Bells of the North Homestead

Due to the limited amounts of seeds we have on hand, this seed giveaway will be, well limited.  Not like our past few. This will include five of each of the following seeds: Bhut Jolokia Mild Jalapeno Sweet Banana Pepper And as a bonus, a mixed variety of winter squash (because you know how much I love winter squash!) a Rafflecopter giveaway This raffle will only last for 7 days and there will only be one winner so get your entries in now!

UPDATE! I have one last batch of seeds left to give to any who would like them. Due to the overwhelming response I have nothing left other than Long Island Cheese Pumpkin seeds and I barely have much left of those!  These grow into gorgeous pumpkin like squash with brilliant orange flesh. Long Island Cheese pumpkins are very sweet and are great for making pies, breads or even soups.  This weekend I will probably be making a recipe I found on Southern Food.about.com to use up our one last Cheese Pumpkin (hence the reason I can offer a few more seeds!) Pumpkin Pecan Bread This recipe makes 3 loaves of pumpkin bread, perfect for gifts or holiday entertaining. Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes Ingredients: 3 cups sugar 4 large eggs 1 cup vegetable oil 1 (16-ounce) can pumpkin pureé 3 1/2 cups self-rising flour * 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground...

A few might recall I posted a giveaway for free seeds  a while ago.  I do have a few left to give out which I have listed down below here but here's a bonus for those who received some of those free seeds. A bit of history. I am the type of person who loves reading the history behind a plant.  How did it become so popular? Why is this certain vegetable or fruit so expensive in the grocery store? Why does it have that really weird and sometimes musical name?  To me, this makes it so much more enjoyable to know all about the plants that I grow.  So I decided to post some of the research I did while working on a project called Vegucation Outreach  that is being used here to encourage kids eat their veggies.    Something to keep in mind about the winter squash.  Many say this "Oh you have to have ROOM to grow THOSE plants!"  I beg to differ.  I have been now for the past two seasons training my heavy ...

BIG SEED GIVEAWAY ~~ UPDATE ~~ The following seeds are free for the asking. Just ask. Acorn Squash Long Island Cheese Pumpkin Marina di Chioggia Kabocha Squash Delicata Squash Carnival (also heard it called Festival) Squash Galeux D'eysines Red Russian Kale Casaba Melon Santa Claus Melon Most of these I have either grown myself and harvested from the fruit or I purchased the fruit at a local vendor and then saved the seeds.  So far I have had massive successes with germination and growth for most of these seeds.  All of these seeds are no more than one year old. Due to high demand, the tomatoes are now GONE!   I still have loads to share of the others though! Also, keep in mind when making your list up and thinking of postage that if you would like all the seeds on this list it will fit into approximately 3 small envelopes.  I want to help keep the cost down to both you and I, especially during these more turbulent economic time...

Who likes free stuff? I know I do! Okay, well.  I did an inventory of our entire seed bank and found we have a lot of extra seeds. Now, I do have to say, this offer is not exactly free.  There is a cost somewhat. Like last years Black Futsu Seed giveaway the only thing I ask on this one is that if you are interested you must cover the postage. This means, unlike last year when people sent me a self addressed envelope with postage included (.45 postage on one envelope, .45 on self addressed envelope. .90 grand total), you will only have to send .46 to me via Paypal. If you prefer you still can send me a self addressed envelope with postage but I suggest the Paypal method to save a bit of $$$ and I did have quite a few people report that they sent me envelopes that I never received. I will cover the cost of envelopes. If you are interested in this offer you can email me. If you are interested in getting some almost free seeds this is all I ask. Email me your add...

My new favorite winter squash is the Black Futsu squash!  Really!  I think this almost qualifies as a new love of mine! Let me just say this is the most delectable, the most tasty winter squash that so far I have yet to enjoy! We purchased our seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom seeds because it just looked interesting.  Here is their description. Rare, black Japanese squash, the fruit is flattened, round and has heavy ribbing. Very unique and beautiful. The black fruit will turn a rich chestnut color in storage. Flesh is golden color and has the rich taste of hazelnuts. Fruits are 3-8 lbs. each and vines give huge yields; did excellent here. Popular with European market growers. Good insect resistance makes this a winner here!  The flesh does indeed turn a wonderful, rich orange color and the flavor (at least to me) was more like chestnuts! Not really hazelnuts.  Also the flesh is not stringy like so many other winter squashes.  It is almost starchy l...