A Seed Saver's Garden

we planted some lupine seeds here one time and many years later one of them finally germinated and grew, but it did not survive or drop any more seeds. i didn't know anything about the scarification or sprouting requirements and the package didn't have any other directions either other than how deep to plant them.
 
What I've read and heard about weather re: 2024 season. Only time will tell, but, in the meantime, we guess.

The El Nino weather we've been experiencing will continue through the upcoming summer. The East Coast will be wetter than it usually is, and the West Coast will be hotter and drier than it usually is. So, this seems to be a repeat of last year. I guess in between the two coasts there will be a bit of moderation relative to position as you move across. Lots of speculation though about how long this El Nino will truly last, some say even into November 2024, others say only April, so, 2 weeks. It will be what it will be, and gardeners will have to adjust accordingly. Curious to see the effect, if any, of such a limited snowfall for 2023 on watering for 2024. Personally, I'd be thrilled to get the tomatoes into the garden a full 2 weeks early with Nino's help. I've decided to start them 2 weeks earlier with the hope of being able to do that.
 
last year was an above average season for moisture in California and the Rocky Mountains. Michigan was dry for the first half of the season but then towards the middle and end we got a lot more rains. i hope we avoid a repeat of the drought, but so far the west is looking like it is doing average or a little better, but there is still a few months to go of the traditional rainy season (before the monsoons get going).
 
Only new planting was one of my fer remaining mystery seeds, a small, yellowy green seed I found in a loment segment that came mixed into the green roselle seed I got from Ghana (for those who aren't as well versed in botanical anatomy as me, a loment is a legume pod that, at maturity, breaks up into sections each containing a seed, rather than splitting down the middle. The pods of Mimosa (sensitive plants) and Desmodium (beggar's ticks) are loments.

Since the seed was very small, and had already decided to start germinating while in the vial of water I soaked it in, I just tipped the whole contents of the vial, water and all, into the pot of soil. So, while I know the seed is now in the soil, I'm not totally sure where in the pot it landed, and I may need to re-center it when it gets bigger.
 
@Pulsegleaner !! I don't plant near as much super exotic things as you do, but I feel like you can relate to what I'm feeling right now!! OK. So, in a kick of spring excitmement I ordered some unusual herb seeds from Richters, which I posted about. I think I get carried away with their estimations on ease of germination 'E' for easy ratings, because when I opened many of those packets I honestly felt......not sure how to describe it, a little defeated maybe. The seeds were all sooooo tiny, and one needed to be treated in the fridge first for a few months? Complete downer experience. But I had bought them, and they weren't cheap, so I forged ahead anyway. Secretly thinking I'm likely destined to see nothing but empty pots. So be it. It was wierd, I think how unfamiliar I was with them and how small the seeds were psyched me out. Basil seeds and carrot seeds are small, but these were like dust. It was like trying to call forth life from nothing.

But!!!! Everything has started to sprout!!!! I literally can't even believe it. Balkan mint from seed?! I'm shocked that sprouted. The 'i need statification' palmarosa sprouted too even though I just planted it straight from the packet. I'm spoiled with beans and peas, peppers and tomatoes. All have nice big seeds and I guess I got comfortable with that. Most of the few herbs I grow have good sized seeds, basil, parsely, cilantro, even papalo and pepicha have big seeds, but these are way out of my wheelhouse. The sprouts are SUPER tiny, scary super tiny but they are up. I feel like if even the slightest waft of cool air from the patio door opening flows across them they'd be in danger! I don't think I've ever seen sprouts this tiny, not that i can remember. I'd love to give them some steroids to bulk up quickly just so I can relax a little, and feel more confident that they'll make it!

:weee:weee:weee:weee
 
heirloomgal said:
@Pulsegleaner !! I don't plant near as much super exotic things as you do, but I feel like you can relate to what I'm feeling right now!! OK. So, in a kick of spring excitmement I ordered some unusual herb seeds from Richters, which I posted about. I think I get carried away with their estimations on ease of germination 'E' for easy ratings, because when I opened many of those packets I honestly felt......not sure how to describe it, a little defeated maybe. The seeds were all sooooo tiny, and one needed to be treated in the fridge first for a few months? Complete downer experience. But I had bought them, and they weren't cheap, so I forged ahead anyway. Secretly thinking I'm likely destined to see nothing but empty pots. So be it. It was wierd, I think how unfamiliar I was with them and how small the seeds were psyched me out. Basil seeds and carrot seeds are small, but these were like dust. It was like trying to call forth life from nothing.

But!!!! Everything has started to sprout!!!! I literally can't even believe it. Balkan mint from seed?! I'm shocked that sprouted. The 'i need statification' palmarosa sprouted too even though I just planted it straight from the packet. I'm spoiled with beans and peas, peppers and tomatoes. All have nice big seeds and I guess I got comfortable with that. Most of the few herbs I grow have good sized seeds, basil, parsely, cilantro, even papalo and pepicha have big seeds, but these are way out of my wheelhouse. The sprouts are SUPER tiny, scary super tiny but they are up. I feel like if even the slightest waft of cool air from the patio door opening flows across them they'd be in danger! I don't think I've ever seen sprouts this tiny, not that i can remember. I'd love to give them some steroids to bulk up quickly just so I can relax a little, and feel more confident that they'll make it!

:weee:weee:weee:weee
Click to expand...
Sounds better than how most of my sown herbs have done so far. The Holy Basil is still pending (as in, nothing has yet come up from the pot) as are the wild garlics. But as for everything else I started from seed, it's been a straight wash out. The thumbai seed went moldy (no, I'm not totally sure what thumbai is either, or how it is used, but I needed one more seed packet to make out an order, and it was the best choice I could come up with.) Same with the unknown Vietnamese herb/green (unknown because the listing and the packet just have writing in phonetic Vietnamese; no English words or Latin name,) and whatever was in the glass vial.

Not that there'd be much room anyway. I said I'd move the Cat thyme this spring if it came back, well, it didn't come back, because it didn't ever DIE. Neither did most of the other herbs. Out of the eight pots on the eight pedestals, no more than three are open for new herbs, and I suspect only two (I don't SEE any new growth on the Chinese Mint yet, but it's hard imagining mint not making it through a winter here when it always has before.)

And, for all intents and purposes, those are all already reserved. As soon as the next billing cycle starts, I found someone who can supply me with some native herbs of Australia, and those will take those spaces (native oregano, native thyme, and native mint, if I recall.)
 
heirloomgal said:
You must have had a really warm winter?
Click to expand...
Yes, I must have. Going by zones, cat thyme should come back here anyway, but, up until now, it hasn't not really (the base of the plant sometimes survives, but never puts out more than a few super tiny sprigs, so it never grows back to the size it was.) But this time, it looks more or less just like it did when the fall ended a few months ago.

And, come to think of it, there weren't all THAT many bitter cold nights this year anyway. There were a few where I needed to put my coat on in the sunroom until the heat came on (it's the flip cost of HAVING a sunroom, all of those windows that let in all of that extra light also let in a great deal of extra cold, even with double glazed windows), but not weeks and weeks of them like would normally happen. And even when the ground froze, it unfroze a day or two later. Maybe THAT'S why the crocuses are so good this year, extra time spend getting extra energy.

Now I just have to hope the other areas around here were also similarly blessed. This is probably the first year any pansies or other early flowers we buy can go into the ground IMMEDIATELY, but that counts on them being AVAILABLE early as well (yet another reason to get the seeded pots outside and sprouting).
 
THIS TIME the Farmer's Almanac was totally wrong! THEY predicted a pretty cold winter.
I didn't have that, and Weather Nation reported all of the Midwest cities that had the warmest winters on record.
Couple that with hardly any ice on any of the Great Lakes.
Btw, to non US readers here, Lake Superior is super deep and all of them can traffic sea going vessels.
 
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