By John, on February 4th, 2012 |
 Vigilant gardeners are always on the lookout for deals on seed so here a a few shopping tips.
1. Check out online sales. Catalog suppliers such as Johnny’s Seeds regularly have sales on their web sites, often at 60-80% off the original price. These are often discontinued products that didn’t make it into the current catalog. It’s an inexpensive way to try new things though if you find something you like, you might have difficulty locating it to grow again. Check out our LINKS page for a list of seed suppliers.
2. Watch Your Weekly Flyers. Most big box retailers will run sales on seeds beginning mid-spring, too late for most serious gardeners who have already started their crops by February or March. Nonetheless, you can use this as an opportunity to round out your collection and stock up for next year, so keep an eye on their weekly flyers. …continue reading
By John, on May 16th, 2011 |
 This week’s harvest. The second round of asparagus is in full swing and we are taking full advantage. I sure will be sad when we stop harvesting at the end of the month but at least I’ll be able to say that I had my fill. The radish bed continues to produce a nice bunch every day or so which makes Phyllis extremely happy because she has never been successful with spring radishes before. We are now lightly harvesting the earlier varieties of our lettuces and arugula. We planted five varieties of lettuce this year and the growth rates are varying widely. The Black Seeded Simpson is definitely growing the fastest followed closely by Panisse, then Green Butterhead Nancy, and Summer Crisp. Finally the Sargeant took a while to get going but it is gaining momentum. …continue reading
By John, on April 14th, 2011 |
 Seedlings are delicate and it can sometimes be tricky to get them out of their cell trays without damaging their delicate stems, roots or leaves, especially if you have left them to grow a bit too long and their roots have grown through the bottom of the trays or if the soil in the trays has become compacted. To start, fill your transplant pots with moistened potting or transplant mix making sure not to overly compact the mix. Holding the pot in one hand and use the thumb of your other hand to make a hole in the center of the pot and press the soil up around the sides of the pot. …continue reading
By John, on April 10th, 2011 |
 While the blog at mediaOrganic has been rather quiet of late, I assure you that we are a bustling hive of activity as we attempt to accomplish all of our early spring garden chores.
The beds in the east garden were cleaned, amended and raked out in preparation for direct seeding of peas, lettuces, arugula, radishes, broccoli, broccoli raab, beets and a few carrots. The irrigation system was cleaned and tested, seeds were sown and light weight row covers applied to the beds. Most seeds have now germinated and will soon be in need of a good thinning. Check out our planting planner to see precisely what has been direct seeded as well as the actual planting and germination dates. …continue reading
By John, on March 24th, 2011 |
 If you’re going to start a few seeds it’s probably easiest to buy yourself a bag of soil-less seed starting mix. But if you plan on starting a lot of seeds it makes a whole lot more economic sense to make up your own mix. A quick glance at the bag of any commercial mix will tell you that it is a simple recipe, mostly sphagnum peat moss with some vermiculite tossed in to lighten it up. There is probably also some added fertilizer and a wetting agent (most of which are, apparently, not certified organic according to widely disseminated internet lore).
A quick tour of the web offers up a multitude of home recipes for starting mix. Frankly, I like to keep it as simple as possible, three parts peat moss to 1 part vermiculite or perlite. One of the keys to working with this mix is to wet it before you start working with it. …continue reading
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Vigilant gardeners are always on the lookout for deals on seed so here a a few shopping tips.
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