SEED OBSESSION

I admit it. I am obsessed with seeds. It's been going on for most of my life. I love to gather seeds, sort seeds, trade seeds, eat seeds, share seeds, buy seeds, photograph seeds, decorate with seeds, save seeds and yes... grow seeds.

A small sample of my seed stash

Apparently, the seed catalog people are well aware of my obsession.

Ordinarily, catalogs are not a welcome sight in our mailbox. Seed catalogs are the exception. For me, they are awesome and inspiring. By February of each year, I have a pretty good idea of what I want to grow in our gardens: new plants, new varieties and the old stand-bys. I haul out my two air tight plastic tubs from their cool, dark storage place. Careful storage can extend the life of many seeds. One tub is filled with vegetable seeds, the other with flower seeds all filed alphabetically in folders. Well, pretty much.

After checking my stash of seeds to see what needs replacing, I order and purchase seed packets from catalogs and local merchants. Sitka has conscientious merchants!    

NON-GMO, OPEN-POLLINATED and ORGANIC:

 



 
If you like to save your own seeds from your plants for future use, it is important to understand the source of seeds. The seeds you purchase are:

OPEN-POLLINATED SEEDS - You will see the words OPEN - POLLINATED on the seed package. These seeds are true seeds in the sense that pollination occurred naturally by birds, the wind, insects and the like. The seeds saved from plants started from open-pollinated seeds you purchase will continue on growing the same plants as the original. These seeds will be inclined to adapt to local conditions and climate. 
So, yes! If you like to gather, save and grow your own seeds, then purchase and use open-pollinated seeds.

HEIRLOOM SEEDS - You will see the word HEIRLOOM on the seed package. Heirloom seeds are similar to open-pollinated seeds but have been passed down and protected over generations by individuals, families, communities and the like. 
So, yes! If you like to gather, save and grow your own seeds, then purchase and use heirloom seeds.

HYBRIDIZED SEEDS - People can strengthen or create a preferred trait in a plant by crossing two different plant varieties. You will know this has happened because you will see the word HYBRID and/or F1 after the variety name on the packet. Plants grown from seeds you have saved from your hybridized plants will not be true to the original plant you grew. 
So, no! If you want to gather, save and grow your own seeds, do not use hybridized seeds for this purpose.

Here is one of the big questions, "WHEN SHOULD I START THE MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF SEEDS I WANT TO GROW?"  After all these years of gardening in Sitka, this is a 'Frequently Asked Question' even by me. Our climate is pretty much incomparable. Sitka is part of a maritime northwest temperate rainforest. Our growing season and weather conditions are inconsistent from year to year... with more rain than most people can imagine! Another important consideration, of course, is how much time your schedule allows.  So, I put together a SEED STARTING TIMELINE to be utilized with great flexibility. Seeds can and should be started sooner or later than the suggested times depending on the conditions presented in any given year. 

Now that I am getting old and forgetful, the SEED STARTING TIMELINE also serves me well as a checklist.

I find it handy each year to list any flowers I plan to start in the left margin of the timeline. I print myself a fresh copy of the timeline each year. 

As winter fades, gardeners (including me) are often anxious to get things going... especially to get seeds growing! However, I encourage you to focus primarily on getting your garden plan established...what you intend to plant and the location you think will be best. Healthy, fertile soil is important in your garden beds with good drainage. 

Keep in mind that starting seeds too early can, and often does, result in leggy, unhappy starts. It is a challenging mistake if your plants are ready for a greenhouse or cold frame for hardening off before there is enough warmth for them to survive in those locations. We need to take our time and think things out. I remember well having too many plants for the space available inside my home when it was too cold for them to go out. 

My experiences lead me to believe that it is far less stressful and more successful to start seeds a little late than a little early. The fall weather has consistently been kinder and more considerate of our gardens than spring weather.

A few ideas for those of us who have moved lots of plant starts out to cold frames or a greenhouse too soon and already filled their places indoors with more starts:

 

- It helps to keep a floating row cover handy in the greenhouse. If the temperature drops uncomfortably low, cover the starts with a floating row cover or two. 

- Set your cold sensitive starts on top of heat mats and plug in the mats when necessary. (We wired our greenhouse with electricity especially for this scenario). Add a floating row cover on top of the plants. 

Many years ago, I stopped at a garage sale and was fortunate enough to find and purchase a few heavy duty 4 foot x 12 foot heat mats used for drying cement. Sooo useful! These mats face down when they are drying cement, but face up for warming plants.

Each spring, as our plant starts are ready for hardening off, they are brought uphill to our greenhouse and set in trays on top of those mats on the dirt floor of the greenhouse. If we get troublesome cold weather, the mats are plugged in and turned on at night to keep the plant roots and soil slightly warm. In addition, the plant greens are kept cozy and protected under a floating row cover.

As spring progresses and the chance of frost or freezing weather passes, the heat mats are put away and the plants are gradually moved out to grow in the awaiting fertile outdoor beds. Most plants will live the entire summer and fall under floating row covers. To keep the floating row covers in place, we often use old lengths of rebar.

The floating row covers are removed periodically for such things as slug removal, weeding and harvesting.

Otherwise, the covers stay in place allowing sun and rain to pass through. No need to remove when watering with a hose.

Our plants requiring a warmer or dryer environment than they would likely experience out in the open are transplanted into the fertile soil floors of our greenhouse:

or our open-sided covered garden:

Sending you sincere best wishes for success starting your seeds and growing your gardens!