Other benefits include…

• Money saved on seeds.
• New experiences with plants you may not have grown before, and advice on said seeds from someone who has been there.
• Benefit of sharing an excellent variety, or getting one for yourself.
• Preservation of a hard to find or heirloom plant.
• It’s also a full scope garden experience. While it is nice to buy a lush, ready to go plant, there’s nothing like actually growing your very own from a little seed. If I say it’s magical I’ll sound corny, but well, you get the idea.

For seed saving you’ll need to collect seeds once your plants are finished flowering. Then wash and dry your seeds and store them somewhere that’s moisture free, cool, and dark.

Make sure that anyone in your seed exchange follows proper seed handling and saving guidelines. For example, no one should be trading seeds that were strangely sourced. If you gather seeds out in the wild you have a chance of messing with the habitat – i.e. wild plants can be under environmental pressures and you taking their seeds is messing with the plant even more so. It’s also smart to have seeds marked well and leave enough time to chat (maybe snacks and drinks are in order) because some folks will have good advice on which seeds fared better started inside or right in the garden.

More info:

• How To Organize A Community Seed Swap – excellent guide including in-depth ideas like publicizing your swap.
• See information for saving specific vegetable seeds.
• Great Seed Saving Instructions from Seed Savers Exchange.
• Finding, Gathering, Saving Seeds – this is a classroom guide for kids actually; BUT it’s very good, has excellent visuals, and will teach you how to locate and save many sorts of garden seeds.
• Seed Saving for Beginners – handy seed saving chart.

[image via stoc.xchng]

Post from: Blisstree

Start a Garden Seed Exchange

Season’s Original Treehouse – BEST toy ever. So darn cute and way fun, this amazing treehouse comes with access from all six sides through windows and doors, trap door, skylights and tower ledges. Kids can pretend to excess with cool extras like the look out tower, swings, rope ladders, transport pulley system, loft, opening and closing shades, knot ropes, clothesline, even a tire swing. Handmade wooden house with non toxic finishes.

Making Flower children – a wonderful and detailed, step-by-step book about making a range of lively, creative flower figures. All activities are organized by season.

The Little Daisy Doll Kit is so sweet and summery! Everything you and your child needs to make your own little Daisy. OR pick up some of these too cute for words new, Wee Seedling Babies (below!)

Last, but not least if your little one has a birthday in August these beautiful little packets of Fairy Garden Seeds will make the perfect party favor. Packaged in a pretty reusable gossamer bag with pressed flowers seal, comes a generous mix of annuals made to please fairies, butterflies, and kids alike. Mix includes bachelor buttons, cosmos, small sunflowers, zinnias, and forget-me-nots, plus comes with a sweet little fairy garden verse.

Post from: Blisstree

Non-toxic summer fantasy toys

Always look at the directions for seed germination either on the seed packet or in a gardening book. I used to think you could just toss any old seed in soil and it would magically grow. WRONG. Some seeds need darkness to germinate properly (who knew?) while others need constantly wet soil. Some need warmth and some need a specific soil depth. The seed packets and books aren’t just making conversation when they tell you planting conditions so follow directions.

Make sure you have viable seeds. If your seeds are too old they may not grow. Learn how to check seeds for viability.

Look out for damping off. Basically damping off looks like this – you plant seeds. They appear to germinate fine, little seedlings sprout, then the seedlings without warning die off. What the!? Damping off means your seeds experienced some sort of fungi in the soil and will die off right at the soil line. Problems causing this include too much water, overcrowded seedlings, low soil temp while germinating, planting seeds in dirty pots, or the wrong growing medium.

Don’t transplant seedlings until they have their first true set of leaves. I know it’s tempting, but wait!

For thick shelled seeds you can soak them in warm water for about eight hours or gently nick the shell of the seed with a sharp knife – YES this is as hard as it sounds. If you like your fingers go with the soak method.

To store unused seeds keep them in a dry place. Some seeds like oak and chestnut have to be stored in a moist materiel like peat moss but most of the time seeds you’ll be using should be kept dry.

Do you like starting plants from seeds or starter plants? I like seeds because my son is always impressed.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Blisstree

Healthy Seed Germination Tips

Since we’re also currently working on eliminating our clutter, and considering how to not make more clutter, we can use our old milk cartons to get our seeds going.

Split the cartons in half lengthwise, and punch holes in the bottom (a nail or plain old knife works). Fill the carton with completely wet, but squeezed dry potting soil. Plant your seeds 6 cm apart, and of course according to directions on your seed packets, cover with a thin layer of soil and you’re done. Label each carton and place in a plastic bag you have sitting around (a grocery store bag will work).

Check your seeds each day. The second the seeds sprout you need to take them out of the plastic bags and place in a sunny spot inside. A window is fine. Once in a while you can feed them with an organic fertilizer. By the time spring sets in, and the soil outside warms up, your plants will be ready to transplant.

If you don’t get milk in cartons, you’re going to have to use good old seed trays.

This is also the perfect time of year to test your left-over from last year seed stash for viable seeds. Place a paper towel on a cookie sheet. Place about six seeds from each stash on the paper towel and sprinkle the seeds until wet, but not drowning, just damp-wet. Cover the seeds with another damp paper towel and place the tray somewhere slightly warm – say, on top of the fridge. Check them each day for three days. If most of your six seeds sprouted, 4-5 then your seeds are ok to use this year. If less than four sprouted, toss them.

What not to do:

By the way, the first year I tried testing my leftover seeds, I actually wrote (in ink) on the paper towels, and then sprinkled the water on. I’m good at a lot of things, but I always mess up something when it comes to gardening. Of course the names of all my seeds washed away, and I had no clue which were which. Now what I do is simply tape a small piece of scratch paper on the edge of the cookie sheet. It works much better!

These are a couple of good ways to start organizing your garden this year. For many more gardening tips, from someone who knows her way around the garden far better than I do, visit Mother Earth’s Garden. In fact, I just now went to grab a link from Mother Earth’s Garden, and that darn Linette has a post up about seed starting, which I did not read, since I’m sure it rocks, and will make me jealous. But, you can read it: Starting Your Own Seeds.

Do you garden? What are some of your early garden prep plans?

Post from: Blisstree

Time to start organizing your garden seeds