Garden On, Vashon

Less than a week after I placed my order, the seeds from Nichols Garden Nursery in Albany, Oregon have arrived. So many dreams in such a little package!

Not an Octopus, but a Pea

Last week, I wrote about starting a seed germination test. Some of last year’s seeds didn’t seem to sprout so readily, so I wanted to test them for viability before finalizing this year’s seed order.

I tested pac choi, two kinds of peas, carrots, beets, mesclun, and two varieties of lettuce, ‘red romaine’ and ‘prizehead.’ It’s not difficult: you sandwich 10-12 seeds between damp layers of paper towels, press together lightly to make good contact with the seed, then seal the towels in a plastic bag and park the packet in a warm, dark place. Check every couple of days until they sprout: toss the seed packet if you get less than 75% germination.

The closet with the water heater worked well: within 24 hours, the dry, wrinkled pea seeds had plumped up and within 48 hours, that long tap-root on the left had erupted out one end. One week later, you can see that the pea has developed multiple roots, plus a stem so delicate that when I opened up the paper towel sandwich, it broke.

Most of the seeds had 90% germination, with the exception of the ‘prizehead’ at 21 of 29 test seeds, and ‘red romaine’ with 12 of 16 test seeds. If I grow these at all, it will be in 2″ cells that I’ll grow as transplants so that I don’t end up planting “duds.”

A Seed Exchange at the Food Summit

In hopes of encouraging further diversity in our gardens, I’ll be handling the Seed Exchange at the Food Summit March 5-7. You may have seen this box before at the Saturday Markets: Cathy Fulton of Mariposa Gardens has charge of it during the year. Bring some seed, take some seed.

Some of the seed in the box is getting old, so I’ll test it for viability before the Food Summit. (Note that, while many seeds can last a few years if stored in a cool, dark, dry place, allium seeds are usually good for only one year.)

When you bring seed to share, the box has envelopes on which you can write the seed variety, year issued, and any notes you’d like to add—even your name & phone number if you’re open to being consulted. 

Sounds like the kids from school are also going to bring new seed they bought in bulk and divided as part of a class project. So there should be some Good Stuff to make your garden even more interesting this year.

A Classic Sign of Late Winter

Lastly, some late winter classics: these snowdrops blooming across the street from the Burton Post Office.