2011 Garden Planning

One peek at the mountain of snow outside and this post might seem a little premature. But spring will be here before we know it (seriously, how is it already the end of January???) and I'm already starting to think about this year's veggie garden.

I've been flipping through the seed catalog from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and I just can't get over all of the amazing varieties of vegetables. So far I've picked out a couple types of tomato seeds to order.

The "Egg Yolk" tomato...

...reportedly a great producer, with a rich fruity flavor.

The Black Cherry Tomato...

...with that super flavor unique to "black" tomatoes.

And the Pineapple Tomato...

...which grows up to 2 lbs in size and tastes awesome! (I had one of these last summer, and I couldn't believe how juicy and fruity it was.)

I've also checked out a couple books on intensive gardening since last year, and discovered that my plan to "improve" my garden by making better rows is actually counterproductive. From what I've gathered so far, this book is the bible of intensive gardening:

Essentially, it proposes that designing a garden in rows is not only a poor use of space, but also requires more weeding and more water. Basically, it's inefficient. The logic is pretty compelling (as are the supporting stats), so I think we're going to try and split the garden up into quadrants this year and also follow the suggestion to use more vertical space by planting more climbing plants (such as vine green beans and indeterminate tomatoes).

I definitely need to look into it more, but that's where we're leaning right now.

And just for some fun, take a look at these awesome/funky varieties of veggies I found in the seed catalog:

*Shamrock Squash*

*Plum Lemon Tomato*

*Ananas Noir Tomato*

*Japanese White Egg Eggplant*

*Cannibal Tomato EGGPLANT*

Aren't they cool?

*All images via Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds*