Gardening, Stage 1

Since we are now on a nice little plot of land and not on a cramped suburban lot, one of my dreams finally has room to grow: an enormous vegetable garden! It isn’t as simple as just grabbing a few packets of seeds from Home Depot, though. I wanted to make sure we got varieties that would do well in our area, that were not hybrids or genetically modified, and perhaps most importantly, would produce seeds that would “grow true.” Most of the seeds from the big stores, and from fruits and vegetables you find in the produce section, are developed specifically so you have to buy seed every year, because the offspring plants will not grow the same as the parent, if they germinate at all.

So, I found myself a seed company who specifically sold seed that would produce plants that would produce seeds that would grow the same plant. In other words, heirloom vegetables! They are a Texas company too, which appealed to me, though they do have seeds for northern areas too. You can find them at Texas Ready. We ordered their smallest case, a $140 (after shopping) box of seeds, so that we could try this out and learn this year. I am sure we will order a bigger case as the garden expands! This case has 10,000 seeds with about 75 varieties. I am thrilled with the variety here. Beets, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, lettuces, peas, beans, corn, herbs - soooo much! As a bonus, they come in an ammo box. Can’t get much more Texan than an ammo box filled with heirloom vegetables designed for self sufficiency and sustainability!