I got my first seed catalog of the year! Seed catalogs are great entertainment during the long winter. This year, I noticed something disturbing, though. The seed packets were much higher than I remember them being, and several of my favorites were labeled “crop failure.” Get your seeds early or they might not be available.
Seeds Froze
It turns out that Winter Storm Uri, the horrible February 2021 storm that shut down Texas and other areas of North America, ruined a lot of seed crops. Those that survived were hard to harvest because the pandemic had everything shut down and harvest workers were hard to come by.
Get Your Seeds Now
Consequently, it is important to get your seeds much earlier this year than the typical last week of December/first week of January. Waiting that long will mean you will see many seeds sold out. Even if you get seeds, the USPS is much slower this year, so it will take longer for your order to arrive.
Growing in a Community Garden
I moved into an apartment in Dallas, Texas in January 2020. It killed me not to have an area to grow a garden, so I got more African violets, which I also grow. They did not totally scratch my growing itch. I have applied for a plot, or allotment as the British say, so I can grow vegetables in 2022.
Tomatoes and Peppers
I will be starting my seeds or direct sowing them, depending on the crop. The tomato and pepper seeds came from Tomato Growers Supply. I do not think I have used them before. Look for a review in early 2022.
The Rest of the Seeds
The rest of my seeds are from Renee’s Garden Seeds. I have used her before and liked the seeds and service so much that I wrote a review of the place. The garden plot is strictly organic only, which I prefer, so her untreated and heirloom seeds were perfect. I got seeds for ‘Little Firebirds’ Hanging Basket Nasturtium to plant, too. The flowers are edible.
Buy Plants Locally
I plan to buy my onions and potatoes to plant from my local nursery, North Haven Gardens. It is always a good idea to buy from a local nursery that will have the right varieties for your area. I plan on getting Mexican Marigolds from them to plant around my tomato plants to keep root-knot nematodes and other pests off of my tomatoes.
Follow Along
I lived in Hunt County for almost twenty years before moving back to Dallas. In Dallas, I can start crops earlier because of the urban heat island. Look for lots of pictures so you can follow my garden’s progress. You will find out what I planted and why. I got many seeds but won’t have room for melons and will be growing squash and cucumbers on trellises due to space constraints. The community garden grows food for local soup kitchens and food banks, so I got one of almost everything else to grow. I will keep what I want and donate the rest. No more leaving bags of squash on people’s porches!
Bad Soil
Here in Dallas, the soil is black gumbo. I will be using a raised bed to grow my plants in, so they do not have to grow in the native soil. The bed is only raised about 12 inches, but that will be adequate for most things. The root vegetables may stop growing when they get to the bottom of the bed, but the above-ground produce will be happy.
When I moved, my Dad got custody of my shovel and rake. I will be taking them back from my sister’s house when I go there today for Thanksgiving. I can’t wait to start playing in the dirt again.
Want to learn to garden? My first attempt at gardening ended up in failure. The weeds took over and squeezed the vegetables out. I was very frustrated by this waste of good seed, time, and money. So I became a master gardener and spent a lot of time helping other people avoid or overcome problems in their garden.
In order to help others garden successfully, I have written a book, Vegetable Gardening from the Ground Up, available in an ebook or a paperback from Amazon. It is also in Kindle Unlimited.
