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Seeds For Trial Garden

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A few of the seeds that were sent to me

This year I received seeds to trial in my gardens from American Meadows. They arrived this last week, and the weather is finally warming up so that I can get ready to plant them. Exciting, is it not?

I have a large amount that were sent in the nicest cloth bags, 1/4 lb. worth of an annual Wildflower mix, and equal amount of a Honeybee mix! Those are really generous amounts.  I plan to place some in my prairie style patch in the front yard, some in the vegetable patch ( a row of honeybee friendly plants should help with pollination) and go looking for other sunny spots for this windfall of glorious seed.

I was especially glad to see the little packets of forget-me-nots. This has always been a favorite of mine and I lost them due to the fact that I mulched heavily in that area of my garden. Reseeding can’t take place when smothered by mulch. In fact, that is the main reason we mulch, to prevent seed sprouting- although it is the weedy type that is unwanted.

Just goes to show that when we prevent one type of seed, we sometimes unknowingly deny ourselves some of the pretty plants that we wanted to reappear.

American Meadows Wildflower Seeds

Some of the things that I like about what I received is the fact that that this company is GMO free.

“All the seed we handle at American Meadows is GMO free.”

Seed Order
A timely order well sent

They have regional mixes, and mixes for specific uses, like fragrance or the Honeybee mix I received. The seeds arrived on one of the few nice days we’ve had and were well packaged in a bubblewrap type of envelope.

I am going to be able to prepare some ground this week, and will plant at least some of the seeds into the ground. I plan to stagger the planting since we are able to have frost into May. That way I can also determine the best results from planting times. In looking at the types of seeds in the mix, I expect that if planted too early, some would be lost to cold conditions.

Meadow gardens

I have been wanting to create more of this type of garden, although I do find that I must keep after my wild looking little prairie patch. Canadian thistle likes to settle in there, and the goldenrod is pretty pushy, although it belongs in such a place.

I mix in exotic species (don’t hate me), including some ornamental grasses, plants like the Shasta daisies that do a little too well elsewhere. My rationale is that an ecosystem like a prairie is almost impossible to truly replicate. So, I am happy with an area that is supportive of bees, wildlife, and has little or no need of extra water, or chemical and mechanical maintenance.

I expect to have plenty of topic and photo fodder to report on throughout this growing season.

Are you changing how you grow and landscape your yards? In what way?

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© 2013 written for Ilona’s Garden Journal by Ilona E. An excellent blog.

Still too early, so wait for it

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Don’t Start Seeds Too Early

Photo: MissyRedBoots, Judith Broug

Some of you aren’t going to heed this advice. I blame the fact that this winter has been so long (psychologically) and cold that with all the complaints about it, many gardeners want to jump the gun. Whether the stores will aid and abet you, I don’t know… our road conditions have been bad and I haven’t gone to stores with seed supplies, yet.

But be forewarned if you are having fun planting your little seeds under lights: they may get tall and spindly before you can safely plant them out. That sort of defeats the reason we start plants early. Ideally you would have sturdy, healthy plants that are ready to burst forth into growth once they hit the sun warmed soils. This winter may delay that time. Maybe not, and that is the throw of the dice for gardeners.

My bets are agin’ it.

It is sort of like the advice that seasoned gardeners give you about trees: a whip will soon catch up and even overtake the planting of a much larger transplant. So why waste the money and the expectations?

But we often do what we like, and seeds are inexpensive enough for the most part,so you can experiment with timing if you wish. Ohioans and those who live in similar cold climates (
Zone 5, here) might want to wait just a week more, or even til the end of the month to plant tomato and pepper seeds.

Still, you might just get lucky with an early spring warm-up. Then you will grouse that I don’t know what I’m talking about. The thing is that for optimal growth it is the temperature of the soil rather than the air that matters to tender plants and their growth.

So if I seem a bit over cautious, or wishy-washy about timing (depending on how you look at it), it is more due to the fact that we adjust our methods like an artists brush rather than an instrument’s calibration. Gardening is not precise, if for no other reason than we can’t predict the weather – and that has much to do with the art of gardening.

So how about this advice? Get yourself a journal and start taking notes on what you do and what works or fails for you. That way you can become the reigning expert on what goes on in your garden, which finally is the only expertise that matters in this case.

I will, however, be gathering together my seed starting supplies so that I can start some plants early this year. Even if I’m not quite ready to plant the seeds.

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Visit Ilona’s Garden Journal on facebook: Click here
© 2015 written for Ilona’s Garden Journal by Ilona E. An excellent blog.

When Thoughts Turn To…Plants

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Seed Packs
It is January, and in Ohio we experienced our usual January thaw… so everything is quite soggy at this point. Most of the gardeners here realize that we have several more months until we can garden and at least one more month to expect winter weather, but right now our thoughts turn to plants -the way a young man’s thoughts in spring turn to love. Oh, right, maybe that is all the time.

Lots of people are buying their seeds now. I’m an old gardener and I have to think about it more before I start buying seed packets off the racks or ordering a slew from the catalogs. My life continues to change, and my gardening is part of that change.

To start seeds or not to start seeds? That is the question for me.

Should I Start Seeds?

The answer to that is beyond whether I want to… starting your own plants from seed is fun, and can be economical money-wise. The question arises when I think in terms of time and attention, both while growing them, but more importantly when planting time comes.
Some of the points in my thinking process:

  • Might I be willing to prepare the ground and do the work of planting lots of little plants?
  • Or will I want larger sized plants ready to pop into the soil?
  • Am I planning to go out of town during growing or planting time?
  • How physically capable am I of preparing the garden (the digging, the hoeing, the raking,…etc) for baby plants?
  • Do I want more perennials, or do I want annuals? Do I want vegetables or shrubs or roses?

If, as in former years, many of my answers indicate that I have less time and energy for the kind of plants I would start from seeds, then I will choose to wait and buy my plants from the nursery.

My Trends Or Garden Trends

In past years I have relied on making containers filled with plants for my garden color.

The garden has increasingly turned into a more natural, less maintenance intensive, space.

As the garden matures, it has needed more pruning and less planting. Dividing and culling has been more important then making new beds.

The thing that bucks the trend for me is my vegetable gardening. I have a space to clear and till, the need for more seeds, and the desire for more of my own produce each year.

I join many others in that last trend. Everyone benefits from growing a few of their own foodstuffs even if it is just some herbs on the windowsill. One necessity in my diet that the grocery stores just can’t get right (even Whole Foods Market!) is a homegrown tomato. That is always on my list of plants to grow every season.

Seed Needs, Rainbow Tomato Mixture (10+ Varieties) 70 Seeds Non-GMO

Brand Seed Needs
EAN 0682962474909
Label Seed Needs
List Price $4.00
Manufacturer Seed Needs
Model HeirloomSeeds001
MPN 4316305690
Package Quantity 1
Part Number 4316305690
Product Group Lawn & Patio
Product Type Name SEEDS_AND_PLANTS
Publisher Seed Needs
Studio Seed Needs
Title Seed Needs, Rainbow Tomato Mixture (10+ Varieties) 70 Seeds Non-GMO
UPC 682962474909
Price Disclaimer

Decisions, Decisions

I haven’t made my mind up about whether to start my own seeds, but there is still time. It is  actually better to wait for a month for most plants, so that the seedlings aren’t too spindly at the planting time for Ohio, which is early May.

However it is time to watch videos and read up on gardening. One good thing about Ohio January weather is the occupation of being an armchair gardener.

I liked this video filled with garden/plant facts and ideas. It is smooth and it is well done -enjoy it 🙂

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Visit Ilona’s Garden Journal on facebook: Click here
© 2013 written for Ilona’s Garden Journal by Ilona E. An excellent blog.

I Learned Something – You Can Too

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Seed bombs

I’ve been doing everything except gardening and blogging for the last few weeks. It is fall, and while I usually am out in the garden planting bulbs and all sorts of autumn tasks, this year I tidied the garden and then left for the South to visit my children and grandchildren. Along the way from Ohio the beautiful leaves turning in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia satisfied my yen for natural beauty. Ohio autumn leaves seemed to have been over in a blink between rainstorms.

But what I have found for you dear readers is something which may or may not be new to you,( I had come across it a few years ago, sharing about how to become a modern Miss Jekyll ), a delightful video on how to make flower or seed bombs.

I have seed left over from a very unsatisfying growing season this past year, and I think I will make some of the bombs to pop out in my yard next spring. It should work especially well with the fact that my autumn has been dedicated to grooming the wildly overgrown beds and landscape areas that had been my gardened yard. There was no time to do much planting with all the pruning, cultivating, tearing out, and weeding.

One of the best seeds to sprout in such spaces are the hardy and half hardy annuals: Shirley poppies, Nigella, Calendulas. Wildflower perennials, such as in the video are good choices, too.

See if this idea appeals to you and the garden you wish to see growing next year.

Remember: anything you can get done in the fall and early winter is one less task for the spring.

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© 2011 written for Ilona’s Garden Journal. An excellent blog.

Expectedly, We Re-entered Winter

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I hope no one else in Ohio is disappointed, since there is no real end of winter weather here before April, and last blasts of it can happen into May. I look outside onto snow frosted fields, the upturned furrows breaking the surface are like a choppy sea. More winter storms are coming this week, but I am jaded to either their charm or their fury. Que sera, sera.

It is too early to start seeds, still. I will wait until next week, although maybe I just don’t want to start anything new since I am still adjusting after the eye surgery I had last week. I follow a tiresome schedule of eyedrops right now, and I don’t know if planting seeds would be a distraction of a good kind or an irritating one at this point. Sometimes I just like to plant my seeds outside. Less schedules and fretting that way. I sound like a petulant child and I think I have turned into one- can I blame the harsh winter which locked us all inside for so long, broke branches, which still litter the ground with their twigs (all the large pieces gathered and cut up for firewood) ? I wonder how much winter damage was levied by the extreme temperatures of the early winter?

The more I think of it, the more the idea of starting seeds is sounding better. I am sure the garden centers will have oversized and overpriced annuals this coming season. I really like smaller plants and more of them- smaller plants often are more thrifty, with better results during the growing season. What ever happened to the packs of twelve? Besides, it is cheering to have little baby plants sprouting up all over your windowsills and in your plant stand. Now I’m talking myself into it, so I probably will get some plantings going soon.

I haven’t seen much of the Dahlberg daisies offered the last couple years, and they are so cute and easy to grow. That should be on my list of annuals to start. I’ll have to look through my leftover seeds, and then make a list.

Have you started seeds yet? Are you going to concentrate on food gardening or ornamental this year? People don’t feel the pinch of the recession as much, but I bet food prices will rise, so maybe we all should plan on a patch of veggies and some herbs in our backyards (or frontyards for those who are planning to go all-edible). I’d like to know what my gardener friends are planning for this growing season.

Photo credit: missyredboots

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© 2010 written for Ilona’s Garden Journal. Copyrights apply.

Tip-toeing into Spring

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I went to the Home and Garden show last Wednesday – it sure was crowded. One benefit was that I purchased some tomato seeds to start. This year is particularly good year to have a later start on indoor seeds, since the harsh winter is still with us here (even though temperatures are rising and feeling pretty good this week). I still have some piles of snow, and the fields and parts of my landscape are still white. For me, that means the ground will stay cold, the thaw will keep the soils wet, and the vegetable garden space will not be workable for a long time yet.

Starting the seedlings later will avoid the legginess that holding them inside for so long would produce. Hopefully, I will have thrifty plants just the right size for transplanting into the garden at the right time.

This year I bought some “Black Krim” and “Pink Caspian” heirloom seeds to try them out. After reading on some forums this winter, those were two names that stood out among the recommendations for good flavor. I had planted ‘Pink Caspian‘ previously, and it had been successful, so it made the short list for this year. And I will buy a pack of ‘Better Boy‘ plants from my neighbor’s green house. Just to make sure I get some healthy homegrown tomatoes. It isn’t cost effective for me to start seeds of a commonly available hybrid like ‘Better Boy’, and I buy those locally.

I will have many more tomato plants than usual. I have to figure out where to put them, since I need to rotate space after last years problems. I might just use some of the “decorative plant” spaces! I have some bulb flower beds out front, in raised boxes. Last year I didn’t put anything in them for the summer, and maybe this year, with tomato tepees I could plant them for food crops.

This is the year of the food crop.

I saw an organization idea (not new, but a reminder of seventies re-purposing) @ In The Garden. Block and Two by Four Shelves and her Gourd tree. Our winds here would make short work of the gourd tree, but I could really use the shelving for some of my extra pots, etc, out by the garage. This is something to add to my list and post on the Gardenfile.

Things I’ll be using this week:
Burpee Ultimate Seed Starting System

The New Seed Starter’s Handbook

Gardening with Heirloom Seeds: Tried-and-True Flowers, Fruits, and Vegetables for a New Generation