Winter harvest means summer planting
07/08/08 - posted by Tim Russell
Now that the heat of summer has hit the majority of the country, most people are thinking more about keeping their garden watered and bug free than adding additional plants. However, if you would like to have a fall and winter garden, now is the time to act!
There are many varieties suitable for summer and fall planting, but knowing exactly when to plant these varieties can be a bit perplexing. To help with this we have created a handy planting chart which gives you the optimal planting date range through out the summer and into fall for a variety of popular vegetable types. The chart also lets you know when to expect to harvest the varieties based on the summer and fall planting dates.
Click here to see the full chart.
About our Fall & Winter Catalog
05/28/08 - posted by Tom Johns
We plant a garden for many reasons. For the joy and satisfaction it brings to our soul. For the nutrition it provides our bodies. For the memories of loved ones past that cared enough to share their wisdom with us, just as their parents and grandparents did with them. Gardening to save money or resources has not been a major reason to plant a food garden since the food and fuel rationing days of World War II.
I’m afraid that is changing—and rapidly. The worldwide demand for oil has driven the price to a record $124.00 a barrel at this writing, and probably more by the time you read this letter. As you well know, the high cost of crude has resulted in much higher food costs, and we are even hearing of food shortages in commodities such as rice. The last time we saw a spike in demand for vegetable seed was in 1999 as people were concerned about Y2K. That frenzy was based on fear of the unknown. What we are experiencing now is known, and perhaps here to stay.
As gardeners you are in the best possible position to lessen the burden of higher food costs. Today I stopped by the supermarket to see what heads of cauliflower and cabbage were priced at so I could make a comparison to growing your own. One 3 pound head of cauliflower was selling for $5.40. Fifty seeds of our high beta-carotene cauliflower variety, Cheddar, sells in this catalog for $5.35. If just 40 of the 50 seeds planted grew to maturity that’s $216.00 worth of cauliflower from one packet of seed! Or looked at another way, you could grow 40 heads of cauliflower in the garden for the same price of buying one head at the supermarket. Green cabbage heads were priced at $3.20 each. A sampler of our green cabbage, Melissa, costs you $3.15 and contains 125 seeds. Say just 110 of those seeds mature, that’s a retail value of $352.00 worth of cabbage from one packet of seed. Or looked at another way, you could grow 110 heads of cabbage for the price of 1 head at the supermarket. Of course, there are more costs to growing a garden than just the sheer cost of seed. But at these prices, you see how growing your own food has the potential to save big money in the household budget. An additional benefit is the huge increase in nutrient value of freshly harvested food, as compared to travel weary produce at the supermarket.
This winter catalog is packed with the best varieties we have found to help you grow food year ‘round. In addition, you’ll find lots of accessories to help you preserve food from your summer garden. There is nothing quite like having a full pantry and woodshed going into winter.
Grow what you can, buy local what you can’t.
California Pack Trials proves to be a very worthwhile trip
04/15/08 - posted by Josh Kirschenbaum
At the end of March, I traveled to California for an event called Pack Trials. This is where the world’s leading flower breeders open up their greenhouses to showcase their assortment of flower varieties along with brand new varieties; some of which have not yet been introduced to the public. I’m not sure if the bosses are reading this but, yes, I got paid to look at and take pictures of beautiful flowers in sunny California. Awesome!
The trip does serve a very important purpose, though. It really helps in choosing new varieties for the next spring catalog. It gives me a chance to meet with our suppliers and find out what is hot or what might not be available next year. It also gives me the opportunity to compare varieties between the different suppliers. Yes, our own trials at London Spring Farms provide some of the same information but on a smaller scale. These flower breeders also provide some great photo opportunities that just can’t be found on our working farm. So…what are the hot brand spanking new varieties that I found to add to Territorial’s Spring 2009 catalog??? Of course you will have to wait to find out…
New Greenhouse at Territorial Farm
04/04/08 - posted by Tim Russell
In my last post I mentioned that our first shipment of live plants was being shipped out. This shipment is usually our smallest shipment, catering to folks that are in very southern areas, or are planning to grow varieties in a greenhouse of some sort. We have three more shipments throughout the season, and there are many more plants to be sent out. We also grow many of our own varieties for our own retail store, located in Cottage Grove, Oregon.
Due to our increased space needs we are currently constructing another permanent greenhouse, which brings our total to five. Each of our greenhouses are 30 feet wide by 100 feet long, and are currently packed full of tomato, pepper, eggplant, herb, and flower plants just waiting to be shipped to you!
First plants of the season shipped!
04/01/08 - posted by Tim Russell
We know that spring has really arrived when we start shipping out the first of our live plants. Last week the weather seemed to have some different ideas however, as we had snow for three days in a row, which has not happened here in Oregon at the end of March as far as anyone can remember. We were a bit worried that the cold weather would prevent us from shipping out some plants, but over the weekend the clouds cleared and the sun came out. It is still a bit chilly (for people at least) but not cold enough to cause any problems with our plants.
We have a team of thirteen skilled plant packagers putting together orders, checking for accuracy and boxing plants up, and making them ready for their trip, whether the trip is across town or across the country.
If you have ordered plants to be shipped out in the first half of April you should be getting them soon. We will be shipping them out this week as well as next week. If you have not ordered plants you can order them now to be shipped to you the last half of May.
Why we have ordering deadlines for some of our plants
03/06/08 - posted by Josh Kirschenbaum
There are certain plants we offer that need to be ordered by a certain date in order to have them delivered at a particular time. These include our veggie plants such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, as well as our herb and flower plants (aka London Spring Botanicals). Basically, any plant whose item number starts with a “Y” falls into this category.
The reason that we have these order deadlines is a rather simple one-we don’t have space in our greenhouses to grow plants in hopes that we sell them. When we seed our veggies, for example, we will start them in a 288-cell flat. In other words, we can get 288 seedlings in a relatively small space (approximately 11 x 21 inches). After an order deadline occurs for one of our four ship dates, we will up-pot just the right number of plants that we need of each variety to fill our orders plus a few extras in case of accidents. Once the plants get up-potted into the pots that we ship out, the same 288 plants now take up approximately 576 x 720 inches of space. You can quickly see how much more room is needed and our greenhouse tables start to fill up very quickly.
Trust me, it is quite an interesting "dance" that occurs in our greenhouses and it involves quite a bit of planning but after successfully shipping plants for over 10 years, we have it figured out very well.
Unique cover art for a unique catalog
02/28/08 - posted by Tim Russell
We at Territorial like to think of ourselves as doing things in a unique
way. We do extensive trialing to make sure that we are bringing you the best
performing varieties, and our farm produces a large percentage of the
varieties that we offer. We offer plants in a way that lets customers pick and choose what varieties and how
many of them they want; definitely not the industry norm. And, instead of photographs on
the cover of our catalog, we proudly display original artwork.
It's a challenge to bring a new piece of artwork that is visually
interesting, immediately striking, and represents what we do here at
Territorial. We spend a good deal of time and effort on this project, and
work closely with an artist to make our covers unique and exciting.
This year we have had an overwhelmingly positive response about our
catalog cover art. The artist of this cover, LaVonne Tarbox-Crone has
really made our vegetables, flowers and herbs come to life. Her most
difficult job was trying to figure out how to make our new squash, Galeux De
Eysines translate to artwork, and she did a wonderful job!
Since we have been getting many comments about our catalog covers, I
thought that I would go back over some of our covers throughout the
years, and make them available to view online.
To see a selection of some of our catalog covers,
click here.
Do Territorial Seeds grow in my area?
02/18/08 - posted by Tim Russell
Hello Gardeners,
We have been getting quite a few requests from customers who wish to
know whether certain seeds and plants will grow in their area. For
vegetables, most ofthe time, the answer is yes. Keep in mind that our varieties are trialed in
the Pacific Northwest where our summers are rather mild--warm in the days and
cool at night. We usually use May 15th as the date when all danger of frost
has passed and September 15th as the date when we could potentially get our
first frost of the fall.
Now it is true, some of you do live in a more extreme environment, such
as a high elevation, or perhaps in a near desert area. When determining
whether a specific variety will grow in your area there are two things I
suggest. First, ask your neighbors! If they have had luck growing a type
of vegetable, flower, or herb then chances are it will do just fine for
you.
The next resource to explore is your local County Extension office. A
County Extension office can help answer specifics about your particular area
and what grows well there.
Below are a few links that my be helpful:
Cooperative Extension System Offices Map
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/
USDA plant hardiness zone chart
http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html
Results on date to receive catalog poll
02/12/08 - posted by Tom Johns
When do you prefer to receive your Territorial Spring Catalog? This was the question asked in my last blog entry. The choices for when to receive your Territorial catalog were the first week in December or the last week in December. The results are in and 95% of those responding said they prefer receiving their spring catalog the last week of December, or just after Christmas. That is great news for us, as we too like the just after Christmas date too. Late in December allows us to get those late arriving seed varieties packed and in the picking bins. This really helps to ensure that when your order arrives, all items are on hand and thus no need to send a back ordered item later.
Our goal to turn orders is 48 hours, so far this year we are closer to a 24-hour turn around time. This is good for everyone, but be aware that with quick turns comes the inability to add to your order if you forgot something. Chances are if you place and order with us on Monday and call us on Tuesday hoping to add one more SAMPLER to your order, it will have already been shipped. Just prior to placing your order give the catalog one last thumb through to be sure you have not missed anything. But don’t worry too much; we can always get a new order headed your way.
Recent snow is a reminder of just how amazing year ‘round gardening is.
02/07/08 - posted by Josh Kirschenbaum
Winter in the Willamette valley of Oregon is relatively mild compared to many places across the country. In the 10 years that I have lived here, we usually only get a few days of snow each winter with rain being Mother Nature’s precipitation of choice. This makes an ideal climate for overwintering veggies like the cole crops-broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc… and root crops-beets, carrots, parsnips.
About a week and a half ago, I was reminded of just how adaptable and durable certain food plants are when we had an unusually large amount of snow fall, about 6-8 inches (yes, I know that those of you in areas with harsh winters are laughing at our measly 6-8 inches but it’s a lot for us). There, amongst a sea of snow at our trial grounds was a beacon of light-our winter trials. Brussels Sprouts standing tall and proud, cabbage looking like someone carefully placed a white blanket over their outer succulent leaves, and cauliflower heads being protected from the elements by their wrapper leaves. Sure, some of plants had been negatively affected by the weather but for the most part, there were just some cosmetic blemishes that won’t have an impact on their ability to produce.
I assure you that the shivers I got from seeing these veggies persevering through such adversity had nothing to do with how cold it was outside.
My Basket:
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