Hybrid)
• Turnip (Just Right Hybrid, Purple Top White Globe)
• Watercress
• Watermelon (Crimson Sweet, Melitopolski, Orangeglo, Sweet Dakota Rose)
• Winter Squash (Anna Swartz Hubbard, Boston Marrow, Buttercup, Gaileux d'Eysines, Guatemalan Blue Banana, Hopi Orange, Lady Godiva, Table Queen, Waltham Butternut)

Fruits/Berries:

• Blackberries (Darrow)
• Gooseberry (Pixwell)
• Raspberries (Red Latham)

Herbs (Culinary and Medicinal):

• Anise
• Basil (Genovese)
• Bee Balm
• Beneficial Insect Attracting Flower Collection (Calendula, Cilantro, Fennel, Feverfew, Korean Licorice Mint, Sweet Alyssum, Yarrow)
• Black Cumin
• Calendula
• Caraway
• Chamomile (German)
• Cilantro
• Cumin
• Dill (Grandma Einck's)
• Elecampane
• Fenugreek
• Horehound
• Hyssop
• Lavender (English, Lady, Munstead)
• Lemon Balm
• Lemon Grass
• Marshmallow
• Milk Thistle
• Parsley (Giant from Italy, Triple Curled)
• Spearmint
• St. John's Wort
• Valerian

The gardener smiles at this season. With those orders and sorting through those carefully stored seed stashes, the gardener has an eye on the growing season just around the corner. While winter brings a welcome rest, reflection, and planning, that season of growing is on its way. Perhaps it began on this day. And those seeds were first planted in me.