Gardening

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Seed Keepers: An Organized Gardener’s Dream

The Seed KeeperI stumbled upon the Seed Keeper last week and mentally filed it under “why didn’t I think of that?”  Today I bought one!

The Seed Keeper is a filing system for your seeds, complete with tabs for sorting alphabetically or by month.   After years of storing my seed collection in a little orange gift bag, I’ll finally have a dedicated storage system, organized  in an easy to access system.   I used to buy a few seed packets a year but as my passion for gardening  grew, so too did my collection of seeds.  Each year I buy seed packets as Christmas gifts, collect pumpkin seeds from my garden and occasionally receive some as gifts or freebies.  A good storage system is essential.

Kerrie Rosenthal and Carol Niec came up with the idea when:

“… we tried to find a better way to store our seeds. Together, we developed a seed filing system for seed packets and captured seeds complete with tips and seed planting accessories. The accessories were chosen because they are important to the seed starting process. The plastic clip-lock container is rugged enough to go to the garden and solid enough to protect delicate seeds until the next planting season.”

I ordered mine online, though they are available at a variety of locations throughout the United States and Canada.  Checkout the Seed Keeper and the Seed Keeper Deluxe.

I splurged on the Seed Keeper Deluxe (I liked the green handles). In addition to the basic storage system (box and dividers) the kit includes:

A-Z dividers have new, essential garden information about composting, rain barrels, mulch, a Frost Zone Map, recipes, plant facts and other fun and interesting nuggets.  Sturdy Monthly Dividers are helpful for planning seed-starting and garden plantings. Also included are 10 wooden plant markers, permanent marker, 10 glassine seed envelopes, 10 What Did I Plant?Labels (no more mystery plants), garden gloves, a seed sorting dish, garden ruler, anti-static seed tweezers, hand-held seed magnifier, utility clip, seed picker-uppers (toothpicks in a tube) and a hand & nail scrubber.

Wow!  I can’t wait to organize my seeds.

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Catnip Corner: The Purrfect Spot

How to Grow the Perfect Catnip

I’ve been scouting for the perfect spot to plant our catnip which needs full sun and easy feline access.  I had pretty much resigned myself to planting in a low pot, when I noticed this bare patch of earth near the lawn next to the other mint. Kismet! er…catnip!

We have a pair of seed-embedded cards from a Petco fundraiser we’ve been saving to plant this spring. I’ll plant one now, keeping the second as a back up just in case this first batch fails to deliver. It seems a bit of a shame to cover these clever cards with dirt, but I’ll save a fortune on catnip.

Here’s a bit about catnip also know as cat mint from catworld.com. This powerful herb has many human uses and attributes, beyond a feline-high:

Catnip tends to have a sedative effect on humans. It is most often drunk as a tea.

It is also useful for settling an upset stomach. It has also been used to treat headaches, scarlet fever, coughing, insomnia & smallpox.

Catnip can also be used for cuts, studies show it has a natural healing quality. Crush fresh catnip leaves, damp them & apply to your cut. **

Pregnant women should avoid catnip.

It can also be used as an aromatic herb in cooking & salads.

The Perfect Spot

=^..^=

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Eggshell Seed Starters: Cracked Eggs, Happy Pumpkins

Pancake Breakfast leads to eggshell planters

While mixing up a batch of pancakes this morning, I remembered a recent post on Facebook suggesting starting seeds in eggshells. I had leftover planting mix on the counter from planting cat grass the night before and a pile of eggshells collecting near the stove.

After rinsing the shells, I placed the rounded end back into the carton and added the mix. I planted several of the remaining pumpkin seeds, making it an even dozen. Next week, I’ll pop the seeds in their eggshell containers directly into the raised beds outdoors. The eggs decompose, adding nutrients to the soil. I crushed the remaining shells into smaller pieces as an offering for the birds. Apparently backyard birds will eat the shell as a source of calcium.

I love the narrative I found inside the egg carton. It says:

“Thank you for choosing our eggs.  These eggs were produced on small Amish/Mennonite, family farms where the traditions of being a good steward of the land are passed on from generation to generation.  In many cases the eggs are gathered by hand and much of the family is involved in the care of the birds and the collection of the eggs.  You can be assured that the eggs you are buying come from chickens that are allowed to roam freely about the hen house are given access to the outdoors and eat only certified organic feed.” – Farmers™ Hen House Organic

Cheaper by the Dozen

Here is a quick tutorial from Apartment Therapy.

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Cat Grass: Nibbles for K.T.

Seed Packet (I love the art work)

We’re growing cat grass in our kitchen window for my sister’s kitty, King Tut (K.T.).  My sister started foster sitting cats, but fell in love with K.T. and couldn’t let him go.  He’s an older cat, with a beautiful white coat and cute little ears.  Sadly, he was de-clawed by a prior owner and he suffers from a thyroid condition so he has good days and bad days.  For a period of time last year, pre-grown cat grass was hard to come by.  This gave us the idea to grow some at home.  It’s also a bargain: $6.29 for a huge packet of seeds, vs. $4.00 for one ready-to-go tray.

Our current mix of “Gourmet Greens for Cats” includes organically grown rye, oats, barley and wheat, produced by Renee’s Garden in nearby Felton, California.  I learned the hard way that you have to keep the grass covered till it establishes roots (about 14 days), or the cats will jump up on the counter and help themselves, scattering cracked seed and soil everywhere.

Kitty Salad, Hold the Dressing

Plant seeds indoors year round in sun or part shade.  They germinate in 3 – 7 days and are ready to eat in 10 – 14 days.

K.T.

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Blooming Thursday: Random Gifts and Neighborhood Rifts

For all the time I spend in the garden, complete surprises are rare.  With my nose down close to the dirt, or my camera directed at flowers and trees, it feels as comfortable and familiar as a good marriage.

That said, my husband still surprises me with flowers “just because” and this week my garden did the same.  After an hour of planting and the requisite cleanup, I turned to go inside and spotted something flowering behind our fruit tree.  I climbed over the rock wall and shrubs, rounded the tree, and there it was!  The flowering bulb has roots under the fence line, so perhaps the bulb divided from the neighbor’s side.

It would be nice to think of the flower as a gift, or more appropriately a peace-offering, for in this community of otherwise incredible neighbors, this unhappy soul stands out.  He once trapped my cat and dropped him off at the Humane Society without a word.  He calls the authorities when someone’s dog barks.  He asked us to lie when our shared fence fell down and had to be replaced. We declined.

Perhaps this random gift is not the flower, but the opportunity to let go of the angst I feel when I pass his house.  All these years later the anger and hurt are gone, but the angst lingers on.

Spring Bulbs

Any guesses on the name of this flowering bulb?

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City Picker: Grow Tomatoes on your Porch, Patio or Deck

City Picker

A few years back, a friend raved about an Earth Box, a self-contained planting system for vegetables.  I’m not sure if they were hard to come by at the time, but I never stumbled across one in any of the garden centers I frequent, or I simply didn’t take the time to look.

Our raised beads spread out across the back of our house in past years, but they were too close together making it challenging to get around them without getting your foot caught between them.  When we refurbished our back yard this winter, we widened the path in front of the beds, to make room for our summer pumpkin vines.  We added gravel, since part of that area isn’t easily plant-able due to pipes, irrigation shut off valves, the electric box, etc.  It was a great place for a chair in the cooler months, with the sun reflecting heat off the side of the house.  Hoping to capture that trapped heat for our tomatoes this summer, I went looking for an Earth Box.  What I found instead was a City Picker, virtually identical in every way, but almost double in width.

City Picker’s are perfect for urban gardeners, since they are a fully contained system in a portable box.  The planting box comes with casters, a ventilation tray, a watering tube and plastic mulch.  You can roll it around your patio or deck to maximize sun, while at the same time containing the mess.  No need to worry about watering your downstairs neighbor!

Here is our setup:

1.5 CU FT. Organic Potting Mix

Dolomite Lime and Fertilizer

Fully assembled City Picker

Fill with potting mix to about two inches below the top
Add a thin layer of Dolomite

Organic Fertilizer:
Make a two-inch trough in the center of the box
Add three cups of organic fertilizer

Mound Potting Mix:
Cover fertilizer with mix, about one inch above the box

Plastic Mulch:
Cover with the elasticized plastic mulch
Clip in place with the enclosed binder clips

Cut Holes in Plastic Mulch:
Cut a hole for the irrigation pipe
Cut additional holes and plant seeds/seedlings

Ready to Grow

I’ve provided links for the Earth Box and the City Picker for feature comparisons.  Please let me know if you’ve tried one in the past, or if you plan to set one up this season.

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Pumpkin’s Progress: Wilted Seedlings, Sagging Ego

First, the clichés:

Never give up hope. It’s not over till it’s over. Don’t give up!  Don’t be discouraged!  Okay…but…

Wilted Pumpkin Seedling

I am discouraged.  We transplanted our pumpkin seedlings Sunday evening into freshly prepared planter boxes.  The process was challenging on two fronts.  First, the seed pods were so close together, that the leaves and stems entangled.  As I gently pulled them apart, several of the stems bent or snapped.  It was disheartening.  Second, the seed pods had to be pushed out from the bottom, instead of scooping out from the top, further damaging the tender plants.  I improved my technique as I went along, so the lower box looks a bit better.

On the bright side, I have a reserve of seeds in all six varieties, so I’ll plant those directly into the bed.  Stay tuned.

Has this ever happened to you?

Lower Box

Volunteer Pumpkin
This seed survived the winter and is doing just fine without my help

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Planting at Dusk: Tucking the Seedlings in for the Night

Ready to Plant

It’s nail-biting time.  The pumpkins are in the planter boxes, watered and tucked in under a blanket of rich garden mix.  I erected what we affectionately refer to as Fort Knox for Squirrels, a chicken wire enclosure to keep squirrels (and rats)  from noshing on the tender green shoots.  We’ve learned this lesson the hard way.  It’s disheartening to see your starter crop reduced to wilted, broken stems.

So..now we wait and hope for the best.

Special thanks to Laura for the custom tie-dyed apron.  I love it!

Planting Collage

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True Leaves: Seedlings Ready to Go

Pushing Up Seed Casings

I learned the expression “true leaves” on a gardening forum called I Dig My Garden. True leaves are the second pair of leaves on an emerging plant indicating all systems are go for transplanting outdoors.  I like that expression, and find it far more interesting than my heretofore “second set of leaves” terminology.

Our Burpee Growing System delivered in spades.  We have over 72 pumpkin seedlings ready to go.  I prepped the garden beds a few weeks ago anticipating this day.  The stars have aligned, which is to say dry, warm inviting conditions to launch our pumpkin crop.  Here we go!

“The love of gardening is a seed that once sown never dies.”
–  Gertrude Jekyll
☼☼☼

April 11th: Planted seeds indoors in a Burpee Seed Starting System.

April 18th: Will you look at these adorable sprouts?  What personality!

April 29th:  True Leaves!  So excited…

Kitchen Counter Pumpkin Crops

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Garden Kitties Make the Rounds

We have awesome cat netting around our back yard fence, allowing our cats to roam safely within the confines of our yard.  They enjoy the fresh air and sunshine, and like joining me on my daily gardening rounds.  The netting keeps them safe from traffic, cat fights and other assorted mischief.

You can learn more about the Cat Fence-In® System here.

My feline companions include:

Lindy, aka Lindy-Lu
We adopted Lindy from our local Humane Society in 2005

Slinky Malinki
Feral kitty has come a long way
She showed up as a stray about two years ago

This neighborhood cat is every one's best friend.
Named Mighty Mouse, aka Mousy and Mouse

Beijing, also known as Beige, Large-Marge and Grumpy Gus
We assumed this beauty had a home, but with no collar and no microchip, we never located her owner.
She joined the crew about two years ago.
(Thanks anyway, but I think I'll stay here on the couch)