Plant Sex: Open Pollinated, Hybrid and GMO Seeds

Flower Diagram

Plants have sex and make babies. Oh sure, not in exactly the same way you or I do, but I understand it’s very satisfying if you are a plant. How’s your 7th Grade Biology? First of all, and I don’t want to shock you here, but flowers are a plant’s reproductive organs. Flowers are how [Continue Reading...]

How To Pick Your Vegetable Seeds Without Going Crazy

Seed Catalogs

“Last year I just planted and prayed, stuff worked or didn’t. Now I have seed catalogs and am so overwhelmed I don’t know what to order. Should I be picking stuff based on the shortest growing rate and that’s all? This is crazy!” -Reader Question Feeling Seed Catalog Crazy? Right now, like most gardeners, you [Continue Reading...]

A Brief History of Monsanto and Seed Houses Who Got Screwed

Territorial Seed Catalog

The following is adapted from a note I published on Facebook in February 2012. Since I’m still getting questions about Territorial Seed and Monsanto, I’m publishing it here to make it more widely available. It’s seed catalog time! The dripping seed lust of gardeners at this time of year, flipping through pages filled with new [Continue Reading...]

Potato Chitting Problems: Pale Shoots

Potato Chitting: White Stems (7)

When I placed my order for seed potatoes with Irish Eyes this year, they asked when I’d like my potatoes shipped. Based on my zip code, they recommended a date a few weeks hence. “Oh, no, just send them now,” I said, “I like to chit them before I plant them.” Ah, hubris. So my box of [Continue Reading...]

A Tour Of The Indoor Seed Starting Rack

Seed Starting (9)

My seed-starting set-up is pretty well equipped, which makes it a lot easier to manage the fairly aggressive seed-starting schedule I keep. When we moved into our current home, I commandeered a corner of the garage as my indoor garden and seed-starting area. Having a dedicated area to grow out seedlings is a luxury, but one I would sacrifice [Continue Reading...]

7 Ways To Save Money On Seeds – Without Saving Seeds

Onion Plants

Vegetable growing can be a great way to save money on food, but it can also be a dang expensive hobby in its own right. One of the biggest expenses edible gardeners run into is the cost of seeds. If you’ve been at this for awhile, you’ve noticed that the cost of seeds in the [Continue Reading...]

How To Cull The Weak

Tomato Seedling Thinning (8)

Classic new gardener problem: you successfully grew a seedling. You planted it and nurtured it from a little seed and – life doing what it does – it’s flourishing, putting on layers of healthy leaves and growing up well. And now you have to kill it – on purpose. You have to murder your seedling so that other, [Continue Reading...]

Seed Organization For Gardeners With Too Many Seeds

NW Edible Seed Inventory Organization Database

On Monday I talked about seeds for beginners. Well, after a season or two of growing from seed you may become (like many of the commenters on Monday’s post) a Gardener With Too Many Seeds. You have become a G.W.T.M.S. when you have file boxes dedicated to your seeds and you debate with yourself every season [Continue Reading...]