Plant Sale Preview 2010
Now is the time for all good gardeners to purchase, plan and/or begin planting their seeds for the upcoming growing season. This process also gives us hope that in these long, cold days of late winter, spring is on its way bringing with it, warmth and renewed hope for the growing season.
I am in the process of doing just that and I thought that I would share with you the types of vegetables and plants that I will be offering (if all germinates and grows according to plan) for the 3rd Annual CCAC Garden Plant Sale benefiting the children’s garden. The approximate date for the sale will fall within the last week of May/first week of June.
Please take this time to make a request for a specific variety or just provide feedback on what will be available. This information is very helpful for me.
Vegetables
Whenever available, I like to grow heirloom seed varieties. Heirloom varieties are open-pollinated (non-hybrid) plants that were commonly grown throughout history, but which are not offered through large-scale agriculture. Through the growth and sharing of these seeds, varieties that have survived 50 – 100 years or, the case of grains, hundreds of years are able to persist today rather than going extinct.
Growing heirlooms also help to expand a child’s understanding of what a fruit or vegetable can be. Rather than thinking that the grocery store offering is the limit of what defines a tomato, for example, they learn that tomatoes can be all kinds of colors, shapes, sizes and flavors.
Tomatoes
To be offered are heirloom varieties beefsteak, cherry and mid size varieties in many colors. Among the varieties to be offered are:
Tomato – Southern Nights – a black/red beefsteak (Russian Heirloom) |
Tomato – Crimson Cushion – a red HUGE beefsteak |
Tomato – Watermelon Beefsteak – old variety dates back a century and produces lightly scalloped pink beefsteak tomatoes |
Tomato – Peace Vine Red Cherry – 3/4″ delicious red tomatoes |
Tomato – German Red Strawberry – red, oxheart-shaped tomatoes (German Heirloom) |
Tomato – Yellow Pear – little yellow pear shaped tomatoes |
Tomato – Tigerella – red/orange stripes |
Tomato – Chocolate Stripe – mahogany colored with dark, olive green-striping |
Peppers
A popular category – especially hot peppers – so I will offer mainly hot varieties for sale including:
Habanero Pepper |
Cayenne Pepper |
Cherry Pepper |
Serrano Pepper |
Pequin Pepper |
Veggies
Additional vegetable offerings will include:
Cucumber |
Bright Lights Chard – colorful, very healthy |
Fringed Kale- colorful, decorative, very healthy |
Tomatillo |
I will also have plants that fall within the following categories:
Herbs
Many type of basils |
Shallots |
Garlic |
Chives |
Annuals
Perennials
Houseplants
Blooming vines
Please let me know what you think and let me know if you have questions by posting here, dropping me an email or catching me on a Wednesday afternoon when I am in Child Life.
Melissa responds:
Posted: February 26th, 2010 at 12:42 pm →
Hey Chris–What (if anything) can I grow in pots? Need some fun stuff for my urban patio garden! Thanks! :]
Chris V. responds:
Posted: February 26th, 2010 at 2:48 pm →
Hi Melissa,
There are many plants that you can grow in a container. These include:
Many, if not most, pepper plants
Bush cucumbers (cucumbers bred to grown on short vines)
Small tomato varieties
eggplant
greens such as kale, chard, lettuce, spinach
Any herbs like basil, chives, garlic, oregano…
You can even grow perennials as well as annuals which is often a good idea to attract pollinators to your plants.
Keep in mind that a bigger pot (12″ or more in diameter) is better for the heavy feeders like the tomatoes, peppers, etc. The pot size determines the plant size in many cases. Fertilization is important as is keeping the containers watered. But you can have a very nice container garden.
Susan Hogan responds:
Posted: March 3rd, 2010 at 4:02 pm →
Hi Chris, You always do such an awesome job with unusual perrenials. My amaranths are the envy of my friends. I can’t wait to see what you have this year!
It is great to even think about planting now – a real sign of spring coming!
Thanks,
Susan
Beth Friedman responds:
Posted: March 10th, 2010 at 1:17 pm →
Can’t wait!!!
George Clooney responds:
Posted: March 15th, 2010 at 1:35 pm →
As always, I will be looking for some colorful perennials. Any help is always appreciated.
Chris V. responds:
Posted: March 15th, 2010 at 5:17 pm →
Oh George, you know I’ll be happy to help anytime