Posts Tagged ‘botanical interests seeds’

Late Summer Planting Sale: 25% OFF All Botanical Interests Seeds!

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Did you know that late summer, from mid to late August, is a terrific time to sow seeds in your garden?  It’s true!  Come fall, when most of your friends are turning to their stock of pickled and canned veggies in their basement, you can still be plucking fresh produce from your backyard. You can check out our Cool Season Starting from Seed selection for a whole variety of vegetables that can stand up to cooler fall temps.

Not just any vegetable will survive and thrive when planted in August. Planting during the late summer requires some strategic planning, since you must make sure to plant only crops that can handle the extreme heat of August afternoons, as well as the chillier temps of cool autumn evenings.

Save 25% OFF all Botanical Interests Seeds. Click to view all seed varieties.

Hardy Vegetables for Late Summer Planting

Carrots- Carrots may be sown from August through September in 10 day intervals for a steady supply.

Chard- You can plant chard in your garden up until mid-August. In milder areas, you can even overwinter your chard by covering it with a protective coat, such as fleece. Tender baby leaves are ready to be picked and consumed after just 4 weeks.

Peas- Peas can be sown up until mid-August. They are extremely tolerant plants, and are super versatile, since they are perfect for eating raw, canning, freezing, steaming, mashing, and more.

Coriander- You can sow coriander seeds up to the end of August, and if you repeat plantings every 2 weeks or so, you’ll have plenty of cilantro leaves to use in your cooking and cocktails.

Broccoli- Broccoli is one of the best and easiest crops to grow in the late summer. You can even plant broccoli seeds in your garden through early September.

Salad greens- Oriental greens, kale, arugula, spinach, mesclun, and a variety of lettuces all thrive in the late summer.

Radishes- Radishes, as well as other root crops such as potatoes and turnips, all thrive when planted in the late summer.

Snap beans- Late summer planted snap beans often thrive better than those planted in the spring. This is because snap beans benefit from cooler temps once the plants begin to produce. Plant them in August of late September to take advantage of this.

Tips for planting in the late summer:

  • Make sure to plant cool season crops, and plant them early enough that they can get a good head start on growing before there is any chance of frost in your area.
  • Plan not only what you plant, but where you plant. Your spring-planted garden may still be flourishing in August. Make sure you do not plant your late summer crops in a spot where the seedlings will be choked out by other plants.
  • Your veggies may take a couple weeks longer to mature than you would expect. This is simply a result of cooling temperatures.
  • Appropriately prepare your garden spot for new seedlings by clearing away any old, finished vegetable plants and weeds. Turn over your soil to a depth of at least 8 inches, and add a good layer of compost. This helps to re-nourish the soil where you have previously planted.
  • Whiteflies, stink bugs, aphids, and caterpillars are all commonly seen in late summer, so monitor your garden closely for pests.

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Grow Your Own Garnishes

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
Herb Garnish

From Left: parsley, basil, cilantro

One of the easiest and most fun ways to dress up your party platters is with edible garnishes. Flowers like nasturtium, marigold and chamomile make good garnishes.  Herbs are great, too. You can buy the garnishes at your local farmer’s market or grocery store, but many of them are so easy to grow, and expensive to buy, that it makes sense to grow your own.  It isn’t too late in the growing season to start growing your own garnishes. aHa! Modern Living has seeds for many of these, and we’re having a seed sale!  Save 15% OFF all Botanical Interests Seeds – many organic and heirloom varieties.

Here are some of our favorite edible garnishes, and their suggested food pairings:

Photo Credits from left: Earth Spirit Organics, LeeAnn Smith, Smithsonian Blog

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Growing Food When You Don’t Have the Space for a Garden

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

Photo from apartmenttherapy.com

It is easy to feel dismayed when you would like to plant a fruit, vegetable, or herb garden of your own, and you simply don’t have a yard in which to do it. Don’t feel like you’re alone here; there are literally millions of people who are urban dwellers and in the same situation as you!

All is not lost when it comes to growing your own food. In fact, far from it. You have several terrific options for planting food in a barely-there space, whatever that space may be!

Gutter Gardening

We just adore the idea of sowing, tending and harvesting a gutter garden. Gutters mounted on the side of your house maximize the heat from your home, help to keep your crops out of the reach of wildlife, and are inexpensive as well as practical. We think they look really cool, too! Check out the one that is pictured to the left. We found this photo at Apartment Therapy, and learned that this particular garden was planted by Suzanne Forsling of Juneau, Alaska. Another great gutter garden discovery can be found on Fern Richardson’s Life on the Balcony blog. Awesome!

Here are some tips to remember when planting your gutter garden:

  1. Mount the gutters on the side of your house that receives sunlight.
  2. Drill holes in the bottom of the gutters in order to allow water drainage.
  3. Each time you water, water with a discerning hand. You do not want excessive moisture to get trapped between gutter and your siding.
  4. If you can’t drill into your siding to mount the gutters, try hanging them from chains. In this photo, the gutters have been painted copper and hung at various heights to create a sort of privacy screen, such as this one this is pictured on the left below.
Gutter Gardening

Photos from left: MarthaStewart.com & LifeontheBalcony.com

Recycled Objects Garden

Photo: Real Simple

If you are all about going green, then a garden planted in objects from around your house is the perfect option for you. And using recycled objects isn’t just about being trendy. It’s about saving money, and showing that you care enough about the environment to re-use things instead of pitching them into a landfill.

To the right is one of our very favorite ideas, and we found it in Real Simple, where they used some old Crocs as hanging planters. We think this is the perfect idea- they already have holes for drainage and the sturdy plastic will hold up well when filled with soil.

Don’t have any old Crocs collecting dust in your closet? Try out some of these other planting ideas using objects from around your house:

  1. Try turning an old spaghetti colander and a wire hanger into a hanging basket. These create an especially cool impact when hung in groups of 3 or more. For a hanging colander, try planting strawberries, cherry tomatoes, peas, or beans. Any plant that usually grows vertically and needs to be staked up can also grow hanging down.
  2. An old shoe holder makes a terrific herb planter, with each herb in a different shoe pocket. You may also wish to try planting leaf lettuce in a shoe pocket. Before you plant, pour water into a pocket to check the drainage. You can find other helpful tips for a vertical garden in a shoe holder here at Instructables.
  3. Try using objects from your kitchen to create a container garden. Old Tupperware, mugs, mixing bowls, and coffee cans all make great planters. Just make sure to either drill holes in the bottom, or add a layer of gravel at the bottom of each planter to allow for water drainage. Check out this Do It Yourself article for 5 household objects you can re-use to create a container garden for your balcony, porch, or deck.

Window Boxes

windowbox garden

Flickr photo: stephadamo

There are many types of vegetables and herbs that lend themselves well to window box gardens. Consider crops that take up a relatively small amount of space, such as radishes and herbs such as cilantro, basil and dill. Browse through more Botanical Interests’ organic and heirloom seed varieties to find the herbs and veggies that make your mouth water.

You don’t have to go out and drop a pretty penny on window boxes, either. You can do it yourself! Take a look at this article from Marigold Lane on how to construct your own window boxes.

Here are a few tips for maintaining a successful window box garden:

  1. Plant vegetables together that have the same sun requirements. For example, tomato, cucumber, and chives will all grow well together since they all are warm season crops and have similar sun requirements. Chives grow exceptionally well on a sunny windowsill!
  2. Before you paint your windowboxes, consider that dark colors tend to attract and absorb more heat. You may therefore wish to stick with light colored paint.
  3. Again, you’ll need to make sure that the planter has adequate water drainage. Consider this before deciding where to place your windowboxes. You probably do not want to let your plants drain out onto the balcony of the person who lives on the floor below you!

 

 

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Planning an Edible Garden

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

This edible garden was created by Nicola and Noel Day of Somerset West using all biodegradable and organic products. Image source: Urban Harvest.

When you fill your shopping basket with fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs at your local farmer’s market, it is easy to see the produce only for the parts that we consume. An orange carrot root here, a green snow pea pod there. However, when planning to plant these very same items in an edible garden, each item becomes much more than just the individual parts we consume. Carrots have leafy, sprightly verdant foliage that shoots up above the earth. Snow pea are climbers and will create beautiful curling, winding vines around a stake or trellis.

Why Plant an Edible Garden?

Planting and harvesting an edible garden is a truly sustainable way to use your space, as it is pleasurable to the eye, nourishing to the body, and harmonizing to the soul. Planning, maintaining, and devouring the fruits of an edible garden is a way to get exercise outdoors, personalize your space, and consume a more healthful diet.

There is so much to be reaped from an edible garden! We encourage you to not confine yours to a small patch in the corner of your yard. Incorporate the edible plants into your space by integrating them with your landscape as a whole. Envisi0n your garden as both an ornamental gem, and a bountiful food source.

Select Your Seeds

When planning what to grow, aim to include a variety of different colors, textures, and flavors. To simplify the decision making process, we have grouped our selection of Botanical Interests brand seeds into different families.

For example, planting a canning garden gives you a great variety of vegetables and herbs with different scents, tastes, and ways of growing. This gourmet blend of beets will produce beets in lovely jewel colors such as deep purple, blood red, and even golden yellow. If you’re used to eating just the root part of the beet that you find in the grocery store, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. You can eat the leafy tops of beets, too. They make an excellent addition to a salad, or can be steamed, or even sauteed. So you’ll see that these leafy tops provide much more than just ornamentation in your edible garden.

When choosing your seeds, don’t be afraid to try new types of vegetables. If you’ve never seen purple carrots before, then give them a shot. Be adventurous! And remember, growing new and different types of veggies is a great way to get your kids interested in them, too.

Map Out Your Garden

Before you begin to till your earth, drawing out a map is an absolute must. You will need to make sure that you are utilizing an area of your yard that receives ample sunlight (at least 6 hours a day), and allowing enough room between each row as well as each individual plant. Don’t worry, it won’t be a guessing game. Each seed packet contains instructions on how to plant the seeds, including how far apart to space them and how much soil cover the seed needs.

If you are a first time gardener, you can also find all the guidance you need in the step-by-step guide Grow Your Own Food Made Easy. Aim to incorporate different heights, shapes, and colors by including a variety of ground covers, climbing plants, herbs, and edible flowers.

Borders: Plants such as lettuce and swiss chard make a perfect border for your garden. Check out all the different varieties of lettuce in our Salad Greens section. The Salad Bowl Blend is our personal favorite, because it contains a blend of Red Salad Bowl Lettuce that has burgundy red leaves, and Green Salad Bowl Lettuce that has long wavy green leaves. They are quite beautiful together, both in the garden and when served up on the dinner table.
Climbing Plants: Squashes make an excellent addition when planted at the base of an obelisk or trellis. You can train the vines to climb upwards, making a tall, visually interesting focal point for your garden. Of course you have the delicious squash to look forward to, but did you know that you can eat squash blossoms, too?
Herbs: Dill, basil, and chives are all wonderful choices for herbs. They are extremely fragrant and have a huge variety of culinary applications. Dill produces lovely little umbel-shaped yellow flowers, while chives blossom in a delicate lavender pink shade. And yup, you guessed it, you can eat the chive blossoms, too!
Edible Flowers: If you’ve ever had a hard time getting your child to eat a salad, just try topping it with some yummy homemade dressing (which you can of course whip up with your fresh herbs) and topping it with a few edible flowers from your garden. Or, try this at your next dinner party. Both children and adults alike are fascinated by the thought of eating a flower. Try planting Nasturtium, which produces bright peach, scarlet, and orange colored flowers. It is related to watercress, so it has a delicious sweet, peppery flavor. As a major bonus, it is practically a gardener’s dream, as it grows plentifully and is quite low maintenance.

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Starting Your Garden from Botanical Interests Organic Seeds

Monday, March 8th, 2010
Botanical Interest Lettuce seeds

From left: Botanical Interest Seeds, lettuce seedlings by Talitha Purdy

By now you’ve probably noticed that we have an awesome new category to shop here at aHa! Modern Living. Starting From Seed contains a selection of vegetable and herb seeds to get you started with growing your own colorful, nutritious, and scrumptious produce.  We recommend that you check back frequently in the coming weeks. We are working diligently so that we can soon make even more types of seeds available!

Why Start From Seed?

So, when you can go to the grocery store and pick out an entire basket of tomatoes, why should you take the time to grow your own? Well, basically put, starting from seed is the best, if not the only, way to know exactly what you are getting in your food. When you buy a tomato at the store, it may be genetically engineered. For example, a cold water fish gene may have been crossed with the tomato in order to make the product more resilient to frost. It sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, but it’s not! It’s real life!

Why should I buy my seeds from aHa Modern Living?

We think it is super important to buy and consume locally grown produce. And what’s more local than your own backyard? You also earn aHa! Reward Points for buying your seeds from us.  Most of the seeds that we sell in our Starting From Seed category are:

  • Certified organic, meaning that they do not contain any nasty chemicals or pesticides.
  • Heirloom variety, meaning that they have not been genetically engineered.

How do I begin my own home garden?

Once you have received your organic heirloom seeds, you will use a simple process called seed starting. This is an essential step to allow your plants to root before introducing them to the harsh conditions of the outside world. If you are nervous about trying to grow your own herbs and vegetables, there is nothing wrong with starting slowly. Try beginning with basil. This herb lends itself well to home germination and is pretty much a surefire bet.CowPots

  1. Gather containers. To start your seeds, you will need small containers that are just 2-3 inches deep. Last year’s nursery flats will work well, or plastic egg cartons, or dixie cups. Save time by planting and transplanting in CowPots (learn more about the benefits of CowPots). If you’re re-using containers, wash them out well using a hot water and couple tablespoons of bleach or white vinegar. Make sure each container has a small hole in the bottom, and set each container on a tray to accommodate water drainage.
  2. Create a nourishing growing medium. We recommend purchasing a bag of seedling starting mix, then blending in some well-aged compost to give your seeds a healthy beginning.
  3. Carefully sow your seeds. Make sure your soil is evenly moist, but not swampy, before dropping in your seeds. Cover each seed to a depth that is only about 3 times the thickness of the seed itself. Or, if the seed needs light to germinate, do not cover it at all. Some examples of seeds that need light to germinate are snapdragons and petunias.
  4. Protect your seeds. Lightly sprinkle milled sphagnum moss, a natural fungicide, over the containers to protect them from damping-off, a fungal disease that rots seeds. In the case of seeds that need light to germinate, sprinkle the moss first and then drop the seeds onto the moss. Next, create a mini greenhouse by covering your containers with a plastic bag to keep the environment humid, and place them near a heat vent. If you’d like, you can even purchase a heat mat that is specifically made for seed starting. Most seeds germinate well at about 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
  5. Keep the seeds damp. You can put a little bit of water in your trays so that the seeds absorb moisture from below, or mist the containers with a spray bottle of water.
  6. Transfer the seedlings to a light source. At the first signs of sprouting, uncover your seedlings and move the trays to a light source, such as a sunny window, a greenhouse, or underneath some fluorescent shop lights. Your seedlings need 12 to 16 hours of light a day. They do not need as much heat at this point, so you can move them away from the heating vent or heat mat. Make sure, however, that they do receive the amount of concentrated light that is necessary.
  7. Fertilize your seedlings. As soon as they get their first true leaves, your seedlings are ready for food. Water them with a half-strength solution of organic liquid fish emulsion/seaweed fertilizer once a week. Use either a spray bottle, or add the fertilizer to the water you place in the trays, (in the method that is described in step 5).
  8. “Harden them off.” This process means that you will prepare your plants for the harshness of the outside world. It is important to gently acclimate them so as not to shock them.  On a warm day, move the containers to a shaded, protected place outdoors for a few hours. Each day for one week, gradually increase the plants’ exposure to the sun and outdoor conditions. At the end of the week leave them out overnight. Then, they are ready to transplant into the garden.

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