A Seed Saver's Garden

[Pulsegleaner]

Well, back from the Field Pansy raid. Got a whole bag of them (would have picked the patch clean if dad hadn't drove up and said enough was enough). Will see about sowing the intact ones tomorrow. As a bonus, a few DO have pods and ripe seeds, so, even if none of the current plants actually take, I should get SOME next spring.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Couple of general updates.

Have gotten a few more flowers since last update. Picked up two more six packs of pansies, each of which has one "sport" plant with flowers that are very like an impressionist painting (I'll try and take pictures when I plant them, today, it is raining hard and so everything is stashed in the cold frame.) Also two more sixes of marigolds, each of which appears to have a plant whose flowers are crimson (though, based on other flowers on those same plants, I am semi-afraid later flowers will be paler and just be red.)

In less salutary news, I have started looking at the corn kernels I planted in my "greenhouses", and I am not liking what I see. NONE of the purple dent kernels germinated (and given the mold some of them are showing, I don't think they will.) So those are gone.

The second house with the sample of the other mini-dent doesn't look much more encouraging. I went through it with a chopstick (as each peat plug was double sown with two kernels, I decided that, with all of the purple gone, I might as well transfer one from each into that to give the maximum number of sprouts. About half of THEM show no development either. And, of, those that HAVE germinated, nearly all have only a hypocotyl developing, no radicle (i.e. a shoot, but no root) Those I have left in, but if there is no root, they'll die as soon as the stored food in the endosperm runs out. I think that, out of the 30 or so kernels still in there, only 2 or 3 actually have something going on on the bottom. I do, of course, have more of this left to fill in, so I'm not out yet, But it looks like I may have to be prepared to use ALL of it this year to get a crop, and that's going to mean either a lot more staggering or a LOT more containers than I initially planned (not an impossible number, maybe ten, but that's SEVERAL Italian meals to eat between now and planting season, plus another plug run).

 

[heirloomgal]

Picked up two more six packs of pansies, each of which has one "sport" plant with flowers that are very like an impressionist painting (I'll try and take pictures when I plant them, today, it is raining hard and so everything is stashed in the cold frame.) Also two more sixes of marigolds, each of which appears to have a plant whose flowers are crimson (though, based on other flowers on those same plants, I am semi-afraid later flowers will be paler and just be red.)

Impressionist painting? Oh! I'd like to see this flower, I love the impressionists, especially Monet. Any flower that echoes the color themes from The Water Lily Pond, Beach in Pourville (Cliff Walk too) and Poplars would be gorgeous.

I'm surprised to read that you're growing marigolds! I thought that you weren't especially fond of them? I quite like the smaller varieties of red marigolds, even the single petalled ones look quite attractive in photos.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Impressionist painting? Oh! I'd like to see this flower, I love the impressionists, especially Monet. Any flower that echoes the color themes from The Water Lily Pond, Beach in Pourville (Cliff Walk too) and Poplars would be gorgeous.

I'm surprised to read that you're growing marigolds! I thought that you weren't especially fond of them? I quite like the smaller varieties of red marigolds, even the single petalled ones look quite attractive in photos.

It's not that I am unfond of them, I just have a harder time finding ones I think are notable enough to take. Compared to pansies, their color palette is a lot more limited (you've got your yellow, your oranges, your reds, maybe some white, and that's about it.) Obviously I have to plant some thing besides pansies, they don't last all summer, and my garden would look bare then.) Plus, they do smell nice.

I FOUND a really nice one last year (solid red petals with a tight orange ruffled center) but it only made one even possible seed, so the odds of getting another one out of it are remote.

Same story with the petunias, it's not that I don't like them, it just hard to find ones with a real wow factor for me.

There's really only one flower I actively hate (lantana) and that's only because I am allergic to it (the smell makes me ill).

I don't do much with tulips but that's because the deer eat so many I've basically given up hope (we got ONE tulip flower this year, two if you count the aborted looking half flower I accidentally broke when planting.)

Irises tend to be long term commitments, as do daffodils. Roses are pretty big once they get established, and crowd other stuff out. Wisteria out and out STRANGLES anything it touches (I'd happily plant native American Wisteria in it's place, which Isn't so aggressive, but doing so would require first getting rid of the Chinese we already have all over the place. It'd be like planting pink dandelions and hoping they'd beat out the yellow ones.)

 

[heirloomgal]

Same story with the petunias, it's not that I don't like them, it just hard to find ones with a real wow factor for me.

Same here. My feelings about petunias are actually polarized; on the one hand, they are incredibly hardy, they will bloom endlessly if you keep on top of deadheading, they can withstand quite cool temperatures and bloom from May into October even here, there are heirloom varieties, and the last OP ones I grew from seeds smelled absolutely wonderful. Easy to start from seed too. BUT I can't help but have deep seated feelings that they're WAY too prosaic, boring even. In summer, they are in every yard, on every street, in every town in just about every single hanging basket or planter. Sometimes they feel as noteworthy as daisies or buttercups, not without some charm, but hardly worth the effort of growing considering how ubiquitous they are. And they don't seem to come in many spectacular colours either. Except for one shade, though I rarely see it - deep coral. However, I almost never see it available. Even then, something about those flowers...I don't know what it is. They're sort of blousy, flopsy, coarse somehow. Or maybe I'm just taking them for granted because they're so widely available, if there was a petunia shortage I might start dreaming of growing them. Maybe I like the struggle that comes with rarity?

That said, the Night Sky petunias that came out a few years ago are certainly something. The color is a bit cartoonish, but the effect is eye catching. I hope the petunia breeders will continue to work their magic and release new creations that will liven up the petunia world.

 

[digitS']

they do smell nice.

ones I grew from seeds smelled absolutely wonderful.

Youz guyz are weird. Marigolds and petunia smell nice!??

Would Calibrachoa be a more interesting challenge?

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Youz guyz are weird. Marigolds and petunia smell nice!??

What, you DON'T like the smell of marigolds? Some kinds are actually used a seasoning. And even the garden ones are edible.

Would Calibrachoa be a more interesting challenge?

I had one of those a few years ago. They sort of fall into the same category, the flowers are nice, but nothing special.

Same here. My feelings about petunias are actually polarized; on the one hand, they are incredibly hardy, they will bloom endlessly if you keep on top of deadheading, they can withstand quite cool temperatures and bloom from May into October even here, there are heirloom varieties, and the last OP ones I grew from seeds smelled absolutely wonderful. Easy to start from seed too. BUT I can't help but have deep seated feelings that they're WAY too prosaic, boring even. In summer, they are in every yard, on every street, in every town in just about every single hanging basket or planter. Sometimes they feel as noteworthy as daisies or buttercups, not without some charm, but hardly worth the effort of growing considering how ubiquitous they are. And they don't seem to come in many spectacular colours either. Except for one shade, though I rarely see it - deep coral. However, I almost never see it available. Even then, something about those flowers...I don't know what it is. They're sort of blousy, flopsy, coarse somehow. Or maybe I'm just taking them for granted because they're so widely available, if there was a petunia shortage I might start dreaming of growing them. Maybe I like the struggle that comes with rarity?

Sort of how I feel about most of the "classic" flowers, especially the old timey ones. I don't bother with hollyhocks stocks, dames rocket (except that one year I found the bright orange one) and the like. I don't usually even bother with dahlias anymore; I used to get some lovely ones in the city, but now that I don't go there, what the nurseries offer is so DULL.

 

[ducks4you]

@Pulsegleaner , more and more when I start any seeds during the winter/spring I use a heat mat for EVERYTHING, even seeds that don't seem to need them.
My only problem is to check for water bc they dry out quickly.
No mold at ALL this year.
I intend to start Brussel Sprouts in my basement in July. It should be pretty warm down there in the summer and I won't use a heat mat for them or any other Fall garden vegetables.
MY basement isn't heated and it can get downright Cold down there when it's cold outside!
I have most of my peppers germinating in all of the cells again, on top of a new and very warm heat mat.
I purchase this dome a few years back.

Pardon Our Interruption

I am cashing a check this morning and I intend to buy two more of them bc you can keep it on top a lot longer than the shallow domes that come with more germination setups.

 

[digitS']

stock

Now,

there's a nice fragrance.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

@Pulsegleaner , more and more when I start any seeds during the winter/spring I use a heat mat for EVERYTHING, even seeds that don't seem to need them.
My only problem is to check for water bc they dry out quickly.
No mold at ALL this year.

Pretty much all of my indoor started plants go on the radiators under the windows, so a heating mat would be sort of redundant.
As for the mold I think that, to prevent that totally, I'd not only have to pre-disinfect every single seed I planted, but probably also keep my peat pellets in an airtight container so the spores naturally in the air didn't land on them.)

Oh, and @digitS', it turns out the "Petunia" I bought is actually a Calibrachoa . I didn't notice.

Impressionist painting? Oh! I'd like to see this flower, I love the impressionists, especially Monet. Any flower that echoes the color themes from The Water Lily Pond, Beach in Pourville (Cliff Walk too) and Poplars would be gorgeous.

Here you go