Sundays are for Seeds
With everything going on in the world, what a better time to plant your own garden!
With seed catalogs filling the mailbox again I flip through them with excitement on what I want to plant this year. For months I’ve envisioned a garden oasis for all my honeybees to enjoy. I’ve gone from buying seeds of vegetables that I wanted to grow for my own purpose…to buying vegetables and flowers that would benefit my honey bees the most. When I go through the seed catalogs, I tend to stick to a handful of companies who I find have the best quality of seeds as well as the best germination. But there is a lot more to think about before starting your own garden.
Sowing Seeds…
With starting seeds you have to plan a little out. Think of what you would like to plant this year and where you would like to plant it. Once you have that figured out, next you buy your seeds. Below I go into more detail where I perfer to get my seeds.
Once the seeds arrive, next is to plant them! I always look on the back of each seed packet to find out if they are “direct sow” or can be “transplanted”. If they are direct sow, that means the plants roots do not like to be moved once it starts growing, therefore it needs to be planted outside. If it can be transplanted, there should be a time period on when to plant them.
When I am ready to plant, I have these wonderful seed starting kits, I fill them up with organic soil. Once the soil is evenly spread I then press it down to make sure its nice and tightly packed. I then take my dabber and place holes in each ‘pod’. Once that is complete I go through line by line and place the seed in each pod. Then once I’m done with one type of seed, I mark it with a name marker and then move onto the next seed packet.
Labels aka Seed Markers. You don’t have to go out and buy labels, you can use things that you can find lying around your house. For example, I have used those little plastic tags that keep the bread you buy from the grocery store closed, I have used old popsicle sticks, I have even recycled plastic milk cartons and cut them into strips. I alway use a black sharpie marker which will with stand any weather. You can also buy some online that are plastic, metal or wood.
*Once I transplant the seedlings into the ground, I use taller wooden markers which are easier to read when the plants start to take off and grow out and up.
Once every seed is in I go over and cover each hole lightly with a dusting of more soil.
Next I place all the seed trays in the greenhouse and keep an eye on the water and moisture levels week by week. I bought a pop-up greenhouse a couple years ago and its one of those great purchases that I’m so glad I bought. I set it up every early spring, end of winter and then take it down once the last frost has passed. Here is a list of different pop-up greenhouse examples: https://greenhousefanatics.com/popup-greenhouses/
Through time the seedlings will sprout and for the ones that don’t, if I have seeds left over, I go back in and put in the seeds in those empty pods.
Once the last frost date has passed I then go outside and transplant the seedlings into the ground. I try to keep the same vegetables together, but spread the flowers out in various spots in the garden. With different varieties of flowers, especially the more unique ones, I try to make markers for each and every one I plant so I can later recall what species is what.
Seeking out Seeds…
Hudson Valley Seed Co.
What drew me into this company was their beautiful packaging of their seeds. I came across their seeds at a show years ago where I caught glimpse of their “art packs”. They have different artists create beautiful pieces of art for each of their seed packets so no two are alike. Not all their seeds have art packs, but I highly recommend purchasing the art packs if you can, they also make wonderful gifts!
This year for Seeds from the Hudson Valley Seed Co. I have growing are: Fox Cherry Tomato, Milkweed, Bee Friendly Meadow Mix (of course!), Velvet Queen Sunflower, Edible Flower Mix, Honeynut Squash, Mexican Sunflowers, and the Riviera Mix Lobella Seeds (from the PHS Philadelphia Flower Show).
The Hudson Valley Seed Company also sells their Fine Art as Prints, Tools for Gardening and Gifts for your fellow gardener. To learn more about the Hudson Valley Seed Co.: https://hudsonvalleyseed.com/
Botanical Interests
This is another popular seed company that you can find locally in your garden supply shops or can purchase online from their website. They also have beautiful illustrations on their packaging which always draws me in.
One seed packet I always look to buy from them is their “Save The Bees Flower Mix Seeds” , which also makes a great gift to your neighbors come spring time if you keep bees.
A few seeds I’m growing from them are: Verbena (Butterflies LOVE this flower), Flower Mix (Bring Home the Butterflies), Flower Mix (Water-WiseGarden), Basil, and Sunflowers.
If you are interested in their Seed Catalog you can request one here: https://www.botanicalinterests.com/catalog_request
Floret
One company who I have been a huge fan of for the passed couple of years is Floret. Located in Mount Vernon, WA, Floret Flower Farm is a small family run farm led by Erin and Chris Benzakein. They sell Seeds, Bulbs, Dahlia Tubers as well as additional materials. Erin has two books out, Cut Flower Garden and A Year In Flowers (recently released) which I highly recommend grabbing yourself a copy of both!
This year for Seeds from Floret I have snatched up: Poppies, Cosmos, TickSeed, Pincushion, Zinnias, Lace Flower, Sunflowers, Sweet Peas, Honeywort, Strawflower, Dahlia (Bee’s Choice Mix - of course!), Chinese Forget-Me-Nots, Bee Balm, Bells of Ireland, and Ornamental Squash. You can learn more about Floret Flowers or purchase seeds here: https://shop.floretflowers.com/
Johnny’s Seed is a great company located up in Winslow, Maine. I have found through out the years that Johnny’s has the best germination rates which they even include on the front of their seed packets which I really like! Every year I always try to buy organic vegetable seeds from them (they have a fabulous variety of tomatoes) as well as flower seeds I know the bees will enjoy.
Johnny’s has quite an extravagant catalog which I highly recommend ordering as well to give you more of an idea of what they have to offer. They have supplies for the Home Gardner all the way to the Commercial Gardener.
To learn more about Johnny’s seeds visit: https://www.johnnyseeds.com/
