The Heirloom Life Gardener
If you don’t already grow your own food, the gorgeous photos in this book alone will make you want to. But what I enjoyed most about The Heirloom Life Gardener was Jere Gettle’s wise, warm voice, which made this book read like a conversation with a longtime gardener friend who knows way, way more about seeds than I ever will.
Dubbed “the Indiana Jones of Seeds” by New York Times Magazine, Gettle is well known in organic gardening circles for running the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company with his wife Emilee.
Their book, written with Meghan Sutherland, offers a lot of great hands-on advice for growing 50 different heirloom vegetables, as well as tips for disease control and seed saving. (Check out page 203 for great visuals on saving tomato seeds.) But there are also a lot of fascinating stories about things like how plants got their names, how certain vegetables became popular and, of course, how Jere developed his passion for heirloom seeds.
Read More»A Handy Chart on Seed Longevity
- On May 02, 2011
- By Meleah
- In Seeds
- 0
In one of my latest blog posts, I talked about how to assess your seeds to find out whether they were duds before planting time. Writing about that topic piqued my interest in finding out more, so I did some research and found a great chart that garden guru Margaret Roach posted on her always informative Web site. Here is the link: http://awaytogarden.com/estimating-viability-how-long-do-seeds-last.
Roach compiled the chart based on seed viability estimates from four sources: extension services in Iowa and Vermont, Johnny’s Selected Seeds catalog, and the Fedco seed catalog. She notes in her post that it’s no wonder we all get confused about how long seeds last. Depending on the source, for example, tomato seeds can last anywhere from four to ten years. Her post, and the chart, are definitely worth a look.
Bad Seeds
- On April 22, 2010
- By Meleah
- In Seeds
- 0
There probably isn’t a gardener alive who doesn’t have at least a small pile of half-empty seed packets, seeds in jars, or seeds in envelopes lying around. We always mean to plant the seeds we save, but time gets away from us and at some point we find ourselves wondering whether it’s too late. And it may be. Seeds don’t last forever, but it’s surprising how often you’ll find that seeds are still good long after the expiration date on the packet.
Before you plant seeds and hope for the best, do a germination test like you did in school as a kid. Note, though, that this test is best for annual and vegetable seeds because many perennial seeds require special treatment before they’ll sprout.
Place the seeds you want to test on a moist (not soggy) paper towel and cover them with another moist paper towel. Put your seed-towel sandwich inside a sealed plastic bag or between sheets of plastic wrap. Label the bag and store it in a warm spot out of direct sunlight—on top of the fridge is usually a good choice.
Check the seeds daily and use a spray bottle to moisten them if they’re drying out. Depending on the seeds you’re testing, sprouting could take a few days or a few weeks. (If you have commercial seed packets, check those for germination times.) Once your seeds have sprouted you’ll be able to calculate their germination rate, so if just 50 percent sprouted, say, you’ll want to sow them more heavily in the garden to ensure you get the number of plants you want.