April 7, 2009
First MAJOR lesson of the farming experiment:   Know what you’re buying. I was careful to select good cultivars of the different crops I wanted to grow. I was not careful to purchase FRESH seeds. That can be the only explanation for my frustration. I planted two 6 foot rows of garden peas back in february, which should have produced a dozen or so pea plants. Four have shown up; two of the four are wilting. So I only have hope for two little pea plants (one of which is shown above). To top it off, the two plants that are left are about half the size of the pea plants my stepfather-in-law planted 2 weeks after I planted mine. He and I agree that the only explanation is old seeds. But the peas aren’t the only ones affected. I also planted a ~24 foot row of Bibb lettuce. Not a single plant has come up. I planted 2 six foot rows and 1 four foot row of carrots, which should give us about 8 dozen carrots, thus far I think I can see about a dozen little sprouts. Not good. As much as I prefer to buy locally and support the little man, this is a tough pill to swallow. At minimum I’ll begin asking if what I’m buying is this year’s seed. I’m considering just buying from seed catalogs. Bummer….

First MAJOR lesson of the farming experiment:   Know what you’re buying.

I was careful to select good cultivars of the different crops I wanted to grow. I was not careful to purchase FRESH seeds. That can be the only explanation for my frustration.

I planted two 6 foot rows of garden peas back in february, which should have produced a dozen or so pea plants. Four have shown up; two of the four are wilting. So I only have hope for two little pea plants (one of which is shown above). To top it off, the two plants that are left are about half the size of the pea plants my stepfather-in-law planted 2 weeks after I planted mine. He and I agree that the only explanation is old seeds.

But the peas aren’t the only ones affected. I also planted a ~24 foot row of Bibb lettuce. Not a single plant has come up. I planted 2 six foot rows and 1 four foot row of carrots, which should give us about 8 dozen carrots, thus far I think I can see about a dozen little sprouts. Not good.

As much as I prefer to buy locally and support the little man, this is a tough pill to swallow. At minimum I’ll begin asking if what I’m buying is this year’s seed. I’m considering just buying from seed catalogs. Bummer….

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