Posted on 01/13/2012 8:25:57 AM PST by JustaDumbBlonde
Good morning everybody! It is cold and clear here in NE Louisiana, zone 8a, we should reach 50° today under sunny skies. We've received several inches of rain in the past 3 weeks, so there will be no garden prep for a while yet, but the sunny sky has a way of getting me in the mood.
In last week's thread we discussed our seed and supply catalogs. This week I intended to discuss saving seeds from our own harvests, and starting seeds indoors. In preparing, I actually found a couple of articles that are very informative and give good information in very plain, easy to understand language.
Both of these articles are from GRIT magazine online. It is my hope that you will benefit from this information. The pages seem to load very slowly, but you may find it time well invested.
Vegetable Seed Saving: What You Need to Know
If you have any links with good information along these lines, please feel free to share them with the group!
This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won't be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn't asked.
It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and that makes it fun and interesting. Jump in and join us!
Good morning JADB! Yep cold here and sunny, may get to 50°.
We’re back in the freezer here in Central Missouri. 12° when I left the house this morning. Nothing doing in the garden until it warms up a bit.
Thank you!!
We are in SE Pa. and it is coooold and very windy out. A grey January day.
Seeing this post and entertaining thoughts of planting gives me a smile on a day like this. :-)
Hi everyone! I am telling you our weather is just crazy. Yesterday, it was close to 60 degrees. Today is cold and windy. Up and down, down and up. Hubby is saying if we get any more warm days, he’ll have to cut the lawn. LOL!
Don’t forget about saving Tomato seeds using Oxi-Clean.
Here is a link with instructions and photos.
http://www.settfest.com/2009/01/saving-seeds/
The weather is absolutely unreal and we are getting most of our spring cleanup done a little early. It still continues to be a bit cooler than normal and we have gone from 25% more than normal rainfall at the end of October to a deficit of 45% today and We now have 26 seed/plant catalogs but that’s my wife’s fault...
Does anybody recommend an heirloom seed company? I ordered from heirloomseeds.com last year and I was disappointed in some of the seed. Last year was my first experience with heirlooms, so if bad seed is common let me know. My beans, corn, toms, and peas did well. My melons, squash, cabbage, and broccoli did not. I'm a bit worried about my garlic. After planting it my husband has suggested that we start a major remodel of our house. If we start in a few months the garlic will be destroyed. Is it possible to transplant them this spring?
Morning.
Sun is shining and thermometer reads 44 (it was over 60 yesterday) but with a 35mph wind and higher gusts, it sure as heck does feel like mid 40s.
Good chart! It shows my zone of 7b to be at 0-5 degrees... it’s exactly 3 degrees outside our door!
We’ve got the same problem here and we’ve also had a good bit of rain. cutting grass in January is just sooooooooooo wrong.
Our wind was 20-30 mph yesterday. Deer hunting ends last day of the month, so I was up a tree yesterday afternoon. Got settled, only to discover that I’d dropped my gloves someplace along the way. You can’t keep your hands in your pockets and use binoculars or hold the gun. My hands were frozen when I finally walked back to the truck. Found my gloves on the front porch. [sigh]
You are so welcome ... I’m glad you’re smiling!
After two decades of not having a garden, my SIL kindly loaned me a section of her raised garden beds last year. I planted tomatoes, peppers, scallions, eggplants, Swiss chard, spinach and mesclun, plus some herbs & marigolds. Although the garden got out-of-hand (planted too close, weeded too little), there was still a plentiful harvest. .... lots of tomato sandwiches, fresh salads & even enough basil to make some pesto. This year, I want to do a “square foot” garden ten yards or so out the kitchen door ..... easier to keep an eye on and water when necessary. The tomatoes are grown vertically - considering they collapsed my cages last year, I am looking forward to trying this method. Last fall, when I made the last trip to the garden to harvest anything that was left as the first cold spell was on the way in, I was surprised at the very real sense of sadness that hit me when I realized there would be no more fresh goodies. I can’t wait until Spring!!
There were lots of seed recommendations in last week's thread (link above). Shumway's has a bunch of heirlooms.
Very interesting... Thanks. ;-)
Some personal notes...when doing business with these companies; you will find that you are communicating DIRECTLY with the owners of these small businesses...since it is their personal reputation on the line; you will find that they go above and beyond to provide great customer service...I have found that to be the case with EVERY one of the companies listed above that I have dealt with. (I have NOT dealt with all, just most.) Several offer items other than tomatoes.
Double Helix is well worth visiting...beautiful photos, and the owner is a biologist; who is designing heirloom tomatoes that will be EXCLUSIVE to his company. He can put you on a list so you can be among the first to receive the offerings of his 'new' tomatoes. Check it out.
Select Plants does NOT offer seeds; plants only. A text-intensive website; but loaded with information, and an AMAZING selection of live plants...shipping is a bit rough, but he has gone to a great deal of trouble to get nice healthy plants right to your door.
Heritage Harvest Seed is another beautiful site, but they are in Canada, so you might want to inquire about seed being shipped to the states. They provide that service, but it seems to take a while. However; they have a wide selection of rare and unusual tomatoes. Fun to check out, even if not ordering.
Marianna's has another stunning selection, but still lists her '2011 Offerings', so I am not sure what is going on there...she might be working on updating for this year.
Tons of offerings to troll through, but you weren't doing anything this holiday (for some) weekend, anyway...right? Enjoy.
Sorry, guys!
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