What Are We Growing This Year : 2021 Edition

 

We are still learning to garden, as 2021 is only our third gardening year.  My gardens have been planted with cold hardy spring crops in the begining of April and more that 500 seedlings are growing in my house.  It's already mid-May, which means it's GO TIME for us.  All of those seedlings (and more seeds) are going in the ground during the next month.  

I like to keep our objectives in mind when planning our garden and buying seeds.  When it's time to set those objectives, I always ask myself ''What can I grow enough to be self-sefficient?''  With limited space, I often need to be creative.  This year's objectives are similar to the ones we had set for last year.  We also kept space to experience with new crops.


OUR 2021 GARDENING OBJECTIVES
1. Plan 3 distinctive growing seasons (spring, summer, fall)
2. Beans for a year
3. Salsa for a year
4. Pesto for a year 
5. Herbs, fresh and dry, for a year
6. Celery for a year
7. Apples and applesauce for a year
8. Kimchi for a year
9. Pickles for a year : beets, onions, carrots, radishes, cucumbers, jardiniera
10. Experience growing new crops : Quinoa, eggplant, onions, kohlrabi, peas, bok choy, collards, mustard, ground cherries
11. Try selling tomato seedlings and excess tomatoes


Here is a complete list of every VEGETABLES we are growing this year.

BEANS
-Blue Lake FM1 - OSC
-Carmina Purple beans - Veseys
-Chinese Red Noodle Beans - From a seed swap
-Portugese Pole Beans - Gifted from a friend
-Rattlesnake Pole Beans - From a seed swap

BEETS
-Boldor - Veseys
-Cylindra - OSC

BOK CHOY 
-Baby milk - Baker Creek 
-Feng Qing Choi - Veseys
-Purple lady - Baker Creek

BRUSSEL SPROUTS
-Long Island Improved (Sow Easy) - McKenzie

CABBAGE
-Brunswick Cabbage - From a seed swap
-Emico Nappa - Veseys
-Georgia Collard - From a seed swap

CARROTS
-Jaune Obtuse Du Doubs - Baker Creek
-Longues Rouge Sang - Baker Creek
-Nantes coreless (Heiloom) - OSC
-Mixed colors - Jardins de l'écoumène
-Short n Sweet - Mr. Fothergill's

CELERY
-Tall Utha - OSC

CHARD
-Five Color Silver Beet - Baker Creek
-Rainbow chard - Jardins de l'écoumène
-Rhubarb Swiss chard - McKenzie

CUCUMBERS
-Homemade pickles (Aimer Organics) - OSC
-Lebanese Green Fingers - Jardins de l'écoumène
-Lemon cucumbers - Jardins de l'écoumène
-Little Potato cucumbers - From a seed swap

EGGPLANT
-Rose Blanca - from a seed swap
-Diamond - Jardins de l'écoumène

KALE
-Darkibor - Veseys
-Dwarf Blue Scotch - From a seed swap
-Lacinato - OSC
-Redbor - Veseys
-Red Ursa - Jardins de l'écoumène

KOHLRABI
-Early Purple Vienna - Jardins de l'écoumène

LEEKS
-Blue solaise - Jardins de l'écoumène

LETTUCE (Head)
-Buttercrunch - OSC
-Bronze Mignonette - Aimers
-Great Lakes - OSC
-Romaine Heirloom - McKenzie
-Speckles - OSC

LETTUCE (Leaf)
-Grand rapids - McKenzie
-Outrageous Red - OSC
-Red oak - Jardins de l'écoumène

MUSTARD
-Katsuona - Baker Creek

ONIONS
-Green onions - McKenzie
-Tropeana Lunga onions - Baker creek

PARSNIPS
-Harris model - Veseys

PEAS
-Oregon snap peas - Jardins de l'écoumène
-Sugar Ann Snap peas - From a seed swap
-Amish Snap peas - From a seed swap

PEPPERS
-Antohi Romania - Jardins de l'écoumène
-Fish peppers - From a seed swap
-Fresco peppers - From a seed swap
-Green peppers - From a store bought pepper
-Jalapenos - Seeds were gifted to my husband
-Pequin peppers - From a seed swap

RADISHES
-China Rose - From a seed swap
-Easter egg II - OSC
-French Breakfast - Jardins de l'écoumène
-Japanese Manowase Daikon - Baker Creek
-Helios - From a seed swap
-Long White Icicles - Mr. Fothergills
-Malaga - Baker Creek
-Pusa jamuni - Baker creek
-Pusa gulabi - Baker creek
-Watermelon radishes - Jardins de l'écoumène

RUTABAGAS
-Joan - Jardins de l'écoumène

SPINACH
-Bloomsdale Long Standing (Heirloom) - OCS

SUMMER SQUASH
-Cocozelle - Veseys

TOMATOES
-Artisan Blush - Seeds saved from tomato
-Barry's Crazy Cherries - Jardins de l'écoumène
-Black Krim - From seed swap
-Blue Beauty - Baker creek
-Brad's Atomic Grapes - Jardins de l'écoumène
-Dr. Wyches Yellow - Seeds saved from tomato
-Hillbilly Potato Leaf - Seeds saved from tomato
-Principle Boroghese - Baker Creek
-Red pear - Seeds saved from tomato
-Roma tomatoes - 
-Spoon tomatoes - From seed swap
-Sunrise Bumble Bee - Seeds saved from tomato
-Trip-L-Crop - From seed swap
-Yellow pear - Seeds saved from tomato

TURNIPS
-Petrowski - Jardins de l'écoumène

WINTER RADISHES
-Black Round Spanish Radishes - OSC


Here is a complete list of every HERBS we are growing this year.

BASIL
-Basil blend - West Coast Seeds
-Lemon basil - Baker Creek
-Lime basil - Baker creek

CATNIP
-Heirloom - Veseys

CILANTRO
-Heirloom - From a seed swap

CHAMOMILE
-German Chamomile - Veseys

CHIVES
-Heirloom - McKenzie

DILL
-Garden dill - Jardins de l'écoumène
-Fernleaf (heirloom) - McKenzie

LEMON BALM
-Heirloom - From a seed swap

MINT
-Spearmint - Burpee

OREGANO
-Common oregano - Jardins de l'écoumène

PARSLEY
-Curly leafs - Jardins de l'écoumène

ROSEMARY
-Heirloom - McKenzie

SAVORY
-Ancienne d'Acadie - Jardins de l'écoumène

SAGE
-Simplyherb sage - Veseys

TARRAGON
-Sweet Mace - Veseys

THYM
-German thym - Jardins de l'écoumène
-Lemon thym - Bought localy last year


Here is a complete list of every FRUITS we are growing this year

APPLES
-Macintosh

GROUND CHERRIES
-Pineapple - Seeds saved from a local grown ground cherry

MELONS
-Golden Midget Watermelon - From a seed swap
-Kijari melons - Baker Creek
-Minnesota Midget - Baker Creek
-Silver Yamato Watermelon - Baker Creek
-Sugar Baby watermelon - From a seed swap

RASPBERRIES
-Red raspberries - Wild
-Black cap raspberries - Wild



Here is a complete list of every FLOWERS we are growing this year.

ALYSSUM
-Carpet of snow - McKenzie

BORAGE
-Blue - Veseys

CALENDULAS
-Strawberry blond

CALLA LILY
-Captain Ventura white - Florissa

COSMOS
-Lemonade - Burpee

GLADIOLUS
-Glamini mix - Florissa

LILAC
-Already established for 8+ years

LOVE IN A MIST
-White - From a seed swap

MALVA
-Zebrina - Burpee

MARIGOLD
-Drawf french petite mixed - OSC
-Mexican mint 

NASTURTIUMS
-Tip top alaska salmon - Baker Creek

PANSIES
-Bush Strokes Viola - Baker Creek

PIONIES
-Garden Treasure

QUINOA
-Brightest Brilliant - Baker Creek

ROSES
-Italian ice

SALPIGLOSSIS
-Black trumpet - Baker Creek

SHASTA DAISIES
-White - From a seed swap

SUNFLOWERS
-Giant Unknown Variety - Gifted from my husband's grand mother
-Evening Sun - Mr. Fothergills

TULIPS
-Apircot Parrot Tulips - Veseys
-Pretty in pink mixed - Veseys

ZINNIA
-Cactus Flowered Mixed Colours - OSC
-Giants of California Mixed - OSC
-Pom Pom or Lilliput mixed - OSC
-Thumbelina mixed colours - OSC



Most of my seeds are locally grown in my province, Québec, and come from les Jardins de l'écoumène.  On the same website, I also got my 2021 planting calendar for my hardiness zone (zone 5) which indicates the right period to sow seeds inside, when to transplant the seedlings outside or when to start the seeds directly in the garden beds.  

My other seeds  and bulbs come from other Canadian and international companies :
Veseys https://www.veseys.com/ca/
OSC  https://www.oscseeds.com/
McKenzie  https://mckenzieseeds.com/
West Coast Seeds  https://www.westcoastseeds.com/
Baker Creek https://www.rareseeds.com/
Florissa  https://www.florissa.com
Mr. Fothergills https://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/



Have a good growing season!
Mel


Watch my mid-May seedling tour video


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