Weekly Garden Thread - January 28- February 3, 2023 [Savvy Seed Storage Edition]

January 28, 2023 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.

If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located.

This thread is a non-political respite. 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. Planting, Harvest to Table Recipes, Preserving, Good Living - there is no telling where it will go - and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us! Send a Private Message to Diana in Wisconsin if you'd like to be added to our New & Improved Ping List.

NOTE: This is a once a week Ping List. We do post to the thread during the week. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest to Gardeners are welcomed any time!

[Pollard]

Chadwick Cherry were pretty good tasting and growth wasn’t crazy.

[Augie]

This past week was relatively mild here in Central Missouri. It snapped off cold Saturday night and much of the state got a not-so-nice layer of ice from that crazy old bat-brain Mother Nature.

I didn't let any of that slow me down though. Went to STL Saturday and had the new wheels/tires installed on my truck. Didn't get to go visit new granddaughter. She needed some jaundice treatments last week and her momma was worn out and not interested in company.

Did a good bit of putzing in the greenhouse after I got home from STL. The surfactant treatments that I've been applying to the ground beds in there appear to be having the desired effect. The compost is staying nice and moist now. I sowed another bit of mixed green salad seed in the beds. With the heat tape in the ground and the new grow lights maybe something will happen down there now.

Wait, what? Grow lights? Yep, grow lights. I found a six pack of 80w full-spectrum LED fixtures on amazon for a reasonable price so I thought I'd give them a try. Can't hurt, right?

I still need to tidy up all of the electrical cords, and I've kind of decided that all of the ventilation where the side walls meet the roof is too much fresh air during cold weather so I'm pondering how I might close up some of those gaps without making it difficult to re-open them when warmer weather gets here. Mrs. Augie suggested stuffing old towels in the gaps, which is a much simpler solution than anything that I would come up with.

The surfactant treatment has also helped maintain a better moisture level in the starter cells that I've got going. I was having trouble keeping those moist enough, but not too moist. My seeds have responded favorably to that. I've got four cabbage varieties, collards, and two varieties of kale in starter cells now. Simply covering the seeded flats with a piece of clear plastic sheeting also seems to have helped to even out the moisture levels in the starter cells.

It's a bit early yet to be starting peppers/tomatoes/etc., but I've got a couple more 32 cell flats primed and ready to go when the time arrives.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[Diana in Wisconsin]

A little shot of Summer in a dreary Winter. Strawberries grown in suspended, recycled rain gutters.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Thank you for the seed viability chart!

I have a problem every year as buy seeds. I buy more that I can possibly fit in my garden, so this thread is pretty timely. In addition, I was also thinking about making certain that I had a good number of heirloom varieties that would allow me to grow and collect seeds for the following year. (If need be!) That, or leave a collection of heirloom seeds to my one daughter who does attempt gardening.

So, as either you or Ellendra mentioned, moisture is big problem. I wondered about oxygen and how that affects seed longevity and found this.

Prolonging seed life

"Experiments performed by Wageningen University and Research showed that next to low humidity and temperature, anoxia is a third important factor that can be used to prolong the shelf life of seeds, also called seed longevity. The reason is that the type of damage accumulating in the stored seeds is mainly oxidation, stimulated by oxygen in the environment. Early experiments had shown that seeds stored in an oxygen-free environment could survive much better in certain occasions. Seed companies were initially hesitating about applying anoxia, concerned about whether – as living organisms – seeds could survive without oxygen." ..snip....

...Gene banks store seeds from old varieties and wild crop relatives as genetic heritage for future generations. Since regeneration is costly and runs the risk of reducing genetic variation, it is preferred that the seeds can be stored for decades without loss of viability. Unfortunately many gene banks have to regenerate more often due to overly fast deterioration. One reason for this might be that many gene banks use glass storage jars from which seeds are taken from time to time (the Dutch gene bank does not use this method).

This creates a dilemma for the gene banks: On the one hand, they want to be able to supply seeds on demand, but on the other they prefer to open storage jars as infrequently as possible in order to minimize any deterioration of seed quality. If the oxygen could be removed from seed jars after opening, the seeds would maintain quality much longer. This can be easily and inexpensively done by including a package of oxygen absorbing iron powder in the jar next to the desiccant. An alternative is removing most of the oxygen through vacuum packaging in hermetically sealed foil bags, as performed by for instance the gene banks in the Netherlands and the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines."

Amazon sells sealed oxygen absorbers (You want the individual vacuum packed absorbers.) and dessicants. I think that I will store my unused heirloom seeds in a 1/2 gallon Mason jar and include these:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=oxegen+absorbers&crid=93P0Y0GAXNAY&sprefix=oxegen+absorbers%2Caps%2C125&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Silica-Packets-Desiccant-Dehumidifiers/dp/B00DYKTS9C/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1508524538&sr=8-1&keywords=silica%2Bgel%2Bpackets&linkCode=sl1&tag=tenthacrefarm-20&linkId=dd69a53891d8ee302e9064db03d146e2&th=1

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

This summer, and next summer, and the summer after.....

Judean Date Palm Methuselah

This tree was extinct before sprouting again from a 2,000-year-old seed. It has produced fruit which has seeds!

[campaignPete R-CT]

Winter starts here on Thursday night, ending on Sunday morning. That’s when autumn returns.

La Nina strikes again.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Six more weeks of winter: Sun Prairie Jimmy sees his shadow (Wisconsin)

SUN PRAIRIE, WI — Sun Prairie’s Jimmy the Groundhog saw his shadow on a sunny Thursday morning, meaning six more weeks of winter.

Mayor Paul Esser helped translate the prognostication from Jimmy, who stayed in his cage on stage.*

Jimmy predicted an early start to spring the past two years, last predicting six more weeks of winter in 2020.

As always, officials in Sun Prairie say Jimmy is never wrong, and will take the blame for losing his message in translation if the prognostication does not come to pass.

Jimmy’s cousin in Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil, made the same prediction on Thursday.

Note: *Jimmy BIT the Mayor a few years back, so he stays in his cage now, LOL!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

That’s been our winter in SW Wisconsin, too! We had 7” of snow last week, then into the Deep Freeze for a few days, and then close to 40 again, next week.

I’m really concerned about my trees, shrubs and hardy roses!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Yay! KALE!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Inflation Chicken

Inflation Chicken.... A term for chickens that people bought in response to the egg shortage.

Google search for raising chickens has doubled from a year ago.

[MomwithHope]

Cherry tomatoes - we have had our best results for many years with Campari. We just dry out our own seed. You could get some at the store now and squeeze some seeds onto a paper towel to let dry. The homegrown have much more flavor and sweetness than the store bought.

[MomwithHope]

Very cool article thanks.

[Augie]

I almost fell over when I saw the cost of chicks last spring.

I won’t be surprised if this spring’s price hasn’t doubled.

It’s probably time to make the chicken yard bigger and increase the size of Mrs. Augie’s flock.

[Qiviut]

Thanks!

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Thats what I understand! You probably already know about Missouri sources for chicken hatcheries.

https://chickenandchicksinfo.com/chicken-hatchery-missouri/ (They also list sources for other states as well!)

How are the perch doing?

(I think that Chinese balloon is probably floating over you right about now....They saw it in Pleasant Hill up near KC earlier in the day!)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I bought two cases of eggs from Costco a few weeks back. That will last us until spring. :)

Beau is cleaning out the old Milking Parlor in the barn and we are building a chicken coop. It may not be done ThiS spring, but next, for sure!