PROOFING SEEDS

Edited February 14, 2013
Edited February 18, 2013
Edited February 24, 2013
Proofing Seeds saves money and time.  I was late starting the gardening for this year and ordering seeds.  I went ahead and ordered new seeds of varieties I had in the larder. I didn't want to be without.  I now wish I had proofed my seeds.  For example, after proofing my seeds last week I discovered I had viable sugar snap peas in enough quantities to suit my gardening needs for this year.  I had just receive a seed order where I had spent $8.99 for my snap peas.  I did not have to spend that money.  Needless to say these will be set aside for next year's garden.

Another advantage to proofing seeds is you won't waste time planting seeds which won't grow.  On seeds with a low germination rate you know how many to sow to make sure you have good germination.  You won't be disappointed a week later with nothing coming up.

If you are wondering how to proof seeds it is very simple.  If you keep your house at 72 degrees the heat requirement is satisfied (if your house is very cool you will want to have them on top of a water heater or other nice warm area). 

You'll need:

a roll of select the size paper towels

Sharpie fine point not ultra fine,

plastic bags (not the kind with the zippers, just a plain fold over top sandwich bag).

a  plate with sloped edges

old detergent bottle with the nozzle cap (a cream pitcher works too)
 

The object is to have the seeds in a moist, dark, warm environment.

I usually proof 10 seeds in each packet  (unless there is a limited amount of seeds).  The reason for ten is you can get a percentage when they sprout, I.E. if you have 10 seeds in the packet and 8 of them sprout you have 80% viability.  If you only have 2 sprout you only have 20%, which is pretty poor. 

Take a plastic bag for each seed packet you are going to proof.  Use your sharpie to write on the outside of the bag the information on the seed packet.  I.E. the name of the variety of seed, and the year it was produced for.

This is the time I want to say, when your seed order arrives, make sure the date on the back of the packets say, produced or packed for the current year.  I have a friend who received seed this year from a respected company that had a sticker saying it was packed for 2012..and on the bottom of the package in the fine print was that it was packed for 2010.  I have purchased old seed before but knew it was old seed and the company took the responsibility to proof the seeds before it left their building so I knew my percentage of viability.  The only reason we even noticed was because I was showing her about proofing seeds and told her, on new seed she didn't have to do it. I also explained there were charts available on line which told how long seeds of different varieties were viable. So we were reading the backs of packets and voila, the new that was old seed, reared its head.

How to proof your seed:

On a plate place a select -a-size towel.

Dampen with water.  Not sopping wet but very wet not just damp.

The seeds will absorb some of the water.

Place your seeds on the towel.  Then fold it into a little packet.

 

Pick the packet up and put it in the labeled plastic bag.

(Give a squeeze  before you do to make sure you don't have water running out of the towel. 
If you do, squeeze out the excess.  You only want the packet nicely wet...not sopping.)

I store my packages in a plastic box in a warm place.  You can see the seeds already in my storage box.  Any take out container works.

The box is then stuck in a brown paper bag to exclude the light.

You also need a pen and paper for compiling list of the seeds you are proofing.

The seed company listed as Mine OP stands for seed I saved and it was open pollinated.
This is how I made my list from this year and my results:

COMPANY              YEAR         VARIETY                DATE      DATE     DATE   DATE DATE

                                                                                         2-03          2-07         2-09     2-14    2-16

 

RISPENS SEED          10       SPARTAN ARROW                       10/10      10/10

                                                    BUSH BEANS

 

SHUMWAY                 07       EXPERIMENTAL                           4/10        8/10        

                                                    BUSH PEA

 

PINETREE                   10       SNAP PEA                                       9/10      9/10         

                                                 SUPER SUGAR SNAP

NEW ENGLAND SD O8   MELANZANA ROMANESCO          0/20      0/20        2/20     5/20  
(this seed is from Italy and the fruit was fantastic.  Even with horrible germination I will plant it)
February 18:  This is a note not to give up on old seed.  Today there are 4 more seeds sprouting in this variety.  I give seeds at least a week past when they should have sprouted, unless the seeds have obiously rotted.  Eggplants which are fresh seed have a sprouting window of 7-21 days.   This seed was planted February 03.  Today is well with in the 21 days.

               

SHUMWAY  A            08      LIMA SPECKLED                                 0/10       0/10

                                                 CHRISTMAS

 

 

"     "            " B             "         "            "        "                                         "             "

 

GURNEYS                   07       DWARF GRAY SUGAR                     10/10     10/10

 

SHUMWAY                 07       SUPER SUGAR SNAP                         6/10       7/10

 

SHUMWAY                 08       MAMMOTH MELTING SUGAR        2/10       2/10

 

SHUMWAY    UNKNOWN   TENDERGREEN BUSH                      2/10       2/10

                                                   EXPERIMENTAL

 

PINETREE                   10        JADE GREEN BUSH BEAN               7/10      7/10
   
SCHEEPERS               07        QUADRATO D'ASTI ROSSA             0/05        0/5       0/5
                                                          SWEET PEPPER                               Februar 24 2/5

 

MINE OP   harvested 12(Fall)   SPARTAN ARROW                         10/10      10/10

                                                    PERFECT SEED

 

MINE OP     ""     ""         ""     SPARTAN ARROW                             9/10       9/10
                                                  IMPERFECT SEED

MINE OP    """             11        COMPOST GOLD TOMATO  WET    0/10       8/10    8/10
                                                                                                                     February 24   9/10

 

MINE OP    """             11          COMPOST GOLD TOMATO  DRY  0/10       0/10    2/10

The above two tomatoes were from a plant which grew in the compost pile.  We had never planted a small yellow cocktail tomato.  It was extremely sweet, did not crack when it rained, very prolific not an extremely large plant like indeterminate cocktail plants usually are.  The plant set fruit after the nights went below 50 degrees.    The leaves never succumbed to the diseases that were prevalent that year.  The tomato labeled wet was the one we fermented the seed.  The label dry, was fruit retrieved off the plant that had dried on the plant.

 

MINE OP   ""    ""    "" 12        ACONCQUA PEPPER                         0/10       7/10

                                                  HARVESTED FROM GREEN HOUSE

 

We planted some of these pepper plants in the green house because the ground hogs were destroying our garden.  Due to the extreme heat they did not bear till after august. We were unsure if the seed would be save-able.  (The original seed was purchased from Pinetree Seeds.)

 

The results of this test don't just show me the viability of the seed.  They show me how fast they sprout.  Which is nice to know, especially on tomato and pepper seeds.  I am so anxious for everything to sprout so it keeps the stress out of the gardening.

February 18,  BTW the container you store your little plastic parcels in will have a strange fementing/yeasty smell when you open it.  Nothing is wrong it's natural.

February 24:  I was getting ready to throw away the contents of the box and decided to look and see if there had been any changes in the packages.  Much to my delight is the Scheepers pepper seed had sprouted.  2/5 This is a good enough percentage to plant it.  the test shows me I will just have to be patient for it to sprout.  ( I haven't checked the seeds for 4 days) It seems they took between 15-20 days to sprout.

 

What have I done with my seed because of the results of this test?  I have thrown away the speckled limas, the mammoth melting sugar, and the tender green experimental.  I have also thrown away the "compost gold dry". 

 

I was surprised the  07 Gurney's dwarf gray sugar had a 100% germination.  I know planting them in the ground probably won't give the 100% but it was nice to know I will have a high response when they go in the ground (if the ground isn't too cold and wet!)  I think we will put some in the green house this week and see what happens.  WE have done it before:

This blog shows the last time we planted them.

 

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com/2008/12/little-bit-of-spring.html
 

Good luck, have fun with your garden.  Read and google everything you can.  Glean what you think will work for you from the knowledge you harvest.  Remember what works for someone else may not work for you.  If it doesn't, work with what you have and try something new. 

Gardens thrive on attention, a good food and water.

 

 

For more blogs by me, visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting, but cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,

New blog, tutorial on how to make 5 panel Boxer Shorts.

New Blog about dolls.

 

 

 

 

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog. There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening.

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and mothered.

It is a blog where I voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

As always, any pictures or writings are my own.

Credit has been given to contributions not my own.

Please do not use without permission.

BROCCOLI SOUP

It is almost the end of January.  I am going to be optimistic and think that I am going to be planting my broccoli and cabbage plants soon.  We have a green house/cold frame. Last year we planted early and would have been able to reap the rewards except we had a ground hog decide we planted the smorgasbord just for him.  In one night (he or they) destroyed 36 heads of broccoli ready to harvest.  Twenty-eight heads of cabbage were also made inedible.  

This was a very hard to take disaster   Needless to say I stopped planting anything until the critters had been relocated.  Through the summer we relocated 10.  I'm hoping  that was all of them.  Right now we are re-fencing,  Our resident deer have done a number on the fences.  We have seen a group of 9 deer since hunting  season was over.  They are not bothered by us, they look up from grazing, staring at us chewing, their mouth's full.  No one told them it's not manners to come to the party uninvited.

Cold is not a deterrent to thinking about the garden.   An off-shoot of gardening is a love of cooking.  I am always looking for creative way to serve the produce from the garden.  We are soup lovers, it is a convenient medium to use lots of kinds of vegetables.  

One of the things I am doing this year is to make my cooking more heart friendly.  I have created a recipe that satisfies my cravings for creamy decadent soups.  The following is last night's soup. 

A DIET WORTHY VERSION OF

CREAM OF BROCCOLI SOUP

First you have to get over the notion cream soups have to be made with cream.  It is the consistency our brains are craving not the calories.  This consistency can be achieved through using potatoes.  

The next dieters aid is flavor.  We have an arsenal of flavor enhancers at our disposal.  There are herbs, fresh and dried (fresh gives a larger flavor boost). There is salt for those who do not have a salt restriction (any salt though adds to water retention in the body).  You have broths you can make or buy.

You eat with your eyes so you want color in your concoctions.  According to the soup I am making I add vegetables of that color.  Carrots are a great color enhancer (they won't add a lot of flavor to things like a squash soup or a garlic soup..but they will enhance the color and as a root vegetable they add another spectrum of vitamins and minerals).  A favorite in my freezer for color enhancing is frozen peas.  They add delightful color to cucumber soup.  I have never made a soup, other than Borscht, with beets but I can imagine the neat color it might add to maybe a potato soup to serve at Valentines Day or Christmas.  I am sure you can think of several natural color additives.  (Don't forget to add onion peelings to clear broths for a golden color)

INGREDIENTS/DIRECTIONS FOR CREAM OF BROCCOLI SOUP

BROTH OR WATER 4 CUPS (I recommend chicken broth, beef or vegetable will muddy the delightful brightness of the broccoli).

BROCCOLI: 1 LB, Break apart the sections and blanch for 2 1/2 minutes in boiling water.  Flash cool the broccoli in ice water and drain thoroughly (while you are blanching why don't you blanch 2 lbs instead and have the second lb stored in two sandwich bags in the refrigerator to serve as a side for another couple of meals)  Do not over blanch, remember the broccoli will be added back to the hot broth.  You don't want the off flavors the Cole family develops when over-cooked.

When drained, cut the stalks off the florets, placing them in another bowl.  Save the florets for later.  

ONION: 1 MEDIUM, Peel and dice into 1/4 inch dice. Saute' in  2 teaspoons butter (or non flavored oil).  cook until translucent (You don't want any color to develop)

After the onions are sauteed cover with 1 cup of "broth" or water.  Bring to a simmer. 

POTATOES:  4 MEDIUM,  peel and dice in 1/4 inch dice.  Add to the simmering onions.  Cook covered until soft. 

FLOUR: 3 TABLESPOONS,  place in a large cup and use a fork, whisk in slowly, 1 cup of cold broth (if the broth is hot it will lump the flour).  When thoroughly incorporated use your fork to whisk it into the simmering potato mixture.  Have your last two cups of broth handy, on the side, to start stirring into the mixture.  You can turn up the fire a little, you must stir constantly (I use a silicone spoonula at this point).  When you have the broth stirred in cook until  the raw flour taste is gone and the mixture is thickened.

At this point if you have an immersion blender, turn off the heat and retrieve the blender from where you stored it.  The broccoli stalks need to be stirred into your potato mixture. If you don't have an immersion blender a regular blender works and I imagine a food processor would too ( don't have one so can't tell you if it will).  Take the resulting mixture and return it to the pan (BTW if you want a greener looking soup ad a cup of frozen peas to the mix before you blend.)

Reheat your soup..If it is too thick for you, add some more broth. Correct your seasoning..you can add salt and pepper at this point.  An herb I love to use in broccoli soup is fresh lemon thyme.  When your soup is simmering again add back your broccoli florets, stir carefully so you don't wreck them.

This great diet soup(remember portion control) has another plus.  It is very quick to cook.  This is a soup which is designed to serve four.  You will have 1/4 lb of broccoli, 1 potato, 1/4 of an onion, 1/4 teaspoon butter, and 3/4 tablespoon of flour for each serving.  This is like having two sides on your plate.  Serving it with a large salad (no creamy dressing) will be a full meal with the addition of a protein (which could be a boiled egg).  

Enjoy.

Additions and ways to change this soup.  
Asparagus, 1 lb, peel the stalks and blanch 3 minutes and cold water shock.  Then cut stalks into 1 inch pieces (save 3 inches of the tops for adding at the end). 

Carrots, 1 lb (peel, slice in discs blanch 5 minutes) use 2/3 in soup and 1/3 to add at finish) Garlic sauteed with the onions add a whole new dimension. Using beef broth instead, changes it again.

May your garden be filled 

with the results of your energies expended.  

May your daily diet be delightful.

 For more blogs by me, visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting, but cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,

New blog, tutorial on how to make 5 panel Boxer Shorts.

New Blog about dolls.

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.  There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening. 

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and mothered.  

It is a blog where I voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

As always, any pictures or writings are my own. 

Credit has been given to contributions not my own.

Please do not use without permission.

BLOWN OFF COURSE

We are bird watchers and bird feeders.  We even have house birds: Two African gray parrots.   Our house is perched in the woods on the side of a hill.  We have lots of large windows so we can see down the valley.  The birds occasionally fly into the windows. 
 
Our Home is located in the south western corner of St. Louis area.
 
This morning when I looked out I found a bird dead on the deck.  I went to retrieve it.  I didn't recognize the bird.  I knew it was in the warbler family but it was not like any warbler I had ever seen.
 
I looked in our field guides for it and it was not there.  The distinctive stripes led me nowhere.  Google to the rescue.  I googled warbler three stripes on head.  Instantly I had verification what bird I had.  I had a "Three Striped Warbler."  The catch was, this bird is only in Costa Rica and Ecuador.  There was no chance I had mis identified the bird.  It was the only warbler with the stripes.  You can see by the match book how small it is. 

The following pictures are other views of him. 



The following information is from google.

 

This is a live picture of the bird    http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1082911

 

live picture and article about the three stripe

http://www.birdforum.net/opus/Three-striped_Warbler

 

Found this in wikipedia:

The Three-striped Warbler (Basileuterus tristriatus) is a species of bird in the Parulidae family.

It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and heavily degraded former forest.

Another article about this bird.   It coincidently is through the Missouri University. 

http://www.biosci.missouri.edu/avianecology/cox/Cox%20and%20Martin%20WJO%202009.pdf

I can't imagine how the little thing made it all the way here and was so disappointed he had crashed into our window.  With the changes in weather and wind currents keep looking to the skies. This is the second bird we have had that didn't belong in the area. 

This is the link to the blog about our other "Blown Off Course" visitor. 
http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2011/05/bird-feeder-visitor.html

 For more blogs by me visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting, but cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,

New blog, tutorial on how to make 5 panel Boxer Shorts.

New Blog about dolls.

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.  There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening. 

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and mothered.  It is a blog where I voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

As always, any pictures or writings are my own. 

Credit has been given to contributions not my own.

Please do not use without permission.

  

EPAZOTE: Nature's Beano

We were very fortunate to have two Mexican workers help us for 5 years.  Not only did we learn a little Spanish but we were able to have some lessons in harvesting the wild surpluses around our house.  We were treated to Bar-B-queing fish encrusted in salt.  I can't even begin to describe this succulent fish.
We were introduced to eating corn on the cob with Mayo or cream cheese on it.  The boys would constantly save the purslane they pulled to take home with them.  I googled it and tried it.  The taste was fine.  I tried it chopped in a cream cheese spread and steamed with butter.







One of the most beneficial herbs they taught us about was Epazote.  We have found so much about the plant which contradicts what is said about the plant.  The following two sites have the history of the herb and how they use it.

http://www.los-dos.com/yucatecan_cuisine/verarticulo.php?IdArticulo=200

We have found our epazote is milder than what people refute it to be.  Ours is very heavy on the citrus side.  The creosote smell to us is more akin to the oil of citronella smell on the mosquito candles. (Too much of the herb can impart that flavor when cooked with legumes.)  We cooked it with lentils and found it did prevent gas.  I had the same findings when I cooked chick peas. 

How much is needed in a batch of beans I don't know.  I do know I put 6 stems in a 1 pound batch of dried beans and was able to taste the herb.  It wasn't a bad taste but it was there.  I will probably cut the amount in half the next time.  Knowing it works for us as de-gasser, I went looking for methods to preserve it (I had tried drying it one year and didn't like the results.)  The same thing happened with freezing it.  Googling provided me with information I already knew.

I remembered I had blanched basil to make pesto.  The results were a fabulous pesto which stayed green, not turning black.  I am one to experiment in the kitchen.  I have plenty of epazote so I gave it a try and blanched some.  Voila..it worked.  I dried the excess moisture off and froze it.  Then I thawed it to see what I had.  The only loss I experienced was a little of the flavor, which I compensated for by putting more in the package.  I used it in northern beans I cooked for baked beans.  The anti-gas substance was still there along with a nice citrus flavor.

Blanch it by dropping it in boiling water, stir it around for one second and take it out, placing it in ice water.  Dry it by rolling it in a flour sack towel (a lint free cloth).  Then I divided it into serving sizes and placed each in a sandwich baggie, squeezing out the air before closing the bag.  Each bag was made flat so they could be stacked in the freezer.  After they froze I put them all in a labeled freezer bag.

As always, I suggest to you to, read everything you can about new foods especially wild ones.  Make sure they will be a good addition to your diet.  When collecting wild foods make sure you know positively what you are picking (poison ivy would not make good quiche but lambs quarters does).
 http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2012/03/lambs-quarters-healthy-choice.html
Remember peanuts, which are a good food, can cause health problems.

The picture on the right is a young plant.  A little larger than this is when I pick them. 

 For more blogs by me visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting, but cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,

New blog, tutorial on how to make 5 panel Boxer Shorts.

 New Article on my blog: 

 http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-mystery-in-making.html

"A MYSTERY IN THE MAKING"

A mystery quilt designed with the novice in mind

First Clue to be presented October 16.

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.  There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening. 

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and mothered.  It is a blog where I voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

As always, any pictures or writings are my own. 

Credit has been given to contributions not my own.

Please do not use without permission.

STRAWBERRY FIELDS

We won't have Strawberry fields.  We have tried that method of cultivation.  It didn't work for us.  Even raising the level of a row in a hump didn't help.  The beds were always to wet.  We have a built in water retention "pond".  Just an inch or two under our soil is solid yellow clay.  We are on a hill but that doesn't help because we have underground water which surfaces where ever it wants, especially when it is raining.  Then there is the opposite problem when a dry spell hits the area dries up and looks like salt lake with in twenty four hours of sun and wind.  I get cracks so big you can stick your thumb in them.

In 2008 we started a strawberry bed.  This wasn't our first try but it was the one we changed planting strategies on.  Previously we had tried the strawberry field row method.  Twice it was a failure.  We considered that we were the inept planters.   The picture on the left is a young plant from the 2008 planting. 

The plants had arrived before we were ready for them and we had to put them into pots or we'd loose them (we had never potted them before this).  After potting we worked feverishly to make an area in the garden for them.  We had a terrace we needed to grade to keep the water from washing down it into the green house.   While working on the terrace I commented this was looking like a raised bed.  I wondered if we could amend it and plant the Strawberries on the ridge.  

That evening we went and re read everything we had on Strawberry culture.  We googled even more.  The next day armed with information both old and new we set out converting the terrace into a strawberry bed.  Hauling buckets of sand, chips, peat and more peat, and great dirt from an abandoned compost area.  For the next two months I tilled the area once a week regardless of whether it needed it or not.  We wanted the area totally weed free.  Weeds are the strawberry bed's worst nightmare (besides slugs).

The picture on the right is our first harvest in 2009.  That planting not only survived  two years it was still producing heavily for 5 years.  We diligently weeded and mulched the bed and it paid us back for our efforts.

Fast forward to 2010.  The bed is still producing and growing great.  The bed is only 10 x 3 feet.  We were picking a minimum of 6 quarts a day from it.  The left picture is about 6 feet of that bed when it  started blooming in 2010.  The picture on the right is the first 6 boxes we picked off the bed in 2010.

This is our dessert plate that night.  The next few weeks we were picking morning and night.  I was making strawberry shakes, strawberry pies, freezing berries, and making preserves. 

I can't tell you how much preserves I made because I was giving it away. 

I did put back 48 jars for ourselves.

I have mentioned in 2011 we didn't garden.  The rain never stopped and the heat kept getting hotter.  It wasn't a good scene for strawberries.  Each day we could see the bed dwindling.  All sorts of fuguses were showing up rotting a plant here and another one there.  Our terraced bed did not save them from being too wet.  They never were able to dry off.  We lost the whole bed, and any chance of starting a new bed from runners off the old plants.

We are now in the same desparate place as you are.  We need to make a new bed.  I have the plants, They are cozy in their pots.  The following blog is about these plants:

http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2012/03/strawberry-plants.html

 For more blogs by me visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting, but cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,

New blog, tutorial on how to make 5 panel Boxer Shorts.

New Blog about dolls.

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.  There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening. 

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and mothered.  It is a blog where I voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

As always, any pictures or writings are my own. 

Credit has been given to contributions not my own.

Please do not use without permission.

GARDEN BEDS

As you can see our garden is still not back to its use able state.  I have slowly been reclaiming it.  Between working on it, I also have potting and planting to do. 

Three days ago I started on the area to the right of this gate.  It was in the same condition this side is.  It was necessary to grub out weeds and tear down old retaining walls made of bricks and cement blocks.   The freeze and thaws of two winters had done a number on them, not to mention the weeds root systems prying them apart.  I dry lay all my beds because I know I will probably want to change them.  A dry laid wall can have a life span of more than three years if the rows of bricks are stacked with a slight stair stepped edge.  that way when the ground swells and pushes against them it doesn't push them off the row below.

If you didn't see the article before of how we are reclaiming the garden here is the link:
http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2012/03/garden-reclamation.html

The following picture is to the right of the gate on the outside of the garden.  The area runs parallel to the gravel drive.  You can see the bunch grass on the edge of the drive I haven't grubbed out yet.  This grass has a huge root system that is like an underground mop.  I needed to work the area first and build the walls so I could salvage what good dirt was left.  I cleared enough area to begin working.

The fireplace tile and the lamb's ears were always there.  It was hard to believe the lambs ears survived in the wet environment with the weeds.    The basket in the bed was a basket I had planted with house plants and the bottom rotted out of it.  I thought, this is going to get recycled another year.  Today It became a pansy basket.  I used coconut mat to line it with.  I had a couple of small pieces left from another project.  The ajuga is blooming all over the garden.  I find it buried in the weeds.  The dark green plant is a "Malva".  It is one that was growing last year.  The winter didn't turn it to mush.  The light green plant is "Feverfew".  It survived too.  if you look closely at the base of the stake on the right you will see a "Jackman  clematis".  Two on this fence survived the two winters and the weeds.  I almost pulled this one along with the weeds.

The center section of the area to the right of the gate was left soil less.  I scraped down to the clay to make enough soil to fill the bed on the left.

Ajuga isn't soil particular.  It will grow in clay as well as your best loam.  It doesn't even complain when water is short.  I fashioned a bird bath with a large ceramic drain tray from a flower pot and a kitty litter pail turned upside down.

The area we have been working with is approximately 32 feet long.  The fence is made of two 16 feet long cattle panels. 

To the far right of the gate I made another bed.  It has a basket too.  This basket is lined with 2 sheets of news paper.  By the time the roots of any plants have filled the basket the paper will dissolve and the roots will hold the soil in.  As yet the bed and basket are not planted.  There is a clematis in the bed and the ajuga.  right now I am planning to put thyme in the basket and tarragon in the bed.  These are both items the deer won't eat.  They are decorative in the flower garden as well as edible. 

Looking at this picture as I type I think I will look to see what chives I have coming up and put the along the fence to keep the weeds down.  I have use chives for decorative purposes before. 

The following is a blog on how I used them:

 http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2009/06/chives-make-statement.html

When I look at this and think, three days..doesn't look like much.  Then I remember I only worked on it for three hours each morning till the sun got too much for me and I went in the barn to pot plants.  

In the evenings I have been clearing out raised beds and planting them with broccoli, potatoes and onions.  Right now our tiller is kaput and I am having to use a grub hoe and I am very happy I had great soil which was not compacted by waiting for me two years.

I have found it is harder to repair the damage done by neglect
than it was to construct the garden in the first place.

For more blogs by me visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting, but cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,

New blog, tutorial on how to make 5 panel Boxer Shorts.

New Blog about dolls.

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.  There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening. 

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and mothered. 

new blog  about an endangered beetle:

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/2012/03/beetle-in-need-of-protection.html

It is a blog where I voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

As always, any pictures or writings are my own. 

Credit has been given to contributions not my own.

Please do not use without permission.

STRAWBERRY PLANTS (A TUTORIAL)

Hunny came home with a package which arrived in the mail.  He told me some seeds came.  I said I wasn't expecting any seeds.  We had supper, then I opened the package.   It wasn't seeds, it was our strawberry plants.  Oh my, we aren't ready for them. 

It wasn't the fact there wasn't a bed ready for them.  We knew we weren't going to have a bed ready till late summer.  We  had ordered the plants to pot culture them until they could go into the ground. 

Hopefully it will give us a year head start.  Yes, it will mean extra work. We'll have to re pot a couple of times.  This requires extra mixing of dirt.  It also requires a staging area for keeping them safe.  The picture on the left is how our plants arrived.  They were in a sealed plastic bag.  The plants were rubber banded in a bundle.

We ordered our plants from   http://www.jungseed.com/  .  The plants were really nice, with fully developed root systems.  They were dry rooted but the roots were not dry.  They were nice and fleshy.

When you receive your plants, the first thing you want to do is open them up and check the condition of the bunch. (Your plants come with instructions on the care the producer recommends).  I have my own ideas which work for me.  I remove the banding, place the bunch in a container and rinse the roots, draining thoroughly. When drained, I stand them in the container  to wait till I can plant them.  This is to be the next day.  Only the roots are in the container.  I want the stems and leaves to be out in the air and the roots protected so they don't get dried out. (Do not leave them in the plastic bag.  They will mold and rot.)

Today is 14 hours later and I am in the barn preparing to get my precious plants in their pots.

NEEDED EQUIPMENT:

(50) 4 Inch pots and trays, 
Large plastic wheel barrow (the 40 lb kitty litter bucket is for size comparison), 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup, microwave, large stainless spoon, scissors, plastic labels, sharpie marker,

DIRT INGREDIENTS:  peat moss, rice hulls, bone meal, Epsom salts,  good compost dirt, rotted wood chips,  dried manure, sand and fish emulsion,

After rounding up everything, I set about mixing dirt.  I was able to short circuit part of the process.  I had several large pots of dirt from house plants I lost due to cold.  But the dirt wasn't friable enough for strawberries.  I needed to add other ingredients. 

In my huge 2 wheel plastic barrow I mix my dirt.  I use a 40 pound kitty litter pail for measuring (the one you buy the litter in).

One pail ground peat moss which has been rubbed till it contains no lumps. 

One half pail of rice hulls.

Mix these together till they are thoroughly combined.

Start adding hot water.  I heat 4 cups of water at the time in the microwave (in the barn we don't have a kitchen and I don't pay to use the water heater.)  I heat the water for 9 minutes.  It is extremely hot but not boiling (It is a cheaper micro not real high powered).  Pour it on the mixture and stir like mad and then go heat more.  It usually takes about 5 trips to get the mixture till it feels moist.  Why do I use hot water?  If you use cold water it won't be quickly absorbed by the peat moss.  The  hot water is absorbed immediately.

At this point I would normally add approximately a pail of good compost dirt, 1/2 pail of pulverized dried manure, a 1/4 pail of rotted wood chips, and a 1/4 pail of sand.  I would incorporate it with the peat mixture.  I would dust the surface with 2 large handfuls of Epsom salts and 4 large handfuls of bone meal, stirring everything together.  Instead I just dumped the pots with the old dirt in the peat mixture and added the bone meal and Epsom salts.

Right now, I am hearing groans and gasps.  Why?  Because I am using old, already been used dirt.  Unsterilized dirt!  My theory is; they would be planted in the ground and I didn't sterilize it.   The plants in the pot did not die of disease or anything kin to that.  So I can dump the pots on the compost pile and wait a year to reuse it or use it right now.  The detriment for me in using it is the dirt will have weed seeds in it and I will have to be weeding the pots.

Everything is ready to begin.  The first thing I do is fill a short jar with a wide mouth with fish emulsion water.  It is large enough to soak the roots of the plants with out submerging the crowns.  I get an old rag and set it on the table in front of me with the scissors (rag is to soak up the dripping water from the roots).  We are going to prune the roots of the plants.

The picture on the right has a pruned plant and an un-pruned plant.  The instructions said to prune to 4-6 inches.  Because I am pot culturing them I pruned to three inches.  (They need to fit in the pot.) 

At this time I also trim off any dead stems and leaves. 

Fill your pots with dirt.  Then dump out one third and press the remainder firmly into the bottom.  You want to make a cone shape in the center.  I tried to picture it  but it doesn't show as well as I hoped.

The purpose of the cone is to spread the roots around.  You don't just do this in the pot, you do this when planting outside.  You don't want your roots to be crimped.  You will want to make your cone so the top of it is about 1/2" below the rim of the pot.  Perch your plant on it and cover the roots with soil mix and firmly pack the soil over the roots.

HOW DEEP DO YOU PLANT THE PLANTS?

 Make sure you do not bury the crown too deep or leave it exposed to the air.  Either position is hazardous to the health of your plant.   How do you determine what is right?  Your plants will come with a planting guide (the growers want you to have success with them, they want repeat customers, lol.)

I have drawn an explanation which I hope will help.  The plant has an area between the roots and the leaves.  I call this the crown.  When you bury it you don't want the roots exposed and you don't want the crown exposed.  You don't want the dirt higher than the base of the leaves.  If the dirt is above the base of the leaves moisture can get into the crevices and cause rot.   If the Crown is exposed it can dry out.

This is a planted flat of 10 of the strawberry plants.  It is March 23, 2012.  When they start leafing out I will add pictures to show their growth.

This flat was watered in with fish emulsion water.  I use 1 Tablespoon of commercial fish emulsion with one gallon water.

When the plant's roots fill the pot, they will be transplanted to a pot that will be an inch larger and deeper.  Right now they will be in the green house until The weather has become more stable.  Our Valley can become extremely cold and frosts when the local area does not.  The tender new growth will be very susceptible to frost damage.

Strawberries take two years for a crop but they are worth the wait.  Yes, the plants will bloom this year.  We will go into that step in another blog.  I hope you will try planting strawberries.  Next Blog will be the preparation of a strawberry bed. 

UPDATE APRIL 5, 2012: 
These are the planted flats.  It has been  12 days since they were planted. 

We are expecting a brush with frost tomorrow.  They are still in the green house. 
I didn't have a measuring device in this picture but the tallest is only about 3 inches tall. 

UPDATE APRIL 26, 2012
The following pictures are of the plants today. The trowel is there so you can see the size.  The roots are showing through the bottom of the pot.  This weekend we will spend moving them to new homes.

  

UPDATE APRIL 29:

The picture on the left is the above pot unveiled.  You can see it is getting "root-bound". When ever you see roots peeking through the bottom of the pot you should take the plant out of the pot and inspect it to make sure it isn't getting root-bound. 

Root-bound pots do not take up nutrients well.

The picture on the right is the plant with the dirt shaken off the roots.  I did not water for 24 hours before I knew I was going to re pot.  It makes it easier to shake the dirt off.  Yes, I do replace all the dirt with a fresh mix when I re pot.  I do this because I want to give them the best possible environment.  Someone might tell me I am causing them more transplanting shock.  I haven't found this to be a problem.  I trim the roots down to about 4 inches and then re pot spreading the roots out in a fan in the pot.  I am very careful to watch the placement of the crown.  At this time I also deflowered the plant.  (Notice the flower which had popped up since the 26).  You want to pick all flowers off the plants this first year.  You want the plants to put their energies into growing and making runners for more plants.  (The dirt which I shook off the plants is not going to be relagated to the compost pile.  I will use it to repot some banana plants and house plants.)

Left is the strawberry plant re potted in it's new dirt which has been fortified with bone meal, Epsom salts, and dried manure in a mixture of rice hulls and peat moss blended with dirt which was the remnants of a compost pile (equal parts). 

After it was potted I submerged the pot in water laced with fish emulsion.  Use a receptacle that is 3 times the depth of your pot.  Fill 3/4 full of water and then emerge your pot in it till the surface of the pot  is under the water (don't worry about the crown of the plant getting wet at this point).  You will see bubbles rising from the pot.  Do not remove the pot till the bubbles stop (keep the surface of the pot under the surface of the water by at least 1/2 inch).  Then place on a rack to drain.  If you are new to gardening,  all plants, when re-potted should be submerged in water to drive the air pockets out of the pots and settles the dirt around the roots. 

I am hoping this potting will hold them at least another 6 weeks before they need new and larger home.  (I'm smiling, I had a thought.  My strawberries are like hermit crabs, when they outgrow their shells they move to a larger one.)

I used homemade fish emulsion which I need to write a blog about, it was not an unpleasant endeavor.  Right now I am learning how much to use of my homemade stuff.  I am not too concerned about too much because for this year I want to get as much lush green growth as I can.  I want these plant strong so they will give me a robust crop of their little red gems next year.

I hope my blog has inspired you to get some strawberry plants this year, even if you don't have the area prepared for them.  You can pot them and get your beds ready and plant in the middle of summer (I will be updating this blog with every step I do with the plants.)

I have another blog about strawberries:

http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2012/04/strawberry-fields.html


For more blogs by me visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting, but cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,

New blog, tutorial on how to make 5 panel Boxer Shorts.

New Blog about dolls.

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.  There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening. 

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and mothered.  It is a blog where I voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

As always, any pictures or writings are my own. 

Credit has been given to contributions not my own.

Please do not use without permission.