Wordless Wednesday: Great Garden Gifts!

Santa's gnomes have got you covered with great garden gift ideas.

Seed Exchange and Swapping Resources

In addition to learning about saving seeds, I have been doing some research into seed exchanges.  I have never used a seed exchange, mostly because I have never saved seeds before.  For traditional seed exchanges, you obviously need to have seeds, either saved or leftovers after planting, for the purpose of trading.  The idea is intriguing, but I'm not sure I'll be doing this any time soon.  I would however love to hear from you if you have made purchases or swaps using any of these resources listed below. 

Aunt Martha's Garden Heirloom Seed Company

Offers hundreds of varieties of heirloom seeds.  I found it interesting that they include in their online catalog seeds for "seed saving" plant varieties like beans, cucumbers, eggplant and tomatoes.

Heirloom Seed Swap

Calling themselves the The Free Seed Exchange, HeirloomSeedSwap.com doesn't charge for you to trade your seeds, offer them for free or offer them for sale.  The site is brought to you by the hosts of the Self-Sufficient Homestead Show, Johnny MAX and the Queen. They also have a Facebook page.  BONUS: Go to the bottom of the page for a link to Jack Rowe's FREE online book Vegetable Seed Saving Handbook.

iVillage GardenWeb Seed Exchange

This seed exchange provides a place where users can offer seeds for trade and make requests for seeds they are seeking. Items for sale are not permitted. Please read the special instructions for the exchange and the more general Forum Instructions before signing up and posting.  Note there are also plant exchange and seed saving forums at GardenWeb as well.

National Gardening Association

Visit their dedicated seed swap page using the link above, which is a free forum where you can find the seeds you've been looking for or share your excess seeds with others. Traditional swaps are a 2-way trade and the interested parties will contact you by phone or email. Even if you don't have any seeds to offer, you might still find someone willing to help you out with your request.

Seed Savers Exchange

Founded in 1975, Seed Savers Exchange is a membership organization.  They publish the Seed Savers Yearbook that makes available to members the seeds of more than 13,876 unique varieties of vegetables, fruits, and grains. Each year members offer nearly twice as many vegetable varieties as are available from all of the mail-order seed catalogs in both the U.S. and Canada.

Here is a short video that explains a bit more about the Seed Savers Exchange:




The Old Farmer's Almanac Seed Swap

This is a forum at The Old Farmer's Almanac website set up specifically for seed swapping. If you've been searching for an elusive variety of vegetable or flower or have seeds to share, it's the place for you!   To use the forum, you'll need to read and agree to the Seed Swap rules as well as register in order to post.  

 

 

 

Related articles

• Getting Started Saving Seeds (theseatedgardener.com)
• Harvest Spotlight: Pizza My Heart Peppers (theseatedgardener.com)

Getting Started Saving Seeds

Now that I know that the Pizza My Heart container peppers won't be available from Renee's Garden during the upcoming year due to crop failures, I have started looking in earnest for information about saving seeds from my garden.

Fortunately for me, I still have peppers coming ripe on the plants in my garden and probably will until a real cold snap hits.  That might not be for a few months yet here in Los Angeles!

While home gardeners have traditionally saved seeds from their gardens, there are some rules you need to follow to do so successfully.  The main ones are:

1. Knowing that saving seeds from F 1 hybrid plants will probably not result in the same plant.
2. Keeping different types of the same crop separated from each other so that there is no cross-breeding. 

Know Your Hybrid Plants

When you intentionally cross two inbred plants together you get a hybrid.  Commercial seed growers do this because the resulting seeds produce plants that are more vigorous and disease resistant with fruits that are more uniform.

The seeds these hybrids plants produce will not be the same seed you planted in the ground however.  Because of how genetics works, the seeds from hybrid plants can produce plants that look like the "mother" plant, the "father" plant or a combination of the two.  There is no way to predicted just from looking at the seeds what you will get when you plant them.

So if the plants you started from seed say F 1 hybrid on the package, chances are you'll be disappointed with the crop you will grow from these seeds you save from these plants.  To get the plants you want, you'll need to keep purchasing the seeds from the person who owns the parent plants.

Interesting Fact:  Most corn seed you buy is F 1 hybrid seed.

Make Them Keep Their Distance

There are several ways that plants get their seeds pollinated, from self-pollination (tomatoes) and insects (peppers), to air-borne pollination (corn).  Then there are the biennial plants, which do not produce seed stalks and seeds until a second growing season.  Onions are an example of a biennial plant.

The best bet for saving seeds are saving ones from plants that are self-pollinators.

My Pizza My Heart peppers are pollinated by insects, so for successful seed saving I needed to plant them 1/4 mile away from other peppers.  Needless to say, I didn't do that.

Air-borne pollinated corn, on the other hand, needs to be planted 1 mile away from other corn crops.

Even though I wasn't able to follow these pollination guidelines, I am still going to try and save the pepper seeds anyway.  Which means I might wind up with seeds crossed with the Baby Bell Mini Salad Peppers, regular green bell peppers or Tam mild jalapenos I also planted.

But at this point, if I want a chance at getting Pizza My Heart peppers in my garden next year, this is my only option.

There is more to seed saving that just these basics.  I got the information I shared with you today from the Colorado State University Extension website.  They have a complete list of all the garden vegetables that are self-pollinators, insect pollinated, air-borne pollinated and biennials.  Look at the top of their page for the handy Print This Fact Sheet link and you can save it to your computer as a paperless PDF file.

 

 

 

Related articles

• Harvest Spotlight: Pizza My Heart Peppers (theseatedgardener.com)

Wordless Wednesday: Winters Peas

Shelling Peas Sabre

Edible Pod Snow Peas Oregon Giant

Sugar Snap Peas, Super Sugar Snap

Product Review: Gardener's Supply Company

If you are looking for something unique, innovative or helpful for your garden, you must browse the online catalog of the Gardener's Supply Company.  They are such a trusted source in the gardening community that my local nursery and garden shop refers me to them when I am looking for something they don't carry or don't have in stock.  Now THAT is saying something!

I have been a satisfied and happy customer of Gardener's Supply for six years.

Over the years, I have purchased so many helpful items from them, from gardening tools, gloves, soil mixes, plant supports and decorative items for my garden.  All the tools I have purchased from them have stood the test of time, plus they are key to making gardening easy and enjoyable for me. 

Their customer service is great too!  When you purchase as many items from them as I have, an occasional problem is bound to arise.  But with one call and a chat with a real person--who is both a gardener themselves and an employee owner of the company--is all it takes to rectified the situation right away.

My only regret?  That I don't live in Vermont, near their one of their two garden store locations so I can browse all their items in person!  Although let's be honest, if I did, I would be a very dangerous place for my wallet to go...

I want to take this opportunity to highlight some of the product I have purchased over the years, which I think would make awesome holiday gifts for gardeners like you.

These lightweight but tough and durable
gardening gloves are by far my favorites.
I own two pair in pink.

This DIG digital hose watering timer helps automate
watering my container garden, which means less work for me
and more time enjoying my garden.  Best of all, it is so easy to use.

When it's time to start plants from seeds,
like tomatoes and eggplant,
these self-watering transplanting pots are a winner.
Plus they last several seasons, even when I keep them outdoors.

These flower supports are real multi-taskers.  
Sure, I use them to support flowering plants,
but I have also used them to support my vegetable plants and
the occasional outdoor holiday decoration too! 

Don't forget to sign up from their Gardener's Club.  It's free and both an environmentally-friendly and cost-effective way to receive information, gardening tips and sale notices from Gardener's Supply Company.

 

 

 

Related articles

• How My Seated Gardening Journey Began (theseatedgardener.com)
• What Makes Me "The Seated Gardener" (theseatedgardener.com)

Garden Finds: All About Tsukemono

I hope you enjoyed my visual guide to making tsukemono that I published last Thursday.

Would you believe I have one more harvest of Japanese cucumbers coming ripe on the vines?  With a heat wave in October, I guess my vines squeaked out one last set of blooms.  The cucumbers are sure growing slowly, but helped along by the recent rains, I think I will eventually get three more cucumbers with which I plan to make on last batch of tsukemono for this season.

Now I just so happened to pick up my Japanese cucumber plants this year at OSH (Orchard Supply Hardware.)  Usually I grow cucumbers from seed, but I was a little behind in getting my garden started this year so I opted for live plants instead.  Since I really like the flavor of the Japanese cucumbers, I wanted to find seeds for them so I could grow them next year.

Garden Find #1

A quick search lead me to the Kitazawa Seed Company in Oakland California.  They stock 13 varieties of Japanese cucumber here.  Varieties include: Palace King hybrid, Palace Pride hybrid, Southern Delight hybrid, Summer Dance hybrid and Tasty Green hybrid.  Here I was, worried that I wouldn't be able to find Japanese cucumber seeds and now I have to figure out which one to purchase!


Garden Find #2

Now of course you can make tsukemono with other vegetables besides cucumbers.  To do this, I decided I needed to invest in a cookbook to teach me how to do this properly.  This lead to my second discovery:


I seem to have grabbed the last copy of this book available at my local Barnes&Noble. But head over to Barnes&Noble.com to find other books on the subject too. And come back to find more posts about my adventures in making tsukemono!
 

Related articles

• A Visual Guide to Making Tsukemono (漬物) (theseatedgardener.com)
• Too Many Cukes? Freeze Slices for Later (theseatedgardener.com)

Harvest Spotlight: Pizza My Heart Peppers

Bell peppers are easy to grow in containers, especially when you buy a variety the flourishes in small spaces. That why I love Pizza My Heart container sweet peppers from Renee's Garden.

Now these aren't your typical bell pepper.  They look more like hot chili peppers!  But you'll be in for a surprise when you take a bite, because they are mild and sweet.  Every once in a while you get one that is a bit more spicy, but never to the level of a chili pepper.

As the name implies, they are great cut into circles and placed on a pizza. They are also good in salads or eaten whole, as is, as a snack. I use them in recipes as well, like ratatouille, but you'll need to use 3 to 5 of them to equal the amount you'd get from a standard bell pepper.

As with many other veggies that I grow in my garden, bumper crops can be frozen for later use.  Just wash the peppers and dry thoroughly, then slice or dice and place in freezer bags for later use.

I made a batch of seasoning mix using these peppers, which also includes sweet onions, parsley and celery as well.

PLEASE NOTE:  While I was writing this story I have learned some bad news!  My dearly loved Pizza My Heart container sweet peppers from Renee's Garden are currently not available!  According to the staff at Renee's Garden, pepper crop failures over the past several seasons are the reason for this problem.  I truly hope that this is a temporary situation and they return to the Renee's Garden catalog.

In the meantime, I need to save the seeds from these pepper (in the picture above) so I can continue to grow them in my garden.   Maybe I can even start a seed exchange for them too.

Here is the link for these seeds which is current not working: http://www.reneesgarden.com/seeds/packpg/veg/pepper-pizza.htm

Wordless Wednesday: Winter Greens

Japanese Spinach Oriental Giant

Heirloom Chard Italian Silver Rib

Italian Heirloom Kale Lacinato

What Makes Me "The Seated Gardener"

My gardening seat

So the whole reason I call myself The Seated Gardener is because, well, I sit down when I garden.  So let me introduce you to the key piece of equipment that allows me to sit and garden:

There are many other products out there that go by the name of a gardening seat that are much prettier and probably more expensive than mine (above.)  Truth is, I cobbled mine together with items I found at my local home and garden store, OSH (Orchard Supply Hardware).

The foundation is a 5 gallon plastic paint bucket.  It's the white part that you see towards the bottom.  It is surprisingly sturdy, but with one caveat: DO NOT leave it outside in the elements.  The plastic will degrade over time when exposed to UV radiation (a.k.a.sunlight) and it will literally crumble apart.  So for your own sake and safety, store it in the garage when not in use.

Next I found something called a contractor's seat in the gardening department.  It fits right on top of the paint bucket.  It's that red and clear plastic bit you see on top and towards the front.  The clear plastic part actually opens up and can hold nails, nuts, screws and other hardware.

Since the contractor's seat is not really that comfortable, I also purchase a gel kneeling pad to go on top of it.  It is that green U-shaped object you see in the photo.  It is AMAZINGLY comfortable.  Plus if I happen to get it dirty from my gardening gloves (you can see how dirty they get!), it cleans up nicely with a spray from the garden hose.

Finally, I found the khaki bucket organizer in the gardening department right next to the contractor's seat.  It can hold all sorts of tools, from clippers and garden scissors to twist ties and shovels.  Although I have to admit my favorite way to store my tools is right inside the bucket since they are more visible at a glance this way.

Now I have had my eye on an upgrade to this basic garden seat over at Gardener's Supply Company.  They carry a really nice black padded seat (without storage), a choice of colored buckets and a very pretty floral pattern bucket organizer.  But the truth is my original garden seat has lasted 6 seasons already with no signs of failure.  So while a prettier seat might be nice, my original seat is kind of nostalgic and sentimental to me now.  (Plus the pretty bucket organizer below is out of stock right now...)

Why I Love Container Gardening

The humble beginnings
of my container garden
(circa 2006)

Chronic illness affects so many aspects of my life. Sadly, that includes all the fun ones too.

When I first became disabled, I thought Cool, I'll have more time for arts and crafts projects. Boy, was I wrong. With a chronic pain nexus in my neck, traveling down my arms and into my hands, doing anything for more than 15 to 20 minutes with my hands guarantees a flare-up.

Which means I have a lot of time on my hands, but hands won't cooperate to let me do anything with that time.

Luckily for me, I discovered container gardening a few years into my chronic pain journey thanks to a push from an occupational therapist.

The great thing about container gardening is that it lends itself to doing just a little bit each day.  It makes breaking down big tasks into small, manageable steps very easy: I can literally just focus on one container at a time if that is all the energy I have for today.  Plus containers don't need as much time and attention as in-ground gardening does.  There are fewer weeds to pull and less nuisances to contend with like annoying bugs, pests and plant diseases.  Oh, and I don't have to stand, kneel, bend over, lift or put myself into all the other body positions that make my chronic pain worse. 

Most importantly, when I look outside the window into my backyard I experience an enormous sense of accomplishment gazing upon the fruits--and vegetables--of my labor.  Dare I say that container gardening has become a source of instant gratification for me...

Truth is, I've always wanted a backyard garden.  Growing up, my Dad always planted a vegetable garden every year.  My family had several fruit trees: plum, apricot, peach, grapefruit, pomegranate and lemon.  I loved summer time when all the fruits came ripe--I couldn't get enough of them.

But when I was working full-time I never could quite find the time to get my garden going.

How ironic is it that chronic illness made my gardening dreams come true, albeit on a much smaller scale than I had planned? 

Plus my garden actually helps with my diabetes management. All those vegetables are an important part of my diet, providing choices that don't count as carbohydrates (and raise my blood sugar.)  With very low calories, lots of beneficial fiber and loads of vitamins and nutrients, not to mention great taste, growing my own vegetables makes enjoying them a whole new satisfying experience.

Is there such a thing as vegetable heaven? Because I think my backyard is slowly being transformed into one.  Despite my chronic illnesses, which you can read more about here, I seem to be able to add a little bit more gardening space, a.k.a. more containers, every year; I have to thank to my hubby for this because he is the one who helps me get new containers set up.

Who knows, maybe by contributing to this blog I'll inspire some other sick chicks along the way to try container gardening too...like you!