I’ll make this brief so we can get to the good stuff, which is Free Seeds.
Something happened a couple months ago when I started getting death threats for writing this blog. I had my own “put up or shut up” moment and realized that, in writing here, despite what I’d been telling myself about how this blog was just my hobby, I had accidentally created for myself an awesome job, and I had two choices: quit and lick my wounds because sometimes people are jerks, or respect this gig for what it really is.
After the douche-waffle thing, I took a few weeks off and really thought about what the hell I was doing here. In the end I decided that, if the Universe hands you the opportunity for your dream job, you take it and you work hard and you don’t complain. That snapped me out of a kinda anti-consumerist delusion I’d been operating under, this idea that I would be a complete fraud if I got compensated at all for the inordinate time, effort and expense it takes to make this blog happen.
So, anyway, long-story-short, now I have a sponsor. No – I have the best sponsor. When you are a little advertising shy like me, it helps when your first and only sponsor is a small, friendly, super-ethical seed house that believes in the exact same things you do.
Meet High Mowing Organic Seeds
High Mowing Organic Seeds is my new sponsor. They are a 100% organic, GMO-free, farm-based seed house. They are located in Vermont, and grow and trial many of their varieties in-house, but also have partner organic seed growers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Vermont, and New York.
I love them, and here’s why. High Mowing is doing something really important – they are aggressively developing more varieties of seeds that are successful for organic growers. That matters for two reasons.
The Selfish Reason – Organic Adaptation: You know how people talk about how heirlooms are awesome because they have become adapted to certain conditions over generations of seed-saving? Well, the organic thing is no different. Seeds grown from organically grown plants carry genetics that make them better adapted to successful organic culture in the garden or in the field.
Conventionally grown seeds come from plants that probably grew well with a lot of help from high doses of very strong chemical fertilizers, fungicides and herbicides. But you aren’t growing your veggies that way, so why buy seed that is adapted to that culture when organic seeds are more likely to thrive under the backyard organic conditions you’re providing?
The Big Picture Reason – Look, most people growing vegetable seeds are decent folk, but the regulations regarding what can be sprayed on seed crops is far more lenient than what exists for crops grown for human or animal feed consumption. Because of this, it’s pretty easy to spray stuff on your seed crops that you’d never be able to spray on your food crop. The Oregon Department of Agriculture, as an example, grants Special Local Need (SLN) pesticide registrations for crops grown for seed. These give the grower carte blanche to spray…um, basically whatever…as long as they include this message on the wholesale tag:
“This seed was produced using one or more products for which the United States Environmental Protection Agency has not established pesticide residue tolerances. This seed, in whole, as sprouts, or in any form, may not be used for human consumption or animal feed. Failure to comply with this condition may violate the requirements of the Federal Food and Drug Administration, the Oregon Department of Agriculture, and other regulatory agencies.”
That’s just not very comforting, is it?
Stuff like this makes me feel like insisting on organic growing methodologies from seed-to-sandwich isn’t nearly so paranoid as it might seem. And that’s where High Mowing comes in. 100% organic seed production means none of their products are part of the problem, and – in fact – by pushing more seed crop land into organic production, supporting their seeds is nudging acreage towards the solution.
Win Free High Mowing Organic Seeds
Okay, back to selfish…High Mowing is starting off their sponsorship here at NW Edible with a bang by giving away one of their 100% Organic Garden Starter Collections to one lucky reader.
The High Mowing Garden Starter Collection includes 10 seed packets of adaptable, easy-to-grow, organic vegetable varieties (I’ve grown most of these very successfully in the Pac NW) and – bonus!- it comes in a fab, reusable box.
This collection includes one packet each of:
- Provider Bush Bean
- Detroit Dark Red Beet
- Danvers 126 Carrot
- Marketmore 76 Cucumber
- High Mowing Mild Mix
- Gourmet Lettuce Mix
- Cascadia Snap Pea
- Cherry Belle Radish
- Sweet Basil
- Dark Orange Calendula
This collection is valued at $27.50. One lucky winner will get the whole collection for free.
To enter to win, leave a comment on this blog post telling me what vegetable you have the most trouble growing. (Mine is carrots, which is why I am excited to see if this rust fly resistant carrot lives up to the hype.) The winner will be notified by email.
Contest open until Thursday, January 9th at 8:00 PM PST. Contest open to US residents only due to shipping regulations.
Thank you to High Mowing for sponsoring this giveaway. I encourage you guys to go check out High Mowing and request a free catalog. See if you like what you see.
Good luck everyone!
Update: Contest now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered, and to High Mowing for sponsoring this giveaway. Congratulations to winner Joy D, who said, “I started gardening in a field claimed as a community plot for gardeners. Therefore the root veggies were/are the hardest. (I could find no one with a rototiller. When I was a kid my Dad was busy with his rototiller every day after he came home from his job until dark. Helping everyone he could to get a good start in their gardening.)”
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I have the hardest time growing butternut squash. I have planted it for 3 years now and I get them growing well and even get some fruit and then they just rot. I may try them in the greenhouse next year. Still new to gardening but I love it even if all I really do is grow deer food. LOL
Tomatoes get me most upset, owing to the squirrels.
ALERT for any PNW gardener who has trouble growing just about anything:
The first thing that I ask people is if they know whether or not they have symphylans in any of their beds. These creatures can make gardening a soul-killing experience. There are particular crops they love, and those are many. I didn’t find any symphylan references when I searched NW Edible, so I suggest a symphylan collaboration, to get the word out. One can become convinced one is are a terrible gardener when everything comes out bonsai, (or just everything except potatoes, in a particular bed) but it may not be your fault!
(sorry, I posted this erroneously on the Dec. 18th post ad then realized what I had done, it belongs here!…)
This is kind of embarrassing, but radishes keep failing for me. Supposedly they’re super-easy to grow, and are great for kiddo gardeners, but they just don’t happen for me. The greens grow, but the radish bulbs don’t form. Tomatoes, peas, lettuce, pretty much everything else grows for me but radishes.
I have a hard time grow potatoes. I never get much of a harvest and the plants never seem to be that happy.
I seem to have a very hard time growing any kind of peppers – is it the climate or me?
we just moved from southern louisiana to massachusetts….. so next year is my first garden season here…… but in louisiana i had the hardest time with (hanging head in shame) zucchini!! the south is hot an moist (powdery mildew) and full of squash beetles! i did raised beds over our concrete driveway, i grew lots of great stuff….. but not a single zucchini or summer squash. fingers crossed for lots next season! (ps : this was my concrete garden, thought you might like to take a peek : http://www.flickr.com/photos/gypsyforest/5640565142/in/set-72157622868767354 )
Tomatoes! I’m in Vermont and our often rainy summers have really been tough on my tomatoes.
we can have the same problem here in the Pacific NW . I love all the smaller tomatoes. The flavors and size vary so much more than what you see at your local grocery store. I harvest enough fruit to supply family and friends.
Cabbage and Broccoli, the cabbage worms here are terrible!! ZONE 5 Chicago
Lots of things grow well for me here in foggy (then sunny, repeat!) CA, but broccoli is not one of them. Even if I get a bit of it, the aphids get it. Love your blog!
This last year our biggest problem was corn, but for unexpected reasons. Our beds kept getting raided by two-leggers, and efficiently enough that we only managed to save a half-dozen or so ripe ears. It was a little bizarre, and the first time anything of the sort has happened.
Your blog is AMAZING. Love it. Serious ly, you should be paid for it. I can’t grow watermelon. We wait all season for one unripe watermelon.
Congratulations, Erica! You deserve an awesome sponsor, and what you do really is worth compensation. Can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve learned from you. Anyway, in answer to the question of what are people’s growing challenges, I had a freaky hard time with any form of squash this year. I know zucchini are supposed to be a no-brainer, but in the PNW in 2013 I harvested exactly 2. Yes, that is a small single digit. I am ashamed.
My “problem” vegetable seems to vary from year to year. One year I had the most beautiful, big cauliflowers you can imagine, and the last two years they looked like little deformed aliens. Also, brussel sprouts are the one thing the aphids go after every year, though we do manage to get a few to eat.
I have trouble growing green beans and broccoli (PNW east of the Cascades in the Gorge). Beets and carrots, no problem. Carrots I plant when the soil has warmed by putting a board over the seeds until they germinate. Works in both spring and later for fall harvests.
So many entries but I’m going to give this contest a shot and I’ve requested a catalog. Thanks for the background, Erica. I usually buy from PNW companies but I like that they have local seed growers here.
I failed at growing beets this year. The greens would get to about 6″ tall but the bulb would never grow.
I have trouble growing onions….I really want them, too. but they always end up with huge green tops and I dig them and find TINY bulbs….
My failure is carrots also! I always come out with little nubs!
Beets, except for the greens and just about anything harvested from under the ground. No luck at all.
I have trouble with cauliflower and tomatoes. High desert gardening can be tricky!
Despite my efforts, I didn’t get a single cucumber from my Armenian Cucumber crop last year. Congrats on the sponsor!
I have trouble with broccoli. It just never seems to do very well. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong :). I would love to have these seeds.
I cannot grow CAULIFLOWER. It’s very frustrating since I buy cauliflower frequently in the store. I’ve tried several varieties with no luck :(.
I have trouble growing beans/peas. They just don’t want to work for me!!
I have trouble with broccoli. I get gigantic plants with tiny broccoli florets. Also kale! The cabbage moths turn it into lace 🙁
I seem to have problems with everything, I have a deer problem so have been using containers. I can’t seem to get anything to finish. But I will continue to try.
Cucumbers! The aphids/ants always attack, and I can’t seem to save them no matter what I try.
I’ve tried different melons every year, but our growing season just isn’t long enough for them to ripen. Last year we got one watermelon that was the size of a ping pong ball 🙁
Over here in Eastern Washington I’ve actually had a lot of successes. Last year though, all my pumpkins started out great, and then up and died. I’m thinking a cut worm? But I don’t really know. I also have trouble with leaf miners in my spinach and chard. They can really make a mess of my greens fast! Thanks for the lovely give away! I’m new to your blog, and loving it so far 🙂
I have trouble with most root crops, except spuds. Carrots and Turnips always a disappointment. Little grooves eaten all over. I hate to use bugs killers…so I just hit farmers market for those items. But ever the optimist, would love to try again. My husband just built a greenhouse last fall. Ready to get out there and play.
I don’t have enough experience growing anything yet, to know what I would have trouble with. However, it’s on my list for this year; and, hopefully, I will get to find out!
I’ve given up on beets and carrots. Seems like I can grow most things like crazy, but for some reason, these two elude me.
We always have a hard time with root veggies & worm.s eating the fruit before harvest
This was my first year gardening so I failed at a lot of things. Carrots were probably my worst thought because I wanted them to succeed the most (I have fond memories of taking carrots from my grandfathers garden, eating the carrot part, and sticking the greens back in the ground. He would be mad, but not for long). My first attempt failed because the seeds were buried under compacted soil or washed away by a crazy rainstorm that happened two days after I planted. More or less the same thing happened to the second attempt. The third attempt had some decent success but I planted the seeds too close, they never grew that big, and the soil was still so packed down that they weren’t more than 2 to 3 inches long. Next year I guess.
Chinese/Napa cabbage. I’ve kind of pulled it off a couple times but it looks like it’s been shot through with a shotgun because of all the holes chewed in it by baby slugs. The little slugs get down in the leaves, so I can’t figure out how to prevent it!
I’m glad you decided to obtain a sponsor. I’ve bookmarked High Mowing website and will use them this year to supplement my saved seeds. I failed miserably growing cukes last year, even in Seattle’s unusually long and hot summer.
Thank you for continuing on with your blog. Love your writing style. Since stumbling onto your blog from MMM, I’ve been inspired to stop planning my perfect garden yard and start digging. Getting seeds to germinate is our struggle; last year was the first year from seeds. Hoping to improve our success rate this year.
As silly as this sounds, I totally struggle to grow pickling cukes. Makes me crazy – all I want are homemade pickles!!
Every dang year it is different!!! Last year I had a great crop of Brussels sprouts…this year I planted more and I’m still waiting on them (and I’m a stones throw away from Erica’s garden!)
Last year beets did not grow for me (all went to seed), this year I’ve had a great crop….last 5 year no success with broccoli, this year all 5 plants did well!
I’m a stubborn gardener and keep trying, trying, trying new seeds, new varieties and new fruits and veg…makes the garden much more fun that way!
Carrots are my problem children also. I’ve never grown a good tasting (or looking) carrot! Thank you for continuing your blog. I love it, your writing style, and your humor.
Oooo, seeds! For the life of me, I can’t seem to grow strawberries. I’ve tried three years running and all I’ve gotten was two berries – which I didn’t even get to eat thanks to the local squirrel population. Ugh. I really want strawberries in my yard!
Don’t laugh….it’s lettuce. Ok, you can stop laughing now…really. Sure, I get tons of leafy growth, and I get so excited for that first salad! Then I pick it and eat it. There is nothing more disappointing than a mouthful of bitter greens that aren’t *supposed* to be bitter. The lettuce I get from the farmers in our CSA is sweet and delicious, so it is just me, and not the climate. 🙁 One day, I will win and get beautiful, sweet lettuces too!
Cabbage! It’s the groundhogs.
Beets – they grow lovely greens for me (which is very nice of them), but the roots are shy about bulbing out. I get these stringy red things… attached to greens.
Total congrats on the sponsorship! So sorry to hear that you were attacked by “trolls.”
Some people are just nasty examples of the species!
On gardening….we live in a clearing on the flank of Mt Rainier and struggle most with
tomatoes, eggplant and squash……all. raised beds and even with row covers we can’t seem to buffer our nighttime temps…..sigh. But, we keep trying!
Delighted you do the same!
I’ve had trouble with Lima beans…maybe it was the seeds, but I’ve tried several times and couldn’t get them to grow.
I love eggplants and tried to grow them last year to no avail.
I’ve had the hardest time growing beets and carrots. I’m installing drip irrigation this year in my raised beds hoping that will help.
I can’t grow eggplants, my success rate is zero!
Wow, the competition here is fierce. Even if I’m not randomly chosen, I will buy my seeds this year from High Mowing. One of my favorite writers, Janisse Ray, also recommends them (and I recommend her wonderful book, The Seed Underground). I love how outspoken you are and informative and supportive of gardeners, parents and chicken-keepers. Montana’s kind of in the NW, so I feel you speak for those of us struggling with short growing seasons. Keep it up and stay healthy and feisty!
Oops, I forgot that I was supposed to share my greatest gardening challenge. I concur that growing nice big carrots would be nice. Every year my soil gets better and better and one of these years my carrots will be happy to oblige.