How to Start Seeds Indoors

After crazy cold weather through most of January, February seems to have warmed up for now, giving me hope that spring will, indeed, come. I spent most of January coping with indoor gardening projects. My mother gave me a terrarium for Christmas so I would have a little tiny jungle to enjoy in the cold of winter. It took me a while to get the water balance right, but I think it's finally stabilizing. I bought some flowers to brighten up my home, too. I just couldn't resist the little tiny purple irises at the grocery store. I put them in my own pot, and added some moss, and they make my living room feel like spring.

Iris reticulata

Now is the perfect time to start thinking about your summer vegetable garden. If you want to save a little money and get the best possible harvest from your garden, you should consider starting your vegetable plants from seed indoors. I admit, I shied away from growing plants from seed in the past. My few attempts never worked out well, and I didn't have the patience. After doing some research, though, I've decided to give it a try again this year for a few reasons:

• Vegetable plants from the garden center are much more expensive than seeds.
• When you grow plants from seed, you have many more choices, so you can choose varieties that are better suited to your garden, more disease resistant, tastier, or just more fun.
• Growing your own plants means you can control how they're grown, especially if growing organically is important to you.
• Homegrown plants are likely to adjust to your garden more quickly than plants that have been grown 500 miles away, traveled in a truck, and sat in a store for weeks.
• I've figured out a few "tricks" that aren't hard and will increase my chances of success (and yes, I plan on sharing them with you).

I planted parsley seeds last month, and they've
sprouted nicely.

So, do I have you convinced to try growing your own plants from seed? If you're ready to experiment with starting seeds indoors, I'm ready to share everything I know so far. I'll report back in a couple of months and let you know if it worked. If you are growing seeds indoors for the first time, I'd love it if you would let me know how it worked for you, and we can compare notes! So, step by step, here it goes:

1. Buy good seeds. For a single pepper or tomato, there are many varieties to choose from. For example, I was recently looking at plum tomatoes because they make the best sauce. If you go to Burpee's website, you'll find eleven varieties of plum tomato alone! If you go to other companies, they will have some of the same varieties, but also other ones. Each variety has different features. I usually look for varieties that are naturally resistant to diseases, so I won't have to spend as much time fighting fungus or plant viruses in my garden. If you go to Johnny's Seeds and look at the 'Granadero' tomato, for example, you'll see it's resistant to Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus, nematodes, and blossom end rot. 

You can also choose varieties of vegetables that are more compact (if you have a very small garden), are more heat tolerant, produce more fruit, bear fruit faster, bear fruit longer, or are different colors and shapes, depending on what you like. For the more environmentally conscious, there are many organic and heirloom seeds available. Whatever variety you choose, make sure you choose a reputable seed company--their seeds are more likely to be healthy, viable and disease-free. In addition to Johnny's and Burpee, I also recommend checking out Seeds of Change (all of their seeds are organically grown), and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (all heirloom varieties). One more note about shopping for seeds: the earlier you shop, the better your selection. Popular varieties will sell out fast.

A note of warning: not all plants like to be started from seed indoors and transplanted later. A few that do well include peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and squash.

2. Buy something to grow your seeds in. First, you'll need a container. I bought a 72-cell seed starter tray (also known as a "flat") that came with a tray for water drainage, and a dome to keep the moisture in (see below). You could probably use just about anything as long as it's sterile. Seed starter trays are nice because you can grow many plants in a small space. Also, because they have their individual compartments, the plants are easier to transplant without disturbing the young roots. If you choose to reuse a pot that you've used previously, sterilize it first (a mild bleach solution works well) to kill any remaining plant diseases.

72-cell flat with dome to seal in moisture and tray to collect water
drainage (left), seedstarting mix (right)

After you have your container, you'll need your "dirt." I recommend planting seeds in specific germinating or seedstarting mix. Seedstarting mix, unlike potting soil or garden soil, has the perfect balance of water retention and drainage, is disease-free, and has the right level of nutrients for your young seedlings. I'm experimenting with organic gardening more this year, so I chose an organic seedstarting mix from Gardener's Supply.

3. Find a warm, sunny place. Warm-weather veggies such as tomatoes and peppers need soil temperatures of 70-85 degrees to germinate! If you have a warm spot in your house, like next to an appliance, that would be ideal for starting your seeds. If not, you can buy a heat mat designed for just this purpose. It's a little pricey, but I think it's worth the investment. You can use it for years, and it greatly extends your growing season. I got mine off of Amazon, and it's the perfect size for my seed tray.

Every plant is different, but as a general rule seeds prefer the dark while they're germinating. After they sprout, they'll need a sunny spot next to a window.

4. Get planting...at the right time.  Each type of plant has its own growth rate. Some seeds germinate in a matter of days, others can take three weeks or more. Even after they germinate, some plants grow faster than others. Tomatoes and peppers can be started inside about six weeks before your last frost date. (If you don't know your average last frost date, you can look it up here.) Squash and cucumbers, since they grow so fast, are started only two weeks before your last frost date.

Once you figure out when your seeds need to be planted, you're ready to plant. Here are your six steps, as illustrated below:
     1) Add soil to your container.
     2) Lightly press the soil down into the container with your finger, and add more soil if needed.
     3) Moisten the soil with lukewarm water (a spray bottle works well).
     4) Create a hole for your seeds using an old pencil. (Check the back of your seed packet to see how deep your seeds like to be planted.)
     5) Add your seeds to the hole.
     6) Lightly cover up your seeds with a sprinkle of soil after planting.

5. Don't expect perfection. A friend told me a story once that she and her husband had a little competition. They each planted one seed in a pot and waited to see whose plant would grow faster. Neither seed germinated, and they gave up. It made me laugh. All other things aside, not every seed in a seed packet will germinate. While some plants have a natural germination rate of 99%, others may only have a germination rate of 60%. Out of the ones that germinate, some may be stronger, while others may be weaker. A small percentage of seedlings will probably die, even under the best of circumstances. Know that that's normal, and plant a few extra seeds to be on the safe side.

6. Give your seeds an even supply of water. Seedlings need constant moisture. While most plants in your garden probably like to dry out a little between waterings, seedlings don't. It's harder to give them too much water, but it's easy to give them too little. Seedlings aren't very sturdy, either, so a normal hose or watering can will beat up your tiny little sprouts. If you have a water-tight tray, you can water your seedlings from the bottom, by leaving them in the tray with a layer of water to soak up. Right now I find it easiest to mist them very gently with a spray bottle every day, focusing on the soil, not the plant.

That's it! Every plant is different, of course, but if you follow those guidelines you should be able to successfully grow some of your more common vegetables and herbs from seed. Good luck, and let me know how it works for you!

Snow in a Southern Garden

Here in the Deep South, we don't get snow every year. When we do, it's usually less than an inch. So when we got three inches of snow last night, it was quite a big deal. It started after dark and continued well into the night. I was so excited when I woke up this morning, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning--except instead of presents from Santa, I got snow! I woke up early in anticipation of the winter wonderland that would I find outside my window, and waited anxiously for my husband to wake up so we could go outside and walk in the snow together. I took a few pictures to share with y'all. Enjoy!

Our house covered in snow

Our backyard

Up close, snow looks like miniature sculptures.

No birds using our birdbaths today.

Water droplets freeze on the tips of camellia leaves.
Camellias don't mind occasional snow.

The irises don't seem to mind the snow, either.

Onions are the only thing left growing in my square-foot
garden after all the cold.

I think holly bushes look loveliest with a fresh coat of snow.

Leyland cypress

Evidence of a nighttime visitor.

The Beauty of Winter

People up north laugh at our idea of winter down in the South. Things like ice and snow are rare sights for us. The highs usually are in the 50s and 60s, lows in the 30s, and typical skies are gray, cloudy, maybe a little rainy. Though the weather is mild compared to other parts of the country, I generally dislike January and February. Being from South Florida, I get tired of the cold well before spring arrives. Even if we don't have blizzards, the weather is just icky. We had a freak cold snap last week (the "polar vortex"), with highs in the 20s and 30s, lows in the teens. I was hoping for snow, but no precipitation came. You would think a blizzard came, though...we turned the heat down to save electricity, built lots of fires in the fireplace, cooked soup, and bundled up to make it through the crazy weather. Our old house just isn't built for the cold.

So when skies are gray, temperatures are cold, and not much is blooming, I have to make a little extra effort to find the beauty in my garden. I spent a few minutes in the garden checking on things during the freeze, and I thought the ice in my backyard was beautiful in the sunshine.

It rained a lot the weekend before the freeze, and my
wheelbarrow turned into a solid block of ice.

There's just something about leaves and ice in a
birdbath that's beautiful to me.

When we finally had some nice weather on Sunday, I took a walk around the yard to discover that the half-dead dogwood tree I had been meaning to cut down had fallen on the nearby holly. (We had some storms over the weekend.) Even if I was relieved that Mother Nature had done half of the work for me, it was kind of sad to see the fallen tree covered in buds. I decided to make the best of it and cut armfuls of branches to try to force inside.

Difficult to capture with my cheap digital camera, but the
colors in a dogwood bud are stunning up close.

"Forcing" means taking branches from trees and shrubs that typically bloom in spring or summer and getting them to bloom in vases inside, before they'd normally be blooming outside. Branches that can be forced include cherry, crab apple, flowering almond, dogwood, quince, forsythia, and redbud. It takes a little effort and some patience to coax the branches from bud into flower, but it's simple enough for anyone to do. You simply put the branches in a tall vase or bucket with plenty of water in a cool, dark room. The water should be changed daily, and the branches should also be sprayed or misted with water at least daily. Some people suggest bruising the cut end with a hammer to help the branch absorb more water. Once the buds open up, the branches can be moved to a warmer, sunnier room.

Aren't dogwood branches laden with buds
just lovely?

I have mine in a vase in the living room because I think the branches are beautiful all by themselves, even without flowers. Also, if I stick them in a closet, I'm afraid I'll forget to change the water. According to what I've read, it takes dogwood branches a whole five weeks to bloom! If you don't have much patience, try forsythia--it only takes 1-2 weeks to bloom.

Hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll have photos to share from some of my winter-blooming plants that aren't yet in flower. In the meantime, bundle up and stay warm!

Vegetable Garden: December Update

I should be thinking about Christmas cards and Christmas presents, but all I really want to do this week is spend time in my garden. I decided earlier this fall that I wanted to try a cool-weather vegetable garden this year. I stocked up on seeds, read all I could, and got to work in September. August just seemed too hot to be planting cold-weather vegetables.

In September I planted salad greens, broccoli, and carrots from seed, and cauliflower from seedlings I bought at the hardware store. In October I planted radishes and spinach from seed, and red onions from sets (little baby onion bulbs).

Some of the salad greens in the first planting got washed away and/or dug up by the squirrels, so I planted more seeds a few weeks later. The first planting has produced some tasty, tender baby greens, but the second planting still just looks like little tiny seedlings. It turns out early September was the perfect time to be planting lettuce.

Mixed salad greens in my garden

The broccoli seeds I planted in the garden didn't sprout at all. I read that broccoli grows much better when it's started as seedlings and then moved into the garden, so I made a later, half-hearted attempt to grow broccoli seedlings inside in vermiculite. They sprouted, but after a month of sitting on my windowsill, they still weren't very big. I got impatient and tried moving them into the garden, but they were fragile and snapped. Next year I'll try planting broccoli seeds inside in late summer, when the house is warmer, and use a different medium, and maybe I'll have some transplants ready to go in the garden by September.

The first planting of carrots died from lack of water when I was sick one warm, dry week in fall. I planted more in October, and they've stayed about an inch tall for the last month.

The cauliflower has been an epic failure, but I've learned a lot. First I fought off the cabbage worms, then I thought I had deer eating my plants. It turns out it wasn't deer--my last remaining cauliflower plant got eaten in spite of having a cage over it. Based on my research, it's probably cute little bunny rabbits that slipped in through the 4-inch gap under my cage, but I have yet to actually see rabbits in my yard. So it's still sort of a mystery. But next year I'll build a better cage.

The radishes look healthy, but also haven't gotten very big in this cold weather. I should have planted in September. They're surviving the cold, but if I get any radishes to eat, it won't be until February at this rate.

Spinach seedlings in my garden

I accidentally planted onions on top of my spinach seeds because I forgot where I planted them. I planted some more spinach seeds in early November, and they continue to grow slowly but surely, despite the squirrels digging them up every other day with their incessant digging for acorns. I think if I had planted in late September, I would have had a nice crop by now. As it is, I might get some spinach in February.

The red onions look beautiful. They're sturdy enough that the squirrels don't bother them. I actually did a second planting in early November, and they're smaller, but just as happy as the October planting. It takes about 14 weeks on average for onion sets to mature, and it will probably take a little longer as a winter crop. I expect to enjoy nice, fat onions in late winter to early spring.

My red onions don't mind a little cold.

Despite the setbacks, so far my cold-weather garden has been totally worth it. I won't get a huge harvest this year, but I know exactly what I need to do differently next year: plant earlier, water (almost) daily when the weather's warm, keep the insecticidal soap on hand, and build some really sturdy cages to keep out the cute, fluffy rodents. See? It's simple. :)

Christmas Gifts for Gardeners

I've always struggled with shopping for gifts. I just don't spend that much time shopping in general--for me or anyone else--so I don't know what's out there. Plus, if you're shopping for that favorite family member with entirely different interests from you, it's hard to predict what they'll love and what they'll hate. So, if you have a friend or family member who loves gardening, I'm here to help! That's the one thing I do know how to shop for. In no particular order, here are some Christmas gifts to please a range of gardeners in your life:

1. Amaryllis. This bulb makes a great gift for your favorite hostess or grandmother. You can buy them in a variety of lovely containers and in colors ranging from white to red. They're easy to grow indoors, and if you get one that's barely sprouting at Christmas, it will be in full bloom in January when gardeners like me get depressed at the lack of greenery. If they live in the South, the bulbs may be planted in the garden after they've finished blooming indoors. Jackson and Perkins is a great resource for amaryllis gift sets. You can also check your local florist or garden center for these.

Single Stardust Amaryllis from jacksonandperkins.com

2. Gift card for seeds. For your favorite vegetable gardener, get them a gift card to a seed company like Seeds for Change or Burpee. They'll have great fun pouring over the seed catalog trying to decide how to spend their gift card in preparation for spring. Seed companies carry so many varieties that you won't see at Home Depot or Lowe's. ("Do I want red peppers or purple peppers?") Your friend or family member will be thinking about your thoughtful gift when the seeds sprout in the spring and when they're harvesting the produce in the summer.

3. The finest watering can money can buy. My mother had a beautiful blue watering can that started rusting and peeling with time. After some research, I replaced it with a Haws watering can. Haws has put a lot of thought and care into creating watering cans that do the best possible job of getting water to your plants without disturbing the soil or foliage. They offer several styles based on your needs and a range of colors based on your tastes. There are several companies that sell Haws watering cans, so feel free to shop around for the best deal.

Haws watering can from williams-sonoma.com

4. Tools. If you use your garden tools with any frequency, they usually need to be replaced after a few years. Metal tools get dull and rusty from use, and plastic tools get brittle and snap from being in the outdoors. Chances are, your gardener friend could use some replacements for their most frequently used tools. You can pick up cheap plastic trowels and cultivators at the hardware store that make great stocking stuffers, or splurge on fancy wood-and-metal tools with a "lifetime guarantee". If you want to get them a pair of hand pruners that will be their best friend, you can get them a Felco 2. Or, you can get them a useful tool that they might not already have, like a pair of snips for cutting flowers and vegetables or a dibble for planting bulbs.

Garden tools, from left to right: hand cultivator, hand
trowel, hand pruners, snips, transplanting trowel.
Image from from doityourself.com.

5. Plant markers. Earlier this year I had a mix-up where I planted onions on top of spinach because I forgot where I planted my spinach! Even if you're not working with seeds, plant markers are a fun way to label your herb plants or keep track of the names of your roses. Plant markers range from the boring to the artistic. For the serious gardener, I'd suggest metal plant markers that you can write the names on and will last forever. Make sure you get ones that are rust-proof, or they won't last for more than a few months. If you're looking for something more whimsical, you might check out these colorful herb markers I saw on Etsy.

Plant markers by fromArtisanHands on Etsy.com

Have a lovely Christmas season!

Deer Are Cute...Until They're Not

This was the sight that greeted me when I checked on my vegetable garden this morning. That plant with one leaf at the bottom of the picture is a cauliflower plant. Those empty blocks behind it used to contain cauliflower plants. Beautiful, lush cauliflower plants that I had babied and coddled for the last month. Apparently I didn't coddle them enough.

This is what my cauliflower looked like
last week. Now they're gone.

I can only assume that the deer took my cauliflower from me in the cover of night. What else would eat a whole plant, thick stem and all, right down to the ground? I used to love watching the deer. From my living room, I could see them grazing on the weeds in our back lawn when I worked at home. I felt like Snow White living among the cute, fuzzy animals. Other than losing one bean plant in the spring, they hadn't touched the vegetable garden in months. Now, I have one cauliflower plant left. It's really kind of heartbreaking. If I'm lucky, I might get one crown of cauliflower for all my work. Clearly, Snow White never had a vegetable garden.

You better believe I'm caging my garden now. I built the cage in the spring originally to keep the deer out and to keep the squirrels from digging among my seedlings and disturbing them. When the plants grew too large for the cage, I left it off, and the deer really left my garden alone. When the freeze came last week, I put up a PVC frame with plastic sheeting to protect the cauliflower from frost, and when the plastic came off, I left the frame up for ease of covering when the next freeze hits this weekend. Apparently, I need to remove the frame and replace it with the cage in between freezes. That last cauliflower plant will stay covered at all times.

For now, my last cauliflower plant lives safely under a cage.

The moral of the story: if you have deer in your neighborhood, don't ever let your guard down, especially in the winter time when their natural food supply is more scarce. My cage works fine for my little garden, but I'm not sure what people with larger gardens do. I never had these issues growing up in suburban south Florida. Do you have any suggestions?

What to Do When Your Garden Freezes

The weather has been crazy this month. The temperature this afternoon was 84 degrees. Just last week, we reached a record low for November 14 in Macon: 21 degrees.

Fortunately, I was prepared for the freeze. My husband and I bought more sturdy supplies to cover the vegetable garden. (Our last cover involved bamboo stakes and duct tape.) We created a frame using two 10-foot, 1/2"-diameter PVC pipes and covered it with a 6 mm-thick plastic drop cloth. It didn't keep the summer vegetables (or zinnias) from meeting their inevitable demise, but the fall vegetables were quite happy with the arrangement.

My vegetable garden with PVC framing
for cold protection the day after the first
freeze

The freeze killed all the peppers.

The fall vegetables are loving the cooler temperatures.
Clockwise from top left: onions, lettuce, radish, and
cauliflower

 As for the rest of my garden, the ornamentals had a mixed response. Growing up in south Florida, temperatures just don't ever get to 21 degrees, so I still look at freezing temperatures like a fun science experiment. Like any good science experiment, I carefully documented the results. My hydrangeas looked dead the next day. Fortunately, I know they're cold hardy, so I expect they'll look fine come spring. My hostas also took the cue to start winding down for the winter. My roses didn't notice the difference. Both the rose blooms and leaves looked exactly the same as they had the day before. The pansies, too, were unfazed by the cold.

The hydrangea leaves wilted and blackened from the
freeze. The roses and pansies were unaffected.

With some plants still thriving and others dying back for the winter, you may wonder what you should be doing right now in your garden. The combination of sudden cold snaps and surprisingly warm weather confuses plants and people alike. Here are a few tips for caring for your plants in November:

1. Resist the urge to prune shrubs. You might want to jump in and trim back your pathetic-looking hydrangeas (or other shrubs), but the best thing you can do is leave them alone. Pruning signals to plants that they should branch out, and especially in the warmer weather they are likely to put out a bunch of new growth. Even if a plant is cold-hardy, all that tender new growth will be easily damaged when the next freeze hits. Wait until late in winter, when the plants are good and dormant, to do most of your pruning.

2. Resist the urge to fertilize...almost everything. Just like with pruning, fertilizing encourages tender new growth, which can be damaged by a freeze. Your plants need to be sleeping, not growing. Here in zone 8, we have some exceptions. All of your winter annuals, such as pansies, snapdragons, and ornamental kale, should be kept on a regular feeding schedule to maximize their blooms. They will continue growing quite happily through the winter. Your cold weather vegetables, too, can be fertilized as needed.

3. Plant or transplant shrubs. This is a good time to plant roses, blueberries, azaleas, and other shrubs. The cooler weather gives the roots plenty of time to get established before the summer heat hits. (Even when plants are bare and dormant, their roots are still growing.) This is also a good time to move plants to a new location. One of my hydrangeas looked unhappy every afternoon this summer, so I'll probably dig it up and move it to a shadier location in the next couple of weeks.

4. Keep watering. Just because plants are dormant doesn't mean they don't need water. The harsh wind, especially, can dry plants out fast. They don't need to be watered as often as they do in the summer, but if we go through a dry spell, throw a little water on your sleeping shrubs. If you just planted shrubs, they need  frequent water. If your pansies look wilted after a freeze, throw some water on them and they'll perk right up.

5. Rake leaves. As I mentioned in my post on fungus, fallen leaves make the perfect place for plant diseases to hibernate until they return in the winter. For the health of your plants, you should rake up the leaves and either compost them or haul them to the curb.

Happy gardening!