Seed Exchange!

[mousme]

I'm going to the seed exchange on Sunday with ai731! Whee!

The problem is that I have WAY more garden ideas than I actually have room in the garden. Uh, oops?

Part of me is squeeing and declaring "I want lettuce and carrots and tomatoes and peppers and onions and ooh! maybe I should try broccoli again, and what about chives and leeks and potatoes and of course I'll need several varieties of squash and zucchini and I wonder if cucumbers can grow in this climate and..."

The other part of me is trying desperately to put on the brakes: "Uh, yeah. Where exactly were you planning to plant all that?"

Eesh.

Comments

[mellybean71.livejournal.com]

What about window boxes for the herbs and smaller stuff? Can you plant stuff against the fence or shed and get it to grow up it?

[ai731.livejournal.com]

*nod* Last year I grew beans in big pots on the front porch.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

I have to invest in some large pots. I think it's the only way I'll be able to get some of what I want to grow.

[sorceror.livejournal.com]

You have a roof, right? ^_^

[zercool.livejournal.com]

Go talk garden stuff with talkingmute12, more commonly known as my Other Half. She's already got two flats started and is plotting out dozens more. :)

[talkingmute12.livejournal.com]

Seed exchange?!

[talkingmute12.livejournal.com]

all right, now that I'm not being rung for...

I NEED DETAILS!!!!!

[mousme.livejournal.com]

I've never been before, and now that I'm at work I don't have the link or anything useful to show you.

It's basically an agricultural/horticultural event that goes on for several weeks. This Sunday there's a seed exchange, which is a bit of a misnomer, as I believe one can simply purchase seeds as well as exchange them. It's taking place in Montreal, where I live, this coming Sunday.

[talkingmute12.livejournal.com]

If I get my seed list online would you be interested in swapping? I'd have to make a "Wanted" list if I do that...

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Sure! That being said, I have no seeds right now. This is my first year starting a garden. :)

[zercool.livejournal.com]

At risk of raining on your parade, what are the legalities of shipping seeds across international lines?

[mousme.livejournal.com]

No idea. Will have to look into it.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Looks like we're okay for small quantities of seeds. Nothing above 500g for small-seeded crops, and nothing above 5kg for large-seeded crops. In other words, swapping seeds for private use is okay.

Information taken here.

[ai731.livejournal.com]

Oh good. I mailed 50 purple-podded pole bean seeds to New York State last month, and figured that so long as the postmistress didn't ask me what was in the envelope, I wasn't going to worry about it, since I know I wasn't exporting any nasty bugs or diseases. Nice to know that it was actually legal and all.

[chasingthenuns.livejournal.com]

cucumbers can grow up a trellis or fence; it saves a lot of space to do it this way. as far as your climate i have no idea though. lettuce is really good to grow in pots; less bunnies eating it and less dirt. also, you need less tomato plants than you think you do. i learn that the hard way every year.

[ai731.livejournal.com]

Cucumbers will grow fine in our climate, and quite happily up the fence. I just never figured out how to stop the squirrels from eating them before they were ripe.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking booby-traps, Indiana Jones-style. Rolling boulders and poisoned fléchettes. :D

[chasingthenuns.livejournal.com]

i've never had squirrels eat mine, but i suppose you could try a spray of water, red pepper flakes, and garlic. that's what i do to keep bugs away. just make sure you wash the cucumbers before you eat them.

[ai731.livejournal.com]

I used liberal amounts of a water/Tobasco sauce mix on the tomatoes last year with limited success. Covering the plants with netting worked better.

Where are you planning to plant all that?

[kiwano.livejournal.com]

Why, you interplant them, of course. Just look at your vegetables, and which of them grow predominantly above-ground as opposed to below-ground, what are their growing seasons, which are nitrogen givers vs. takers. Forget putting on the brakes; look into good sets of companion plants, and laugh shamelessly at the part of yourself that would have set aside 3 distinct plots for corn, beans, and squash (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Sisters_(agriculture)).

mirandaaskew's front garden is all of maybe 2' by 6', and supports plants which can yield (depending on the weather) somewhere in the neighbourhood of a bushel of tomatoes, 3-4 butternut squash, some unestimated quantity of garlic, chives, (black) mustard, savory/oregano, and I'm sure a few other plants that I'm forgetting.