Plants, alphabetically

The seeds and plants that I want to grow, with notes on how I want to plant, use, and save them:

Basil, Genovese: (Ferry-Morse) '06 (eek). Annual plant. These seeds are very old, so even though I still have a bunch left I may not keep them. I haven't figured it out yet. Basil helps tomatoes grow better, and it smells fantastic as well.

Basil, sweet: (Ferry-Morse) '09. I'm not sure the difference in variety from the Genovese, but the same principle applies. I haven't even opened this packet yet, and I'll save it for next year.

Basil, lemon/lime mix: (Burpee) '09. I didn't realize at first there were two varieties, and only planted one for this year. We'll see which one comes up! Since they're this year's seeds, I can save the rest for next year and grow one of each to see how each of them tastes.

Beans, garden bush Blue Lake 274: (Ferry-Morse) '07. Green beans are so very useful in just about everything. They can be frozen for later use, and they should produce fairly well. I've got plenty seed left after planting only two; I may consider staggering a few of them as well. These will eventually be planted probably together, and trellised to grow vertically.

Beet, chicago red hybrid: (Burpee) '09. These are the funniest looking seeds I've ever met -- they seriously look like grape-nuts. These can be planted very close together, so I may stagger and grow more than the three I already planted. I don't have a single food recipe for beets, but I know they can be used for dye, and it's not like I can't get more seeds if I want to! I may put them in a larger planter along with other root veg like carrots, parsnips, and the like.

Broccoli, barbados hybrid: (Ferry-Morse) '09. I did not get a lot of seeds in this packet, but both the ones I planted have sprouted. I'm thinking I want to grow more now; plant two seeds per pellet (I have 11 seeds left), maybe stagger them a bit, and freeze them once they're ready for harvest.

Carrot, Long Imperator: (Ferry-Morse) '08. I'll want to stagger more of these. They grow very close together and I can probably pack a ton of them in a single pot along with a lot of the other root veg. I'll have to look up storage options, or just eat the darn things.

Celery, tall utah improved: (Ferry-Morse) '09. These can be frozen, or better yet just eaten right away. I started these a little late this year but it would be nice to stagger these another year. The seeds are new enough I can likely get away with it.

Chives: (Ferry-Morse) '06 (eek!). Perennial -- I shouldn't need to start these more than once. They can be continually-harvested, since they grow from the bottom up, and I can dry or freeze them for later use. They might get their own small pot with that in mind.

Cilantro/Coriander: (Ferry-Morse) '09. Annual, it's a kitchen herb.

Cucumber, Marketmore: (Ferry-Morse) '08. Trellis and train these suckers, and aside from salads I'll want to get some recipes that use these. They might get their own pot or clumped up with something else (maybe the pickle cucumbers?).

Cucumber, pickalot hybrid: (Burpee) '09. Two plants should pretty well keep me occupied (I hope), since they say they produce over a long period of time. They'll probably go in their own pot, maybe with the dill plants and maybe not. Pretty much every single cucumber that comes out of these plants will be turned into pickles, save the ones I'll seed-save.

Dill, fernleaf: (Ferry-Morse) '09. Annual. Two plants will hopefully be enough to keep up with the pickle cucumbers, and I can dry bits until the cucumbers are ready for pickling. If I've room I'll put 'em in with the cucumbers.

Mesclun gourmet greens mix: (Ferry-Morse) '07, '08. I'm going to give it its own planter and randomly sow seeds, adding some every couple of weeks to stagger the plants within the pot. I seriously have A LOT OF SEEDS. Depending on how much we use them I'll plant even more.

Onion, parade (green): (Burpee) '09. These will probably go in among the bigger onions and/or other root-type veg. I might add another four to the four I have now as a stagger, maybe more depending on how I end up preserving them. It's not like they'll take up much space!!

Onion, sweet spanish yellow utah: (Burpee) '08. I didn't realize when I got these that they would be TWO POUNDS EACH!! Haha. Six should hopefully do me for a spell, though I may stagger more (especially if I end up with room to do so).

Oregano: (Ferry-Morse) '09. Perennial, and so very tasty in a lot of foods.

Parsley, italian: (FM 09) It says biennial, but I may plant one every year anyway. I'll probably do a lot of drying, and use it in soups and the like.

Parsnip, harris model: (FM '09) I was so incredibly surprised the first time I had these, I've fallen completely in love with them. Some weird cross between a potato, an onion, and a carrot. I definitely want to stagger these for keeping. Supposedly they can be frozen, and I'll have to investigate that.

Pepper, banana: (FM 08) Two plants, just like the other hot peppers. I'll have to figure how to pickle these successfully, but using them on sandwiches, in chili, salsa, on pizza, and all kinds of things. These are probably my favorite pepper and I'm definitely saving seeds from these.

Pepper, bell green: (SS 4.09) Your standard green 'salad' bell pepper, I have a crapton of these seeds I saved from store-bought peppers. These are probably going to be quite a staple, and I could make some good, good friends by trading them once they're ready. I'll have to look up instructions on how to grow them and the other bells for best effect.

Pepper, bell red: (SS 4.09) They're the Angel's favorite kind of bell pepper, so I planted two for this year. Same goes for these that goes for the rest of the bells.

Pepper, bell orange: (SS 4.09) As many peppers as we have, some variety is nice; it also adds a bit of fun to food with the different colors.

Pepper, bell yellow: (SS 4.09) Same as with the other bells.

Pepper, bell sweet mix: (B 08) This is a mix of red, orange, yellow, white and purple peppers. We went for the mix just to get some variety; every single seed has been planted and we'll see what we end up with when they grow. We're going to be positively swimming in bell peppers. Any purple and white peppers that grow will be seed-saved and kept for future use (not like we won't save the others too, but still).

Pepper, jalapeno: (FM 08)(SS 4.09) A friend of mine has a recipe to pickle them. Two plants from the FM should keep me in jalapenos for quite some time. If both I have sprout, along with some of the other hot peppers, I might put them all close together.

Pepper, poblano: (SS 4.09) Mild, larger peppers; hopefully they can be preserved the same as a jalapeno.

Pumpkin, jack o' lantern: (FM 08) Mostly they're for Samhain; just the one plant should do, and it's probably going to take up a LOT OF SPACE. I'm pondering trying to finagle a way to just set it in-ground, despite the horrid soil we have.

Radish, icicle short top: (FM 08) I'm not a fan of radishes but apparently my husband is, so he gets them. I only have one planted now but I may stagger a bunch to use up some seeds (and they can be planted insanely close together).

Rosemary: (FM '09) It smells fantastic, it looks neat, it's an evergreen perennial, so two plants should do quite well for some time. Pruning them and drying what I don't use immediately will keep me in awesome-smelling stuff for a while.

Sage, broad leaf: (FM 09) Perennial herb for various seasonings. Smells great.

Spinach, teton hybrid (FM 06 07) See Mesclun for all the notes. It's also good for actual cooking, too.

Squash, burgess buttercup (acorn): (FM 09) One plant, same as the butternuts. These want a lot of room, so I'm debating how I want to plant them right now. I might go the route of the pumpkins and try planting it directly in the ground; otherwise I'll probably have to give it its own planter.

Squash, butternut waltham: (FM09) I haven't done anything with butternuts before, but I do know they can be a pain to peel. Supposedly frozen and canned works, but I'd rather see them get eaten. I'll have to see what recipes I like. Planting is the same as the other squashes.

Squash, Early white bush scallop: (FM 09) Decorative, pretty things that can be grilled. Supposedly they can be frozen or canned. We'll probably use some for decoration for Samhain. I need to find out if these can be DRIED and used as rattles!! Planting is the same as the other squashes.

Tarragon: (FM 09) Perennial kitchen herb, probably in a little pot or mixed in with a few other things.

Thyme: (FM 09) Perennial kitchen herb, with pretty flowers if we let it get that far. Frozen is supposedly a good preserving method. We'll have to keep an eye out, as the Angel is allergic to bees.

Tomato, roma VFN: (FM 07) This is my absolute favorite tomato, and I'll ideally have six plants. I'm going to can the CRAP out of these, so with luck I'll get good crops. I'm going to train these suckers pretty well on trellises and really watch them so I can get good yield. I'm hoping for two tomato plants per pot, and a companion basil to go with it.

Tomato, sweetie: (FM 09) These don't preserve as well as other tomatoes, so they suggest only fresh use. They'll go good insalads of various kinds, so i'm not very concerned about keeping them. That's what the romas are for! I'm planning for both in one pot, with a companion basil.

Zucchini, black beauty: (FM 09) Same as for the greyzinis, with a longer maturity time.

Zucchini, butterstick hybrid (yellow): (B 09) Same as for the greyzinis, and they have about the same maturity time.

Zucchini, greyzini (B 08) I love zucchini, particularly grilled (also steamed), and this should work great for summer. I'm not sure about the planting method just yet. They can be canned and frozen, so that'll help keep them well.