Harvest to Table

Vegetable seed for home gardens is often sold by weight–by the ounce or by the gram or by fractions of ounces and grams. Some seed sellers sell by the piece–1 seed per penny, for example. But seeds sold in packets–especially those sold in stores–commonly list the weight, but not the number of seeds. When buying seed by weight, keep [...]

Successful seed and seedlings growth depend on moisture, warmth, air, and light. Seeds and seedlings, as well, require optimal temperatures, even watering, open air circulation, and bright light to thrive. When vegetable seeds fail to sprout or when seedlings wither and die what could the problem be? Often the answer is simple. Seeds Fail to [...]

Pre-sprouting vegetable seed will help you avoid over-sowing in the greenhouse or garden. Pre-sprouting also answers the question: Is this seed still viable? To pre-sprout seeds place the seeds on a damp paper towel. Make sure that the seeds are well spaced and not touching one another. Fold the towel in half. Alternatively, place the [...]

Sprouts are the young shoots from the germinated seeds of vegetables, beans, and grains. Many seeds can be sprouted for eating. Mung beans and alfalfa are the most common seeds for sprouts. Other common seeds for sprouts include adzuki, cabbage, chives, red clover, fenugreek, garbanzo, lentil, mustard, peas, radish, and black sunflower. Some sprouts are [...]

Snow on the ground. Heavy winter rain in the garden. Last average frost date weeks away. No problem. You can start the spring vegetable garden indoors. If you know the average date of the last spring frost in your garden or region, you can make a schedule for starting vegetable crops indoors and get growing [...]

When a seed fails to sprout there is usually a simple and easily correctable reason. Here are the most common reasons seeds do not sprout along with troubleshooting solutions. Soil is too dry. Small seeds sown very near the surface often fail from lack of moisture. They may have enough moisture to germinate, but then [...]

Getting seeds started indoors can be as simple as re-purposing pressed-paper egg cartons. Egg carton cups are just the right size for starting seeds and growing seedlings on to size. Half egg shells and newspaper cones set in egg carton compartments will work just as well. Poke a hole in the bottom of each egg [...]

Save seed only from open-pollinated plants. Plants that pollinate naturally without special manipulation are called open pollinated. Open-pollinated plants produce true-to-type seed–meaning their seedlings are like their parents. Open pollinated varieties are the result of the repeated natural selection of superior plants from the same strain or variety. Open-pollinated plants are essentially identical genetically through [...]

Vegetables are pollinated in two basic ways: self pollination and cross pollination. • Self pollinators are plants that produce flowers that are usually fertilized by their own pollen, commlonly when the male and female flower parts are contained within the same flower. • Cross pollinators are plants with flowers that require pollen from another flower [...]

Seed vitality or shelf life is an important concept. If you saved seed from last season or the season before or if you’ve been given seed and are not sure how long it’s been around, you might want to perform a seed vitality test a couple of weeks before you plan to sow. Seeds more [...]