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March 12th, 2011
12:15 AM ET
When I stroll through the aisles of my local garden center in early March, I feel like "The Jerk," Navin R. Johnson. "The only thing I need is this packet of Big Boy Hybrid tomato seeds. I don't need anything else. Just these Big Boy Hybrid tomato seeds... and those yellow squash seeds. The Big Boy and the yellow squash seeds and that's all I need... and these Royal Burgundy bean seeds. The tomato, squash, and bean seeds and that's all I need...I don't need one other thing, not one... oh, I need these Clemson Spineless okra seeds." Every year at this time, this home gardener itches to pull the wool mittens off of his green thumbs. The best scratch is a trip down to my local plant palace, Merrifield Garden Center. During spring, I visit Merrifield so often, I might as well endorse my paychecks straight to them – not because it's expensive, but because I always want to grow what they've got. And when it comes to seeds, they've got it all. From aubergines to zucchini and everything in between. "There’s some old heirloom varieties, some unusual varieties, things that may not be available to you as plants," points out David Yost, a horticulturalist at Merrifield. "I know one thing that has been increasingly popular is people liking to grow old heirloom varieties. These are varieties that may not yield as much, they may not have the disease resistance, but they’ll have wonderful fragrance or wonderfully flavor to endorse them." It's no secret that home gardening is quickly becoming very popular around the country. Whether they live on the mesas of New Mexico or in the high-rises of Boston, people want to grow their own food for the dinner table. Growing fruit and vegetable plants from seed has come a long way from the old mail seed catalog days. A couple of clicks of the mouse, and you can have seed varieties from all over the world delivered to your doorstep. But once you get your packets of future produce, where do you go from there? Yost offers some simple guidelines to maximizing the seeds. Stay Local Not everyone can grow everything in every place. As hard as you might try, odds are you won't be able to grow artichokes outside in Wisconsin. "You're going to be selecting things that grow well in your climate," says Yost. "We're here in the mid-Atlantic region in Virginia and it's really fantastic because we can grow cool season crops...things that love temperatures anywhere from light frost up to 50-60 degrees. Whereas in the summertime, we totally switch over and grow peppers, tomatoes, basil, and things that thrive during the warm weather." Odds are your local garden center will provide seeds that are suitable for your climate. In The Zone Yost's mistake #1: Starting your seeds too early. What's good for California isn't good for Connecticut. Times to start seeding, indoors and out, vary greatly based on your climate zone. If you're not familiar with the zone system, the National Arboretum can help you out. Granted, the map is tricky to understand, and looks like a box of crayons left too long in the sun. His advice is to find your zone's last on-average frost date, then subtract 6-8 weeks. That's typically when you want to start your summer crop seeds indoors, and plant cool season seeds directly in the outside soil. The Infrastructure Containers, seed starter mix, a water tray, grow light, a spray bottle, and some patience. It may be a bit of an investment the first season you grow from seed. The beauty is that, aside from the starter mix, everything can be used year after year. Container size is a personal preference. If you have lots of room, you can start seeds in a bigger container. I start mine on the window sill of our bedroom, which doesn't offer much space, so I prefer the small cell-pack containers. But as Yost assures, "There's no right or wrong." Drop 'em In The Dirt Seeds shouldn't be planted too deep into the starter mix (or in the dirt, if you're sowing them straight into the ground outside). Most seed packs will tell you how deep to sow the seeds. Typically, it's not very far under the surface - somewhere between 1/8" and 1/4" deep. Sun and Water Make The Plants Go Wild "The second biggest problem is not providing sufficient light," explains Yost. "All of these vegetables like full sun." Once your seeds germinate, it is essential to keep giving them water and proper light. Water-wise, you don't need to soak the plants, just keep the soil moist and damp." "As for light, the seeds need every ray they can get. A south-facing window in your house is a perfect spot this time of year. If you do get cloudy days, or don't have a space in you house with direct sun exposure, you MUST get a grow light and leave it on for 12-16 hours per day. Every garden center offers a variety of lights, including ones with timers, in case you aren't always there to turn the light on and off. Play Favorites Plants need space to grow. If you plant three or four seeds in a single cell-pack, and all of them germinate, eventually you will have to play favorites and whittle it down to one plant. "People feel compelled when they buy a package of seed, and there's a hundred seeds in there, to grow every one. What's going to happen is they're going to compete with each other and you end up with one hundred weak plants," says Yost. "Pare it down to what you can provide each plant so it has ideal growing conditions." Baby Steps Seeds need some time to acclimate to new temperatures. "The third most common mistake is you've got these plants, you've nurtured them, you've cared for them, they're growing, your little seedlings. They need to go through a transition process before they go straight into the garden," explains Yost. "We talk about hardening them off, acclimating them to the outdoor environment. If you take them from your sheltered indoor environment and pop them straight into the garden, they're not adapted to the heat, the cold, and the wind. You need to make that transition out there." In my experience, I've had bigger, better, and tastier harvests from plants I've grown from seed - with a few exceptions. First, I've found that buying herbs as plants, rather than seeds, has proven more bountiful. Rosemary, for example, takes quite a while to germinate and grow into a large-sized plant that I can continuously harvest. As Yost explains, I may have to chalk this one up to impatience. "This takes an investment in time," says Yost. "People are busy, they may not have the room, they may not have the space. There may be a number of reasons you'd just rather come in and purchase the plants and let our growers do the work for you." But if you have the time, Yost says, you should start with seeds. "There's just something unique about taking a seed, planting it, caring for it, nurturing it, watching it germinate, watching it grow, taking it all the way to harvest, putting it on the table...just being part of that entire cycle is fantastic." This home gardener can't wait to dig in. |
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This is something that I'm interested in learning more about, so thanks for the post! Motivates me to get started...
And what about Organic seeds?
- Dimitri Snowden
I grow tomato, bell pepper and a couple other things each year beginning with seeds in peat or plastic containers and, despite the warnings of keeping the soil warm, I've never had a problem growing them next to a south-facing window. I urge you to check out a big local garden center or look on line at sites like burpee.com or harrisseeds.com. You can find unusual heirloom tomatoes or cool cherry types like yellow pear tomatoes. Each year I try to grow a couple things I haven't grown before or lately like brussels sprouts, egglplant, squash (winter/summer), etc. My soil is highly clay and this year I'm trying raised beds for the first time, so I'm going to do some root veggies I haven't done before.
LOL Steven- cukes?
I gave up starting seeds indoors when I discovered a huge community who enjoy WINTER SOWING. It's easy- using milk jugs, 2 liter soda containers (anything with at least 3" depth), make drainage holes, take the caps off, add your soil and sow. Then place the containers outside- YES, outside! Even if there is 2 feet of snow on the ground. The seeds know when to germinate and the containers act as mini-greenhouses. No hardening off needed and the plants are AMAZING!
Start with your perennials first and end with annuals, hot weather veggies. Nothing like it! Get over to Gardenweb or google it for the official website. You'll be hooked!
Happy growing!
It seems a bit too easy to start more plants than you have room to grow. The extras are appreciated as much as the fruit they bear. Finding a home for an unwanted tomato plant is a whole lot easier than finding a home for a kitten.
PS. The Dog has developed a taste for cucumbers. A small price to pay for guard duty. LOL
Cucumber eating dog?? Hilarious!
I can grow most anything (if the deer will let me) but I have the most bad luck with my Grapes. They pop out in big beautiful clumps and about a month before they're ready for harvest, they just dry up and whither away. By the way, I have a 7 foot fence around my garden/orchard and the Deer still get in. I solved this with a dog. Just put his house in side the fence and let him run free. He's happy and the deer soon caught on and so far are leaving my fruit trees and garden in season alone.
I wish my family didn't live in a hotel. My kids want a garden so badly. :(
Try a topsy turvey. They're fun! Also, herbs will grow in planter pots, and your kids can decorate the pots with paints. I think okra and peppers will grow in planter pots ok. You probably don't want to yield a lot anyway. Just some ideas. Good luck!!!
My gardening is organic but limited. I've had fantastic luck with tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, garlic, green beans, zucchini, and basil, dill, cilantro, and sage. Never been able to grow a decent bell pepper, but this year I'm adding jalapenos and we'll see. I buy the plants, as the seed sowing isn't so successful for me : ( I'm considering trying strawberries but have heard conflicting reports about how well it works. The first person said "Buy a few strawberry plants, throw them in the ground, and you're good. They send out runners to make new plants, and you get tons of fruit for virtually no effort!" The second person said "Not worth the time, money and expense! They require constant work and babying for a minimal amount of returns. It's cheaper to buy strawberries in season at a local farm stand." To me gardening is fun, and keeps me occupied. This year, though, I have a new goal – making and canning homemade salsa!
NOTHING tastes like a homegrown strawberry, try the Alpine varities, small fruits but they pack a fabulous strawberry flavor.......DO grow your own, there's nothing like it!!
I agree with southwest guest. There is nothing like a sun-warmed strawberry right off the vine – like sugar snap peas, they never make it to our table!
Don't know who told you about work for strawberries! Just like any other plant, make sure they have the right soil! You should see how many plants we eventually got from the 4 we originally bought! Try it and good luck!
I'd also add, for those who want to try seed-growing, to forego all the grow lights, etc. Simple plastic seed trays (which I save every year, if possible), miracle-gro organic soil (with feed already in it), and lights 16 hrs a day. We configured ours with regular and fluorescent bulbs, about 4 feet long, so they cover a wide area, and plug it into a run-of-the-mill timer. I have had amazing results with this simple setup!
Good luck to those who are starting their gardens for the first time!
Strawberries when first planted usually produce small irregular sized berries until the next season comes around. You can increase the quality of your yields by pruning off some of the flowers, leaving room for bigger berries to grow. Usually growing organic strawberries is challenging. This is because you will not be able to use most pesticides if you have pests. Molds are another common problem, especially if the strawberries were planted too early in the season. I suggest using organic pesticides made from naturally growing flowers, like the Neem Plant or Pyrethrins.
Definitely get the strawberries. I live in PA and 3 years ago I bought 3 dying plants at my local garden center for 25 cents. They went absolutely CRAZY. Every year they come up better than the next and require next to zero effort. At the end of the season I just run the rototiller over their section in the garden and, sure enough, the next year they blossom like mad. I can't find enough people to give them away to so I slice them and let them sit in a little sugar for an afternoon, then freeze them. Makes the perfect 'juice' for strawberry shortcake in the middle of winter...yum!