YIKES

I am sure you have all heard that seeds (and other garden supplies) are harder to find this year, as many people discovered the joy of gardening with their 2020 pandemic gardens.  Welcome to year 2 of pandemic gardening!  I have read that there are some strategies to use to get seeds: 

1. Check back with seed suppliers often, especially with smaller seed houses (not big ones like Burpee).  Smaller seed houses often have the seeds, but have limited ability to package them (limited packs to put them in and machinery to package them).

2. Be more flexible in terms of varieties.  The seed company doesn't have your preferred  summer squash? Read the descriptions and try another. You might find a new favorite!

3. Look at your older seed packs! Some seeds are viable for 4 or 5 years, like squash, eggplant, tomatoes, beans. Others are viable for two years- ex. basil and greens from the mustard family.  Others are not viable beyond one year- ex. lettuce and carrots.

4. Seed swap!  Join a local gardening social media page and swap away!  Seeds are inexpensive to mail.

5. See if your community has a seed library, either through Virginia Master Gardeners or your public library.

6. Look to non-traditional places to buy seeds, like grocery stores. 

I have recently hit a little bit of a wall in purchasing seed starting mix and peat pots.  Either the mix is not available, or the price has tripled.  If you have or can buy the components of a seed starting mix, you can DIY:

Seed Starting Mix Recipe:

- 4 parts compost 

- 1 part perlite 

- 2 parts peat moss*

Some recipes call for vermiculite, but I avoid this mined material. Perlite is not so great RE: the environment either, being a volcanic glass that is superheated.  You could try washed sand instead. *You can substitute ground coir for peat moss). (PS If you do find seed starter mix, try to avoid kinds with chemical fertilizers in them, like Miracle Grow. These harsh fertilizer salts are not good for tiny seedlings).

As for peat pots: I really like these, but in a pinch I can make a pot out of a few sheets of newspaper.  I curl it into a tube, staple the top together, and fold in the paper on the bottom to make a cup. You can buy specific molds for these, but I think you can DIY that, too.

Good luck all!

Seed Starting from the Williamsburg Botanical Garden (WBG)

 A very informative webinar from the WBG on seed starting is now on Your Tube: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_okQa3dUGC0

Crape Myrder

Ah, a sunny, spring weekend!  Going to putter around the yard and break out those pruners, loppers, and the chain saw?  But wait! Please, resist the urge to top your crape myrtles!  (This is a reminder, see a more extensive post on crape myrtles from a few years back).  Thanks to the VA Cooperative Extension Service for this infographic!

Native and Invasive Species Awareness Week: NISAW

 

 I missed marking this year's Native and Invasive Species Awareness Week, oops!  But, still, there is some good info out there on what to avoid and what to plant, and resources, like this, from Blue Ridge PRISM:

 NISAW

New Construction

 

I have been thinking about new construction a lot lately. This is probably because we live in an area where many new subdivisions are being built. A thought that occurred to me is how hard is it to garden in these new subdivisions? I think there are several strikes against gardening in these settings.

Soil compaction
Just today I was walking through a new subdivision, parts of which are still under construction. One of the things I noticed was how heavily compacted is the soil. When a new subdivision is being built, site preparation begins. This is often involve stripping off a lot of the topsoil, piling it up in a big heap, and selling it off. More on this later. I have no idea how many times the average piece of property is run over by a backhoe, dump truck, or other heavy piece of equipment, but it's a lot, and this all leads to soil compaction. Why is this bad? When soils are compacted they are extra-heavy, air pockets are squeezed out of them, and it is often difficult for roots to grow in them.  Biological activity, like decomposition, greatly slows down. This is why you see many trees in subdivisions not make it after a few years, there's really nowhere for the roots to go easily.

Construction debris
What I have observed, though this may not be universally true, is that when one house is being built, the lot next door is used to park the dumpster and/or to dump construction debris. Not just bits of wire and conduit, but also piles of gravel, chunks of wood, broken plasterboard, dumped paint. Many of these things, when they got to a certain size, are impossible to extract from the soil and linger, later interfering with planting.

Soil type
I wrote earlier that topsoil is often stripped off the top of the entire subdivision and moved elsewhere. Once I looked up the soil type in my general area and was pleased to find that I was in an area of Pamunkey loam, one of the most beautiful soils in America. However, I live in ta subdivision, and the Pamunkey loam was probably stripped off a long time ago. The top few layers of the soil are the most important. This is where leaves and other organic debris are breaking down producing wonderful soil texture and many nutrients. Often under that are less nutrient-dense soil, perhaps clay, sand, or gravelly dirt.  This does not make gardening impossible, but does necessitate raised bed gardening.

HOA'S
If you buy into a subdivision with a homeowners association, and many are these days, you often find severe restrictions on your ability to garden. One of the frustrating things is that you are required to have a lawn, which requires lots of polluting upkeep. If your sunniest place is in the front yard and you want to put a vegetable garden there, chances are you will not be able to do so. Indeed, some homeowners associations are so restrictive that they even dictate the type and number of trees and shrubs you can plant in your yard, not to mention height of the grass, size of any flower beds, the need to have foundation plantings etc. Some people like this, they feel makes the subdivision have a uniform appearance and keeps up property values. But I find it aesthetically unpleasant, restrictive, boring, and frustrating.

Lawn chemicals
Because you are often required to have a lawn in many subdivisions, you are essentially committed to polluting the environment. Grass is not a plant that grows equally well everywhere: in fact, it is fairly fragile, subject to lots of pests and diseases. To keep a lawn looking healthy (whether it is really healthy or not is a different question), you have to use a mixture of fertilizers, pesticides, selective herbicides, fungicides, and nematode-preventing chemicals. All of these make it pretty tough to have a garden.  Who would want to eat produce that was contaminated with this stuff? If you ever watch a lawn company worker spray their chemicals you know that they are not very discriminating nor selective and spray in wide arcs. Indeed, if your neighbor sprays and you don't, you will often get chemical drift into your yard and plantings.

So, obviously subdivisions with homeowners associations are not for me. They may be for you, but then maybe you're not the folks reading this blog?

 An interesting essay on the history of the American lawn: 

 History of the...

Ugh, Anthracnose

 

 

https://sites.udel.edu/planthealth/tag/tomato/

 

Ever get a tomato or leaf that looks like this?  You likely have a leaf-spot disease called anthracnose.  Anthracnose is more likely to occur in temps above 80 degrees, and the fungi transfers to the plant via the leaves when water splashes up from contaminated soil. It typically occurs in the leaves and ripened fruit.  The first sign of infected fruit  is a depressed lesion on he surface, that darkens and begins to mold.  You can safely cut off this area and consume the fruit, unless you have a specific allergy...though sometimes there is too much disease to save the fruit. Do not compost the cut away parts!  You will only increase disease if you do. Throw them away!

 

This disease is easier for a home grower to manage organically than for a commercial grower. First, rotate your crops!  Don't grow members of the solanceae (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, potatoes) in the same bed year after year, only every 4th or, better yet, 5th year. Second, use a natural mulch on the soil, like pine straw or newspaper to prevent splashback. Third, water at the soil level: drip or soaker hoses are ideal. Fourth, though I may get some flack for this, if you have anthracnose, pick your tomatoes at the breaker stage, when they are just starting to change color from green. I think there is adequate evidence, and I agree from my experience, that breakers ripen with all the wonderful flavor compounds of a fully ripe tomato. Hard, green, immature fruit never will ripen properly (think winter, grocery store tomatoes), but breakers will!  

 

Also, DO NOT REFRIGERATE YOUR TOMATOES!  You will ruin their flavor!

Starting Seeds: Heat, Light and "Soil"

 

I suspect you come to a garden blog to see lovely photos of plants, not the above!  This is my so far unsuccessful attempt to germinate seeds of the giant milkweed, Calotropsis gigantea.   But, I digress, and I haven't even started yet!

Over the years, I have used many methods of seed starting.  The first is direct sowing. Some plants, especially ones with large seeds like beans and squash, generally do well when sowed directly in the ground after the last frost in your area. Side note: how to figure out your last frost? Dave's Garden has this handy search box- just enter your zip code and get your frost dates:

 https://davesgarden.com/guides/freeze-frost-dates/

and the USDA has this information in map form

 https://images.app.goo.gl/xSVZwnm5MJw5mXGi7

Why direct sow? Can't you get a jump start on growing these seeds, too? Yes, you can. But if you are like me, with limited room for seedling flats and lights, it is not a great use of space.  These seeds do well on their own in the garden (except for rabbits at times, but that's another blog). The seed pack will tell you if the seed is good for direct sowing and when.

Direct sowing is also a good strategy for cool season crops, or plants that do not transplant well: peas, lettuces, greens, and root crops. Some people do get ahead start on peas, lettuces and greens indoors, but I find it is typically not worth it, again due to space limitations.

Starting indoors: some plants have a longer growing season or you may want to harvest their fruits earlier (think...tomatoes, the number one vegetable plant for home growers). Yes, you can start them outdoors, after the last frost...and wait a month or two longer for fruits than with transplanted seedlings.  The other problem is that some of the most beloved veggie plants (the solanaceae: tomatoes, eggplants, peppers) need really warm soil to germinate, hence the need for bottom heat germination using seedling heat mats. In the photo above, you can see a heat mat under my milkweed seeds.  I would not try to start members of the solanaceae without one. They cost around $25 and up for larger sizes, but mine have lasted for years. I have seen advice to use an old heating pad, the kind that does not automatically turn off, but I would avoid this option as they are not made for this use and may overheat. Some people also put planted peat pots directly atop water heaters or furnaces, but the pots can dry out quickly and you may damage your appliance.

Top or surface sowing: Some seeds, like petunias, need light to germinate. These seeds are often tiny, and have little nutrient reserve, so need moist soil and light.  I typically scatter them on the damp, seed starter-surface of a flat or part of a flat, and hang my T-5 shop light as close to the soil surface as I can. Check regularly to make sure they do not dry out. As soon as they have two true leaves (the first leaves are seedling leaves, wait for the next set) I gently transplant them into individual peat pots filled with damp seed starting mix, NOT regular potting soil (use seed starting mix for ALL your seed starting).  Petunia seeds, by the way, are like dust and you need work with them carefully. One sneeze and that's it!

Stratification: Sometimes you may buy seeds (especially from an independent grower or hobbyist, or that you have collected yourself) may need cold stratification (less common is warm stratification).  Many seeds (common milkweed, many north American tree seeds like the pawpaw or persimmon) need to be chilled for 6 weeks to several months.  This is typically achieved in the fridge. Seeds are placed in a damp paper towel or in slightly dampened peat moss, in a zipper bag, and put in the fridge for the needed period of time).

Other oddball methods:  There are other methods for specific plants.  Some tropical seeds may need supplemental heat and high humidity (you can put the seedling pot in a plastic bag, on a heat mat, checking frequently for mold).  I am trying to start the giant milkweed seeds above using the water method, which I fear is not working.  I am soaking the seeds in dechlorinated, 80 degree water, changing it out twice a day, on a heat mat.  They typically start to sprout in 7 days, but it has been 7 days, no joy.  I also soaked some of the seeds overnight and put them directly into peat pots on a heat mat with cover...fingers crossed!

Some plants are best started (or more easily started) from rooted cuttings (African blue basic, some houseplants like rex begonias) or rhizomes (tulips take 7 years to flower from seed, so unless you are a breeder...)(ginger and turmeric- I will update you on this year's attempts soon).

When to start seeds? This is typically listed (along with how to start) on the seed pack (e.g. after last front date in your region, 4 weeks before last frost day, 8-12 weeks before last frost date, etc).  Seeds packs give all sorts of good growing info: is the seed annual, biennial, perennial; what zone does it grow in; what are soil and other requirements...etc. 

 Happy Seed Starting!