2010's garden starts soon.

Lewisburg.

Sharon and I have just recently returned from three weeks of winter-free vacation in Thailand and Laos. Pictures, of course, will be forthcoming, once the hellish task of sorting through them is done.

In the meantime, though, it's also been high season for planning 2010's garden. Things are a bit different this year, in no small part because I've built¹ a fence to keep the critters out. This means that I have a smaller area to work with - time, effort, and money limited the overall fence size - but that I'll spend far less energy repairing damage to deer netting.

Since I knew I'd be gone for much of January, I made a serious effort to finish the planning before leaving, so that I could order my seeds before the more interesting varieties were out of stock.² Most of them have arrived now, and it's genuinely exciting to know that I'll be able to turn those little packets into an enormous quantity of food.

And/or pretty flowers.

Last week- not that I noticed until this morning - the New York Times asked a bunch of gardeners what had them looking forward to 2010. Here's what I'm thinking about:

SEEDS OF SUCCESS
Blauwschokkers Pea. Seed Savers lists it as the "Blue Podded Shelling Pea", but I happen to like the Dutch name. Tall, productive, and both ornamental and delicious. The blue-purple pods and purple-and-white flowers are striking, and the intense color makes them a snap to harvest. I've saved seed from last year, but not enough to account for the extra space I'm allotting it in the new garden. After all, none of it stuck around long enough to be frozen last year.

Chervena Chushka Pepper. Bell peppers have fallen from favor around here. (Except the miniature reds. They're sweet, flavorful, early, and productive.) It's such a rare occasion to get one to ripen without soft spots, or worse, and they take forever. But the sweet, tapered eastern European types? So much less hassle, but with all the sweetness and flavor. They were even a grand success in 2009's abysmal pepper season.

Hakurei Turnip. A hybrid, which means I'll be purchasing new seed every year, but oh so worth it. Sweet, white salad turnips, like radishes without the bite and with better-tasting greens. Most end up a raw nibble around here, though they take well to a bit of stir-frying or gentle braising, too.

German Butterball Potato. As long as I can get good seed potatoes, these will always have a place in the garden. Fine potato flavor, with a texture that's about the middle on the waxy-to-floury spectrum. Well-watered, they produce plenty of large, russeted spuds that keep well even in my crummy faux root cellar. In fact, I think I might have to roast up some for dinner tonight.

Long Island Cheese Pumpkin. Another surprise success in 2009. I didn't watch closely enough, and let two of the good-looking fruits turn soft and unpleasant against the sodden ground, but the other two I brought inside were big, meaty, and delicious. The flesh is fibrous, which means it's not the best all-purpose winter squash, but roasted until tender and pureed in the food processor, it makes wonderful pumpkin pies, soups, gnocchi, and more. We keep pre-measured bags frozen and ready to go for winter warmers.

True Red Cranberry Bean. This fellow had a place in our very first garden, and most since. Prolific pole beans with fine flavor, they're our go-to standard for winter chilis, especially with those many jars of homegrown canned tomatoes slowly disappearing from the basement shelves. The trick this year was to set aside enough for replanting before they disappeared into the pot. (Especially since they're not available from Seed Savers this year.)

THE NEW GUY
Ziar Breadseed Poppy. Poppies for poppyseeds? Sweet! This variety, according to the Fedco folks, has been bred to eliminate the vents that the plants usually use to disperse their seed, making the seeds a snap to harvest. Plus, the pink and pale red flowers ought to look sharp out there.

NEVER AGAIN
Cauliflower. It's a favorite vegetable of mine - especially roasted - but maddening in the garden. Hungry for rich soil, jealous about its space, and often steadfastly refusing to head up, it's just a nightmare. (I've had better luck with watermelon, another headache for so many gardeners.) Broccoli's not as aggravating, but I'm forgoing the both of them in favor of broccoli raab, which is so much more rewarding.

SHOPPING BAG
To keep my head from exploding - and my seed shipping costs from eclipsing actual seed costs - I limit myself to just a few seed vendors. Our vegetables and flowers come mostly from Seed Savers Exchange (heirlooms, with plenty of fascinating finds), Johnny's Selected Seeds (they're geared more to small-to-medium-sized organic farms, but I've a lot of success with their varieties), and Fedco Seeds (who are, by far, the least expensive, and carry a great deal of unusual and heirloom seeds). We also pick up some flowers from Jung Seed, which has also been a source for strawberries and fruit trees in the past.

* * * * *

¹Well, mostly. It's cold out there, and the last few details will have to wait until the ground thaws before I can tackle them. Still, Sharon and I were out there for hours, in sub-freezing temperatures, attaching vertical slats with a pneumatic nail gun. Now there's a task that makes you feel like you've earned the hot chocolate when you get back inside.

²Currently, they're all the ones on backorder.