garden | seeding success during the recession

seeding success during the recession... Everyday I hear and read somewhere about the boom of sales for seed companies across the country (Johnny Seed's sales 50% over last year's). As hard as the financial times are right now, it is wonderful to see certain simple, way-of-life items become hip. The turn to home gardening in efforts to save money is just fabulous. Saving money is one great perk of gardening, but to learn how to provide natural, healthy, delicious food for your family is absolutely fantastic.

The shots above are of two of my favorite plants, FedCo's Chilipeño Hot Pepper and Johnny's Sun Gold Cherry Tomato. I'm fortunate enough to have great seed companies like FedCo Seeds, Johnny's Select Seeds, and Pinetree Garden Seeds all within miles from me. I had such amazing success with the two above crops. We're actually still feasting on the jalapeños these many months later (we store them in the freezer). If you are looking for a cherry tomato that is a non-stop producer of tasty, little, orange orbs, then you have to grow the Sun Golds. I gave away pint after pint of these fruits and still had loads leftover for my family. All my friends and family said that this was the tastiest cherry tomato that they have ever had.

This summer I'm going to foray farther into the world of canning and preserving, so hopefully I'll be maxing my crops to the fullest. There's even a rumor that my husband is going to build us a root cellar. A girl can dream...