Thursday, January 27, 2011

Starting Seeds and Other Random Stuff

Well we had more snow. Again. 8-9" this time. If this keeps up I will be trapped in my house.

This is the view out my kitchen window looking to the side. I haven't shoveled to the compost pile yet, but I'll get there. It is very, very pretty. And very annoying to get this much snow. In our old house we had a lot of room to put the snow. Here there is very little space in the front. If my peach tree had been planted already it would be buried all the way up. I have to walk to a free spot to stash the snow as the close spots are all around head height.

I do have good news though. I planted my first seeds on the 21st and they are up. Whoot! (Don't get excited Granny it isn't WOOT.) I finally finished my seed starting schedule which I'll talk about on Saturday. Yes three, count them, THREE posts in a week. I haven't done that in quite a while. But then again the gardening has begun. Sort of.

I've also started to do a germination test of some old seed. They are spinach, leeks, and carrots. I have plenty of new seed, but figured I'd use the old stuff up. If you have never done this before it is really simple. Put your seed on a paper towel and dampen the towel. Then put in a plastic bag, but leave the bag open for air. After a while (some seeds germinate slower than others) check to see what percentage germinated. Except for naturally low germinators f it is under 50% I tend to just toss the seed as the seedlings would be weak anyway.

22 comments:

  1. Gosh, y'all are getting pounded by snow this year..unbelievable.

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  2. That's good to know about the germination test. I'll have to keep that in mind as my seeds age.

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  3. We've had a ton of precip as well. All the snow is in the mountains, and the valleys get mostly rain.

    I am chomping at the bit to get the seed starting under way.

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  4. I won't even begin to tell you how beautiful the weather is in the southwest right now... sorry!

    I'm curious about your germination test. When you say old seed, how old is old enough to worry about viability?

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  5. I would love 9 inches. We got 19!
    http://nycgardening.blogspot.com/2011/01/if-feels-little-like-siberia.html
    I'm so jealous that you are starting your seeds already.

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  6. Wow, look at all that snow! It sure is pretty. We've had so little rain this month that I'm watering all my potted plants and even ran the drip system yesterday. We had above average precipitation totals at the start of the month and now we're already behind.

    What a great idea to test the germination of your old seeds, I should probably do the same, the seed box is a bit full...

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  7. The snow is always pretty to me until I have to DO something with it!

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  8. WOOT! Er....WHOOT!

    I started some seeds today. Found my parsley and oregano seeds hiding in the freezer. I'm hoping the parsley takes off, as I'm always getting home too late to get it started. The oregano failed for me last year, so I'm not expecting miracles. That has to be the tiniest seed in the world, smaller then a grain of sand.

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  9. Wow that is a LOT of snow!! It looks so magical but it sounds like a pain to deal with. That's wonderful that you're seeds are sprouting being that it's blizzard weather. Can you believe it's almost February?

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  10. It's fun to start seeds this time of year. Especially with all the snow on the ground. I hate to waste seeds, so I was thrilled when some old seeds actually sprouted. I hope yours germinate as well.

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  11. Brr!! Keep warm! I also started some seedlings this weekend!! I can't wait to see how yours come along!

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  12. You could have small cars and large dogs buried under all that snow and not even know it! :D Getting accumulation on top of prior accumulations adds up to a big stack of snow pretty quickly. I hope you catch a break soon.

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  13. We're out of room for the snow as well. More to come soon. The onions look great. I really should test some of my old seeds, I have far too many.

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  14. EG, yup we are getting way more than our normal. Even way more than our normal for the whole year and we have a lot of winter still left.

    Kaytee, I had two of mine fail (the SugarSnax carrots and the Space spinach, but the Mokum carrots and leeks all passed).

    GoneferalinID, I don't do any other seed this early. The next on the list are my leeks which get started in about a month. But the onions just take forever.

    Anne, it depends upon the seed. Onions are notorious for not germinating on the second year. Don't even try for saving it for the third year. In a previous post I wrote about how long you can save seed: "Short (1-2 years): alliums, corn, parsnip (use new seed every year), spinach
    Medium (3-5): carrots (on the short side), legumes, lettuce, peppers, tomatillos
    Long (6+): beets, brassica family, cucurbit family, eggplant, tomato " The reality is that carrots don't always do well for me after two years. I ought to put it in the list of short lasting seed. But if they are approaching their normal lifespan than you should test for viability. I ought to note that how you store your seed has a lot to do with how long it lasts too. If you just put it in a basket on the counter, it can absorb moisture (bad) and get too warm (bad). It is best stored in an airtight container and in a cool location (40F is good, which is why I store it in the fridge - but don't do this unless your container is really airtight and let the seed come to room temperature before opening).

    meemsnyc, lol I'm so glad we didn't get 19. We got close to that In our December storm. That is way too much to move at one time.

    michelle, My seed boxes are overflowing right now. I have two and the seed barely fits. It is all because of the bean seeds though as they are so huge and I'm trying so many varieties.

    villager, lol yup

    Granny, I've got some oregano that I'm starting too. I haven't opened the box yet to see what it looks like though. Tiny seed is so hard to deal with. But once I get it started the plant will last and last. Which is great.

    Jane, It does look magical until it gets old and dirty. I guess if we get a snow storm every week that won't happen.

    GrafixMuse, I should have tested my Kentucky Wonder beans too. But they are only three years old so they should be ok. I'd better save some seed this year though to freshen them up.

    Holly, more and more keep germinating. Its fun to see them every morning as they get bigger.

    Laura, yes I could. You should see the front. I hope we get some time off from snow to let some of this melt off slowly. I don't see a lot of warm weather in our future. Just some flurries over the weekend. It's not a major storm at least.

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  15. It starts to get exciting when the first seeds are growing and gives one hope for spring and summer green. You have a lot of snow!

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  16. Did you start them in spagnum? I've been bad and my indoor spring starts are late this year. 2 weeks so far. It's hard to plant inside when you can still plant outside. LOL

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  17. Is it really that time already??? Nice to see that your onions have germinated well. I'll be sowing some scallion seeds this weekend but will grow most of my onions from starts this year. I don't know why but starting them from seeds last year just seemed like so much work! I'd like to reserve the space for something else.

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  18. I got everything shoveled, except the town plow did me in with its chest high four foot wide pile of ice and snow across the end of the driveway. I called a guy with a plow and felt quite un-independent.

    The thought crossed my mind, what if summer never comes. It is climate change after all, not just global warning. Then I tamped down the paranoia and the visions of raising vegetables in my living room.

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  19. Mr H, It is exciting. I can't wait until I can get some seeds in real dirt outside. That is if the snow every melts.

    Barbie, I start them in soil blocks using Coleman's recipe. So peatmost, compost, garden soil, vermiculite, perlite and sand. With some fertilizer. I don't have your problem. Nothing is growing outside right now.

    Thomas, Yes it is. I always seem to start my onions in January even though my schedule always says February. And yes it is a lot of work, but I like to have something growing this time of year.

    Karen Anne, Yeah but I'm sure the snow wouldn't have survived the horribly hot summer we had. I just hope it starts melting out earlier than usual. It will need time to all melt out.

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  20. That snow is beautiful, but I can utterly believe it's a pain. Poor you.

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  21. Thanks for the extra info Daphne!

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  22. That's some snow- and your temps! I was looking at your weather widget- very cold. Our temps have just dropped after a wonderful, sunny, warm spell! I expected it though. I have a few things coming up in the small bed I rushed together in the greenhouse, other than that not too much going on yet. Our weather here is hard in that there is quite a difference between the day temps and the night temps- even in summer. This will be an interesting year to say the least!

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