Thinking Spring-A Seed Company Review

Renee’s Garden©-A Unique Seed Company

As I am writing this story, it is a beautiful sunny morning. Still chilly at 27 degrees but today it is supposed to reach 40 degrees, for the first time in like forever. The key word is sunny. As in no snow. At least for today.

Sometimes it’s hard to get excited about Spring when the gardens lie under 2 to 3 feet of snow. A protective blanket that will soon start to lift.

The snow is piled high here in Central NY State. According to the National Weather Service, Binghamton NY has received 97 inches of snow so far this season. We are only about an hour North of Binghamton, therefore that total is pretty accurate for Norwich, NY as well.

That's 8 feet of snow. And it still is February. With the exception of the first big storm a week before Christmas, when we we received a whopping 30 inches, the snow has stuck around, with consistently cold temperatures preventing much melting. The 30 inch storm was gone a week later when we received 3 inches of rain and warm temperatures.

Of course a lot of settling occurs but there is still a good 2 to 3 feet of snow covering the yard. And the gardens. Pure white. Everything at rest.

Getting back to the topic at hand, my wife bought me a gift certificate for Christmas from Renee’s Garden©. A gardener’s dream. Time to start shopping for seeds and looking forward to Spring.

My first experience with this company was actually last year. My wife was purchasing small cucumbers from a local grocery store referred to as Persian. Small, smooth skinned cukes that are perfect for salads. Sweet and tender.

So my wife took to the internet in search of seeds for this type of cucumber. Thus we had discovered Renee’s Garden©.

I was pleasantly surprised when looking at the Renee’s Garden website. I discovered many unique vegetables that interested me. A lot of high end and heirloom varieties. Also herb and flower seeds and gardening supplies. A lot to get excited about. Let’s take a look at a few of the veggies starting with the Persian cucumbers I discovered.

Green Fingers Persian Baby Cucumbers©

I planted a hill of these late last summer as a test to see if they would grow for me. I did get a few of them, enough to try. When I planted them, we were having very dry conditions, and I neglected to water them enough after they came up. Therefore I didn’t get many cukes but the ones that grew were good. Great flavor and no need to peel the skin. I will definitely plant these again this season. They are very comparable to the supermarket Persian varieties.

Sometimes we tend to not pay as much attention to the garden as Fall approaches, and that’s what happened here. However, these are definitely a good variety of cucumber if you like small, tender ones.

Heirloom Torpedo Onions-Rossa Lunga di Firenze©

As a lover of onions, this heirloom caught my attention. These torpedo shaped purple-red onions are usually grown in Italy and France. They are sweet and typically grow to 4 or 5 inches. I normally start Sweet Spanish Onions from seed, and also Stuttgart from sets. I am going to give these a try as they are unique.

Tender Chard Special Baby Leaf©

Every year I grow Swiss Chard. I typically plant varieties such as Fordhook Giant or Bright Lights. As you may know, the leaves are huge on any of the chards I have grown. Sometimes they get out of control. None the less they are always good when steamed, braised, or used in a stir fry.

This variety offers small leaves and can be cut at 4 to 5 inches tall. It will re-grow and can be cut again. I decided to give it a try, I have never seen a small version of Chard.

French Baby Leeks-Primor©

I typically grow varieties such as Dawn Giant, which like most leeks form a bulb at the bottom. These are non-bulbing leeks from France that can be picked before maturity or allowed to reach full size. As leeks normally take a long time to grow to size, these are supposed to gain size more quickly.

Crunchy Lettuce- Trio Blush Batavians©

I am always looking for different types of lettuce to try. This is a blend of 3 French lettuces with a crispy texture. I love lettuces with a touch of color and 2 of the varieties here have that. They can be cut early or allowed to form heads. I am looking forward to trying this mixture.

Overall I am very impressed with this company as they have many unique and interesting offerings. I definitely recommend giving them a try. I will follow up on all of the varieties above during the growing season.