Victory Garden

Victory gardens were started in WWI and WWII as a means of growing food for the troops and reducing the cost of war. The people felt empowered. Well, we don't exactly do that anymore, but, I say we start victory gardens to fight the war on the economy and the earth. If we all start growing our own fruits, veggies and herbs and sharing the bounty with thy neighbors, we'll learn to love thy neighbors and band together during these lean times. We'll also save money, eat healthier, have safer neighborhoods, save trips to the store, and fuel to fly the veggies across the world to the stores, and keep pesticides out of our back 40. 

You could go the seed share route, or you could do seedlings and coordinate with the neighb's, or just plant some stuff and hand it out on the doorstep or at the office. People will love you! So, become empowered - go plant some stuff, make some friends and be happy in your gardens!

SEED SHARE

OK, now that we've been drooling over all of these great seeds, why not talk about good old fashioned sharing. If you're like me, you want to plant every single vegetable and herb in your garden but only need a plant or two and end up with so many extra seeds. I'd suggest starting a seed share! Share with some friends or neighbors. As a sharing group, pick out which veggies you'd like to grow for the year and divvy seeds and photocopies of the planting directions, or divide and conquer with each person growing seedlings for their assigned crop, such as tomatoes. Which brings me to my next topic... DIY Crop Shares!

SEED SAVERS EXCHANGE Peppers

These peppers are so beautiful and wrinkly! And I'm sure they'd make some great salsa. I like to make jalapeno jelly when I have a whole plant full of jalapenos at the end of the summer and need to use them up. I think it'd be fun to try pickling the peppers too.

SEED SAVERS EXCHANGE Radishes

Radishes add some nice peppery flavor to salads, sandwiches and sushi. These can generally be planted before the last frost in Minnesota. They grow best when the weather is colder, so you can save some of your seeds to plant in the fall for a late crop. These are mature in 30 days! If you have no patience, this is the plant for you!

SEED SAVERS EXCHANGE Squash

Squash is a great thing to grow and store in the basement for a fall or winter meal when you're longing for summer days in the garden. They make good soup and fall decor, too. I love the wrinkly warty one with lavender skin. I'm going to use my dirt driveway as a squash/melon garden this summer since the garage has seen better days. The viney guys need a lot of room to grow, so find a spot where they can go crazy.

SEED SAVERS EXCHANGE Swiss Chard

This swiss chard is a crazy rainbow of colors! It would be fun to plant with kids - maybe the colors would get them to eat their veggies. Cook them up with a little olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. You could also just plant these as a decorative row of rainbow bliss.

SEED SAVERS EXCHANGE Melons

Beautiful melons and watermelons from Seed Savers Exchange! I love putting a concoction of sugar, lime juice and mint leaves on watermelon. It's like eating a mojito. Yum! It might be fun to puree some watermelon to make a pitcher of watermelon juice. Or watermelon mojito! Even yummier! As far as cantaloupe type of melons go, prosciutto and grapes pair very well with it. It can also be pureed for a nice summer cold soup. 

If you want to grow melons, the basic way it works is to make a mound of dirt and stick 5 or 6 seeds in, water and let the vines go crazy. Just be sure to leave a lot of room for them to grow. I've heard that growing melons on that black landscaping fabric helps keep them from rotting. 

SEED SAVERS EXCHANGE Tomatoes

Some of the more interesting tomatoes at Seed Savers Exchange. There's so many things you can make from tomatoes. I'd recommend canning as many as you can for a great treat in the winter. You can also can salsa, tomato juice, and bloody mary mix!

When you plant your seedlings, bury them so that the stem is horizontally coming out of the dirt - seems weird but I think it makes the plant sturdier. And remember to stake your plants and tie them back whenever possible. By the end of the summer my tomatoes usually morph together into a big tangle. The more space you put between plants the better they'll turn out. You might want to try those hanging bags of dirt that you stick plants into. Tomatoes seem to do well in those with their branches hanging downward. Just make sure to water these a lot! If you want to add some water absorbing diaper crystals to your dirt, that will hold water in your bag/basket/pot much longer. You can find these crystals at garden stores. Or rip open a diaper.

SEED SAVERS EXCHANGE Potatoes

Now's the time to order your seed potatoes. They can be planted as soon as the soil can be worked. Seed Savers Exchange has some beautiful purple and red potatoes that might just make the most beautiful potato salad ever! 

KLEHM'S SONG SPARROW Sun Perennials

And here are some interesting sun perennials from Klehm's Song Sparrow.

KLEHM'S SONG SPARROW Shade Perennials

Here's a great collection of shade perennials from Klehm's Song Sparrow. I love mixing green, yellow, red and black foliage together to spice up the shady gardens.