March Madness: Safe Seed Ordering Complete!

March 23, 2014 by Caroline Potter

Every year since our first summer in Victory Farms, I have vowed to have my ordering done on January 1st. And, every year, the seed ordering becomes an exercise in March Madness. I spent the day in front of my computer with dozens of safe seed catalogs, placing orders with everyone from Johnny’s, Peaceful Valley, Seed Savers Exchange, Seeds of Change, and Territorial Seed Company, among others. I did place a single order with the Natural Gardening Company before heading off to ski at Beaver Creek in February, spurred only by a deep-rooted fear of missing out on my beloved Ramapo tomato seeds. However, the rest of it was relegated to today.

I feel terribly anxious as I usually start my seeds slightly earlier. However, I am comforted by the fact that I sowed our seeds later than ever last year, and we ran into fewer issues when it came to transplanting. We are very fortunate to have a cold-frame greenhouse to use to harden off our seedlings and give them room to grow before getting them settled in the garden. Our greenhouse, though, is just 10′ x 12′ and things tend to get very crowded very quickly. So, working with smaller plants is infinitely easier.

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Ones to Grow On…

February 24, 2014 by Caroline Potter

The saddest thing, depending on what kind of growing season you’ve had, for a home farmer is closing things up for the winter. You will never be overwhelmed by more bittersweet feelings than those that wash over you when you’re mulching your well-used beds with blankets of straw and bidding adieu to your faithful minions, the earthworms, in the bitter chill and sweet light of late Fall days.

Days before depression really sets in, though, seed catalogs begin to arrive in the mail, letting you know that there really has got to be a morning — or a spring — after. More exciting for me than any holiday cards (even those with super-cute kids or pets), new year catalogs get me positively giddy. Like mothers who forget the pain of childbirth as they procreate once again, I cannot recall any of the pain and heartache of last season’s efforts.

Drunk with optimism (and, let’s face it, a martini — or two), I sit here again with catalogs stacked high, teeming with Post-It tabs, and dreaming of what we will sow very, very soon.

Cabbage for sauerkraut (enough to share with all in 2012!), tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes, and more greens. Ingredients for perfumed ales and stouts. Lettuce as far as the eye can see. If you want us to grow something for you — or grow something so we can put it up for you, speak your peace.

Caroline Potter is a dining trend-spotter who dines out more than she eats in and has accrued more than 10,000 Dining Rewards points. Caroline started working in restaurants as a teen and she’s since tackled every front-of-the-house job, from bartender and hostess to runner and server. She trained as a chef at Manhattan’s prestigious French Culinary Institute, cooking at L’Ecole. She has written about food from farm to table for New York City’s famed Greenmarket and Edible Brooklyn and Edible East End magazines.

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