9 months later

I haven't posted for almost nine months! This isn't due to anything- other than getting busy and forgetting I started a blog!  Now as the season is dying down, I'll post again, with my results from this year. Also- I built a low tunnel over my raised bed, and I'm having great success with that! 

Garden 2015- included herbs, veggies, flowers, mostly all of which I started from seed. I learned for next year that I'll start my peppers and petunias a little earlier :) 

 Next post: a recap with pictures of what I planted- AND what I learned from it!!

Germination Round 2 - Cold Stratification updates

This post will mostly be for future review, as I'm keeping track of how my cold strat/ older seeds have germinated so far. Here is how I have been keeping track of everything so far:

Currently, no spinach, Brussels Sprouts, milkweed and lupine have sprouted from my first attempts. 

This is a little disheartening, as even though I know it's early (still only at 12 days) I would still like to know if any of these seeds are in fact viable. 

 I did read today that spinach doesn't last for more that a year, so even though I had poor luck with it last year and this year it hasn't sprouted yet, I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. 

Brussels Sprouts are more a cold weather veg, so again even though it's early this is why I did my experiment. I still want to see if and how long it takes so when I try again later I'll know what to expect. 

Milkweed and lupine are my biggest hopes. I'm trying for a butterfly garden this year, and would love to see them flourish. I've read that these are hard to start from seed, and I'm not sure my milkweed seed is viable as I collected it very late last fall. I'm tenacious like this. 

I'm also keeping track of several old packets of Burpee seed that I'm thinking of planting this year. Without cold stratification, here's my records of saved seeds and older seeds so far:

To me, this is more interesting. I love seeing that heirloom seeds I saved are sprouting earlier and in higher percents than others. I'm excited about all the tomatoes I'm gonna have this year! I'm thinking I might plant tons and either sell or gift them away. 

Going along with all those tomatoes- I really REALLY want the marigolds from last year to sprout. I've been reading a lot about companion planting, and for me I always have marigolds by my tomatoes. It's natural pest control!

For reference, here's my spreadsheet that I'll use for my records from year to year:

So all the plants listed on here I've already planted, and once they sprout I'm hoping to keep them alive until I can plant outside in May. I've forgotten Portulaca in this list, but if it agrees to stay alive, I will include it :)  ( the arugula I'm hoping to harvest as microgreens!)

As an update to the basil from the grocery store that I wanted to propagate- they both grew lots of roots and are doing very well in pots!

Tip for basil- never harvest the biggest leaves. These are the sun absorbing powerhouses of the plant. They won't taste nearly as good as the new tender leaves!

My impatiens are doing well- I'm trying to spoil them a bit as the seeds are few and expensive. Granted, not as expensive as already established plants. I can only 'spoil' my seedlings with the lights I have, as my grow lights are good, I feel uncomfortable leaving the house all day with them on. As they should get 12 (or more!)  hours of light a day- they get whatever comes through the window, and then at night when I'm home. I can only hope this will suffice!

This is also a good photo of the butterfly weed in the background that has sprouted.I'm 'spoiling' that too. 

I'm waiting for some petunia, zinnia and coleus seeds. The petunia and Coleus will be going in the window boxes. I'll upload some diagrams of my plans for those. Since two get full sun, and two are mostly shade, I'm diversifying them. If the impatiens do well, hopefully those and the dianthus ( maybe coleus?) will go in the north (shade) boxes while the petunia, coleus, and marigolds will be in full sun. 

The Herb Gardener: Seed Longevity - Herbs

If you are curious about saving seeds, this is a great resource!! I'm now contemplating keeping/planting some old seeds that may still sprout!



The Herb Gardener: Seed Longevity - Herbs: You don't have to be a gardener for long to start appreciating the value of seeds. They're nature's manufacturing faciliti...

Seed Saving Experiment- Germination round!

So I am doing a science experiment with my saved/cold stratified seeds! When I planted them, I wrote the type and number of seeds planted. This way I can get an understanding of how many/ what percent of my seeds will actually sprout! 

Example: I planted 8 Yellow Pear Tomato seeds, so if only 4 sprout, it's a 50 percent germination rate. Then I'll know how many seeds to sow when it comes time to plant in the spring, to make sure I will have the amount of full grown plants I want.

                                     BOY. SO FAR THE RESULTS ARE REALLY GREAT!!

If you haven't seen my first post (that I had to update) my cold-stratified Kale had a 100% germination rate, and both sprouted in only two days. I was over the moon! 

I did damage one of the seedlings in transferring into a pot I could put under the grow light- but this is what they both looked like after ONLY 5 DAYS:

Pretty leggy, but still growing like crazy. I've been reading about micro greens, and I'm thinking if it leafs out I might start a little microgreens garden!

My tomato plants are also rock stars! Here is the first batch of Yellow Pear tomato seeds that I collected from one plant last year. Out of 8 seeds, so far 7 have sprouted in only 5 days so I'm hoping that last little guy will emerge.

 

My Portulaca seeds (which I didn't save or cold stratify) do need an honorable mention though. I'm not sure what I'll do with all of them! 

(As you can see, I use old plant markers for new seed flats. I go over them with some sandpaper then write with bold permanent marker.)

I'll keep updating as I know I have a bunch more tomatoes that are coming up today!

Garden-y Crafting

One of the biggest problems for an impatient gardener is how to pass the time when you are waiting for things to grow. I decided to keep myself busy and start crafting. I'll be making a butterfly garden and I want colorful decorations around it to attract them. 

Because we have rock edging around our house (which is quite the chore if I ever want to plant there) we have tons of spare rocks. My idea was to paint them with nail polish! I won't be putting the rocks in my butterfly water source, just scattered around. 

Here, a few rocks I painted in fun designs:

I also like using rocks to put on top of the soil of potted plants to keep it cooler and to keep from drying out. This way, if you have a flowerpot that's struggling you'll still have some color!

I'm also scavenging Savers and thrift stores for materials to make a butterfly feeder/ water source. I'll definitely post on how that turns out!

Save those seeds. SAVE 'EM!

Like most excited gardeners, I can't wait to plant stuff when the time comes every year. And most times, that begins with buying seeds. Lots of them. They fill your heads with grandiose plans... But let's be honest. I barely have enough room for a container garden. Until last year though, it never stopped me from buying obscene amounts of seeds at our local devil store Menards. 

That's when I learned about saving seeds. It's WAY easier than I thought, the plant ends up being more adapted to the mini climates in your garden as well as hardier and, you know, free. 

There's a catch!

In order to be able to grow successful, productive seeds the next year, you need plants that haven't been genetically modified. So all my devil hybrid Burpee seeds that have extra special names... Won't work. 

I go to SEED SAVERS EXCHANGE, out of Iowa. They have a gigantic selection of heirloom, untreated, non- hybrid, non-GMO seeds. There are only a few stores that carry the seed packets (which are oh so reasonably priced) so I usually order mine online.  It's definitely hard to get to know the cycles and needs of each plant, but they will help you! Call them or go online www.seedsavers.org and get ordering. 

A quick note from Siri: All my experiences with SSE products have been great. The only thing that has caused a ruckus is wholly on my part. Those people do great work. For realsies.

I began by dipping my toe last year. I researched A LOT about each plant that I planned on saving seeds from, and it's really exciting knowing all the different techniques. It's also taught me a lot about plants and how they are spread in the wild.  Here's what sparked my interest: 

Two years ago, I had planted a yellow pear tomato. Great harvest, got all the produce I wanted. Let the plant go to pot, birds and rabbits alike had a field day. Fast forward to last summer when I decided I was going to go the paste tomato route (San Marzano, Amish Paste from SSE.) Much to my surprise in a sandy lonely corner of the yard, a tomato plant appeared! I had no idea where it came from, but I kept it watered (kind of) and kept an eye on it. Turns out it was a yellow pear tomato plant. The hardiest lil sucker in the garden!This got my bean wheels turning. Where did it come from? I didn't think tomatoes were annuals? And many others. 

I saved those seeds, by golly. I can't wait to see if and when they germinate what those plants will be like this summer!

I have all my seeds that I saved in my test batch to see if they'll sprout. Here's my seed basket. The basmati rice bag has all my super SSE seeds. I've also collected some older seeds from my sister that I'm testing. 

Here's what I saved from last year: (some in my test batch aren't what I saved, just got from others)

Milkweed

Giant Marigolds 3'

Short Marigolds

Amish Paste Tomatoes

San Marzano tomatoes

Yellow Pear Tomatoes ( which I have nicknamed BP or bird poop, since that's how I think they got there 😜)

I will create another post with my test results and how to save seeds!

 

My setup

Here's where I show you what I'm doing! It may not be as successful for everyone, so again, experiment with what works best for you. 

We only have a few viable windows in the house that get enought direct sunlight- even these need an hour or two extra of a grow light in the dead of winter when days are short. 

I found a temporary greenhouse on sale a few years ago at Menards - it was off season so I snapped it up for around 20 bucks. Here, I don't have the plastic covering, I'll use that when the whole shebang goes outside in the spring. Right now, you can see I have 3 (and a half) shelves that get light. The bottom most shelf gets its light from a grow lamp. The bulb I got as a gift, and the cord and dome I had from my turtle's terrarium. It works really well, and the best part is its an LED so it's not drying out soil or getting too hot. 

Up top, I have a few plants: (from left to right) Rosemary

This is Seed Savers Exchange Rosemary- this is the second year, so hopefully this summer I can collect some seeds from it.

I also have a cactus and Aloe Vera.

On the second row, I have all my 'science experiments.' I am trying ( for the first time) to force tulip bulbs in water. I had some bulbs left over from the fall, so I decided I would try this. I see it on Pinterest from time to time, and I do love tulips. It's working great! I staggered the times that I started them, so hopefully I'll have tulips inside for about three weeks!! Then the crocus will be coming up outside :)

I also tried growing green onions from the store- another easy trick. Just cut them down to just aboe the white, put in water in front of a sunny window and about a week later, voila!

BASIL LOVERS, PAY ATTENTION!

YOU CAN PROPAGATE BASIL FROM THE STORE! 

If you love having fresh basil in the winter, and those 3 dollar packs at the store just can't cut it, do this instead! 

Take each basil part, make sure stems are in water. To get roots on these leaves, took me about three weeks. Be patient. And don't trim the leaves off to use- it will kill the rest of it!

You can see the other tulip bulbs and extra aloe basking in the sunlight behind. 

My Cold Stratification year 1, part 1

I first read about Cold Stratification on Pinterest. I collected some seeds from a milkweed pant last fall (that I'm hoping are still viable) and through researching a butterfly garden, I looked into planting milkweed seeds. These guys are tough, apparently.

SIRI'S SCIENCE TEST

I am cold-stratifying a bunch of my seeds that are tough/ long germination time, hardy in spring and fall, or require it. 

Kale, Brussels Sprouts, Spinach, Butterfly Weed, Milkweed, Lupine. 

I have had them in storage in a dark, 45 degree room for about 2 weeks. Kale, Brussels Sprouts, and spinach are cold hardy plants that I didn't start early enough last year, so I'm trying again this year. I also had problems with my spinach even sprouting last year ( I use Seed Savers Exchange America Spinach and Brussels Sprouts, as well as Dutch Curled Kale from SSE). 

Side note: I am trying to stay away from non-GMO seeds as I'm attempting to start saving my seeds. This can also affect germination rate as some seeds may not be viable because they're too old. But I started mainly to save money. 

I planted my seeds on Saturday January 31st, using Burpee organic seed starting soil. ( I know- Burpee. It was a better deal, and organic!)

I re use my old plastic seed starting trays- although they are fragile since the plastic is old. Here is my setup over a heat register: 

I just have two trays of cells with different seeds. The cold stratified and saved seeds are labeled in each cell with the type and amount of seeds I placed in there. I also have a row of Portulaca for the window boxes and Impatiens.

And I've been having some pretty spectacular results.

This is what my kale look like today( two days later):

I kid you not. I'm freaking out!

It only took two days!

I planted 2 seeds and I have two very tiny seedlings already. This is going to be weird now, since they'll need sun and the rest of the tray won't for a while.

Update (later that day): I ALSO HAVE ALL OF MY PORTULACA SPROUTING. It's too tiny to take a photo, but I can't believe it. Honestly. Its freaking unbelievable. 

I will update when I get the next sprouts!

Fancy Science Here- Cold Stratification pt 1

Cold Stratification - what the what?!

So, you know how Wisconsin is cold?

 Well, everything that grows here needs that cold, wet dormant period to store energy. It's necessary that they get a period of time to enjoy the wet fall, hopefully not too cold winter, and a nice spring thaw in order to germinate.  

Sometimes seed packet instructions tell you to sow in the fall. Well if it's February, it's a little too late for that. It may even lead you to forget the seeds and just throw money at seedlings a few months later. Cold stratification is just a process that can recreate that 'winter' and force seeds to germinate. 

Winter in Wisconsin is brutal. So so brutal. Negative temperatures, wind chills, and snow so high you can't see around the corner. It's true. Many of the tips I've seen around the Internet are for much more mild climates. They say to start an outdoor garden in milk jugs or the like, while the whole time they say 'just don't let the soil freeze.' That advice is damn near useless here. While you can't expect to keep the topsoils from freezing using mulch alone, I've found that a sunny window and grow light are my best friends. 

Here's where we need cold stratification. Since those seeds that we want to sprout in the spring can't germinate without the cold (but not frozen) temps, we artificially recreate that environment. Not all seeds need this, by the way- but more on that later.  It's very easy to do, to ensure a higher germination rate. All it takes is a damp paper towel and the seeds wrapped up, placed in a ziplock bag. Label the bag with the seed and date ( I keep mine separate) and store in the fridge or cold pantry. I have a basement cellar that stays about 45 degrees year round- this is perfect. The length of time you need to keep them in the cold varies. I check on mine once a week, to let air ventilate and check for mold. Some varieties encourage you to keep them cold for 60-90 days (purple coneflower) and some for only 7 days (lupine). 

This year, I decided to do an experiment with ALL THE SEEDS!! I saved some seeds last year (which I didn't stratify, tomatoes, etc) and the seeds I did stratify I wanted to see how quickly and what percent actually germinated. This is a useful tool to determine how many cells you should start in case some seeds don't sprout. Seeds with longer germination rates especially, since you don't want to wait a month to see if they germinated, only to be left with no plants. 

I have a spreadsheet that I will upload soon. So imagine that here:

However, I will say that last year I had no success with my spinach. Since it's an early, cold hardy version, I am trying to get it to sprout now. In February. 

SIRI SMART=ME SMART

Ah! First blog post needs an explanation. My name is Siri. I came before the phone, and I love to learn (and know stuff.) I'm in this for the information. I love gardening- growing things is my hobby. However, as I've learned over the years, information is power ( isn't it always?). Here, I'm going to start collecting and archiving all the information I have, as well as linking to other useful things I've seen online. Hopefully I can gather some answer for myself and assist others in doing so as well. I love to learn, so even if it's not my question I'm sure I'll need that information somewhere down the road. For me, gardening is about logic, trial and error, and since I'm on a tight budget, resourcefulness, creativity and thrift. Getting something out of (almost) nothing. Also, maintaining a garden in Zone 4 is hard, and I'm only just know figuring out out to succeed. So this is what I'll focus on the most; short-ish season veggies, wildflowers, and other experiments. I have been up to a lot lately (i know- it's February! In Wisconsin!) so I will get down to business.