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In this discussion group, we introduced ourselves and then jusmped into a discussion on the difference between Heiloom and GMO seeds. What are GMO's? These are genetically modified organisms such as seeds. Are GMO's bad, has corporate America taken control of what we eat? Heirloom seeds come from the original plant. What are hybrids? These are cross bred versions of the original plant, though not a terrible thing to have, in fact most tomotoes are hybrids and have had their poison from the Solanaceae family bred out of them. I personally like to have a variety of tastes, textures, and colors in my food than the colorless, tasteless, tough, tomatos you might find in the grocery stores. A salsa with yellow, red, and burgundy colors is a beautiful thing and tastes fantastic. Here are some local websites to help you in your search for a variety of heiloom seeds: http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com; http://www.victoryseeds.com; and if you're going to purchase from places like territorial seeds, burpee or osborne, be sure to look for their heirloom varieties. Our next topic of discussion was why rotate your crops.
Common edible plant problems and how to handle them:
A.Late Tomato Blight: caused by Phytophthora infestans, susceptible to tomatoes and potatoes, dispersed by splashing water, rain, and wind, begins as water soaked leasions, shriveling leaves, spreads rapidly, entire surface becomes blackened, overwinters in infected material. Avoid splashing water, maintain air flow, rotate crops, remove infected plant material, do not place in compost must be thrown in garbage.
B. Club Root: caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae, susceptible plants are cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and others in this family. Wilting leaves, yellowing, stunting, swollen and distorted roots. Overwinters in the soil as resting spores and can survive 7-10 years! Rotate crops! Do not move soil to another area such as the compost pile.
Unfortunately our compost pile has been disturbed with our shortest summers on record last year from all the diseased tomatos we all threw into it. Just remember there is a green garbage bin for this kind of thing and also your regular garbage such as coffee cups, plastic trays, etc. We are looking into a better solution for our compost pile and if anyone has any suggestions, please email me. We are all volunteers of this garden and are responsible for a few hours of community upkeep. Please do your part. Give me a call or email me for a list of suggested chores.
I had Michael, my new husband, put a calendar on this website and I am going to put up a few suggested dates for plantings from the Farmer's Almanac, a great read by the way. Also, I am looking into purchasing the Maritime Northwest Garden Guide by Seattle Tilth.
If you have anything to add to the discussion, feel free as this is a free website or email me and I can post it for you. I look forward to this years harvest!
Next month, I will go into more detail on companion planting, what plants benefit from each other.If you have more questions feel free to email me at melissarlang@gmail.com or you can call the Garden Hotline at 206-633-0224.
Cool Season :see the calendar for times to sow and plant.
Lettuce, Spinach, Cabbage, Kale, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Chard, Radishes, Carrots, Onions, Peas, Bok Choi.
Warm Season:Tomoatoes, Pumpkins, Peppers, Squash, Eggplant, Beans.
Some of us are interested in purchasing seeds from Cascadian Edible Landscapes in Seattle. They grow flats of seeds for Community Supported Agriculture. Let me know if you're interested in this and we can get figure a way to purchase and distribute the starts. http://www.eatyouryard.com.
What kind of seeds are you going to try this year?
Let's get together and discuss plans for your garden whether it's the type of seed you are going to buy or just what to do next. We have some answers for you and can help.
Location: Bothell Library
Time: 12pm to 2pm
Sunday, January 23rd
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