Beginning Anew

This is my fifth year that I'll be starting my veggies from seed.  I usually buy from Vesey's, as they have a wonderful selection, but last year I was convicted to find more heirloom seed. While I was in Syracuse, I stopped at Wegmans (best grocery store in the universe!) and found a rather heavy seed catalogue from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company.

Wow. Sorry it's fuzzy, I have no idea why my computer did that.  So upon flipping through and discovering that they had over 100 varieties and in seven different colours and they are ALL HEIRLOOM, which means ALL ORGANIC, I knew I had to pay the $8 for the catalog and cart it home.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to only choose 11 tomato types? Oof. But I did. I bought tomatoes, cabbages, carrots, lettuces, herbs etc...and in a nutshell, let me say, that I was not disappointed with the results.  However, I didn't get to eat too many of their productions because we were in the process of moving and well...the fall is a bad time to move vegetable plants. So I sold what I could and the rest was left behind.

And now a new year.

We have recently purchased a gigantic amount of land, and my mind runs amok when I think of all the possibilities. I have magazines galore, most of them from Mother Earth News and Urban Farm.  I'm researching permaculture, biblical planting, square-foot gardening (big shout out to Mel Bartholomew!), planting in rows...it's exhausting. Especially when you know what you want to do, but aren't too sure if it'll actually  happen.

So here are the goals for Pemberley Farm this year:

1- vegetables
2- herbs. Many herbs.  Many which will bring in the honeybees.
3- apple trees. Not sure how many to buy, where to plant, or what to buy.
4- propagation.  I'm huge into propagating. We have black cherry trees that are getting to big. We need more black cherry trees = propagate! And some gorgeous yellow birch. And ironwood.
5- plant wheat and quinoa and amaranth
6- chickens. Layers and meat birds.
7- a greenhouse.  Maybe something off the third door. Or something you don't heat. Not sure yet.
8- harvest food and sell, store, eat.

To be clear, Vesey's is a great seed company and they're Canadian. I have purchased bulbs, fruit trees and seeds from them and have yet to be disappointed.  I like Baker Creek because their more into non-GMO seeds, it's run by a small, young family, and their selection is incredible.

Happy Seed Selecting!