January 10, 2008

Well, today is more like our winter here.  Rain, rain and more rain.  Too much rain for the garden, but thankfully my hoop covers are holding up nicely, even if there probably isn't much to save living under them.

I wanted to post today, mostly because I got a great comment from a surprise reader.  It seems the owner of Uprising Seeds was reading my posts on Monsanto and wanted to comment on a clarification.  Technically you can't own Open Polinated varieties.  I'm no lawyer, but for all practical purposes Plant Variety Patents (PVPs) generate property rights to a seed, to me are close enough to owning it during the patent period.  And when it ends, knowing Monsanto, they will tweek something in it and own it again.  But as I said, I'm no lawyer, nor have I read the PVP rules.  I'm still going to go from Yellow Pear from alternative sources rather than the store where I'm fairly certain they got it from Seminis.

What's more, he shared the major problem of organic hybrid seeds that you know didn't come from Monsanto or GMO stock, that can be contaminated by GMO varieties via cross pollination.  Very scary is right!  Something has to be done about this.  Who knows if we're dealing with another Agent Orange, Sacharine or rBST.  They certainly aren't known for their safe products.

But I'm just excited that the owner of a local seed company, an organic co-op, and CSA in Skagit Valley read my blog and posted.  I am so impressed by CSAs and co-ops.  My muse belongs to a local CSA and she gets all sorts of great, beautiful, organic veggies there it's unreal.  That and I took a moment or two to check out Uprising Seeds, and the facility and co-op looks amazing.  Very impressive.  Kind of a shame I'm not exactly local to Mt. Vernon, hehe.

Speaking of local folks, I just traded messages with Dan in Everett.  I'm not sure if he is the other Dan that's been posting recently to my blog, but it's great.  He's got 5 acres east of Everett, which is 15 miles north of me, and he grows pumpkins.  I saw a picture and they were all shapes, colors and sizes.  Very cool.  He's also got horses, so he has his own source of HS, or HM if you prefer, hehe.

Lastly, I'm getting close on a decision on my tomatoes.  I'm fairly certain I'll be building an extra SWC this year and finding a place to put it (maybe next to my cantaloupes and potatoes.  I should have room.  Anyway, I'm thinking seriously at planting yellow pear, black cherry, Bloody Butcher, Sunset Red Horizon, Heinz and Legend.  All are open pollinated, early season, cool weather varieties, so if we get a crappy summer like we had last year, I'm ready for it. 

I wonder if it would be too wierd to plant the two cherries, the two slicers and the two determinates together in the three SWCs.  To me that makes sense.

If the weather improves, I'll get out and take some pics tomorrow. I'd really like to drill some holes and bolt together my hoop cover top pipes so they stop falling down in the massive wind storms we get here.  Who'd have figured that a south east corner garden, sheltered to the west and north and partially to the south, would get that much wind since the coast is to the west.  Odd.

Well, enjoy your garden!