seeds

 lavender

 parsley

 oregano

 borage

marigold

Saturday Garden Journal

These days the star of our garden is the blueberry. The bushes are heavy laden, and my three year old takes such pride in filling her hands, her mouth, and the little bowls she brings out to the backyard with the succulent sweet-tart treats. This morning I awoke at 5:45 to a little curly head saying, "Mom, let's go out and pick blueberries for the pancakes." And after negotiating with her for another 15 minutes in bed, that's just what we did. The task at hand made being awake and outside at 6 am on a Saturday feel like a privilege rather than punishment. It was a lovely warm and quiet morning, the gentle light shining just so on the garden. I even took the opportunity to cut some broccoli for dinner, and to do a little slug hunting. I have to say, oatmeal with freshly picked blueberries is an entirely different experience than our usual oatmeal with raisins. And the blueberry pancakes were delicious.

We're experimenting with growing some dry shelling beans this year, just to see how it works. It would be nice to be able to grow more staple food items, in addition to veggies. Our space is so limited, though, that it's probably not practical to plant in quantities large enough to put a dent in our bean consumption. The food bank garden where my husband volunteers grew some quinoa last year, which I think would be very fun to try, too.

The peas are not thriving to the degree they did last year, but really doing quite well considering the initial slug onslaught they had to weather. We do so love snapping off a few for a snack as we come and go through the front yard.

We had a hot day today, after a long stretch of cool wet weather.  The tomatoes are growing well, but the peppers, basil, and squash are still waiting for some consistently warm temps. The herbs are thriving, especially calendula. I saved seed last year and had great results with starting them indoors this spring. I hope to get around to making some healing calendula salve before the arrival of baby brother later this summer.

The parsley is going to seed, and all the pollinators and beneficial insects love the lacy flowers. I've noticed they like chamomile and cilantro flowers, too. Anything with tiny blossoms and lots of pollen. This parsley originally came from seed saved and given to us by my late mother-in-law three years ago. I'm hoping that we'll be able to collect some seed from the plants this year to continue the legacy. It cheers my heart, the way these plants provide a tangible connection to her life and her garden.

Wishing happy gardens and happy gardening to all!

Joining in with Ginny's Saturday Garden Journal...

the wonders of seed saving, and a little give-away

It all started with a few marigold seeds I saved several autumns ago. The next spring, I tried planting them, just to see what would happen. Miraculously, they sprouted, grew, thrived, and became that summer's marigolds.

The next year, I gathered some of the dried sweet peas clinging to our fence. They, too produced fragrant flowers when planted the next year.

The year after that, I added seeds from this striking red salvia.

Again, the seeds produced beautiful plants the next spring, and more seeds to save that autumn.

Each year, as I've witnessed the magical cycle of seeds sprouting, growing into hearty plants, flowering, and producing seed again, my enthusiasm for seed saving has grown.

My experience has mostly been with saving flower seed, but this season I added pole beans...

 

 

...and some herbs--cilantro, parsley, and chives are all very easy to save. 

The sunflowers, calendula, chamomile, and lemon balm have always reseeded themselves with no help from me.

Saving seed requires just a bit of knowledge, time, and care, and the effort is so worth the reward.

Before choosing a plant from which to save seed, make sure it is open-pollinated, and not hybrid. A hybrid plant is created by crossing parents of two different varieties, and it's seed will either be sterile, or will revert to one of the parent varieties. An open-pollinated variety will produce seed that stays true to the plant you harvest from. There is much to learn about plant pollination and reproduction, and the best source I've found is Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth. The Seed Savers Exchange is a wonderful resource for finding heirloom seeds, and sharing your own seed with others.

 

All the plants I've saved seed from can be harvested after allowing the seed pod to dry fully on the plant. Once you have harvested the seed, you will need to store it in a sealed container in a cool, dry place. Moisture and fluctuating temperatures will compromise the quality of your seed and it's ability to germinate next season. I have had great luck with placing the seed in small paper envelopes, then storing them in a sealed plastic Nancy's yogurt container in the fridge. I've had great germination rates with this method. 

And now for the give-away! I'd love to share the wealth of my generous little plants by giving away a small packet of french marigold and red salvia seed (both pictured above).  A gift from my garden to yours. If you think you could use them, just leave a comment below by 8pm Pacific time Sunday 11/20. I'll choose a random winner or two and post them here shortly after. Because I am not familiar enough with regulations regarding shipping seeds internationally, I will only be able to ship these seeds within the USA.

Happy seed saving!

And the give-away winner is...Ellen!