UM, I GUESS OUR FRIEND Andre Jordan got a peek at the way we really order seeds, huh? Trouble is: I’m still stuck on Step 1, that “Bloody Brilliant Big List” thing.
THE LECTURE that he’s been giving for a number of years is not-so-subtly called “Kill Your Lawn.” Ecological horticulturist Dan Jaffe Wilder knows that starting over and creating an entire native habitat instead of a lawn isn’t for everyone. But Dan just wants to grab our attention and get us to start to make some changes at least in the way we care for the turfgrass we do want in our landscapes. And maybe give up a little square footage of it to some other kind of more diverse planting, too, like the wild strawberries (Fragaria virginiana, inset). Alternative, more eco-focused styles of lawn care, along with some lawn alternatives is what he and I talked about on the podcast. Dan is Director of Applied Ecology at Norcross Wildlife Foundation in Wales, Massachusetts, and its 8,000-acre sanctuary. He’s also co-author with Mark Richardson of the book “Native Plants for New England Gardens.”
(Stream it below, read the illustrated transcript or subscribe free.)
I have 45 acres. I still do it. My name is Robin and I’m a seedaholic who has no concept of reality when it comes to how many seeds I *need.*
haha! I’m with Robin, I DO live on a farm with acreage and yet I still want/need/yearn for too many seeds. It’s a universal affliction :) No cure except to order even more!
Maybe I am lucky. I am still intimidated by seeds. Instead I want to buy every plant I see at the nursery and give it a home.
I think that’s a strain of the same bug, Susan. :) I have both forms of the disease — but nowhere nearly as bad as when I first started gardening. But they do have a powerful pull on us, don’t they? See you soon, I hope.
You’ve got to over-order seeds. You are buying dreams.
I’ve already got all my garden space accounted for and I’m *still* drooling over seeds. I’m pretty sure my husband thinks the patio is slowly turning into a pot maze.
Haha! So true! I always seem to *need* more seeds…even though I never have enough space for them all!
Haha. This made me laugh. We recently sold our 43 acre farm and are living in a CONDO no less. My husband saw me pouring over my seed catalogs with list in hand and just shook his head. What’s wrong with me?!
My name is Robin and I’m a seedaholic
ha, I may have to steel that for a doodle
My name is Michele, and I’m a NEW seedaholic. This is my first attempt at gardening, and I MAY have puchased an over-abundance of seeds. Go big or go home, right? I liked Lucy’s comment – You are buying dreams….very well-put!
Vegetable seeds are a delightfully inexpensive hobby, in my opinion.
I like to buy them, and share!
Happily, I do a lot of vegetable gardening classes and donate transplants to our local growers for food banks. Woo-hooo!
Dear Andre,
are you stalking me? ;) my house is 742 sq feet, and the garden is 875 sq feet (so far).
and i skipped 4a, no revising the list!
Our Master Gardener group grows tomatoes for the annual May plant sale fundraiser. We normally start seedlings mid February. I decided to use up older seeds (3 and 4 years old), and overplanted since I figured only half would come up.
You might know it, I had nearly 100% germination and now have 125 of them in 4″ pots crammed under 2 banks of growlights in the garage (a space that normally holds 72 pots).
Most of them will find new homes but in the meantime, I’ll be rotating those trays like crazy since my husband won’t let me put grow lights in the living room.
I go seed crazy every year — so this year I limited myself to hardy annuals. No jiffy pots this year! Just in-situ.
In the last couple of days, I took a count of my seeds (present and previous orders, saved, received) and I’m proud to announce that I have more seeds than soil in the garden!
For me, unfortunately money is more of an issue than space is. The vegetable garden isn’t that bad, but now I’m starting to focus on the landscaping more. It’s a good thing our ground doesn’t dry out until May, because I may still be trickling out seed orders at that time.