plant and rant

It is so wonderful at this time of year to anticipate another year in the veggie patch.
Now we've ventured into March though it is more than anticipate: the groundwork is being laid.
This week has seen me busy with seeding indoors. Monday and Tuesday have been eggplant and pepper days, with more than fifty varieties of each being started for tranplanting out in the garden in a few months time. I'm not sure why I plant so many hot pepper varieties...they are definitely not the biggest seller, but occasionally I do come across some hot pepper fanatics, such as Omar and Brianne from Toronto. But of course I love them all, and the colours and shapes are worth growing them for alone. Yellows, oranges, purples, stripes, balloon shapes, hat shaped-fantastic!
I talk to other growers who have their tomatoes all underway, but in my mind it is a bit early. I will start tomatoes next week, and seed for 2 weeks straight until I have the expected 8,000 or so plants, 700 varieties.
I've been selling to a number of restaurants all winter, primarily Inn on the Twenty, The Keefer Mansion and now Treadwell Farm To Table. These chefs are very committed to supporting local growers and make the trek to Wellandport to pick up their fresh greens often on a weekly basis year round. I am grateful for their support and awed by their creativity and skill.
The CSA for the 2009 season is filled, but if you are still interested, please pass your name along for the waiting list. I actually do get to people on the list!