Category Archives: seed starting

Simple Record Keeping for the Garden

Posted on March 18, 2012 | 5 Comments

Those who’ve been gardening for a while know that you should rotate your crops, and keep track of your successes and failures to make improvements in the future. I also plant in garden “families”, roughly along the lines of those described in the book “Great Garden Companions“, so I like to make sure we don’t end up with the garden version of the Hatfields and McCoys. Here are some of my favorite techniques for simple record keeping for the garden.

Use Seed Starting Charts

In Excel, I created a simple spreadsheet that I use mostly for indoor seed starts, but sometimes for outside seeds, too. In it I record the following:

Date planted
Variety
Number of cells/containers
Number of seeds planted
Year of seed packet
Company
Date of first seedlings
Number of seedlings
Date of full germination
Number of seedlings total
Transplant to garden date

I’ve saved a copy of this form in pdf format for you to print off for your own use.

I like to record the specific variety of a crop, not just “tomato” or “pepper”, because I typically grow over 20 different types of tomatoes, as well as multiple varieties of many other crops. Each variety has specific growth traits and habits that need to be accounted for in addition to the general properties. For instance, I grow a couple of determinate tomatoes, which require very little staking, but mostly indeterminate tomatoes, which require substantial support. (Discussion of determinate versus indeterminate tomatoes and tomato supports.)

I use mostly recycled cellpacks from previous years for ease of planting. They provide deep root space with a minimal footprint. In each cell I put more or less seeds, depending on expected germination rates. Some varieties will last ten years or more, others will germinate poorly at only a year or two of age. I’ve noticed by tracking this information that seeds of similar crops from different seed providers have better germination rates after storage, as well as better germination rates right from the start. (Check out my favorite seeds sources and seed storage recommendations.) As germination rates decreases, I use proportionately more seed per cell/container.

Plant in Botanical Families

As I mentioned above, I plant in botanical families, and rotate these families around the garden based on their growing needs. From Great Garden Companions, the families I use are:

Aster Family – Chicory, endive, lettuce, sunflowers
Cabbage family – Broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, collards, kale, radishes, turnips
Carrot family – caraway, carrots, celery, dill, fennel, parsley
Grain family – corn
Legume family – beans, peas
Onion family – asparagus, chives, garlic, leeks, onions
Spinach family – beets, spinach, Swiss chard
Squash family – cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, squash
Tomato family – eggplant, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes

Make a Simple Diagram of Your Garden

I have a hand drawn diagram of my garden, and I label what was planted in each area from year to year. This allows me to rotate crop families and plant heavy feeders in areas that have been more recently manured. (My neighbor brings over several loads of rotted manure each year, and that rotates through the garden along with the crops.)

Here’s the center garden circle for 2011.

Here are the surrounding beds for 2009, 2010 and 2011. Note – drawings are not to scale (not even close). They simply allow me to track roughly where things were planted. (You can click on each drawing to view a larger image.)

Garden plan 2009

Garden plan 2010

Garden plan 2011

I keep my seeds in plastic shoe boxes, and bundle “like” seeds together. I grow over 100 different varieties of this and that, so I’ll just start working my way through a type of something, say carrots, for instance, in a block planting.

I make a block 3 feet wide, and mark rows in it about one foot across (so I end up with a series of three foot long rows). I’ll plant two rows of Atomic Red carrots, a row of radishes, two rows of White Satin carrots, a row of kohlrabi, two rows of Scarlet Keeper carrots, a row of turnips, and so on, until I end up with a large bed of root veggies. I may put some annual flowers or herbs along an edge or mixed in. That way, I can compare the growth habits almost side by side, but not mix the different varieties up.

The more you work in your garden, the more you’ll get a feel for how much space you need and how much of a fruit or veggies you use. Or, if you really want to get super organized, you can get out your graph paper and pick up the book Square Foot Gardening. It’s a well written book, but not for me. I’m more of a wild woman in the garden. Volunteers – yep, some of them are allowed to survive. Weeds – yep, some of those are allowed to survive, too, especially those that are edible and/or medicinal, which includes a lot more weeds than you might realize. (You can check out the Weekly Weeder series to find out more.)

I scratch some notes in my garden binder, and try to take photos of the garden at regular intervals. Last year I put together a slide show of the central garden wheel through the season, and did a 360 view from the center of the garden, which was pretty cool. (You can see both on the gardening page.)

If strict record keeping is your thing, put together a loose leaf binder and make some pre-printed forms in a spreadsheet format, or invest in a pretty gardening journal. Anything you can do to make record keeping easier will make it more likely to happen. Don’t stress over the details so much that you forget to enjoy your garden. That’s one of the best parts. :-)

I’d love to hear how you keep track of things in your garden.

This post has been added to Homestead Barn Hop #54 at The Prairie Homestead.

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Posted in garden planning, Gardening, seed starting, Uncategorized

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Tomato Mania – Seed Starting, Transplanting and Troubleshooting

Posted on May 18, 2011 | 6 Comments

I started my tomato seeds back in March, but I’ll do a quick recap here. I like to use a mix of potting soil and worm castings (3:1 ratio), in individual cell packs. (I save those black plastic containers that you get plants in from the greenhouse.) As a rule of thumb, you want to plant seeds roughly three times as deep as the seed is wide, so tiny seeds stay on or near the surface, and larger seeds go a little deeper. You can do a germination test or pre-sprout the tomato seeds in a coffee filter, but I usually don’t bother. (Pre-sprouting is discussed in more detail in the comments of this post.) You may want to do a quick soil test on your potting mix before you start, as many on the market are lacking in key nutrients and/or overloaded with other nutrients. I like to mark my seeds using popsicle sticks broken in half. I write the name of the variety on both sides of the stick with a ball point pen (in case it gets it gets wet, which it will, generally one side remains readable). The popsicle sticks are cheap and reasonably durable, and also compostable.

Cover the seeds with a clear plastic cover, and put them in a well lit location. I like to give them a little jump start with a heating pad underneath. I put the heating pad and the lights on a timer, leaving them on for about 16 hours a day and off for the remaining time. If you’d like some more photos of my planting bench and seed starting setup, take a peek at this post.

Because I plant so many varieties, I end up with leftover seed from year to year. Tomato seeds generally store quite well (I have some from 2001 that are still viable), but the germination rates decrease over time. I made up a simple spreadsheet in Excel where I track date planted, variety, seed source, number of seeds planted, date of first seedling appearance and final number of seedlings. This allows me to compensate for the reduction in germination rates over time. Of course, some seeds keep better or worse than I anticipate (mostly better), which is how I ended up with over 100 tomato plants this year. I’ll have extras ready to sell to the locals by next week.

Once you get seedlings popping up, uncover them within the first 24 hours. Keeping them covered can lead to damping off. Damping off results from fungal infection. It generally comes from keeping your seedlings too wet. One day they’ll look fine – then WHAM! The seedlings are laying there dead. Generally the stem shrinks up near ground level, and the soil is very wet. Sometimes here will be mold or fuzz growing on the surface of the soil. (Yes, I have made this mistake – it’s not pretty.) A sprinkle of cinnamon or a spritz of chamomile tea may help save the remaining seedlings, but once a plant has keeled over, it’s a goner.

If the color of your seedlings is off – check moisture levels. You want damp soil, not too wet or too dry. If the moisture level seems fine, try a soil test. As I mentioned above, some soil mixes are just not right.

If your seedlings are really tall, skinny and floppy (also known as “being leggy”) – chances are your lighting is inadequate. Try a different location or more artificial lighting. Putting a fan on a timer and having it blow on the seedlings off and on through the day will also help toughen up stems (and prevent damping off and other diseases – ever wonder why they have those fans running all the time in commercial greenhouses?). Alternatively, you can run your hands lightly across the tops of the seedlings from time to time during the day. Proper lighting is the first step, but movement will help, too. If you start your tomato plants early and they need to be transplanted into bigger pots one or more times before being planted in the garden, you can plant them deeper than they were previously growing. (More on this below.)

If you’ve got leaf tips that are pinched together by a seed that didn’t fall off, like this (this plant is an eggplant, not a tomato, but you get the idea):

It is okay to gently remove the stuck seed. Try not to tear the leaf. This will go a little easier if the seed is moist.

As the tomatoes get larger, they can be moved into a greenhouse or cold frame – just make sure to keep them from freezing (preferably between 50-80F).

If you come into your greenhouse and find this:

Plus an empty shelf above:

And muddy smeared cat footprints at the scene of the crime (because you left the door to the house open to keep the plants from freezing), try not to cry when you see this:

Or this:

Yes, the tops and bottoms of these tomatoes have been parted, never to be whole again. Thankfully, most of the varieties killed were ones that I had in excess.

If you end up trying to determine varieties from a scrambled mess of plant material and dirt, here is a comparison of the main types of tomato foliage. In terms of leaf shape, you have regular leaf (RL) plants and potato leaf (PL) plants. Growth-wise, you have determinate and indeterminate.

From left to right, we have RL indeterminate, PL indeterminate, and RL determinate.

You can see the RL determinate plant on the left has more, smaller, branched leaves, while the PL determinate plant has fewer, larger leaves.

Comparing indeterminate to determinate, the indeterminate on the left is taller and leggier, while the determinate plant is smaller and stockier.

Indeterminate plants will continue to grow larger and set fruit until frost – mine commonly reach six feet or more in height. As the end of the season approaches, you may wish to pinch off new growth to focus their energy on maturing existing fruit. Determinate plants will grow to a more modest size (they often don’t require staking, and thus are generally preferred by commercial growers). They set all their fruit at roughly the same time and are ready for harvest during a narrow window of time. Most heirloom varieties are indeterminate, while most modern hybrids are determinate.

This post is already pretty long, but bear with me. I know my readers can skim and grab the info they want.

Transplanting

I start my seeds in the cell packs with openings that are roughly 1 inch square. As they grow, I transplant them into larger containers. First, I’ll move them to two inch containers, then up to three or four inch, depending on how fast they’re growing and how long until I can get them in the garden.

Here’s a cellpack of tomatoes that’s more than ready for transplant. You can see they’re a bit overcrowded and leggy. You can generally transplant any time after they get their first “true” leaves (the leaves that look like tomato leaves, not the first little oblong leaves that appear). I confess, my plants can get a little overgrown before I get to them.

I have seen some gardening gurus recommend cutting off the excess seedlings in each cell at ground level with a scissors and keeping only the strongest, but I just can’t bring myself to kill healthy little plants.

Gently pry a group of seedlings out of their cell, pushing up from below as you pull from the base of the plant above. Ease the roots apart, trying to keep as much soil as possible on the roots.

If you encounter a severely stunted plant (like in the bottom left corner of the photo below). Don’t bother trying to save it – it won’t grow. Trust me on this.

Transplant seedlings as deep as possible in their new container. This will help support the stems. Yes, it’s okay if bottom leaves are covered.

In a few weeks, I graduate the plants to the larger pots.

When it’s getting close to the time to plant them outside, I start hardening them off. “Hardening off” plants is the process of gently introducing them to the outside elements to toughen them up enough to survive in the garden. You want to take it slow, or you’ll end up killing all your little seedlings (again, trust me on this). I prefer to harden them off over 3-4 days, starting them out with no more than an hour or two of direct sun the first day and increasing exposure each day. Make sure they are protected from the wind and adequately watered when you set them out. A little extra TLC at this point goes a long way.

When you plant them in the garden, I prefer deeper holes over shallow trenches (in my climate and location). Planting deep (just leaving a few inches of leaves exposed above ground) will yield a more robust, more drought tolerant plant. The plant will send out new roots from the buried stem. I add a small handful of crushed eggshells to the planting hole to help prevent blossom end rot, which is caused by inadequate calcium levels and is generally made worse by fluctuating moisture levels in the soil. Tomatoes like rich soil, so I also add some well rotted manure or worm castings, but you don’t want to add too much (a shovel full per planting hole is enough). Too much nitrogen will give you too many leaves and not enough tomatoes. I also mulch, trellis and often add a soaker hose under the mulch for watering, but I’ll go into the details of that on another post. Common tomato problems and pests in the garden will have to wait, too, as this post is getting really long!

Here’s my list of this year’s tomato varieties.

Slicing Tomatoes

Cour di Bue (oxheart type)
Green Zebra – green and yellow stripes
Tigerella – yellow and orange striped
Better Boy – prolific
Glacier- early
Garden Peach – fuzzy!
Pruden’s Purple – large pink/purple
Early Girl – early, reliable
Totem – determinate, can be grown under cover
Defiant – resistant to Late Blight, which hit my garden late last season
Arkansas Traveler – new to me this year

Cherry Tomatoes
Pearly Pink
Black Cherry
Sun Gold
Grandma Tess’ Landrace Current tomato
Peacevine
Yellow Pear
Red Pear
Micro Tom – determinate, can be grown in a small pot

Paste tomatoes
San Marzano Paste
Purple Russian Paste – thrives in cold, dry weather
Polish Linguisa

Opalka Paste – Polish heirloom, my very favorite paste tomato

My breeding experiment – working on natural long storage tomatoes
Long Keepers 2005
Long Keepers 2007

Whew! I feel like a cowboy at a rodeo, tying up a calf and then lifting your hands to show your done! of course, I’m just getting started with the season around here. I’ve got about half my seedlings in the cold frames to harden off, the rest still need to be transplanted into the biggest pots and then moved out with their brethren. Hopefully with a little cooperation form Mother Nature, all I need will be in the garden by the end of the month, and the extras will have found new homes with friends and neighbors.

This post has been added to Simple Lives Thursdays at A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa and

Barn Hop #14 at Homestead Revival.

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Posted in "garden seeds", cold frames, drought, eggshells, Gardening, greenhouse, seed starting, seeds, tomatoes

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My Favorite Seed Sources, Seed Storage and Germination

Posted on April 17, 2011 | 17 Comments

In case you haven’t ordered all your garden seeds just yet, I thought I’d do a quick post about my favorite seed sources.

Fedco Seeds – Fedco is where I buy the bulk of my seeds. Their prices are very affordable, they carry a large number of varieties, and they source from ecologically sound growers – no GMOs here. Their catalog is not flashy – it’s printed on plain newsprint, all black and white – but their variety descriptions are tops. They point out which varieties store best, are best in certain recipes, and are resistant to various garden problems. They also give troubleshooting tips.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds – I’m new to Baker Creek, but I’m a fan. One of the best for unusual heirloom and open-pollinated varieties, plus reasonable prices. Gorgeous photos in the print catalog and online. They’ve launched a customer review option online, but so far the feedback is minimal. I expect it to grow over time. Forward thinking company, also GMO-free and supporting local farmers, like Fedco.

Pinetree Garden Seeds – Out of my top five, I’ve been ordering from Pinetree the longest. Their prices are reasonable, and they give smaller quantities of seed in each packet so you don’t end up carrying over so much seed from one year to the next if you have a smaller garden. I typically order from Pinetree for seeds that have a limited storage lifespan, like peppers and parsnips. Again, another company that is GMO-free and supports healthy farms and farmers.

Seed Savers Exchange – I love the idea of Seed Savers Exchange, and they have a beautiful and inspiring catalog – BUT – not all the seeds I’ve ordered from them have had the quality I expect from a seed company. Germination rates have been poor, squash that were supposed to store well stored poorly (they were the first to rot in storage our of six varieties), plants have failed to thrive (right next to similar plants from other seeds sources), and tomatoes that were described as crack resistant cracked worse than any others in my garden (and I grow around 20 varieties). When I emailed with my concerns, I received no response. I am still a member of SSE, support their work and order from them occasionally, but don’t rely on them for the bulk of my seeds.

Seeds of Change – SOC has a beautiful catalog where they share wonderful stories about how their seeds are changing people’s lives. Unfortunately, they were bought out several years ago by M&M/Mars company, and I have to say I miss the days of the old SOC. They used to focus on heirlooms and unique open-pollinated vegetables developed by the likes of Alan Kepuler. Now, I page through the catalog and see mostly hybrid varieties. What can I say? “Hybrid vigor” is great on occasion, but I prefer open pollinated and heirloom varieties for the most part. Update: M&M/Mars is now introducing GMO cocoa. Sorry, Seeds of Change, you’re now off my list for good.

So, once you’ve got your seeds, how long can you expect them to remain viable? The following charts from Seedman.com lists storage and germination times for garden seeds. My results have been somewhat different, generally with a longer shelf life than this list suggests. I’ve started keeping records for the seedlings I start inside, listing planting date, variety, number of cells, number of seeds, year of seeds, seed company, date of first seedlings, number of seedlings, final number of seedlings and date of final count. I pop these titles into Excel, make a grid and print it horizontally on a page. This allows me to keep track of whether or not I need fresh seeds for a variety even if I have a lot of seeds left. For instance, I’ve got some tomato seeds left from 2001 (ten years old) that came up great this year, and others that only sprouted one out of ten seeds.

I keep my seeds in my cool, dry basement to help extend their lives, but they could be a little cooler. My friend keeps hers in their walk in cooler and has significantly better longevity. I may have to bum some cooler space once most of planting is over. Don’t leave your seeds sitting in a greenhouse or near a heat source, like near a furnace or in your kitchen! This will shorten their lives. According to the article from Seedman.com “The dry seed should be placed in packages and stored in moisture-proof containers. Containers such as sealed cans or jars with air tight caps work satisfactorily. Storage temperatures between 35°F and 50°F are satisfactory when the moisture content of the seed is low.”

Table I. Seed weight and longevity for home garden vegetables.

Crop	Seeds per Ounce^a	Relative Longevity under Cool, Dry Condition (Years)^bc
Asparagus	700	3
Bean, Lima	25 – 75	3
Bean, Snap	110	3
Beets	1,600	4
Broccoli	9,000	5
Brussels Sprouts	8,500	5
Cabbage	8,500	5
Carrot	23,000	3
Cauliflower	9,000	5
Celeriac	70,000	5
Celery	70,000	5
Chicory	26,000	5
Chinese Cabbage	18,000	5
Cucumber	1,100	5
Eggplant	6,000	5
Endive	26,000	5
Kale	9,500	5
Kohlrabi	9,000	5
Leek	11,000	3
Lettuce	25,000	5
Muskmelon	1,200	5
New Zealand Spinach	350	5
Okra	500	2
Onion	9,000	1 – 2
Parsley	18,000	2
Parsnip	12,000	1 – 2
Pea	75 – 90	3
Pepper	4,500	4
Pumpkin	200	4
Radish	3,000	5
Rutabaga	12,000	5
Salsify	1,900	2
Spinach	2,800	5
Squash	100-300	5
Sweetcorn	120 – 180	1 – 2
Swiss Chard	1,500	1 – 2
Tomato	11,000	4
Turnip	14,000	5
Watermelon	200 – 300	5

^aSeeds, The Yearbook of Agriculture. 1961. Stefferud, A., Editor. The United States Government Printing Office.
^bHandbook for Vegetable Growers. 1960. Knott, Joe. John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
^cVegetable Growing Handbook. 1979. Splittstoesser, W.E. AVI Publishing, Inc.

Table II. Germination data for home garden vegetable seed.

Crop	Minimum Percent Germination^ab	Germination Temperature^b			Days to Germinate Under Optimum Temperature and Moisture Conditions^c
Crop	Minimum Percent Germination^ab	Min °F	Opt. °F	Max. °F
Asparagus	60	50	75	95	10
Bean, Lima	70	60	85	85	6
Bean, Snap	75	60	80	95	7
Beets	65	40	85	95	4
Broccoli	75		85		4
Brussels Sprouts	70		80		4
Cabbage	75	40	80	100	4
Carrot	55	40	80	95	6
Cauliflower	75	40	80	100	5
Celeriac	55		70		11
Celery	55	40	70	85	7
Chicory	65		80		6
Chinese Cabbage	75		80		4
Cucumber	80	60	95	105	3
Eggplant	60	60	85	95	6
Endive	70		80		6
Kale	75		80		4
Kohlrabi	75		80		4
Leek	60		70		7
Lettuce	80	35	75	85	3
Muskmelon	75	60	90	100	4
New Zealand Spinach	40		70		6
Okra	50	60	95	105	6
Onion	70	35	75	95	6
Parsley	60	40	75	90	13
Parsnip	60	35	65	85	14
Pea	80	40	75	85	6
Pepper	55	60	85	95	8
Pumpkin	75	60	95	100	4
Radish	75	40	85	95	4
Rutabaga	75		80		4
Salsify	75		70		6
Spinach	60	35	70	85	5
Squash	75	60	95	100	4
Sweetcorn	75	50	95	105	3
Swiss Chard	65	40	85	95	4
Tomato	75	50	85	95	6
Turnip	80	40	85	105	3
Watermelon	80	60	95	105	4

^aMinimum percent germination to federal standards.
^bHandbook for Vegetable Growers. 1960. Knott, J.E. John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
^cSeeds, The Yearbook of Agriculture. 1961. Stefferud, A., Editor. The United States Government Printing Office.

What are your favorite seed sources and how do you store your seeds? I’m always open to trying something new.