Family Heirlooms

With our first baby due in May of this year I'm really anxious to eat better food and make more conscious shopping choices about food. Here's a sampling of my recent reading list, which should give you an idea of what I mean:

• The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan
• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver and 
• Real Food for Mother and Baby, by Nina Planck
  

I was lucky enough to grow up with a fairly substantial vegetable garden in the backyard for at least part of my life and I vowed to give it a go once we finally had a backyard to call our own. After pouring over seed catalogs for the past three months I knew I'd hit paydirt when this arrived in the mail:

This is the latest catalog from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds based in Mansfield, MO.  The catalog is beautiful and the accurate and quirky descriptions make selecting seeds so much fun. On top of that, not a single seed varietal comes from Monsanto or ConAgra - not even the corn!! My two favorite picks? Moon & Stars watermelons and Royal Hillbilly tomatoes.

Last night I started my seeds indoors in hopes of growing transplants for this spring. I'll post updates as things start to sprout. My plan is to do raised beds and I'm considering the Square Foot Gardening method per Mel Bartholomew. I'd love to hear from anyone who's tried it (especially in Texas).

Last but not least, even the seed packets look pretty!! Wish me luck...