IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN......SEED TIME
By now everyone who's a gardener, and a lot of those who are not, have been found by the SEED COMPANIES. Those annual purveyors of dreams of beautiful gardens, photogenic flowers, tomatoes like "back in the day" or pumpkins the size of VW beetles. The catalogs have arrived. So get your pencils, blank paper, Hi-liters or what ever you use and compile an order. And get to work, it's what you do, it's a big part of the horticulture experience. I don't bother trying to comparison shop, it's a waste of time, most of the major seed companies are about the same as far as price, quality and quantity goes,. After all we're not buying a major appliance here so saving a few pennies is really not worth the time. If you see a plant you like, order the seeds. Whatever the price of seeds, it's always far cheaper than buying the plant and you get to chose the variety of the plant, not the nursery or garden store. Plowing through the catalogs, compiling the order, and making a final decision on what new friends are gonna be introduced to your other friends already in your flower beds, fulfills a possible, primal need....to sow a seed and continue the life of a plant. Call me crazy, but of all the gardening chores a gardener can do, the anticipation of waiting for a seed to germinate is the hardest element of the gardening experience. And I love it, and I'm ready. My seed orders have been arriving about every other day, my seed starting mix [see "Let's talk dirt....March 2006] is ready, my containers are washed and ready and all systems are go to sow.
Time to Germinate.....
All seeds have requirements that have to be met in order for the magic of germination to occur. Dormancy is possibly the biggest obstacle, patience runs a close second. Most good seed catalogs will tell you what the seeds need to germinate and grow to maturity. There are a plethora of books on Plant Propagation, some good and some not so good. Observing what Mother Nature does in your area is worth the time and effort. Look in your own or other peoples flower beds. What did you plant last year that's reseeding it self this year? You might be able to just replant the new seedlings instead of buying and sowing seeds again. Most times temperature plays a big part in breaking dormancy, other techniques are, scarifying [freeze-thaw], exposure to cold temperatures, moisture, darkness, exposing seeds to light, a good journal and above all patience. SO GET GOING.....NOW!!!!!! and don't forget to slowly harden off the lil' seedlings, they've been in your warm house and they need to gradually be exposed to the colder outside temperatures before going into the ground.