We got bok choi as our freebie this year. Can’t wait to plant it!
One month to go before I start peppers, then another month later for tomatoes. I could probably start the basil this weekend…
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We neglected them all winter. No cover during the big ice storm. Very little supplemental watering. and yet there are a dozen of these when it is 50° outside
This is a little bit more typical. A bit early for the Mexican redbud.
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Spring veggie seeds arrived today!
I’d come across their website before, but hadn’t elected to order from them until reading the positive experiences upthread!
A number of first timers in here for me 
Waiting for my Prairie Moon order too. All of those that I’ve ordered require 30 to 60 days cold stratification, so hopefully I’ll be able to get that in before it is time to put them out. I’ll post that haul when it comes in too 
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cool! good selection, too.
we have grown both of those amaranth and the rojo was heartier than the pink (for us - zone 11) and we got a ton of greens (we weren’t growing them for the seed) very good prepared in so many ways. also grew the purple bok choi. loved it, but that one is a winter crop for us, the summer heat here just clobbers leafy greens.
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It’ll be my first time growing amaranth, soy & bok choi. I’m cautiously optimistic though!
We’re zone 6b with fairly hot & humid summers, so I’m hoping to get a harvest or two of bok choi before the heat sets in, and then maybe another in the fall.
If you have any particular ways you like to prepare amaranth, I’d love to hear them!
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my favorite way is to stir fry the leaves in a little olive oil with garlic and fresh ginger until just wilted, then squeeze a lemon over all give a little toss and serve. also cooked into a pot of lentils in the last 15-20 minutes is another easy and delicious use. we even salt pickled a quart with garlic and ginger. made a nice side bit or on top of broiled fish. lots of other ways, including just fresh in a mixed greens salad.
good luck and happy gardening!
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I like the salt pickling idea, may have to experiment with that. Assuming crop success, it will definitely make its way into some stir fries.
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If you grow amaranth for “grain,” it is insanely productive. Processing is a little different than wheat, but the quantities are crazy.
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amaranth can take over a garden bed when it goes to seed. we grew ours in a separate area, away from the peppers and other greens.
we still get volunteers after 3 years!
when i grew up in texas, we grew amaranth for seedgrain and it was prolific. i don’t really remember what the mum did with them, maybe another non-wheat adjunct flour like mesquite bean flour that we harvested/ ground.
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I add it to wheat ground for bread to increase nutritional value, at maybe 10% or so. I only grow 3-4 plants for grain and get all I need. It is a brute.
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The goal is to let at least some of the “Elena’s Rojo” produce seed.
I don’t love the thought of having it pop up uninvited in my garden for years to come though, so i may try wrapping the seed heads in nylon brewers bags to prevent as many escapees as possible.
I’ve heard it can make a nice oatmeal like porridge.
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Worth a try, but be aware the sseds are unbelievably tiny, and go everywhere.
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A bit like oregano in that respect, then. 
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And here’s the prairie moon haul!
(BTW, apologies for the incorrect orientation on the photos, having a tough time rotating on my phone…)
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Got started stratifying the seeds that need it. I was about to do a run of sterilized mushroom substrate, so I decided to toss in a jar of vermiculite to use for the seeds while I was at it.
Jars ready to come out of the pressure cooker:
Ready for inoculation (This will be a cleaner process once I get around to building my laminar flow hood)
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The jars on top are Lion’s Mane, the middle will be inoculated with Hen of the woods once I make lids for them, the bottom is a strain of Psilocybe Cubensis. I might try to get a couple jars of oyster mushroom in there too.
Now back to the plants. Sterilized vermiculite, and then portioned into bags for cold stratification:
The blue cohosh will need either multiple cycles of warm & cold stratification, or hot scarification followed by cold stratification. I’m saving the start of this for another day.
The Ramps, well they are difficult. I think I’m going to try starting warm stratification in about two months, let them go until October, then switch to cold and put them out next spring.
I also found some wild ginger seeds from last year that I forgot to do anything with. Thought I might as well see if I can get any action out of them…
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After four months growing under cover its time to uncover the garlic. Looks like 100% survival rate.
Also, regarding a previous comment about my raised beds resembling graves:
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The number of buds seems excessive. Maybe the tree is just happy? The bees certainly are, the tree often has over a dozen bees visiting at a time. Not much else flowering nearby. Tho the spring wildflowers have started blooming en masse
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The plant person who enabled my initial infatuation with citrus in pots told me that Meyer lemons will set an unreasonable number of fruit, keep them going just long enough to raise your hopes, and then drop the excess to hurt your feelings and more importantly to reduce the number of fruit to what it can actually support.
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