By Honey Dew Gardens, on May 6th, 2014%  The definition of heirloom in terms of plant varieties is debated. Often, a fruit, veggie or flower plant variety that has been grown unchanged for at least 50 years is defined as a heirloom variety. Some consider 100 years the criteria. Some suggest varieties prior to commercial hybridization began, in the early 1950′s. Heirlooms are open pollinated varieties, but not all open pollinated varieties are heirloom. Regardless, by nature, many of these varieties are tried and true and valued for their traits.
It is said that many heirloom varieties either have become extinct or are at risk of extinction. Monocropping and the mechanization that is common in today’s agriculture, and . . . → Read More: Heirloom Varieties and One Little Question…
By Honey Dew Gardens, on March 20th, 2014%  So another spring, another garden on it’s way….and it’s about time. I’m ready. In fact, things are already really starting to grow around here. 
Garden plans have been laid, seedlings have been started and supplies are coming in!
How Exciting!
Probably one of my favorite winter tasks is planning the garden and picking out which seed varieties I will grow. I have a thing for variety. For surprise. For color. My biggest problem, really, is narrowing it down to the few selections that will end up in the greenhouse and in the gardens!
So, many plants, so little time. Right? So, in the . . . → Read More: This Year’s Garden Patch
By Honey Dew Gardens, on January 9th, 2014%  It’s been a busy winter, getting ready for the 2014 season.
I really want everyone to know I am so grateful to you, my family, and friends for the wonderful support I received last year while I was happily in pursuit of my dreams! I wish all the best for each and every of you, your pursuit of happiness, and look forward to another great year together!
So no surprise then when I say there’s boatloads of excitement around here. I have been perusing seed catalogs, writing blog posts, getting organized and planning the year in the greenhouse and garden. It never fails, every year I want to plant so . . . → Read More: Who Else Is Ready For 2014?
By Honey Dew Gardens, on May 23rd, 2011% 
On the never ending quest to find the “perfect tomato” I find myself more and more in love with this fruit. Not only are they ubiquitous in our diet, easily adding the perfect dimension to sauces, salsas, soups, salads and on and on, but they are also as varied as you could imagine.
2011 will see a rainbow of tomato colors here at the gardens – white, yellow, orange, pink, red, green, blue, black, and bicolored. Wow.
Even more! Every shape and size imaginable. Cherry, pear, strawberry, oxheart, round, flat, ruffled, pleated, fuzzy. Yes, fuzzy.
It never ceases to amaze me how one variety can grow fast and tall, . . . → Read More: 2011 Garden Plan – Tomatoes
By Honey Dew Gardens, on May 21st, 2011% So, this year I volunteered to grow out two varieties of tomato seed for the Populuxe Seed Bank: Orange Jubilee and Yellow Lemon. I will be saving pure seed of these varieties to send back to Kelly to add to the seed bank. Oh! What fun…
 The Orange Jubilee seedlings are coming along fabulously. This indeterminate vine produces large sized yellow-orange tomatoes that mature in about 78 – 85 days, and is a heavy producer.
Right now the seedlings are about 6 – 8″ tall, and growing quite well. The weather has been nice, but the temps are going to dip down a . . . → Read More: Seed Bank Tomato Grow Out
By Honey Dew Gardens, on February 27th, 2011%  Winter is a down time for gardening here. When frigid temperatures set in for the long haul, there’s really not a lot one can do. Or is there?
Besides reading up on new gardening techniques and ideas, drooling over reading seed and plant catalogs, one could take on the task of organizing their garden seeds.
This is what I found myself doing this winter.
Before starting, it was prudent to put some decent thought into how, exactly, my seeds were going to be organized when this project was complete. You see, this is not the first time I have “organized” my seeds. And, I suspect, it won’t be the last.
. . . → Read More: Year-round Gardening: Organize Your Seeds!
By Honey Dew Gardens, on February 24th, 2011%  Spring Peas…Mmmm
Peas like the cool temperatures of spring/early summer, and are easy to grow. And they reward us with delicious food that tastes good both raw and cooked. Peas have been loved by many dating back through the centuries, in fact archeological digs have found evidence of human consumption of peas dating back to earlier than 9000 BC!
If there is one veggie that doesn’t even make it out of the garden, it’s peas. We had to try really hard to get some to last it to the house last summer. Sadly, they were gone in a day.
So this year, I . . . → Read More: 2011 Garden Plan – Peas
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