seed starting

How to grow vegetables and garden flowers from seed.

how to start seed indoors

April 16, 2013 By margaret 11 Comments

NO GREENHOUSE, a tiny house, and various other obstacles notwithstanding, I’m madly coaxing along one crop after another of seedlings over here. Want a little tour of how to start seed indoors (well, at least Margaret’s improvised method, that includes some outdoor steps, too)? [read more…]

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planting peas, with mendel in mind

March 31, 2013 By margaret 18 Comments

PLANTING PEAS—that first traditional first task of each new food-growing year—took on new significance this spring. I’d just finished watching a lecture on Gregor Mendel and his pea-breeding experiments in an online biology class I’m taking, when the snow finally melted and the soil warmed enough—well, almost enough— to have at it. The peas I like best, and how I plant them, all with a new reverence for the genetics built into a single Pisum sativum seed: [read more…]

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why vegetable seedlings stretch and get spindly

March 30, 2013 By margaret 21 Comments

MAYBE YOU’RE WONDERING this about now: Why do vegetable seedlings stretch and grow spindly sometimes, and how can you prevent it? That was how I began a note to Dr. Thomas Nils Erik Bjorkman, Associate Professor of Crop Physiology at Cornell, seeking an answer to a question I’m asked a lot. He’s a botanist whose research focuses on the effects of environmental stimuli on plant growth and development, particularly in vegetables. So I asked him what’s going on—are the leggy seedlings reaching for light, or is something else at work? (I couldn’t resist sharing the mung-bean time-lapse video, above…though probably not what you’re sowing at the moment.) [read more…]

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radio podcast: conquering seed-starting fear

February 11, 2013 By margaret 2 Comments

parsley and brussels seedlings FEAR OF STARTING FROM SEED dramatically limits the choice of plants you can grow, but many of us nevertheless afraid to try. Ken Greene, my guest this week on the public-radio show “A Way to Garden With Margaret Roach” and co-founder of Hudson Valley Seed Library seed company, encourages us to just do it, offering tips to foster success. Wonder how deep to plant, or how many hours of light to offer, or about succession sowing? Read (or listen) on–and maybe come join us in person when Ken comes to my town to talk heirlooms and seed saving on March 23. [read more…]

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when to start seeds? some tools that can help

January 29, 2013 By margaret 17 Comments

tomatoseedlings HURRYING TO THE STARTING LINE can make for mishaps such as false starts, so don’t. That’s my best advice on when to sow what seeds for this year’s garden, but I know it isn’t very specific. To zero in on just what date you should sow your tomatoes indoors or put your peas in the ground, I’ve rounded up some calendar tools that can help, including a new one just sprouted by my friend Dave Whitinger of All Things Plants. [read more…]

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M	T	W	T	F	S	S
← Jun				Aug →
						1 July 1, 2012 take stock, and beat the heat TAKING STOCK: That’s how my July starts–with a good, hard look at how I’m going to get things (myself?) through the usually hotter, drier weeks ahead, Japanese beetles, powdery mildew and all. I’m raising the mower deck; soaking beds deeply then cleaning up their edges and topping up mulch; and in many spots I’m being downright brutal with more “edits” and cutbacks. July is when I plant fresh vegetable crops to enjoy this fall (like more peas!). read all the july chores ⇒
2	3	4 July 4, 2012 more cutbacks, more deadheads FIRST, THE HAIRCUTS: If you were squeamish about cutbacks as spring faded in June, you may be regretting it, facing floppy, exhausted plants in certain spots. Some things (like certain perennial geraniums) do better if cut back hard, even now. Go for it. Others need just deadheading. Annuals that grow leggy can often benefit from a chop job, too. Do some experiments. Sometimes a plant can’t look worse, and you probably won’t kill it. read all the july chores ⇒	5 July 5, 2012 harvest herbs, re-plant basil FOR PEAK FLAVOR, basil, sage, marjoram and oregano, mint, tarragon are best harvested just before bloom. Start more basil from seed for combining with those September tomatoes, and dill for late pickles. Harvest lavender, rosemary and chamomile as they flower, blossoms and all. read all the july chores ⇒	6	7 July 7, 2012 weed, and then weed again WEED! MAKE A PASS through each bed each week, since weeds are not just unsightly but steal moisture, nutrients and light from desired plants. Top up mulch in all garden beds–and get to know your weeds. LOOK WHILE WEEDING: Try to remember what’s done well (and not so well) so far in each bed. Make notes, to plan for fall reworking of problem spots, or a bed redesign. read all the july chores ⇒	8
9 July 9, 2012 japanese beetles, slugs, snails! IN JAPANESE BEETLE territory? Handpick each morning and again later in the day (as with other obvious pests like tomato hornworms or imported cabbage worms) and drown in a can of soapy water. For Japanese beetles, plan to try to reduce grub population with nematodes or perhaps Milky Spore inoculation. This mole-eradication post is also related, as it’s grubs that moles are after. OR MAYBE SLUGS AND SNAILS are proliferating. Some tactics on dealing with them. read all the july chores ⇒	10	11 July 11, 2012 sow perennials, biennials MANY PERENNIALS and biennials can be started now from seed, then set out in the fall into nursery beds. SOW VIOLAS and pansies in zones where they overwinter in flats indoors for set-out in fall, where they’ll appreciate a protective mulch after the ground freezes. Fall-planted violas bloom earlier next spring. read all the july chores ⇒	12	13 July 13, 2012 stop feeding woody plants STOP FEEDING woody plants. Promoting more soft growth in high summer and beyond isn’t good; time for them to start moving toward the hardening-off phase of their cycle. No more eats till late winter or earliest spring. TREES ARE especially vulnerable to drought, if you’re having a dry year, particularly the oldest and the youngest (those planted in the last few years). Water deeply, as with a Tree-Gator. read all the july chores ⇒	14	15 July 15, 2012 water if the sky doesn’t cooperate GARDENS NEED an inch of water a week from you or the heavens. Check your rain gauge to make sure they get it, and remember: soak deeply in the root zone, don’t spritz things with a sprayer now and again like you’re washing the car. That’s a garden no-no. Those plants living in pots need extra attention, especially smallish ones in sun, and they also need regular feeding. Be alert! read all the july chores ⇒
16	17 July 17, 2012 garlic harvest just ahead! GARLIC may start to fade and topple anytime now, as harvest time nears. When several lower leaves yellow, but five or six are still green, lift a head or two to judge readiness, before lifting all to cure during a warm, dry spell in an airy, sheltered place. How to judge the harvest moment. Or read all about growing garlic, and even storing it–and don’t forget, order bulbs. (I love ‘German Extra Hardy,’ also called ‘German Stiffneck.’) read all the july chores ⇒	18	19	20	21 July 21, 2012 sow vegetables for continued supply CONTINUE SOWING carrots, beets, radishes, lettuce, dill. With salad greens, select heat-resistant varieties, and sow small amounts every 10 days. I do it under a couple of hoops with a bit of Reemay clothes-pinned onto them to cast some shade. Direct-sow a short row of bush beans every two weeks through month’s end, and another mound of bush cukes and zucchini right now. read all the july chores ⇒	22
23	24 July 24, 2012 order bulbs now, prep beds ORDER BULBS to get varieties you want (see Resources for recommended catalogs). Remember our “early, middle, late” mantra when doing so. PREPARE NEW beds for fall planting by smothering grass or weeds with layers of recycled corrugated cardboard or thick layers of newspaper, then put mulch on top. read all the july chores ⇒	25	26	27	28	29
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Secondary Sidebar Widget Area

seed starting

how to start seed indoors

planting peas, with mendel in mind

why vegetable seedlings stretch and get spindly

radio podcast: conquering seed-starting fear

when to start seeds? some tools that can help

MAY GARDEN CHORES

July 1, 2012

take stock, and beat the heat

July 4, 2012

more cutbacks, more deadheads

July 5, 2012

harvest herbs, re-plant basil

July 7, 2012

weed, and then weed again

July 9, 2012

japanese beetles, slugs, snails!

July 11, 2012

sow perennials, biennials

July 13, 2012

stop feeding woody plants

July 15, 2012

water if the sky doesn’t cooperate

July 17, 2012

garlic harvest just ahead!

July 21, 2012

sow vegetables for continued supply

July 24, 2012

order bulbs now, prep beds

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