2021 Gardening Info

Time to start thinking about warmer weather and getting the garden going!

The Talking Farm Seedling sale will be starting soon—like last year, it will be super easy—order online and they’ll have curbside, no-contact pick up.

Like last year, members will get first dibs (along with discounts on the seedlings and other things like the very popular Singing Farm concerts and farm dinners).

What’s new? Lots of interesting veg and herb varieties!!

Early info here—sign up for the mailing list or join to ensure you don’t miss out! https://fb.me/e/1h8FOwQCb

The Talking Farm has their seedling sale info posted--lots of new varieties this year and Ronnie, they have Holy Basil !

Here is the list: https://www.thetalkingfarm.org/calendar/seedling-sales/

Pre-sale for members starts on April 15th and opens to the public on April 19th. Members also get a 20% discount on all seedlings and events (the Singing Farm concert/picnic series is back this summer and, hopefully, two farm dinners). Additionally the higher level membership gets 20% off of Farmers Market and our on-farm Pick-Your-Own-Basket (PYOB) purchases. Info on membership is here: https://www.thetalkingfarm.org/how-to-help/become-a-member/

boudreaulicious wrote:The Talking Farm has their seedling sale info posted--lots of new varieties this year and Ronnie, they have Holy Basil !

Excellent. I think I'm already covered but I couldn't resist officially becoming a Sprout, anyway!

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:The Talking Farm has their seedling sale info posted--lots of new varieties this year and Ronnie, they have Holy Basil !

Excellent. I think I'm already covered but I couldn't resist officially becoming a Sprout, anyway!

=R=

That's great!! Hope you and the fam can join us for a concert--they're a lot of fun!!

boudreaulicious wrote:That's great!! Hope you and the fam can join us for a concert--they're a lot of fun!!

Oooh, they're doing concerts again! We really enjoyed the one we attended.

The GP wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:That's great!! Hope you and the fam can join us for a concert--they're a lot of fun!!

Oooh, they're doing concerts again! We really enjoyed the one we attended.

We’re doing 6!!!! First one is May 23rd—we have all of the bands back who performed last summer and will be adding an awesome 80s cover band. The last slot is TBD, along with the restaurants. I’ll post the full schedule as soon as we have it.

boudreaulicious - Thank you for posting this ; I did not know about The Talking Farm. I emailed them for a price list of the seedlings they offer -

Is there a reasonably priced pachysandra source in Chicago? It's not a plant that justifies paying Gethsemane/City Garden prices.

The Talking Farm's Plant Sale started yesterday--it's Members only until 4/19--membership info can be found here: https://www.thetalkingfarm.org/how-to-help/become-a-member/

We had a spectacular first day--almost halfway to selling out!
Here is the seedling list (https://www.thetalkingfarm.org/calendar/seedling-sales/

Cucumbers
Marketmore (standard green)
Cool Customer (standard pickling)
Experimental 7082 (gherkin)
Mexican Sour/Cucamelons (gherkin)
Salt & Pepper (white)

Eggplant
Little Fingers (petite/container)
Traviata (Western standard black)
Rosa Bianca (Italian purple)
Ping Tung Long (Asian)

Flowers
Mexican sunflower
Zinnia (custom mix)
Marigold (pinwheel)

Greens
Rainbow Chard
Kale, Baby (Toscano)
Lettuce (Mixed Head Lettuce 6-pack)

Herbs
Anise Hyssop
Basil (Genovese)
Basil (Thai)
Basil (Tulsi/Holy)
Cilantro
Mint (peppermint)
Parsley (Giant Italian)
Thyme (German Winter)

Peppers
Shishito (Japanese mild-hot)
Jalapeño (green hot)
Cayenne (red hot)
Anaheim (mild-hot)
Binquinho Yellow (Brazilian yellow hot)
Jupiter (green->red sweet bell)
Brocanto (yellow sweet bell)
Lunch Box red (sweet snacking)
Cornito Rosso (Italian sweet frying)

Squash
Supersonic (yellow summer)
Dunja (zucchini)
Tetra (“zero-waste” Delicata)

Tomatillo
de Milpa (Mexican heirloom)

Tomatoes
San Marzano (Italian paste)
Sunrise Bumble Bee (yellow/red cherry)
Brandywine (heirloom)
Martha Washington (pink)
New Girl (early)
Carbon (black heirloom)
Pinky (red cherry)
Indigo Cherry Drops (black cherry)
Sun Gold (orange cherry)

Happy planting!!!

boudreaulicious wrote:Happy planting!!!

Where are you keeping your seedlings until Mother's Day?

Cathy2 wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:Happy planting!!!

Where are you keeping your seedlings until Mother's Day?

Assuming you mean TTF—they grow everything in greenhouses. The first pick up isn’t until 5/15. Cool weather plants can go in now—so most greens, hardy herbs (thyme, cilantro, parsley, etc), onions, potatoes, beans, corn, peas, etc. The rest should stay in containers that can be moved inside if any below 50 weather is in the forecast until after Mother’s Day (I usually don’t put my tomatoes, cukes, squash, eggplant, and delicate herbs in until around Memorial Day.)

There is a plant swap at the Evanston Unitarian church taking place on 5/15 2:00pm-3:30pm in their parking lot at 1330 Ridge Ave. in Evanston. Everybody has to wear a mask, and practice social distancing. They are going to limit the number of people looking at the plants, and people should only bring plants and seeds this time. Please do not bring garden supplies, books, or hoses.

Here’s the link to the sale: https://the-talking-farm.myshopify.com/collections/organic-seedlings. We are starting to sell out of some varieties so if you’re interested, head on on over. Pick ups start in mid-May—you get to pick your date and it’s contact-free.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:Is there a reasonably priced pachysandra source in Chicago? It's not a plant that justifies paying Gethsemane/City Garden prices.

Answering my own question in case anyone else comes looking for an answer. There are plenty of mail order options out there for way less than Gethsemane. I went with Groundcovers Direct on Etsy.

While I haven't directly compared prices, I've always found Meinke to be reasonable, with a large selection of plants. It's where I got my pachysandra last year.

Meinke Garden Center
5803 W. Touhy Ave
Niles IL
847-647-9455

Does anybody know if any of the nurseries have any fall veggie plants right now? Home Depot in Evanston actually had some decent ones a year ago. They used to have one of the worse gardening sections, and I never bought plants there, but the plants they had a year ago were not bad. I might go back there this weekend to see if they have anything. When Anton's was open, they used to have fall plants. I could go to their Wisconsin store, but I don't know if I want to drive all the way to Wisconsin to get a few plants. Chalet never carries any fall veggie plants, and they are too expensive anyway.

I went to Urhausen the beginning of July to buy a few more plants, and to buy some basil. They do not have fall plants, and they did not have a lot of veggie plants left. I then stopped at Lowes, and they had some huge basil plants that were twice the size of the ones I got at Urhausen for $4, and I got three more there. I was in the neighborhood two weeks ago, and so I stopped in at Lowes to see if they had any more cheap basil. The basil I got for $4 a month ago, was now $6.95, and so I passed on it.

For anybody that is interested in buying some veggie seeds, Fedco has all of their seeds on sale 20% off, and Johnnies has some seeds on sale. I have never ordered from Fedco, but I have heard they are good. They are a co-op in Maine. I order most of my seeds at Johnny's, and I love them. I bought most of my plants this year from Teresa Brockman, and I think she orders most of her seeds from Fedco and Johnnies. She has wonderful tomato and pepper plants. She comes to the Evanston market.