Thursday, April 26, 2007

Sowing Early Seeds Outdoors

Some seeds can be sown outdoors as soon as the soil can be worked. We sowed our early seeds near the end of March. We purchased the seeds from Park's Seeds. Here is a brief summary of my experience with the seeds and my recommendations.

Excellent Success Rate - Highly Recommend

Super Sugar Snap Pea - The plants came up very quickly - in about 7 days, with a near 100% success rate. So many plants germinated successfully that I had to thin them out. It was heartbreaking, but great to have such success! They are still growing steadfastly, and I expect some good beans from this crop.

Organic Lettuce Salad Bowl Mix - The plants came up moderately quickly - in about 15 days, with a low success rate at about 50%, using the entire packet of seeds for a 9 foot row. However, I admit that I did not really cultivate the soil well enough to provide the fine soil such small seeds may require. If you have rocky clay soil like I do, I recommend you cultivate the soil as best you can, then spread a nice thick 2" layer of quality potting soil along the row where you will sow the seeds. This will help yield better results. Although the success rate was low, once I spaced the plants out at the recommended interval, I had more plants than could fit into the 9 foot row. They are growing well, and I expect to eat some tasty salads this year from this crop.

Spinach Space Hybrid - The plants came up moderately quickly - in about 12 days, with a decent success rate of about 75%, using only about 30% of the seeds in the packet. Again, I admit that I did not cultivate the soil well enough, and I should have spread a 2" layer of potting soil along the planting line. Despite the moderate success rate, once I spaced the plants out at the recommended interval, I had more plants than could fit into the 9 foot row. The plants are growing slowly, but surely, and I am hoping for a good crop.

Awful Success Rate - Purchase with Caution

Onion Yellow Granex Hybrid 33 - Yes, only I would try to grow onions from seed! After 4 weeks of waiting, I have had ZERO plants pop their heads up through the soil. Maybe it's from my rocky clay, maybe it's from bad seeds, who can tell. I did lighten up the clay with loads of peat though, so I can't blame the heaviness of the soil. If it was from my rocky clay, I would expect at least one or even two seeds to germinate, so I do suspect the seeds are bunk. I am going to try again since I didn't use the entire packet on the first sowing. I'll update you on the second try.

Carrot Sweetness II Hybrid - After 4 weeks, I had ZERO plants even pretending to germinate. I used the entire pack of seeds trying to sow one 9 foot row, so there are no redos with this one. I sowed on top of the soil and covered the seeds with grass clippings, so I am slow to blame my soil. I purchased a different kind of carrot that claims to be excellent in clay soils, so I'll update you on that seed when I see (or don't see) some results.

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Sowing Seeds Indoors

I ordered a lot of seeds this year from Park's Seeds for the vegetable garden and for my flower boxes. I intend to grow all our veg from seed this year. Here is a brief summary of my experience with the seeds and my recommendations.

Excellent Success Rate - Highly Recommend:

Celebrity Hybrid Tomato - I sowed two seeds per peat pod and had almost 100% success rate with both seeds in the pod. I recommend saving your seeds and sowing just one seed per pod. The plants are strong and healthy, and the seeds germinate rapidly, so if there are any failures, you can sow another one in short time. The plants grow very quickly.

Marcellino Hybrid Tomato - I sowed two seeds per peat pod and had almost 100% success rate with both seeds in the pod. I recommend saving your seeds and sowing just one seed per pod. The plants are strong and healthy, and the seeds germinate rapidly, so if there are any failures, you can sow another one in short time. The plants grow very quickly.

California Wonder Organic Pepper - I sowed two seeds per peat pod and had about 75% success rate. I recommend saving your seeds and sowing just one seed per pod. The plants are strong and healthy. The seeds germinated a little slower than the tomatoes, but if there are any failures, you can sow another one in short time. The plants don't grow very quickly, but they are strong plants.

Red Rubin Basil - I sowed two seeds per peat pod and had a 100% success rate with both seeds in the pod. I recommend saving your seeds and sowing just one seed per pod. The plants are strong and healthy, and the seeds germinate moderately quickly, so if there are any failures, you can sow another one in short time. The plants don't grow very quickly, but they are strong plants.

Lemon Sweet Dani Basil - I sowed two seeds per peat pod and had a 100% success rate with both seeds in the pod. I recommend saving your seeds and sowing just one seed per pod. The plants are strong and healthy, and the seeds germinate moderately quickly, so if there are any failures, you can sow another one in short time. The plants don't grow very quickly, but they are strong plants.

Marseille Basil - I sowed two seeds per peat pod and had a 100% success rate with both seeds in the pod. I recommend saving your seeds and sowing just one seed per pod. The plants are strong and healthy, and the seeds germinate moderately quickly, so if there are any failures, you can sow another one in short time. The plants don't grow very quickly, but they are strong plants.

Large Leaf Italian Basil - I sowed two seeds per peat pod and had a 100% success rate with both seeds in the pod. I recommend saving your seeds and sowing just one seed per pod. The plants are strong and healthy, and the seeds germinate moderately quickly, so if there are any failures, you can sow another one in short time. The plants don't grow very quickly, but they are strong plants.

Crookneck Squash - I sowed two seeds per peat pod and had a 100% success rate with both seeds in the pod. I recommend saving your seeds and sowing just one seed per pod. The plants are strong and healthy, even though the seeds germinate very slowly. The plants do grow INCREDIBLY quickly, so sow these a little later than it suggests on the packet.

Santo Cilantro - I sowed two seeds per peat pod and had a 25% success rate. I recommend sowing up to 4 seeds per pod to increase your success rate. The plants are healthy, but the seeds germinate very slowly. The plants don't grow very quickly, but they are strong plants.

Serena Purple Angelonia - I sowed one seed per peat pod and had a 100% success rate. The plants are strong and healthy, and the seeds germinate moderately quickly. The plants don't grow very quickly, but they are strong plants.

Questionable Success Rate - Purchase with Caution:

Cornado Crown Hybrid Broccoli - I sowed two seeds per peat pod and had nearly 100% success rate with both seeds. However, the plants were VERY weak and spindly, and the length of the stem outgrew the width, making the stem unable to support the weight of the leaves. I sowed these seeds twice with the same result. I doubt they will make it in the garden, but perhaps you know some secret to sowing broccoli. I think I will try to direct sow them and see if the results are better.

Chaenarrhinum Summer Skies - The claim is that this flower is quick and easy to grow, but that has not been my experience. I sowed two seeds per peat pod, and had about a 50% success rate. The plants are very weak and spindly and painfully slow growing. They seem to topple over and die for no apparent reason on a whim. I am very disappointed in these seeds. I am going to try a direct sow with the remaining three seeds I have left.

Awful Success Rate - Avoid Purchase:

Petunia Dolcissima Limoncello Park's website raves about the beauty of these petunias and boasts about the awards they have won, but they fail to mention that they are impossible to grow. Out of the 30 seeds I sowed, only 5 have turned into viable plants. Out of those 5, I consider only 3 of them to be thriving. I am going to try to direct sow some of the remaining seeds, but I have little hope for them. Mature petunias are cheap. Sure, they aren't these fancy Italian ones, but trust me - they aren't worth the trouble and the space they take to try to grow!

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Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Boyer Nurseries & Orchards

I recently purchased two Black Gold cherry trees and a Niobe Willow from Boyer Nurseries & Orchards. I first saw the Black Gold cherry on Wayside Garden's website and knew I must have it. At just 12 feet high and 10 feet wide, the self-pollinating Black Gold produces a big crop of sweet, black cherries, but will easily fit in my back yard! The only problem was that Wayside wanted $30 plus shipping and did not specify the size of the tree. I have suffered several disappointments due to the size of plants I have received from Wayside, and I wasn't willing to take a chance on this tree. So, I googled "Black Gold" +cherry +tree and found the tree from Boyer!

Boyer specified exactly how tall the tree would be (5 feet), and the price was under $20! I also ordered a second Black Gold for a neighbor who caught the "Black Gold cherry bug" from me, and a Niobe Willow she has been looking for. She hasn't been able to find the Willow for under $150, but Boyer had a 6 foot tree for $36! The trees arrived in great condition, already pruned back to accommodate for the root loss when the trees were dug, and ready to plant. I am very happy with the quality of the trees, and I will be ordering from Boyer again.

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Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Snow in April

Snow in April used to be exciting, unexpected, fun. Now, it is heartbreaking. I hadn't planted anything that wasn't cold-hearty, but the snow still wreaked havoc in the garden. The roses had several inches of new growth destroyed, and all the shrubs suffered the same fate. I'm not sure if I'll have to prune everything again or not. Pruning 15 roses again is going to be a chore. Ugh.

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