Photo Friday from the Garden: Tomato Seedlings

Decaying tomatoes in the glass house are sprouting this week.  It is a great reminder as to how many new plants you can get from a single tomato.

How to grow plants from seed: Part III Home made seed raising pots

In part I we looked at seeds, part II seed raising mix and now part III a short video on how to make your own jiffy pots for growing the seeds in.  These are great for raising all varieties of plants especially beans, broccoli, eggplant and the list goes on.  The great things about them is they are made from recycled material, they can be put straight into the earth once you transplant out into the garden as they break down (just loosen the bottom of the pot so the roots can continue to grow down easily), they are made by you, and they are freeeeeeee.  Give it a go this weekend.

How to grow plants from seed: Part II Seedraising Mix

So, in part I we looked at buying seeds and now you need something to grow them in.  Some vegetable and flower varieties do not do well when transplanted from a punnet (like carrots) and need to be sown straight into your garden bed.  But if you choose to start the seedling off in a greenhouse or on your kitchen table then this is where, in my opinion, you need to invest either your energy in making your own or your money in buying a really good quality seed raising medium.  It’s not a good idea to use potting mix as these contain fertilises that will kill your seedlings (burn) and are too coarse for the seeds to break through. Soil from your garden mixed with a little river sand and peat moss can be OK but may contain micro-organisms or diseases that are harmful to the seed/seedling.

To give your seeds the best start in life choose a good seed raising mix that has good drainage yet is able to retain moisture, has good aeration, has some kind of food (fertiliser), a nice light, fine texture, and be free of any pests, disease causing pathogens and of course weeds.

I have recently changed the mix I use and recommend Tui Seed Raising Mix.  I really do think it is well worth the money.  It contains a fungicide, gypsum (for healthy root development) a saturaid wetting agent (retains moisture) and they claim on the bag it is 100% free of weeds (enough of them in my garden as it is).  It is such a good looking mix that it looks like you could add an egg and a cup of milk and you’ll have yourself a chocolate cake (not suggesting you do!!).

Just a note here:  Always wear gloves and a face mask when handling any seed raising mix (or potting mix) and follow the safety instructions on the bag.

My gardening goal for this year is to start making my own seed raising mix.  I’ve found a recipe that sounds good and wont break the bank. 

*  1/3 Coarse river sand (fine sand skins over making it very difficult for seeds to germinate through). For aeration, drainage and texture.

*  1/3 rich well composted compost. Body of mix.

*  1/3 worm castings from my worm farm. Food.

Part III of this series will examine containers for holding the seed raising mix.  Including a video of how to make your own seed raising pottles.

How to grow plants from seed: Part I

Over the next week I’m going to bring to you a series of tips and tricks I have learned over the years for successfully growing plants from seed.  My own experience of growing from seed has certainly had its ups and downs, but I would really encourage you to give it a go!!  Today and tomorrow I’m going to focus on the things you need to buy, borrow or steal before you actually put seed to soil.

Why grow seed when it’s so much easier to buy the plants from a shop? 

The reasons can vary.  Satisfaction, saving money, experimenting, supplying demand etc.  For me, growing plants from seed has really given me an appreciation of the life cycle of each plant I have chosen to grow. You get to see the special requirements for each seed/plant variety right from the beginning of it’s little life.  You certainly do save money in the long run, even if the original start up cost may be a little more.  When I first started I would always go for the cheapest of everything: seed, raising mix, trays etc and the results were not always the hundreds of A grade, luscious, healthy looking seedlings to fill my garden.  My number one tip would be to invest a little money in the beginning to save in the long run.  With a little planning, you can grow just the number of plants that will meet your needs.

What do I need to get started?

Let’s start with the seed:

-       Buy a good quality seed bought from a reputable company. This will mean that the seed is labelled correctly, packaged well for freshness and will come with growing information applicable to that particular variety. I really recommend Kings Seeds which are available online at kingsseeds.co.nz.  They have an amazing selection of vegetables, herbs and flowers with bonus offers when you spend over $40.  Their latest catalogue is out now and can be ordered through the website. 

-       If you buy from a shop make sure that the packets are not stored in the sun.  And look on the packet for when the expiry date is (seeds generally only have a short life span) and only buy the packets that are newer.  This will ensure you have enough time to actually use up the seed.  Older seed becomes less viable.  Don’t be shy; take the seeds from the back of the row.

-       Do some research about what plants you can grow at various times of the year. 

Barbara from Kings Seeds gives this advice to readers of TheBloomingTales:

“We find the greatest cause for germination failure comes down to planting at

the wrong time of the year. With our changing seasons this becomes very difficult but you have to read this year by year. For example, last year we had the coldest October in NZ since WWII, causing many germination failures but gardeners are quick to suggest that they

"always plant ...... at this time of the year".  In most seasons they would be absolutely right but they have to treat each season as they find it”.

So, let’s start from the beginning and decide what you want to grow.  Have a look at kingsseeds.co.nz for some inspiration, write a wish list and buy your seed.  Tomorrow we will look at storing your seed and buying or making your own seed raising mix.

Plant of the Week: Coreopsis grandflora

Over the next month or so I want to show you some flowers that you can start growing inside now (from seed) so that they will all be ready to plant out once spring hits.  I have chosen Coreopsis for plant of the week due to the fact that is a really easy flower to grow for the beginner gardener (from seed), they produce masses of flowers all through summer (good to cut for the vase and mass of colour in your garden) and are easy to look after (not a fussy plant, will grow well in almost all soil types and will forgive you if you forget to water it).   

The flowers look like daisies and are often bright yellow with the foliage being a dark green.  Coreopsis is often talked about with the common name Tickseed.  I would recommend the Coreopsis grandlflora and in particular ‘Early Sunrise’ as seen in the photo.  You can get seeds for this variety from Kings Seeds https://secure.zeald.com/kingseeds/results.html?q=Coreopsis.

I really get a kick out of seeing the whole process from growing from seed to picking the flowers.  So Coreopsis seeds from Kings will be on my shopping list this year.

Last week’s plant of the week was Whau (Entelia arborescens), and I said I was on the hunt for some of the seedpods so I could try and grow them from seed.  Well, while walking around the Zoo with the kids yesterday I picked a dried seedpod off the ground under a Whau tree.   

Once I pulled the prickly pod apart I got over 30 seeds (along with a baby cockroach).  So tomorrow I’m going to plant 10 of the seeds.  So stay tuned for my success/failure rates.

Making Babies

As I’ve said in other posts, last season I grew lots of different annual flowering plants from seed to try to attract more bees and butterflies to my garden.  One way to keep annuals flowering prolifically during the season is to de-head (pull or cut) the flowers off the plants once they have died, to encourage new growth.  Near the end of the season I left a few of the heads on the plants in order to collect the dried seed for next season.  Well this was my intention.  I ended up pulling up the dead plants and instead of just throwing the dead flower heads in the garden bin I just chucked the heads on the bare ground (not knowing really what would happen, maybe feed a few birds).  After a walk around my garden this morning (after some rainfall and sun this week) I can see lots, well actually hundreds, of self sown seedlings popping up all around the garden.  There was no need to burry the seeds as most seeds can grow just sitting on the soil.   

Sure some of the seedlings are not where I want them to end up, and there are way too many.  But they are going to give a really natural look to my flower garden this coming summer season (if they survive the winter) without a lot of work (or money) at all.  My Asters, Zinnias and Echium have all self-seeded this way.  I’ve been out at Patamahoe today on a pruning tutorial, so stay tuned for a pruning post soon.

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Fruits of my labour: Beetroot

When I think of beetroot: homemade burgers, stained t-shirts and canned vege come immediately to mind.  Back in February I put into the ground 15 or so cork beetroot seeds  (I went for a mix of Cylindra and Super king this year).  One of the easiest vege to grow in my opinion (I’ll go into how soon).  If you have never seen the seeds of a beetroot (see photo) they have a corky-like outer and can contain between 2 to 4 of the ‘true’ seeds inside.  The cork takes on moister once it comes in contact with the soil, triggering the germination process.

Out of the 15 corks I got about 30+ full-grown plants and were ready for harvesting after just over three months growing (I know the packet says sooner, but this wasn’t the case for me).  Over the past few years I have tried both rasing the seeds in trays first and buying seedling punnets from the shop.  So, this was the first time for direct sowing of the seeds and subsequently having the greatest success.  So what did I do?

Step 1.

The gardening books I have read suggest soaking the corky seeds in warm water for a few hours before sowing.  The concept made sense to me, so I did.

Step 2.

I put a few handfuls of my rich homemade compost and a sprinkling of NPK fertiliser graduals on the soil and raked it in gently.

Step 3.

Once soaked, I sowed the seeds roughly 20 cm apart and in a couple of rows.  My intention was to plant another two rows in a few weeks time to keep a circulation of plants growing (never happened though).

Step 4. 

Germination took about ten days and after a few weeks I thinned out the double up of plants and planted these in another two rows.

I did very little other than weeding and giving the plants a water of worm wee. And, last weekend I pulled up all of the brilliant red roots. Mmmmmm what now?

I saved a couple to roast up with potatoes that evening for dinner and the rest I decided to bottle.

As with everything in this blog being only my opinion (and those who agree), the simplest recipe for bottled beetroot can be found in Digby Law’s “Pickle & Chutney Cookbook” http://www.fishpond.co.nz/Books/Cooking,_Food_Drink/Canning_Preserving/9781869710552/

For less than the cost of one can of bought beetroot (and much MUCH tastier) I bottled three and a half large jars of simply the best t-shirt staining beetroot in town.  And if you don’t believe me come round for a sample.

The best time of the year for growing beetroot is July – March in most areas (NZ) but really all year round (except if very wet during the sowing time) in warmer areas.

Extra for blooming geeks:  The experts say that beetroot is packed with antioxidants and rummer has it, beetroot has an aphrodisiac quality.