HOW LONG YOUR SEEDS STAY VIABLE
How Long Do Seeds Last: before they are outdated and should be thrown away?
Vegetable seeds will remain viable for some time if stored in cool, temperature [but not freezing] and low humidity. The following list indicates the length of time that you can save seed and still use them. But, a caveat is, if you are not sure [this applies to new seeds as well], dampen 2 paper towels, place 5 seeds between the 2 damp papers. Keep your eye on them, and, if they all germinate then you have 100% germination, less than full germination means the seeds don't show strong viability. Therefore, either buy seed from another grower, or, to get the size crop you want, sow seeds more thickly.
So how long do they last?
Bean seed - 3 years; Beets - 2 years; Broccoli - 5; Cabbage - 5; Carrots - 3; Collard - 5; Eggplant - 6; Kale - 5; Leek - 2; Lettuce - 3; Muskmelon - 5; Okra - 2; onion - 1; Peas - 3; Pepper - 2; Pumpkin - 4; Spiinach - 3; Squash - 5; Tomato - 4; Turnip - 5; Watermelon - 5.
HYBRID PLANTS - One warning -in general, don't save seed from the plants you have grown that same year. Remembering Mendel the monk, who studied peas and thus developed the field of genetics, Most of our vegetable seed has been hybridized, for size, disease resistance, etc. , and you WILL NOT get the same plant the following year, but either 'mom' or 'pop'.
'OLDE' ROSEBUD'S METHOD OF PLANTING TOMATOES - IT WORKS!
1 - Tomatoes are either determinate [they grow only to a certain height] and Indeterminate [they don't stop growing - needs lots of tall staking]. so, buy plants that will fit your space.
2 - Tomatoes are also labeled as 'Early', Mid-season and Late, indicating the number of days from transplanting to first harvest.
3 - Tomatoes are subject ot many diseases. So, choose plants wisely; as disease resistant as you can find, especially to Fusarium wilt, Verticillium, leaf spot and other bacterial and/or fungal diseases.
When it is time to plant:
1 - Have on hand a [small] box of Epsom Salts, a source of magnesium that benefits the growth and disease resistance of your chosen tomato plants.
2 - Dig a deep and wide hole, much bigger than the roots of the plant and to a depth that equals the height of the tomato plant UP TO the TOP set of leaves. Tomato plants have the ability to develop roots from the stem - planting deeply will give greater stability!
3 - Mix into the hole a handful of Epsom salts and a handful of compost [cow manure if you can get it!].
3 - Fill the hole with water and allow to drain out.
4 - Remove the tomato plant from its pot. If the plant pot is made from peat, peel that away as well.
5 - Place the plant in the hole, water again; fill in the hole up to just below the top set of leaves.
6 - Tamp down the soil, making a 'dish' around the stem to retain water and water deeply again.
WHAT TO PLANT AND WHEN TO PLANT IT
So, now the garden is ready for planting – and it’s mid-April, WHAT can we plant and WHEN?
How Long Do Seeds Last: before they are outdated and should be thrown away?
Vegetable seeds will remain viable for some time if stored in cool, temperature [but not freezing] and low humidity. The following list indicates the length of time that you can save seed and still use them. But, a caveat is, if you are not sure [this applies to new seeds as well], dampen 2 paper towels, place 5 seeds between the 2 damp papers. Keep your eye on them, and, if they all germinate then you have 100% germination, less than full germination means the seeds don't show strong viability. Therefore, either buy seed from another grower, or, to get the size crop you want, sow seeds more thickly.
So how long do they last?
Bean seed - 3 years; Beets - 2 years; Broccoli - 5; Cabbage - 5; Carrots - 3; Collard - 5; Eggplant - 6; Kale - 5; Leek - 2; Lettuce - 3; Muskmelon - 5; Okra - 2; onion - 1; Peas - 3; Pepper - 2; Pumpkin - 4; Spiinach - 3; Squash - 5; Tomato - 4; Turnip - 5; Watermelon - 5.
HYBRID PLANTS - One warning -in general, don't save seed from the plants you have grown that same year. Remembering Mendel the monk, who studied peas and thus developed the field of genetics, Most of our vegetable seed has been hybridized, for size, disease resistance, etc. , and you WILL NOT get the same plant the following year, but either 'mom' or 'pop'.
'OLDE' ROSEBUD'S METHOD OF PLANTING TOMATOES - IT WORKS!
1 - Tomatoes are either determinate [they grow only to a certain height] and Indeterminate [they don't stop growing - needs lots of tall staking]. so, buy plants that will fit your space.
2 - Tomatoes are also labeled as 'Early', Mid-season and Late, indicating the number of days from transplanting to first harvest.
3 - Tomatoes are subject ot many diseases. So, choose plants wisely; as disease resistant as you can find, especially to Fusarium wilt, Verticillium, leaf spot and other bacterial and/or fungal diseases.
When it is time to plant:
1 - Have on hand a [small] box of Epsom Salts, a source of magnesium that benefits the growth and disease resistance of your chosen tomato plants.
2 - Dig a deep and wide hole, much bigger than the roots of the plant and to a depth that equals the height of the tomato plant UP TO the TOP set of leaves. Tomato plants have the ability to develop roots from the stem - planting deeply will give greater stability!
3 - Mix into the hole a handful of Epsom salts and a handful of compost [cow manure if you can get it!].
3 - Fill the hole with water and allow to drain out.
4 - Remove the tomato plant from its pot. If the plant pot is made from peat, peel that away as well.
5 - Place the plant in the hole, water again; fill in the hole up to just below the top set of leaves.
6 - Tamp down the soil, making a 'dish' around the stem to retain water and water deeply again.
WHAT TO PLANT AND WHEN TO PLANT IT
So, now the garden is ready for planting – and it’s mid-April, WHAT can we plant and WHEN?
LAST FROST DATE in this area is [generally] May 15th.
Cool Season Vegetables, i.e. plant in spring and again in fall
Beets, carrots, radish – better sown directly into ground
Kale & Collard [plants or seed]
Swiss Chard, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower – better as transplants
Lettuce of a wide variety of types – sown directly as seed, or transplants
Peas [for 2011 – either buy plants, or plant short day snow peas
** Peas should be planted by St. Pat’s Day
** The cabbages are sensitive to cabbageworm [a white butterfly. So, If you want to plant these crops, plan to group them together and cover with a floating row cover, to keep the butterflies out!
Warm Season Crops: last frost date [but you can ‘push’ that a little … maybe. Memorial Day is generally accepted as appropriate…
Cucumber – grow vertically
^^ Eggplant – better grown in pots with a ‘soilless mix’ Too many soil diseases
^^ Peppers [definitely buy a variety of transplants]
^^ Okra
^^ Pumpkins, winter squash, summer squash & zucchini –need LOTS room
Snap Beans [used to be called string beans] – directly sown
^^ Tomatoes – transplants - ! Buy early, middle, late varieties. Vars, that are determinate take up less room.
^^ Potatoes and Sweet potatoes [needs special growing conditions – another blog post]
MANY of these vegetables are LONG [^^] season – they’ll use up their allocated space all season long
Succession planting – sow early and then repeat sowing.
Bush beans,
Beets, radish, carrots, lettuce
Turnips and greens, including Kale
Radishes
FALL crops – to be planted late in summer
Beets, Carrots, Radish
Kale and Collards, and Swiss chard & Turnip greens
Spinach – best planted in fall – lightly mulch after frost – You’ll get a FINE crop the following spring.
WHY RAISED BEDS?
Welcome to the Garrett Hill Gardening Adventure, and why you might ask is the plan to build raised beds; why not just turn over the soil?
There are MANY reasons to utilize the Raised Bed System Of Gardening.
Extending the planting season - The planting areas are elevated from the base soil; it warms up earlier in the spring, moisture content is better in spring and the soil remains workable well into the fall. With the creation of a small hoop house, one can garden 10-11 months a year.
Soil preparation – Using raised beds means that the gardener only ‘digs’ the soil once. Saves ones back. Each spring one only needs to fluff up the soil, to loosen the soil from the previous years root compaction. Of course, adding some aged compost is always a good idea.
In order to keep the soil light, NEVER step into the bed, but reach in from each side. That is the reason for the 4-foot width and the space between planting beds.
Water Conservation – Only the area of the crops is watered, mulched and/or fertilized. Much less precious water is used.
Plant Spacing – or how to grow more vegetables in less space than you can imagine. Visualize a ‘standard’ [in-ground] vegetable garden that consists of rows of vegetables, separated by wide rows for walking and/or machinery. In raised bed gardening, plantings are done on a staggered grid system, allowing many more plants per square foot.
Weeds and Mulching – Through planting plants closer than one might think, the leaves barely touch, shading any opportunistic weed. In addition, mulching some plants with salt hay’ part way through the gardening season will both block out weeds and keep the underlying soil stay moist.
Physical access – As none of us are getting any younger; raising the beds even 8 – 10 inches means less bending over and/or crawling around on ones knees.
[Sara: Master Gardener]
COFFEE FILTER METHOD
http://www.robsplants.com/seed/baggy.php
COFFEE FILTER METHOD
http://www.robsplants.com/seed/baggy.php
