Who are the people in your eco-neighborhood? The Gardening Expert

The weather is warming up, birds are chirping, and days are getting longer.  Nothing says Spring like new little seedlings popping out of the ground.  Over at Tread Light Gifts, we can’t get gardening out of our minds.  It’s so much fun to put something in the grow and watch it develop into our dinner.  We are not expert gardeners, so when we need advice on what to plant and how to get those nasty slugs out of the garden, we turn to Josh Kirschenbaum, Product Development Director, at Territorial Seed Company . We recently had the chance to talk with Josh about some of our burning questions about seed selection and more.

There are so many places and choices for buying seeds.  How do we know who or what seeds to buy? Are all seeds equal?

All seeds are not created equally! There are several factors to look at when deciding whom to purchase seeds from. First of all, Territorial Seed Company does extensive trialing each year to make sure that the varieties offered in our catalog are the best varieties for home gardeners. Other seed companies might be geared more to commercial growers and the varieties that they offer might not be the best for the home gardener. When we look at varieties in our trials, we look at such characteristics as flavor, ease of growing, disease resistance, and whether the variety can mature in a timely fashion. One of the other things that makes Territorial unique is that we do a lot of our own seed production. In other words, we grow the plants that we harvest seed from, clean the seed, and then offer in packets in sequential years. All of the varieties that we produce ourselves is done on certified organic land. Currently, about 25% of the vegetable varieties that we offer in our catalog are produced at our farm. That is something that we take great pride in.

What are some of the best choices of vegetables to grow for novice gardeners?

When considering the best types of vegetables to grow for the novice, you first want to decide if you will start them from seed or from plant. I think that some beginners are turned off from starting vegetables from seed because they think that there is a great deal of knowledge and specialized equipment/tools needed. The fact of the matter is that starting veggies from seed does require a little bit of know-how but there are so many different resources for people that want to learn. There are a few inexpensive tools that will be helpful but by starting from seed a gardener has so much more choice as far as different varieties go, not to mention how much money that you can save in the long run by growing from seed instead of purchasing plants.

With that being said, a novice gardener might want to start out with seeds that do well being planted directly into the garden rather than needing to be started indoors or in agreenhouse. These include vegetables such as: Root crops-beets, carrots, parsnips, radishes. Legumes-peas and beans. Cucurbits-squash, cucumbers, melon. Greens-lettuce, spinach, arugula, mesclun mixes, etc…

What are some of your new favorites?

This is a really tough question because being a vegetable fanatic means that I have so many new varieties that I love. I will, however, try to whittle it down to my top 3 for the year.

1) Superslicer Bean-this is a romano type of green bean which means that it has a flattened, green pod that is absolutely delicious when eaten raw, steamed or sautéed. These should be planted next to a trellis or fence as the vigorous vines can climb 6-8 feet. The other nice thing about this variety is that typically, when a bean gets large, it will get tough and stringy. Superslicer stays nice and tender even when the pods get large.

2) Cucumber-Lime Crisp-a wonderfully sweet, crunchy slicing cucumber with a very pale, light green skin. Plants are quite productive and disease resistant. I also think that the lighter colored skin may help folks combat certain indigestion issues that can be common on darker colored fruit.

3) Of course I have to include a tomato which is America’s favorite garden vegetable (and one of mine, too). This is a tough decision but my favorite new tomato for the year is San Marzano Gigante 3 . This is a roma type tomato, which means that it has very thick, meaty flesh with not a lot of liquid. These are perfect for using in salsa, tomato sauces, or any other canning recipe that includes tomatoes. San Marzano Gigante 3 is actually a selection from one of our Italian suppliers that truly bears enormous fruits that can get 2 ½ inches wide and 7 inches long. The larger the fruit, the more you can have to use for the above mentioned projects. What’s more, is that typically, roma type tomatoes aren’t the most flavorful (in my opinion) when eaten raw. This variety, however, has a nice balanced flavor of sweet and tangy.

What gardening project in the world most inspires you?

Honestly, any gardening project that involves someone trying to grow vegetables for the first time is what really inspires me. Over the years, I have found so much joy and benefit to growing vegetables (as well as other plants, too) and trying to pass my enthusiasm onto others is one of my personal goals. It sometimes surprises me how few of my peers are interested in gardening thinking that they don’t have the time, space, or energy. The truth is that with just a little bit of know how, anyone can grow fresh produce whether it be in your back yard, patio, or windowsill.

At Tread Light Gift, we are committed to giving back to the environment.  We understand Territorial has a new effort underway to give back to the community and environment. Can you tell us more about Plant a Row for the Hungry?

Plant A Row For the Hungry is a wonderful project started by Jeff Lowenfels and the Garden Writers Association as a way for gardeners to give back to those in need. The idea is to devote some of your garden space specifically for produce that can be donated to your local food bank. This year, Territorial Seed Company is including a free “Plant A Row For the Hungry” package of carrot seed with every order. These packages will contain about 150 carrot seeds, enough to plant a 25 foot row. A 25 foot row of carrots should yield about 25 pounds of fresh, nutritious carrots. If all of the packets that we expect to give away are planted and harvested for this purpose, Territorial gardeners will have donated 2.5 million pounds of vitamin-rich carrots to food banks, soup kitchens, or neighbors by the end of the year!