Reprinted with permission from the Dig This Newsletter

All throughout January, I’ve been asked “What seeds can I start now?” 

  My reply?  Nothing!

  That’s not technically true, of course.  Some flower seeds, such as geraniums, should be started indoors in January.  But it’s too early to start most other flowers and vegetable seeds.  At this point, I usually get a copy of the West Coast Seed catalogue and flip to the Planting Chart.  The chart tells you what seeds to start and whether indoors or directly seeded outdoors for each month of our coastal growing season.

  If you don’t already have a copy of this free catalogue, drop by one of our stores and get one.  It’s the best resource on how to grow vegetables in our coastal climate, and it’s free!

  However, now that it’s almost February, there are seeds you can start indoors – leeks, asparagus, sweet onions, and parsley.  You can direct seed broad beans outdoors, and after the middle of the month, peas.  If you use a floating row cover, you can also direct seed radishes and oriental greens.

The real indoor seed starting “season” begins in March, but now is the time to get your seeds and other seed starting supplies ready.

  Starting plants from seeds is easy.  Better yet, you can be sure your plants are organically grown and you’ll have a better selection of varieties to choose from if you grow your own flowers and vegetable starts.

  Here are some basic tips for successful seed starting indoors:

  Containers.  You can use pretty well anything that is clean and will hold about 2 – 3 inches deep of starting mix. Some people like to grow their seeds in large, shallow pans, called “flats” and then prick out each seeding to pot on as they get bigger. Others grow their seeds in little plastic containers with cells for each plant or individual peat pellets. Some people recycle and use plastic containers used previously for food and cut-down milk cartons. Then there is the Pot Maker, which helps you make little containers from old newspapers.  Organic growers often use soil blockers – an intriguing mechanical device that forms blocks of soil in which to grow your seeds.  Whatever you use is clean and has good drainage.

  Growing Mix.  Fill your containers with a starter mix or other medium made specifically for seed-starting. Do not use garden soil or regular potting soil.  It will be too heavy, and your seeds will be starved for oxygen.

  Read the Seed Package Carefully.  Seed packages usually contain useful information about planting your seeds, like how deep to plant them, whether they need darkness or light a period of cold weather to germinate successfully.  There are some seeds that do not like to be covered as they need light to germinate so read your package carefully. The seeds of impatiens, petunias, alyssum, and ageratums do not like to be covered, just pressed firmly into the starter mix.  If you need more information, West Coast Seed Catalogue has detailed growing instructions for each type of vegetable that they sell. 

  Plant the Seeds. As a general rule, you should fill your containers and moisten the mix, then drop your seeds onto the mix as evenly as possible. Cover the seeds carefully to a depth of three times the size (width) of the seed or accordingly to the instructions on the seed package. Tamp the mix down gently so they are in close contact with the moist mix. Don’t forget to label them!

  Heat. Seeds generally germinate better when their soil is warm. A heating mat is a good investment, but placing your containers on top of a water heater or over a gas stove’s pilot light also works. Do not place them on a windowsill as the night temperatures are too cool for germination. Consistent warmth day and night is what starts the seeds!

  Moisture. Keep your mix moist, but not wet. Water from above using a spray bottle with tepid water. Our bottle top waterers are perfect for this job. Cover the seeds with a plastic dome or plastic wrap. Check daily and when you see your seeds sprouting remove the cover.

  Light. Growing seedlings need 12 – 16 hours of light a day. We sell an easy-to-install grow light system in 2, 3 and 4 foot lengths that will really give your plants the best start.  Begin with them 2" above the pots and raise the lights gradually as the plants grow. If you don’t have lights, place your containers is the brightest spot you have. Seedlings that have to stretch for light become spindly and weak.

  Fertilizer. When your seedlings have got their second set of leaves you can start feeding them a light mixture of liquid fish/seaweed fertilizer every week. Be careful not to over water as “damping off” can occur. This is a fungal disease that can fell your seedlings at ground level, so test your soil before watering. It is okay to let the top of the soil dry out between waterings. Poke your finger into the soil to test for moistness, and if the top half inch is dry, its time to water.

  Play with Your Seedlings. By ruffling or petting your seedlings once a day you are help them grow stocky and strong. This is a great way to create air circulation around your plants.  If you have a lot of seedlings, a fan does the same job.

  Potting On. Repot the seedlings into their own container after they have a few sets of leaves. They will need a soil mix that contains compost. Handle them by their leaves so you do not damage their fragile stems.

  Hardening Off.  When the weather is warm enough to plant your new seedlings outdoors, you need to get them used to outside temperatures gradually.  This is called “hardening off”.  About a week before you’re ready to plant them into your garden, start introducing them to the garden by placing them in a shaded and protected area for a few hours, and then bring them in at night. Gradually move them into the sun and soft winds adding more time each day. In a few days you can leave them overnight and then transplant into your garden.

  For more information, watch this short video from Thompson & Morgan Seeds.

Elizabeth Cull

Dig This Victoria

The big seed trusts are determined to obtain worldwide control. This has been made clear by genetic engineering, patents on plants and animals, the introduction of seed reproduction fees… Add to that terminator technology that destroys the fertility of seeds and the prohibition of peasant varieties. We must prevent the very basis of our food supply from becoming a source of profit for multinational companies.

Two years ago we launched the petition "Sowing the future-harvesting diversity“ to protest against planned new European Union seed laws that are dominated by the interests of the big seed companies.

We intend to present the tens of thousands of signatures collected throughout Europe to the European Parliament and call for an enquiry to clarify whether these laws violate the fundamental right to food and to access to seeds.

We invite you to participate in two days of action during which we will make clear our opposition to EU policies and our intention to resist against them."

http://www.seed-sovereignty.org/EN/index.html

My husband and I have a small sustainable vegetable farm in Central Massachusetts, and we sell our produce at three local farmers' markets. I also work full-time as a software developer. I've combined our passion for farming with my technical skills in developing iVeggieGarden, to help vegetable gardeners of all experience levels get more out of their gardens.

Part of the problem I noticed with some of the other gardening apps on the market is that they were developed by companies that produce video games. I question how much these people really know about gardening, and have found that some of the information contained in these apps is dubious. I believe that iVeggieGarden stands above the rest because it's based on years of firsthand experience in growing our own veggies. We tried hard to distill the most useful information, to make sure it's both accurate and comprehensive, and to structure it in the most practical way possible.

The app contains a catalog of over 500 vegetable varieties (predominantly heirloom and open-pollinated); over 900 color images of varieties, diseases, and pests; complete growing info for all vegetable types; planting dates by climate zone; pest and disease info including sustainable control tips; a shopping list; integrated online shopping for seeds; purchase tracking; garden planning; tracking of key dates, notes, and photos for each variety in your garden; a glossary; powerful filters, and more.

Plus, iVeggieGarden is perfectly portable, so you can take it out into your garden and take notes and photos on the spot, take it to your local garden center to help you when deciding on seed purchases, or take it on a flight and read about new varieties to grow.

I hope that some iPhone/iPod/iPad-wielding SeedLiving community members might find iVeggieGarden to be a useful tool. The app is available for purchase on the App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iveggiegarden/id411218042?mt=8, and the product website can be found at: www.iveggiegarden.com.

If you have any questions about iVeggieGarden, please feel free to contact me at leslie@iveggiegarden.com.

Sincerely,

Leslie Sturgeon

Havana had to do this out of necessity years ago and now the city’s Organiponicos produces enough for each resident to receive 280 grams of fresh produce daily.

Another example of how to restore empty lots is a study from Australia tracking how nature over time reclaims abandoned waste lands. The study is an observation rather than an intervention. What does nature do with empty spaces where the soil has been completely neglected?

It appears as though nothing is going on, but there’s an order to the gradual reclamation. One set of plants, namely ‘weeds’, appears as the first tier. The seeds of these plants are introduced through naturally means; wind, birds, insects. The first tier is followed by another set of plants and seeds. This continues with each plant and tier doing its job until the empty lot is then filled with bushes. Finally trees appear and the entire forest and ecosystem is in action.

“The pioneering plants have to be very competitive in colonising primary soils… In fact, that plant through its advantage is actually changing that environment to make it more conducive for a natural succession of other plants. So the weeds are actually the instrument of that succession and land rehabilitation” (http://bit.ly/gqWsm1)

The final example is a new study from Ohio State University on how to turn abandoned parking lots into food gardens comparing pots vs. beds vs. trenches. The researcher, Joe Kovach, is going to compare three situations.

1 – Growing on top of a paved area in 30” raised containers,

2- Growing amidst a paved area but digging up the pavement in one area to form a garden bed,  and

3 – Depaving to plant in the soil below. All three systems will use the same soil mix: topsoil, sand, compost and wood chips.

So what’s happening in the empty lot down the street? Well, every year the first tier of plants and ‘weeds’ start to take over. A hare even moved in last year. The Inglewood BRZ is concerned about unsightly wild plants taking over so the current owner hires someone to mow everything down every season. It's sad knowing that these first plants are the beginning of the reclamation process getting stymied. What’s frustrating is that had this lot been left for the natural process to reclaim the land, after so many years, there may have been a beautiful young forest in place at this point.

Our hope is that cities become proactive in embracing the reintroduction of plants and wildlife to abandoned lots. Nature has a great way of making cities livable.

Suthawan Stone

Seeds need to be properly dried before they can be stored (see Tip #3). Remove as much pulp or liquid as you can before drying. Take a solid flat piece of untreated wood, a window screen or glass dish. Screens allow for air circulation. Write out what varieties you are drying and fasten these onto the surface. You may have more than one seed variety you are drying and it may be difficult to remember when it comes time to storing them. Take your seeds and spread them out thinly on the surface. Place the surface in a warm and sunny area where the temperature does not exceed 35C of 95F so the seeds are not damaged. Stir them over the course of the day. A fan or open window will help circulate the air. Seeds require one week to dry. 

Gael Blackhall is the Coordinator of the Community Garden Resource Network which is a project of The Calgary Horticultural Society. She's a local gardening expert and environmentalist who helps new community gardens and orchards take root in Calgary's suburbs as well as in between the skyscrapers downtown. In 2008 there were more than 100,000 square feet of community gardens being cultivated in a city that spans over 100,000 square kilometres. Calgary was once dubbed the "Garden City of the West" when in 1943, there were 2,366 Vacant Lots Garden Club members harvesting from 3,229 lots. You can read more about urban agriculture in Calgary and its Food Policy Council (CFPC). Gael is active in the Slow Food community and she speaks at local farmers markets and green events. 

1.  Have you planted any rare seeds this year? Yes, the seeds of empowerment and fun for Calgarians who are growing vegetables, herbs and fruit for the first time! Last year I was introducing newbie gardeners to growing herbs in a number of locations so herbs were being incubated at home. This year I grew cherry tomatoes from seed in order to be able to assist children's daycamp leaders to deliver adopt-a-tomato salsa garden workshops on a tiny budget.

2.  In your travels, what is the most inspirational garden you have come across? The Fort Calgary Community Garden which is grown from heirloom seeds is my favourite. The crops are large, luscious and healthy, thanks to Eliza Potter, head gardener, and her gardening team!

3.  Do you have a garden hero? My community gardening hero is Ruth Anne Rudack for her amazing voluntary contributions to community gardening in Calgary. She is a wonderful gardener as well!  

4. What is your favorite food to grow? Strawberries and baby pak choi.

5. Any recommended books? The Calgary Gardener produced by The Calgary Horticultural Society and The Harrowsmith Northern Gardener by Jennifer Bennett.

6.  If you could share one growing tip what would it be? Water all plants at the soil level (not showered from above). This conserves water because less evaporates into the air and makes the seedlings less vulnerable to pests, blights and molds.

(Garden images courtesy of Fort Calgary Community Garden)

Portland-based sustainable, urban + outdoor apparel company, announces today the recipient of the second annual Grant for Change campaign, which sought individuals, small teams and organizations using design as a tool for positive change. Truck Farm, founded in 2009 by Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, is a 20-member mobile garden and documentary project showcasing innovative, urban agriculture and will receive a $10,000 grant from Nau to further their cause. (Watch Truck Farm's YouTube video here.)

Chef Ryan Hardy is a master cheesemaker, an avid fly fisherman and a part-time farmer. His restaurant Montagna in Aspen CO, was named one of the Top 10 Farm-to-Table Restaurants in the US by Epicurious.com. He sources the freshest ingredients from his own organic diversified working farm where he grows heirloom vegetables, tree crops and raises livestock such as pastured heritage-breed chickens. He adheres to the slow food movement and he consciously avoids the preparation of endangered fish. You can read more on Chef Ryan here, watch online videos from MarthaStewart.com, and read a feature in the June 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine. If you have extra spinach in your garden this year, check out his recipe for Spinach Sformatino here. 

1. Have you planted any rare seeds this year? Yes, Carciofi Violetti di Puglia – Violet artichokes seeds from Italy

2. In your travels, what is the most inspirational garden you have come across? Probably the garden at Spannocchia in Tuscany, Italy. The asparagus crowns were so old (they live to be 30-40 years old) that they were gnarled with big fat spears – very rare!  The grounds were amazing with wild rosemary, fennel and margoram growing throughout the forest lands – it was so amazing that you kind of expected to come across a unicorn! 

3. Do you have a gardening hero? Hands down, Eliot Coleman 

4. What is your favorite food to grow? Artichokes 

5. Any recommended books? For gardening, anything by Eliot Coleman – it’s sensational.  For prose, Michael Pollen (anything), Barbara Kingsolver (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle), The Food of Italy by Waverly Root – a must read for anyone even remotely interested in the culture of growing and eating in the beautiful country. 

6. If you could share one growing tip what would that be? I wish I did more growing (!), but stick with it and follow through. More gardens are lost to the weeds then to just about anything else. Proper planning is essential and always try something new and different! Most of all, growing, to me, is all about the journey and the reward for the sacrifice is the fruit –

Jere Gettle started the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company in 1998 as a means to preserve heirloom seeds. Baker Creek Seed Company offers only open-pollinated seeds: pure, natural & non-GMO. Jere and his family were featured last summer in O, The Oprah Magazine, you can read the article here or watch an interview with Jere on youtube.

1. Have you planted any rare seeds this year? "We are growing out several Russian varieties that to our knowledge have never been offered or even grown in North America. So we're very excited about that. We also received several Iraqi varieties from our seed collector friend Aziz Nael--a couple of Iraqi tomatoes and an eggplant, which we're growing for increase this season. We're very happy to be helping in the effort to preserve some diversity from such an ancient agricultural area."

2. In your travels, what is the most inspirational garden you have come across? "Probably the gardens at Old Salem, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Just outstanding for historical accuracy and beauty."

3. Do you have a gardening hero?  "There are so many--probably William Comstock, founder of Comstock-Ferre, because he made seed production an important part of early American industry. And Glenn Drowns of Sandhill Preservation Center, for his work in preserving not just heirloom plant varieties but also rare, heritage poultry."

4. What is your favorite food to grow?  "Eggplant. There is such an amazing diversity of sizes, shapes, colors and flavors. And it's my favorite vegetable to eat!"

5. Any recommended books? "If someone is just starting out with saving seeds from heirloom varieties, they really should read  "Seed to Seed" by Suzanne Ashworth. It covers all aspects of seed-saving, and even includes a lot of exotic veggies that are just beginning to be produced in North America."

6. If you could share one growing tip what would that be?  "I'd say, never stop experimenting. Even if something's growing well, don't be afraid to try a different technique. There's always room for improvement--it's a never-ending process!"

SeedLiving has started a new series as part of our ‘news & tips’. We are interviewing prominent green thinkers, gardeners, farmers, chefs and writers from around the world, with the same six questions.

The first in our series is Marjorie Harris, gardening guru and Globe and Mail’s Style columnist. She is the author of two new books; Thrifty: Living the Frugal Life with Style; and How to Make a Garden The 7 Essential Steps for the Canadian Gardener.

1. Have you planted any rare seeds this year? I almost never plant seeds myself but try to buy plants from people who do. So:  Larry Davidson of Lost Horizons for instance. Superb plantsman.

2. In your travels, what is the most inspirational garden you have come across? The Abkhazi Garden in Victoria BC. It’s a knockout. 

3. Do you have a gardening hero? Writers appeal to me because it’s hard to write coherently and well about gardening which tends to get clogged with nonsense. My great heroine is Beth Chatto. Great gardener. Great writer. Or Helen Dillon Ditto.

4. What is your favorite food to grow? Tomatoes until it became apparent that i don’t have enough sun to grow them. I have a semishady garden. Live with what you’ve got.

5. Any recommended books? Botanica North America for information on native plants. How To Make A Garden: The Seven Essential Steps   Both by Marjorie Harris

6. If you could share one growing tip what would that be? If you don’t prepare your soil properly,  then don’t bother gardening.

Marjorie Harris' blog is http://marjorieharris.com/