Gardening in Virginia – Seed Savers Exchange

January 22, 2020gardengarden, garden planning, no dig garden, seed order, seed savers exchange, seedsarthurized Leave a comment

My seed orders are in! Each Christmas my sister is so kind to send us a gift certificate to Seed Savers Exchange. I love to see what’s new each year and order seeds that we couldn’t source locally. (This post is not sponsored by Seed Savers Exchange. I simply enjoy their products and I think you might too!)

We’re long-time customers of Seed Savers Exchange and have been very pleased with the selection and quality of their seeds. I’ve never interacted with customer service, because the orders have always been accurately fulfilled.

I love that SSE shares the history behind the seeds. To think that some of these seeds were handed down within families for generations or tucked away and forgotten for decades!

Delaway Kale – We buy a ton of organic kale and use it in salads and soups all year long. I chose this variety because it is a fall crop with relatively smooth leaves. (I don’t enjoy the texture of curly kale; it’s like munching on a Brillo pad) As a bonus, this kale has an Irish provenance.

Bouquet Dill – We use dill when it is in season and freeze it for use in salads and dips, especially tzatziki.

Diamond Eggplant – I haven’t grown eggplant in several years, but I love it studded with garlic and roasted or in my favorite roasted eggplant dip.

Sea Shells Cosmos Mix – I chose this because it’s pretty! These little sun-lovers tolerate poor soil and drought. I’ve never grown cosmos before, but I have a few bare areas of the yard to beautify.

Petite Yellow Watermelon – This little icebox variety is just right for a family of two. Watermelon is our go-to summertime dessert, we just can’t get enough.

Red Velvet Lettuce – Let’s get real, I chose this for it’s bold color. How pretty will this be on the plate?!

Winter Density Lettuce – Cold tolerant, slow to bolt, imported from England; what’s not to love?

Parris Island Cos Lettuce – In addition to kale, we go through a ton of romaine around here. I’m interested to see if this variety will tolerate a little late spring heat.

Glass Gem Corn – So, my sister Anna bullied me into buying this seed. Just kidding, she said I should give it a try. And I figured, why not? Mark has experience growing corn, although we’ve never dried it for popping. We’ll give it a whirl. Gardening is one giant experiment, right?

What are you planting this year?

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Gardening in Virginia – Cold Stratification

January 8, 2020gardenbaker creek heirloom seeds, botanical interests, cold stratification, companion plants, seed savers exchange, southern gardenerarthurized 2 Comments

With Christmas in the rear-view mirror, I’d just as soon go straight to spring and gardening season. Since that won’t happen, I’ll busy myself with a few garden tasks while the snow flies.

This year I’m planting a few types of seeds that benefit from cold stratification. In a nutshell, stratification is subjecting the seeds to cold, moist conditions in order to mimic winter dormancy. This softens up the hard seed coat and when warm temperatures arrive, it signals the seed to open and grow. Some seeds will not germinate (or will germinate very poorly) without it.

Depending on the seed, it could need anywhere from 1-3 months of stratification; this information will be printed on the seed packet. I’m experimenting with two varieties of lavender because it is a good companion plant for nearly everything else in the garden.

I’m also planting milkweed to draw pollinators to the yard. My father-in-law (affectionately known as Pa Kettle) planted milkweed for my mother-in-law so she could collect monarch caterpillars and watch them transform. Each fall, her front porch and dining room table were filled with butterfly cages. She was the cutest little mad scientist! Her middle school students enjoyed watching the process and learning about the life cycle of monarch butterflies.

This is my first attempt at cold stratification, and I’ve read that you can use either peat moss or sand. Being a more-is-more girl, I decided to try each, plus a 1:1 mixture of peat and sand. The process is the same regardless of the medium.

Some articles suggested sterilizing the planting medium so I placed my peat and sand into the oven on the lowest setting for a few hours.

Prepare plastic bags or other containers by writing the seed name and date for removal from cold stratification on the bag.

Now for the fun part! Mix a little water into the peat or sand until you can form it into a ball. The medium should be thoroughly but only slightly dampened. You should not be able to squeeze water out of the mixture. Excess moisture could cause the seeds to mildew or rot.

Mix the seeds into the medium and place into the prepared bags. Pop the bags into the lowest part of your refrigerator and you’re done!

I’ll check on mine occasionally to make sure they haven’t germinated. If some seeds do sprout, I will transfer them to planting trays and keep them in a warm, sunny spot until I can plant them outside.

Have you had any success with cold stratification? Do you have any tips to share? I’m all ears!

Seed Starting Pots – A Recycling Project

March 27, 2019plantsarthurized home, colorful cottage living, garden with kids, plants, recycle, repurpose, seed savers exchange, seed starting, seedsarthurized 2 Comments

Do you know that you’ve got an endless supply of seed starting pots in your home? Well, they’re not pots yet. They’re more commonly known as empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls! (I’m trying to refrain from potty puns.)

If you’re using paper towel rolls, cut them in half or thirds.
(Do you think my background looks like tiny rolls of toilet paper?)

Open up the tube and pinch the first folds together and press flat again to form a square.
Measure across the top; mine is just over one inch.

Use half of that measurement to mark the fold lines. My fold line is 1/2″ from the bottom.

Using sturdy scissors, cut along each of the 4 corners up to the fold line. You don’t have to mark the flaps A, B, C & D. I’ve done that to better explain this step. I hope!

Now fold each flap toward the center of the pot. Starting from the top (A),
work clockwise (B, C). When you reach the flap on the left (D), tuck the top half of it
under the first flap (A). That will secure the bottom of the pot.

You want the pot to close tightly at the bottom so the soil is contained.
If yours has a gap, re-fold the flap a little higher until the gap is closed.

Now you have a little seed starting pot!
But he needs some friends.

Fill with potting soil and plant those seeds!

When your seedlings are ready to transplant into a larger pot or the garden, open the flaps and plant it whole. Or, carefully cut the side of the pot open from top to bottom without disturbing the roots. The pot will decompose over time. Happy gardening!

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