January Seed Catalogs: What to Order (And What to Skip)
January catalogs are dangerous if you don’t have a plan. Here’s how to figure out what to actually order before the glossy photos talk you into six kinds of squash you don’t need.
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When to start garden seeds indoors: Seed starting calculator
When you start seeds indoors in a vegetable garden, it can be difficult getting your schedule down to ensure that start your vegetable seeds with enough lead time that they are mature enough to venture outside but also not so large they take over your growing area. Personally this has been a difficult part for me where I am really good getting the early vegetables started on time (onions, peppers,…
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Starting some onion seeds
width=”550″ height=”309″ /> My three year old was really excited to start planting some seeds so we planted some red onions and put them in the grow box. This is a little ahead of my usual planting schedule but only by about a week. Though the grow box does have automated watering my daughter insisted on watering them herself with her favorite yellow elephant watering can. If all goes…
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seed saving | seed storing | seeds | tomato
How to save tomato seeds
alt=”001″ width=”525″ height=”394″ border=”0″ /> It is really easy to save tomato seeds is a little more difficult that other vegetables seeds, but with a little patience and the right technique you can save your seeds with very little effort. Step 1: Get the seeds. The easiest way to get to your seeds it do cut the tomato across the hemisphere as shown below. This will give you easy…
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cheap | free | seed exchange | seed saving | seeds
Free Vegetable Seeds
width=”550″ height=”412″ /> Free Vegetable Seeds Ask your coworkers: Are any of your coworkers gardeners? Setup a seed swap at lunch and/or see if they want to go in on a seed order and split up some seed packets for varieties you only need a few seeds. Harvest your own seeds: I typically grow at least one or two cilantro and pea plants to collect seeds from for the…
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Plan your garden with Sprout Robot
width=”560″ height=”146″ /> I came across Sprout Robot in the past week, you simply create an account and provide your zip code and it will give you a complete calendar of planting dates as well as follow ups when to expect sprouts to form, when to bring out, harvest etc. When a new event is coming up you will get an email similar to the one below letting you…
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When to bring your vegetables outside?
Every time I have a discussion with a beginner gardener, this is the most common question. Typically the answer involves figuring out your last frost date then doing some backwards math when to start your seeds or purchase your plants from your local nursery. The problem with this is there is an assumption of the rate at which temperatures will increase after this no frost date. It doesn’t really…
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Urban Farmer Seeds Vegetable/Flower seed kit giveaway
They great people at Urban Farmer Seeds have graciously offered their Flower Seed Kit and Vegetable Seed Kit to giveaway to the readers of CVG. Like many seed companies Urban Farmer Seeds is environmentally conscience, one unique thing they do is use recycled magazines to make their seed packets as you can see in the picture below. We will pick a winner on 02/12/11, as usual there…
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First seeds started: onions, leeks, purple cone flower
My youngest daughter has been patiently waiting all winter to plant some seeds (as have I) Finally it was time in my area to start planting the “start 8-10 weeks before first frost” seeds. Which for me included onions and leeks, though as I was picking up the leek seeds my daughter talked me into getting some purple coneflower seeds as well. After carefully mixing my special blend of…
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Seed types: Heirloom, open pollinated, hybrids, GMO
When you pick up a packet of seeds knowing what type of seeds you are growing is very important especially if you are planning on saving seeds from the fruits of your labor. Much like man’s best friend seeds come in many varieties, sometimes these occur with careful consideration of pedigree. others are brought together to complement both parents good (or bad) physical traits, and finally there are the…
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HomeTown Seeds: 3-Tray Kitchen Seed Sprouter Review and Giveaway
Last year I played with sprouting seeds in a mason jar to hold me and the kids over during the winter until it was time to start growing for the following spring. The process worked great but I ended up with way more sprouts than I could consume and most of the sprouts were wasted. One option was to use smaller jars and stagger the starting of the seeds,…
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Starting seeds in paper towels
Most often I start my seeds in a mix of coconut coir and perlite in seeding cells or small containers, though there are occasions when it may be better to start your seeds in a simple paper towel. Before going into the benefits first lets go over the technique: Get a paper towel, napkin, or coffee filter and spray with water so it is moist (not soaking wet or…
