Dreaming Big in 2009!

A new year has begun, and you know what that means: seed catalogs galore! It may seem as if the Gardener and Gardeness have been neglecting their readers lately, but we have in fact been very busy working on blog-worthy projects these past two months. One of those projects has been diligently perusing our catalogs and planning this year's garden. We've been dreaming big, and our order lists are ambitious! We'll be procuring the majority of our seeds from the Seed Savers Exchange for several reasons: they're a non-profit organization with proceeds going towards the preservation of heirloom varieties, they offer many rare and interesting seeds, and their prices are very competitive. We have also decided to plant only open pollinated varieties, so that we can try to save seeds for next year. Not only that, but we've also decided to be really brave and try growing things like asparagus, strawberries, and onions all from seed - no crowns or sets here! Oh boy, wish us luck!

In other news, in our search to find entertainment without a cable subscription, we recently discovered a wonderful old sitcom on Netflix, and have been watching it voraciously. It's a British program from the mid 1970s called "The Good Life," (also called Good Neighbors) in which Tom, along with his wife Barbara, decides to quit his corporate job and start a farm in their suburban back yard in an effort to become totally self-sufficient. They till up the lawn, plant lots of veggies, get chickens, pigs and a goat, and build an electric generator that runs on methane, all to the disdain and amusement of their snobby friends and next door neighbors. We recommend it highly!

Stay tuned, as we hope to announce more of our aforementioned projects, both BIG and small, in the coming weeks! For now, please keep your fingers crossed for us! Happy 2009!