As soon as we started the garden last year some friends said: “hey, do you want these extra seeds I’ve had for who knows how long?”

I thought, why not?

Then my sister gave me some seeds.

And I couldn’t stop buying seeds.

And we found some amazing local plant growers like Rural Roots, Sideroad Farm, Fiddlehead Nursery, Lacewing Plants and Return of the Native.

Suddenly … I had a lot of plants.

The good, the bad and the ugly.

Winter Chervil was a seed that I got from Hawthorn Farm.

It likes shade and cool weather so it really slowed down in the summer but ended up self seeding and popping up again in fall. It has a long taproot and doesn't like to be transplanted. Sow it directly in the garden where you want it to grow. It benefits from frequent harvests and is an easy herb to grow indoors because it requires less sun than most herbs.

It repels slugs and is an excellent companion for radishes.

It is one of the four herbs included in the French ‘fines herbes' blend with tarragon, chives and parsley.  It loses much of its flavor dried or when cooked too long. In the freezer its flavor should last up to 6 months. Flavor is best in more mature leaves. Pick off flowers so it can't bolt.

We also planted Alaska Mix Nasturtium from Hawthorn. They were tasty and beautiful and I really wished I had saved seeds because Hawthorn is sold out right now.

Nasturtium 

They are drought tolerant, thrive in poor soil and as they decompose they add calcium, nitrogen, potassium and other minerals back into the soil. They make a great ground cover and weed barrier. The leaves have also been used as a natural hay fever remedy by some. 

Flowers and tender young leaves have a mild peppery taste and smell like mustard. 

They contain high levels of Vitamin C, manganese, iron, flavonoids and beta carotene. Leaves have antibiotic properties and are more effective prior to flowering. 

Seeds harvested green are apparently a great de-wormer for chickens. Nasturtiums are also excellent poultry forage. Chickens eat the leaves, flowers and seeds. 

They repel squash beetles, white flies, flea beetles, cabbage root maggots, thrips and leafhoppers. They distract aphids and cabbage moths.

I also bought a Mild Brassica Mix from Hawthorn that was quite good, and a favorite hiding place of my resident praying mantis, but they don't seem to be selling it this year. My sister gifted me some of their Provencal Mesclun Mix and it was tasty too. We also field tested the Field Green Mix and it was pretty much standard lettucey. We’re not big salad people so unless it's interesting it’s taking up valuable space. 

Lovage

These tall perennials have the most beautiful smelling, white flowers in the summer. The taste is a delicious substitute for celery, which can sometimes be tricky to grow. They are prolific producers. 

They are a good companion for potatoes and other tubers or root crops. 

Containing ligulin - a crimson dye when extracted in acidic water, a blue dye when extracted in alkaline - they are a good addition to the natural dye garden as well.

Because of its long taproot it does not like to be transplanted. For best germination sow seeds in the fall where you want the plant to grow. 

I planted these on the west side of the garden to give some afternnon shade. They can be pruned hard if you want more sun getting into the garden, or can be allowed to grow quite tall, up to 8 feet, to provide a living wind break and shade.

Borage

This plant grows to be about 2 feet tall and 1 foot wide. The cucumber flavoured leaves and edible flowers are used in sweet and savory dishes as well as drink garnishes. All parts of the plant, except the roots, are edible or medicinal. Leaves may be eaten at any time but lose flavor quickly. Pick right before you plan on using them for best flavor. Sow every 4 weeks for a ready supply of edible flowers.

It is considered an annual by readily self seeds. 

The bloom period is June and July, attracting butterflies and other pollinators. Plant with strawberries to attract bees and increase fruit production. The blooms produce an excellent honey if you have your own hives. 

It also makes a fantastic green manure because the long taproot pulls up nutrients buried deep in the soil. Because of this it doesn't like to be transplanted. Direct sow where you want the plant to grow. 

I learned how bushy these grow last year when I interplanted them with my summer squash. Next time I’ll use them as an edging plant instead. I dried several plants for a treat for the chickens this winter and they loved it.

I’ve tried Round Black Spanish radish seeds from a friend two years in a row now and have never harvested anything larger than a golf ball that is incredibly woody. I’ve run out of seeds, I won't be retrying them. They mainy went to flower to provide a distraction.

My sister gave me several different smaller radishes to try and they were very pretty. I made kimchi out of some of them and it is wildly pungent. I preferred the wild garlic mustard version I made earlier in the year. Much better taste. 

We also had a random mix of carrots and cucumber last year. 

The cucumber didn't really do much. I think the beans were already too well established on the gazebo for them to get a foothold. The one or two Frankencucumbers I missed went to the chickens. I ended up pickling some cucumbers from my sister’s garden becasue her’s did really well.

We also realized we’re not really carrot people. Barbequed and on top of my Lamb and Prune Tagine maybe, but otherwise we don't really eat them. I made a pesto out of their tops that we ended up using more than the carrots themselves. 

We tried Summer Savory as a companion with the Tongue of Fire beans but it pretty much got shaded out and didn't do much. It may be a perennial, we’ll see. 

I tried growing onions several times. My sister gave me some she started indoors. I direct seeded some. None of them got really big and I forgot them outside and it snowed, hard. So we’ll see what they're doing when the snow clears. I’m assuming they're done. 

There was definitely a lot more this and that but these were the main contenders for 2020. Hopefully all of the information I collected will give you some pointers for what you would like to plant this year.

Next up Potager Lessons 2020