From seed Ideas, Tips & Guides

She is someone I have often heard called a mentor and inspiration by some of my most respected garden friends, especially in the Pacific Northwest. No wonder, because Corvallis, Oregon-based Carol Deppe–also the author of the popular book “The Resilient Gardener”–is pragmatic, but also scientific in her approach, armed not only with precisely the right hoe for the job but also with a PhD in biology from Harvard and a long background in plant breeding.Read along as you listen to the March 30, 2015 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here). We talked about choosing vegetables to grow in combination (and when some crops are most productive and easiest grown alone); about strategic steps to avoid late blight

I‘M WORKING ON RESTRAINT over here, trying not to order every single thing I scribbled on catalog covers and Post-it’s I stuck all over them the last two weeks as I browsed hungrily on the first pass.

Most seed will last a couple to several years—but there are disclaimers to even that general a statement. As living things, seeds are perishable, particularly if not kept cool and dry (such as in a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator or freezer). Humidity, in particular, is death to seeds.Treated and pelletized seed will also have a different shelf life from seed in its natural state. The condition of the original crop the seed was harvested from will also, of course, affect its perishability.The years of viability in my chart above, then (citing Fedco and Johnny’s Selected Seed catalogs, and the Iowa State and Virginia Tech extensions) are averages, not guarantees—and all presume responsible storage tactics (not that you

I AM A PROPONENT OF GROWING YOUR OWN; you just have to check my freezer and pantry the last couple of decades to see that. But a vegetable garden is not without its costs or its commitments—cash and elbow grease both required, and then some. Vegetable harvests, like money, don’t grow on trees.

Q. What is the difference between a determinate and an indeterminate tomato? Q. Should I grow heirloom or hybrid tomatoes?Q. How much sun do I need to grow tomatoes? Q. How do I prepare the soil for tomato plants? Q. Do I need to plant my tomatoes in a different place each year? Q. Can I grow tomatoes upside-down in one of those new hanging planters I saw?Q. How and when do I start tomatoes from seed?Q. When do I transplant my tomato seedlings into the garden?Q. Can tomato seed be direct-sown in the garden?Q. If I am buying tomato transplants, are big ones better? Q. How do I plant tomatoes?Q. Do I mulch my tomato plants? Q. Should I cage, stake or trellis my tomato plants? Q. Do tomato plants need pruning? Q. When and how much do I water tomato plants? Q. Do tomatoes need to be fed; I have read that they are “heavy feeders”?

By choosing seed farmed in conditions like my own–without chemicals, and if possible, in a geographically similar environment–I can contribute less to the pollution caused by conventional seed growing, and also make a happy “match” between the seeds and my garden. Read the “New York Times” story, and if you feel inclined, share it. My latest public-radio show, produced with Robin Hood Radio, digs into the subject, too.Categoriesedible plants from seed organics vegetables.

Aha! Enter Andrew Beckman, then-garden editor at my former employer Martha Stewart Living, who was also my weekend neighbor and gardening buddy until he moved West to become editor of garden book publisher Timber Press.Normally, I don’t start tomatoes until April 15 here in Zone 5B, but the year we shot these photos, we were trying something new, which required a little headstart. The slides show Phase 1–starting the seeds–of our grafted-tomato experiment (aimed, as you may recall if you read my wintertime post about grafting, at giving heirloom types more vigor and better yields). But you can use the same ho

Joseph and I are two peas in a pod, you see, but also apples and oranges. Joseph, who gardens in Michigan, and I are both seed-catalog madpeople—but we’re mostly mad about different catalogs, and different items.Back on the first of December, I wrote to Joseph, author of “Plant Breeding for the Home Gardener,” to ask him if in, say, a month he’d be ready to talk about the latest catalogs.Silly me.“I just finished puttin

CRAZY, BUT TRUE: I ALWAYS THOUGHT the quirky “voice” of the Fedco Seeds catalog, named C.R. Lawn—get it? Lawn?—was a fictitious character, the made-up but pervasive green spirit of the longtime seed cooperative’s brand. But he’s not make-believe. He’s the Maine-based Fedco’s founder, and an organic gardener, market grower and seedsman with more than 30 years’ experience, and he took the time to answer some of my questions on what to grow and how to grow it better. The result is a vegetable-gardening Q&A (from peas to potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, mineral dusts and more), with the very real C.R. Lawn—and the chance to win three $20 Fedco gift certificates I bought to share with you, and say thanks to him. Let’s jump right in:

First, even if your tomatoes faltered or died, you may not have had late blight (I did not, to the best of my knowledge). An examination by a plant pathologist is the only way to be sure, but extensive late-blight photos at this Cornell link provided visual clues.Instead, one of a number of fungal diseases, particularly in a wet year like 2009, may have infected your plants, and/or a bacterial infection may have been present—such as a speck, spot or canker—oh, and there are viruses, too. We’ve talked about them before here. There is no shortage of possibilities; every time I look at Cornell’s Vegetable MD Online site, I am amazed and humbled that we ever ripen a tomato. Some surprising facts, and my intended tactics:Assuming this year’s last blight was the same strain normally seen, it can only overwinter on live plant tissues, not dead, in a cold zone like the Nort

I love ‘Sun Gold’ tomatoes, the tangerine-colored cherry, and wouldn’t be without one plant each year, but I’m always wishing there was a red cherry-sized fruit that was a little different—not your predictable ‘Sweet 100’ or ‘Sweet Million’ kind of character. The larger ‘Chadwick’s Cherry’ is someone special, but an indeterminate grower and later to yield. Perhaps in ‘Riesentraube’ I have finally found my dreamboat?‘Riesentraube’ (which means giant grape, probably for the way the fruits are bunched) is various said to have good flavor—beefsteak-like, says Southern Exposure—in a highly prolific plant that produces several hundred flowers and then giant clusters of 20 or even 40-plus fruits apiece. I can hardly wait, but I must, as it’s not time to start tomato seeds here yet by a longshot. Though some sources say ‘Riesentraube’ is a compact

First, let’s do a little learning on the topic of local as it applies to heirloom seeds.  I loved where the conversation led in my Q&A with Ken:Q. “Local heirlooms” is a primary message, and mission, of Hudson Valley Seed Library. Explain. A. Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder and taste is on the tongue of the eater, defining the term “local heirloom” is in the hands of the gardener. Most seeds have traveled more miles than any of us will in our lifetimes. Very few of the varieties of vegetables, herbs, and flowers that we love originally came from the places where we live. Many favorites, like tomatoes, originated in warm, sunny places like Central and South America. As the seeds traveled to new places, met new people with their own ideas of flavor, beauty, and use, they changed.So local do

The British Clematis Society’s seedhead page makes it all very clear, should the thought of propagating vines from seed–or just a deeper desire to understand what is going on outdoors, which is what always gets to me–cross your mind. Follow each of those feathery tails (the strands of silky stuff) down to the base of the puffball, and you’ll usually find the beginning of a seed. Those in the picture aren’t ripe yet, in case you’re wondering. Still too shiny.(*Or maybe you’re just wondering what a wig-hat is? Don’t ask me; I learned the phrase from Tommy Tucker’s much-covered 1964 Number 1 single. It’s apparently something you wear with “High-Heel Sneakers,” as the tune was titled. My Clematis didn’t read the enti

BY LUMPING THE CROPS I SOW INDOORS in spring into three simple groups with similar time needs, I streamline my seed-starting. You’ll need to memorize only one fact to use my “lumped-together” countdown formula, and that’s your local date of average final frost (mine isn’t until close to June).The brassicas, like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and kohlrabi, all have the same requirements: a month to six weeks indoors under lights before they go outside, which is safe about a month before final frost. This group therefore gets its start between March 15 and April 1 in my household. (Note with Brussels sprouts: many resources say sow them later, like May 1 or so, so they stand well into frost, when they achieve their best flavor. Today there are varieties requiring as few as 82ish days to maturity and as many as 100-plus, so take into consideration which you’re growing when you plan when to sow.)Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants make up my second group, each getting si

MY LATEST WEEKLY SHOW with NPR affiliate Robin Hood Radio, WHDD in Sharon, Connecticut, tackles the topic of replanting your vegetable garden for a harvest well into the fall. Stream it, or subscribe free on iTunes.Soil Too Hot and Dry for Germination?SOME SEEDS WON’T GERMINATE in baking soil, so a day or two before I sow things in high summer, I moisten and shade the bed-to-be. Cultivate at least lightly to prepare the seedbed, then water well and erect knitted shade fabric on hoops (over the area, or just lay it on the ground).  With heat-sensitive crops like salad things and spinach, I leave the shade cloth up as the plants develop.But When Exactly to Sow What?IT DOESN’T ALL GO IN AT ONCE—each crop has its timing, thoug

CLEARLY THIS PERSON needs a 12-Step program, and right now (I’ll post the address and time of the meetings for the rest of us, too, promise). And by the way, dear Andre Jordan, my friend: Is the woman in this week’s illustration a nail-biter? Those fingers of hers are, well, missing.

A. Sometimes when I’ve brought our seeds to a farmer’s market or event I hear people muttering as they pass our table, “I can’t start from seed.” At first it broke my heart a little. But then I started getting brave and asking people what they meant.In my mind I couldn’t fathom how someone might think they can’t grow a plant from seed. To me it’s natural, that’s how plants grow! Once I began talking to people I realized it was a fear based on previous attempts to grow from seed that did not work out–particularly seeds that need to be started early indoors in short-season areas, like tomatoes and peppers.But there are so many more seeds that can be direct sown–put in the ground at the right time and left to their own magical will to grow.Good examples of direct-sown seeds are peas, beans, corn, lettuce, arugula, calendula, nasturtium, and Asian greens. The only plants we Northerners and those in similar zones r

I already sowed my first short rows of salad greens and arugula, one in the coldframe and one in open ground. The protected ones are up; I’ll repeat the modest sowings in open ground every 10 days or two weeks all season long, a little bit at a time, for a continuous bowl of greens. This is how I sow salad stuff.My seed potatoes—which is what small potatoes for planting are called—should be arriving before long, and will go into the garden late this month. How I plant potatoes.My asparagus bed

John, whose dramatic and delicious purple ‘Dragon’ carrot is bright orange inside, was reassuring as ever. First, don’t feel bad, he said. “Carrots are one of the harder vegetables to grow,” confirms John (with flowering carrots in an OSA photo, above), and for a few reasons:They’re such small plants when they first sprout (the seed isn’t too big, either; I like to use pelleted, shown below, and there are now pelleted ones that meet organic certification requirements).To get really good quality you need “unchecked growth”—no obstacles either literal (like rocky or otherwise tough soil) or meteorological (extremes of heat, cold or especially dryness). “Succulence and flavor wi

Like everything in gardening—a pursuit I always remind myself is part art, part science—experts differ on just how to save tomato seed. I’ve listed links to some variations below. But basically, here’s the idea:1. Working with one variety at a time, select fully mature fruits to collect your seed from. The fruits you use should be true to type for that variety—not the runts, and not oddities like double fruit. Seed Savers Exchange says to avoid the first fruit from large-fruited varieties, too.Suggestion: If you’re going to save a lot of tomato seed, plan to do this when you are making soup or sauce or maybe gazpacho, because there will be lots of tomato flesh that would otherwise go to waste.2. Simply cut the fruits in half or quar

Now, I can tell you from first-hand experience that the purple markings on the rounded, 6- or 7-inch green pods look nothing like those on an Eastern timber rattler. But when grown until the pods mature and dry (here’s how to grow and dry shell beans), they’d be more in the snake’s tan and brown color range, if not the right pattern, exactly. The bean seeds are somewhat pinto-like, but much smaller, and speckled the way the green pods are before they turn solid green when cooked.Besides being beautiful, the fresh snap beans are somewhat sweet-tasting and easy to grow, and especially cooperative in hot weather (making them a favorite in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic, says Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, which lists them as 73 days to producing size).  Up north in Maine, Fedco’s catalog says 70 days–and that down south they’re sometimes called Preacher Beans, which Seed Savers confirms (offering a range of harvest time from 60-90 days); High Mowing See

Timing: Sometime in the second half of October, ideally about five weeks before frost is in the ground, I plant the biggest cloves from the biggest heads of my July-harvested crop.  (I eat the rest, whether while cooking up easy soups and tomato sauce to freeze in the late summer and fall, or through the winter from heads hung in net bags in my 45ish-degree barn loft, with some of the harvest peeled and frozen right now like this to use next spring and summer, when even the best-stored heads would have sprouted otherwise.)An expert 101 on how to plant garlic, and which type is best for your area. How deep? I poke the cloves, pointy side up, so that the tip is about 2 inches below the surface of the soil in my raised beds.  Mulching at planting time in areas with cold winters is recommended, so I simply layer on some leaf mold or composted stable bedding, which also helps come spring in weed control (it’s essential to keep garlic beds weed-free!).How far apart? Spacing is

IHAVE KNOWN KEN DRUSE FOR MORE YEARS than either of us cares to admit to, so it was great fun recently to be invited to talk about one of our shared favorite topics–seeds–with him on his weekly ‘Real Dirt’ podcast. Like to listen in? Perhaps afterward you’ll want to read the related stories about why I’m ordering from catalogs whose seed is produced sustainably or organically, and how worked up I’ve been getting about genetically modified seed.

Here’s the thing: At that price difference, even if you have barely moderate success with your seedlings, it’s to your advantage to try. What I found was that just like in those bundles of seedlings by mail, some of the transplants I grew myself were puny; others, though, got chunky and robust-looking.At a few dollars a packet, who cares about the runts? Toss them, or separate them out and plant a group of them to use as scallion substitutes. In my first-year experiment, I wasn’t ruthless like that, because I wanted to see what happened. The bigger starts basically

My inventory revealed I am also good on carrots, beets, Asian greens of various kinds, salad things (from mesclun mixes to lettuce, arugula and mustards), and all the herbs I like to grow. I’ve ordered tomato seedlings from a grower at my local farmers’ market; with my new book coming, I’m simplifying my seed-starting this year.HERE’S WHAT I AM allowing myself:CHARD, specifically ‘Argentata,’ with its giant leaves and thick white midribs; ‘Fordhook Giant,’ and ‘Ruby Red’ or ‘Rhubarb.’SPINACH, including ‘Tyee’ for good bolt-resistance among the Savoy types as the weather warms,  ‘Corvair’ (a recent smooth-leaf type, 40 days), ‘Regiment’ (new, 37 days, large leav

ON THE EVE OF OPENING ARGUMENTS in Organic Seed Growers & Trade Association, et al. v. Monsanto, which will be heard tomorrow in Federal court in Manhattan and challenges the chemical giant’s patents on genetically modified seed, I asked C.R. Lawn, founder of Fedco Seeds (one of 83 co-plaintiffs in the case) and an organic farmer, market gardener and seedsman for more than 30 years, to help me grasp what’s at stake, and tell me what I—what we—can do as gardeners and consumers to help. This is not an easy subject to explain simply, so besides his answers, I’ve gathered some video clips and links that may help you get better informed. At the very least: Skip to the bulleted “to-do” list near the end and DO THEM!

I AM A FOOL, but thanks to reader Debi, who added a tip to the site in a comment today, you don’t have to be. You don’t have to buy special wooden plants labels as I just did for far too high a price; you can buy non-sterile, 6-inch tongue depressors from your local pharmacy (or even Staple’s, apparently, or e-Bay or Amazon).

The biotech alfalfa seed is a product of Monsanto, the people who brought you saccharine (the company’s first product, in 1901) and synthetic bovine growth hormone to increase dairy-cow milk production (perhaps you recall the uproar, after its 1994 approval), and a series of other genetically engineered seed crops, including ones for cotton, soybeans, corn, canola, sugar beets (and now alfalfa).Genetically modified corn and soy have already been found to have cross-contaminated non-GMO crops, as has canola–and scientists say contamination could be worse with alfalfa, because it’s a perennial, not an annual like the others. Bees apparently move its pollen up to 5 miles, so an organic alfalfa field near one grown from engineered seed risks contamination.Why care? Can’t you just shop organic and choose to be “safe” from GMOs? If organic alfa

But who’s doing that critical, demanding work? To kick off what has become my annual Seed Series on the radio show and website, I interviewed geneticist and longtime plant breeder Dr. John Navazio—former senior scientist with the Organic Seed Alliance and now manager of plant breeding at Johnny’s Selected Seeds—to answer those seedy questions and more. Over the years, I have learned so much from John–including how to grow carrots (one of his breeding specialties). Read along as you listen to the Nov. 18, 2013 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).my q&a with dr. john navazioQ. First, John: What does the Organic Seed Alliance, which was founded in 2003, do? A.

Kate Spring, and her husband, Edge Fuentes, founded Good Heart Farmstead in Vermont in 2013, which serves up to 100 customers each season who subscribe to their CSA share program. Their farm is a hybrid business structure called an L3C, a low-profit, limited-liability company, where part of the mission is to support Vermonters in need of food access.Kate’s also a writer and the only person I know with her very own brand new yurt, which I couldn’t wait to hear about after having seen it be constructed on her Instagram.Read along as you listen to the December 14, 2020 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).mastering microgree

While browsing the seed catalogs, I fell into a motherlode at Adaptive Seeds out in Sweet Home, Oregon, plus a comprehensive how-to article on the topic, by Adaptive’s co-founder Sarah Kleeger, all the way down to an analysis on a farm scale of how much it cost in manpower hours and supplies to grow them.Last year I intentionally grew dry beans for the first time in any semi-serious way, and it was so rewarding that this year the garden plan calls for more, more, more. Maybe you’ve been an accidental dry-bean grower like I had till then, leaving a tower of ‘Scarlet Runner’ standing until the big fat seeds spill

Yes, you could simply separate seeds from the pulp and skip the smelly-gooey-gross part of the process. But that part–the natural act of fermentation that’s happening in the jars in the photo below–helps break down germination-inhibiting compounds such as the gel sac around tomato seeds, and can also reduce some seed-specific diseases.let’s save some tomato seeds:Select a few of your best-looking mature fruits from each of your healthiest-looking plants. The variety must be

OUT CAME THE EARLIEST ARUGULA, the last of the spinach, and one early row of peas is fading fast. Lamentable? Perhaps–but also reason for hope, as each precious portion of a plot that opens up is a chance for another crop.

My house is too small for make room for grow-light stands and seedling flats, and you wouldn’t want to even think of climbing down the ladder into the cellar here a couple of times a day to care for seeds. No matter: I improvise. My “potting bench” (above) is the backyard on a fair day, where it matters not whether potting soil goes astray. I simply bring all my supplies out, sit on a footstool and make my mess.Important: I lightly pre-moisten the germinating mix right in the bag a day o

Skip right to the bottom of the page if you just want recipes, or start with these cucumber FAQ’s:Q. I have many flowers but no fruit forming on my cucumbers (or squash). Why?Q. Some cucumbers finally started to form, but they are misshapen and stunted looking. What should I do?Q. I finally got fruit! Except it’s bitter. What did I do wrong with my cucumbers? Q. My cucumber vines were looking great—and then the vines started to wilt, though the soil wasn’t dry. Why?Q. Are those gherkins in the top photo? Is a gherkin just any small cucumber? Q. I have many flowers but no fruit formi

When we first met in 1991, I remember madly taking notes on every last thing in Marilyn’s garden, because they were all unfamiliar to me.“At that time,” said Marilyn, “open-pollinated annuals commonly grown in European cottage gardens had been ignored here as gardeners favored the newest of the new hybrid flower varieties.”In the years since, this passionate collector worked to remedy that.Today, modern, environment-focused gear and greenhouse practices help her maintain and expand the impressive collection of oldtimers or old-style charmers that she sells by mail as seed or plants. Select See