Grow It

Gardening in the Age of Covid-19: Starting Seeds in Quarantine

Categories DIY, Grow It, Kitchen Witchin', Uncategorized, , ,

What a strange fucking timeline we’re in, guys. But I don’t need to tell you that. It’s taken a couple weeks, but I’m getting back into the groove of Springtime planning and planting. Now more than ever, I’m thinking about the connections between food sovereignty, community, and home gardening. And I want to talk about it all with you!

In this post, we’ll go over the basics of starting your seeds indoors on the cheap and with limited space. Next up, we’ll talk about prepping your outdoor soil for those early Spring seeds you can plant directly in the garden. But for now, let’s get started while staying inside.

Preparing Your Seed Starting Mix

I’m a big fan of these handy windowsill seed starting trays by Jiffy. They’re a cheap all-in-one solution for folks with limited indoor space, or for those who simply don’t want to mess with putting together a multi-part indoor setup. And right now, the less you need to purchase from different places, the better. They’re also very satisfying to prepare, as you just add water and watch the peat pellets plump up!

It’s important to keep in mind when starting seeds indoors that seed starting mix is not the same thing as outdoor gardening/potting soil that you might toss into your raised beds or containers. Whether you use dehydrated peat pellets, like in this Jiffy setup, or a separate bag of sterile seed starting soilless mix, make sure you’re using a medium meant just for starting seeds.

Choosing the Right Seeds

With community and pandemic conditions in mind, I chose to go the more practical route this year instead of experimenting so much. I’m focusing on Cherokee Purple tomato seeds I saved last fall, cilantro, and lemon balm for my indoor starts. I figure I can give away my extra seedlings if anyone wants them, and cilantro works with so many types of cuisine to share later on.

When deciding which seeds to start indoors, prioritize the following:

  • Plants with long growing periods
  • Plants which need to go outside only after the danger of frost has passed (for more on this, learn how to find out your frost dates)
  • Plants which require some extra TLC and care to thrive once outside
Cilantro seeds

Tomatoes are a pretty standard “start inside” kind of plant, while I’ve found that other veggies like cucumbers and bush beans do just as well being sown outside closer to the last frost date or a little later. If you have limited indoor growing space like I do, I’d recommend using your precious space for things like tomatoes, herbs, and possibly a flower or two.

You’ll probably see most seed packets say to start the seeds indoors either 4-6 weeks or 6-8 weeks before last frost, and so now’s a perfect time to get your picks going for a mid-late May planting season.

Care for Your Growing Seedlings

Cherokee Purple tomato and cilantro sprouts

It’s important to keep the soil/starter mix moist in the early days to aid in germination. The Jiffy trays I use come with a plastic dome lid to create a greenhouse-type effect and trap moisture. However, you also don’t want your seedlings to mold and die off if the soil mix is too wet. Basically, just keep a close eye and check on them a couple times a day.

This year, I left my two trays on the bathroom floor near a heating vent to make sure the temperature was warm enough. Whatever works! Once you start to notice little spouts, remove the covering and move to a windowsill.

Keep your starts hydrated, and you should be on your way to healthy little plants while quarantined. If you’ve planted multiple seeds in each pot or pellet, remove the weaker and/or smaller sprouts. You’ll also need to upgrade your seedlings at some point to a bigger cup or pot later on in the process.

Lastly, you’ll eventually need to “harden off” your delicate indoor plants before they’re able to withstand the direct sunlight and outdoor conditions of the garden. But no need to worry about that just yet. We have a long Spring to come and the time to wait.

Seed Savers Exchange and Hudson Valley Seed Company catalogues on a striped blanket

Resources & Reviews: Three Seed Suppliers for the Socially Conscious Gardener

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It’s 2020 and Offbeet Gardener is back in action! Wintertime is seed catalog time, and I received mine in the mail a couple weeks ago. Let me tell you. Now is admittedly one of my favorites parts of the gardening experience — this dreamy and hopeful period of time after the holidays when my attention shifts to the coming Spring and all the potential it holds.

In this space, there is no tomato blight, every leaf if perfectly green, it rains on schedule, and all those new varieties I want to try are smashing successes. And while reality always shakes out a little less than rosy (or at least not quite as planned), I’m always excited to see my mid-winter gift of seed catalogs in the mail. It’s also a welcome throwback to sit with an actual hard copy catalog and dog-ear the pages or circle things I want to go back to.

If you’re hoping to sow some revolutionary seeds in the garden this year and are looking for a place to start, you’ve come to right place. Here are my top three seed suppliers, and why I love them.

Hudson Valley Seed Co.

Hudson Valley Seed Co. is special because not only because of the quality seeds they grow on their own farm, but because their packets are beautiful too. Founded by former librarian Ken Greene in Gardener, New York, Hudson Valley Seed Co. started out as a seed library program, which switched over to a commercial operation focused on preserving heirloom and open-pollinated seeds in 2009.

Every year, Hudson Valley Seed Co. issues a call for artists to contribute new designs for their Art Pack line, which run a little bit more expensive than the standard paper packets. Sow seeds, support artists! They’re so worth it as a keepsake from the garden, and I’m trying to think of a creative way to hold onto and enjoy these. The 2021 call for submissions is now open, so if you’re an artist, check it out here.

If you’re local to the greater New York and Hudson Valley region, you can find their seeds in some retail locations as well. I know you can find art packs at the New York Botanical Garden gift shop! Speaking of, if you need a gift for that special gardener in your life, they have an online gift shop for that too.

Seed Savers Exchange

Seed Savers Exchange is the real deal when it comes to preserving rare, open-pollinated heirloom varieties and connecting gardeners to share their homegrown seeds. Since 1975, they’ve maintained a seed bank at their Hertiage Farm in Decorah, Iowa. Today, the seed bank is now the largest non-governmental seed bank in the country, and SSE has 13,000 members and 20,000 plant varieties. Here’s a short video to learn more about the Seed Savers Exchange story.

Want to get in on the action and help contribute to this important work? You can become a member and receive an annual yearbook to being sharing seeds with other member gardeners. (This could also be a unique and meaningful holiday gift, now that I think of it.) Saving and sharing genetically diverse seeds will only become more important as we enter the 2020s, and Seed Savers Exchange is the perfect place to start.

Truelove Seeds

Truelove Seeds is a newer supplier, and they’ve quickly become one of my favorite places to buy seeds. Based in Philadelphia, they focus on culturally important seeds and supporting small-scale growers committed to community food sovereignty and sustainable agriculture. Truelove Seeds is a fantastic site to buy from if you’re looking for harder to find and culturally specific seeds — they just might have them! Some examples are huacatay, a tall marigold used in Peruvian cooking, and callaloo (amaranth), which is popular in many parts of the Caribbean.

My favorite part of how they’ve organized the site are the different collections listed here, which drive home the commitment to cultural preservation.

Go Forth and Buy Seeds!

Though it may not seem like much, supporting seed suppliers who work to keep heritage and culturally important plant varieties going and in good health is no small thing. And it’s something we can do as home gardeners to work with (not in opposition to) the land and our communities.

What are your favorite seed catalogs or websites for browsing and buying seeds? Let me know!

Quick Links to Buy Seeds:

Seed Saving 101: Preserve Heirloom Tomato Seeds in 5 Easy Steps

Categories DIY, Grow It, Kitchen Witchin', Uncategorized, , ,

With Labor Day weekend in the rearview mirror and the crisp September air taking hold, I’ve been thinking about this season’s successes, failures, and any end-of-summer projects I might want to try to end on a high note. And while I’ve saved lettuce and pea seeds, I’ve never saved tomato seeds before. I thought, “Why not give it a try? Now’s the time.”

Backyard tomato heyday, circa 2015

You see, my mom is selling the house I grew up in, and I’m having a hard time thinking about saying goodbye to the humble 8’x4′ raised garden bed I built. This little corner is where my love affair with home gardening began. I cleaned it up this spring and planted peas, kale, lettuces and carrots as I have in the past. But as it exploded with weeds over the summer, a few volunteer tomato plants also fought their way to grow.

I figured saving the seeds is the best way I can honor my love for this garden, along with a few other more artistic projects I have up my sleeve. But more on those later!

Step One: Pick the Best Tomatoes for Saving Seeds

When planning to save seeds, you’ll always want to give your plants a once over and select the healthiest, best-looking fruit. I got lucky because the one Cherokee Purple heirloom tomato I grew this year was also a beauty. I’m thinking it’s also a choice specimen because it sprouted from a volunteer tomato plant, so it’s got the chutzpah and can-do attitude I’m looking for! A tomato after my own heart (and my New York/New Jersey roots).

For the last few years, I’ve gotten my tomato seedlings from the wonderful women of Rise & Root Farm in Chester, NY. Stopping by their farm in the rich black dirt region of Orange County, NY to pick up my plant babes is always a treat, and if you’re in the city, I’d encourage you to stop by one of their farmers markets! They’re a group of women committed to “building a strong local food economy” with justice and equity at the forefront. Hell yes, please.

Step Two: Scoop the Seeds

To scoop the seeds, cut the tomato in half across the middle of the fruit, i.e. not top to bottom. This will reveal all the pulpy seed pockets for easy removal with a small spoon. Now’s also a good time to take a second to admire just how gorgeous fresh food can be, like the inside of these heirloom tomatoes. They almost resemble a watery map to me with lots of little streams. Anyone else? Moving on!

Gently scoop the seed pockets into a clean jar, along with all the juice and pulp. You’ll only want to avoid getting too much of the pithy center bits, so take your time. Next, cover the jar with a double layer of cut cheesecloth and tie it around the top of the jar with twine or a rubber band.

This concoction is going to sit and ferment for three days, you’ll want to contain that smell as best you can. I was expecting the worst, but I think the cheesecloth made a big difference. Not so smelly after all! But why might you want to ferment your tomato seeds before cleaning and drying them for storage?

In a nutshell, wet tomato seeds contain an extra gelatinous outer layer that protects the seed. This gel-sac can inhibit germination, and so it’s a good idea to be rid of it for the purposes of saving viable seeds. Fermenting your seeds in a jar mimics the natural lacto-fermentation that happens when a rotting tomato drops to the dirt out in a field. This is how I got my glorious single volunteer plant! And though it’s a good idea to go through the process, it’s not 100% necessary. In a pinch, you can also thoroughly clean and dry your tomato seeds straight from the fruit.

Step Three: Clean the Seeds

If you too go the fermentation route, you should see some gentle bubbling over the course of a few days. A moldy film should also form on the top of your tomato pulp and seed mixture, so don’t be alarmed! I left my seeds to ferment for about three full days, and I don’t think you want to go much longer that that. What you don’t want to is for the seeds to germinate in the jar and moldy mixture, which can happen if they’re left too long.

To begin the cleaning process, dispose of as much of the moldy film as you can without accidentally dumping all your seeds too. Then, pour the remaining contents of the jar into a larger bowl and add cool water. Swirl it around a bit and gently pour off as much water as you can. Repeat as many times as needed, until you’re left with clear water and visible seeds.

Viable seeds will sink to the bottom, and any bad ones will float. You can dispose of those that are floating because they won’t germinate properly, and so you don’t want to save them. Once you have clear water and clean seeds, lay them out on a paper plate to dry.

Step Four: Dry the Seeds

After a day or two, check on your drying seeds and move them around the pate to ensure they’re not sticking in place. But here’s the thing — make sure you leave your plate of precious drying seeds someplace safe, and not on top of your freezer door where you may flip them over in a sleepy haze at 5:30am.

That’s right, I managed to launch all my delicate seeds right off the plate and into the abyss that is the space between the wall and the fridge. I was able to retrieve most of the seeds, which were now covered in dust. A little patience and some tweezers, however, go a long way. Once I separated most of the seeds and got them back on the plate, I moved them out of the way but within eyeshot, i.e. on top of my record collection. No accidents here!

Step Five: Pack the Seeds

Once your tomato seeds are dry, you’re ready to package them for safe keeping. I use small brown paper envelopes from AC Moore, and then for a final flourish, I wrap them with decorative washi tape. If you too use washi tape, be sure to wrap enough layers so that the packet is sealed completely.

It’s so satisfying to hold in your hands a packet of homegrown seeds, knowing all the love and care you put into the process. It’s optimism for the seasons(s) ahead, and it’s slowing down to thank the garden for all it’s provided in seasons past. It’s part science experiment, part ritual, and every bit a special time to appreciate the generations of growers who came before you. Happy seed saving, my dears.

All About Mint: From Ancient Greek Lore to Your Summer Garden

Categories Grow It, Home, Kitchen Witchin', Punk Rock Plant Stories, Uncategorized, , , , , ,

I don’t need to convince you that mint is a special plant in cultures all over the world — you’ve likely tried a dozen different dishes from as many cultures which use this powerful garden herb. From Moroccan teas and Indian chutneys and salads, to Southern mint juleps and Cuban mojitos, mint shows up again and again.

But did you know mint was also used in ancient Greek funerary rites along with other fragrant herbs like rosemary and myrtle? It’s still used for similar purposes today it would seem, as the tradition of ritual lament by professional mourners (moirologists) continues in Mani, Greece. As if all that wasn’t enough, our humble garden mint has a saucy origin story involving your girl’s number one right-hand goddess, Persephone.

Hylas and the Water Nymphs, Henriette Rae (circa 1909)

According to the myth, Minthe was a Naiad nymph who presided over the River Cocytus in the Underworld. She tried to seduce Hades and/or Hades became smitten with her. Minthe began to think herself superior to Persephone, Queen of the Underworld and wife to Hades. Once Persephone caught wind of the flirtation, either by Minthe’s own tongue or another’s, she turned the nymph into the garden herb we know as mint today.

Mint was also an important hallucinatory ingredient in the ancient Greek drink kykeon, which participants in the Eleusinian Mysteries drank at the height of the experience. I’ll be diving into this trippy ancient ritual in the next post, which you’ll definitely want to check out. But for now, let’s explore how you can care for a small mint plant in the 21st century.

Getting Started with Mint

See if you can spot my little grasshopper friend…

Mint is a really great homegrown herb because there are so many varieties to try, and you can add it to everything from cocktails and fruit salad to marinades and tea. You can sooth an upset stomach with mint, just as you can relieve the acute pain of a bee sting. True story, my babysitter carried me into the house and put toothpaste on a bee sting I got on the back of my thigh after sitting on a bee resting on our tree swing. Nowadays, I welcome the little bees when they come to visit, and mint is one of my go-to herbs for my home container garden.

Be warned, however, that mint will go rogue if you let it! If you don’t have a well-contained and well-tended garden space, I’d urge you to grow your mint in a container. Mint spreads horizontally, and will send out “runners,” which are side shoots or stems that take root as the plant spreads outwards. It’s wild to see the runners start crawling around the sides of your container like alien plant tentacles.

Specialty Mints: Apple and Mojito

The great mojito and apple mint container of 2018

Last year, I fell in love with mojito mint, which is a Cuban variety that’s been bred to smell just like a mojito — lime, sugar, mint, and all! It’s pretty delicious, and it’s a fun Wonka-like addition to a home herbal garden. There are lots of recipes for mojito marinade online, but you could customize your own mix for any grilled meat or fish entree with some citrus, garlic, herbs, and this particular mint.

I also grew apple mint last year, which is a fuzzy mint with soft, felt-like leaves. Apple mint grows quite tall, so your container will have some height once the season gets underway. I wasn’t as keen on putting the apple mint into fresh recipes, but I did use it to make an apple cider vinegar-based facial toner for my acne-prone skin. My partner says it makes my face smell like feet though, so mix at your own risk.

Speciality Mints: Orange and Chocolate

Orange mint taking off!

This year, I opted for a lush orange mint plant at the garden center in lieu of others I’ve tried in seasons past. Orange mint is exactly what it sounds like — a lovely mint with a punchy citrus scent. I let it get a little out of control in the pot, so the other day I cut a bunch of the longer stems and stored the trimmed pieces in a Tupperware container. They’re still looking good in the fridge, so the plan is to make an orange mint-infused vinegar.

I’m 90% sure the second mint I’m growing this year is chocolate mint. However, if you have any thoughts to the contrary based on this photo, please let me know! This mint has a gorgeous deep green color and chocolate brown stems, apropos of the name. My neighbor dug up a section from her friend’s garden and gifted it to me, which is what I have in this little pot. It doesn’t look like much, but this particular guy is super potent. A little will stretch far enough for my purposes, and because of how strong it is, I think I’ll dry whatever’s left for tea near the end of the season.

Pollinator-Friendly: Mountain Mint

May 2019

Chocolate mint’s not the only thing my neighbor dug up and brought back home for us to share. She also gifted me a hunk of grassy dirt with some greenery and dead stalks, which looked vaguely like something I should try to keep alive. It was mountain mint! Mountain mints are native to North America, and the short-toothed or blunt mountain mint that I have is native to Eastern North America. Once the summer really got underway, the mountain mint blossomed. The plant now has silvery white leaves that look almost frosted, which give off a cool fairy vibe along with its tiny lavender flowers. Needless to say, I am into it.

Early August 2019

Mountain mints are excellent for attracting pollinators, especially bees. I recently stopped into the NJ-NY Trail Conference office to check out some maps, and it was awesome to find the whole front of the building planted with mountain mint and literally buzzing with pollinator activity. Mountain mint is often featured on lists of best pollinator-friendly plants, and it was awarded Plant of the Year in 2018 by my own former employer! It’s also deer-resistant, which makes it a great choice for suburban gardens.

Dozens of bees buzzing around the mountain mint bushes
outside the NY-NJ Trail Conference Headquarters

How Do You Like to Enjoy Mint?

I’m trying to take advantage of the abundant fresh mint I have at this moment, because really, now’s the time to let it marry with all the heightened flavors of ripe peaches, strawberries, and watermelon. As I mentioned earlier, one way I’m hoping to keep the freshness of summer alive is by making an orange mint-infused vinegar to drizzle on salads.

Even if you prefer to simply let your mint grow for the visual pleasure of it in your garden, try thinking about Minthe and the water nymphs and all the ways that people before you have treasured and made use of this special plant. How do you like to prepare mint? Let me know!

Bombs for Butterflies: Make Milkweed Seed Bombs in Time for Fall Planting

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Seed bombs have been a favorite craft of amateur gardeners (and their small children) for a long time now, and I’ve always loved the idea of guerrilla gardening. The romantic notion of tossing homemade wildflower “bombs” into unloved lots and along roadways…what’s not to love?

I finally decided to make my own milkweed seed bombs, but I needed to confront my own skepticism. You see, I don’t want to be skeptical about the true effectiveness of seed bombs, but a golf ball-sized ball of hard-as-rock clay just doesn’t seem like a great way to germinate seeds that’ll grow into beautiful wildflowers. And I’m not the only one!

But with some extra research beforehand and a few instinctual tweaks to the myriad recipes I found online, I’ve made about two dozen milkweed seed bombs that I’m optimistic will grow into lively plants for my local pollinators come next Spring.

What You’ll Need:

  • Rich compost
  • Clay (air dry, powdered, or natural from your area). If using natural clay from your area, make sure it’s free of any possible pests.
  • Swamp milkweed seeds*
  • Muslin or burlap sachet for storage or gift-giving

*When choosing seeds, be sure to do your research and find out what’s native to your region. If you plan to use your seed bombs outside the confines of your own garden, or if you’re making a gift, always go with native varieties! I’m in New York State, and so I know to go with swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) seeds, which are native to the Northeast.

Step One: Mix the Clay into Your Compost

Not gonna lie, this first step was a pain. I chose to use an air-dry modeling clay instead of powdered clay, so breaking it into smaller bits to mix into the compost was really hard on my wrist. If I were to do this project again, I’d try to find some powdered clay, which you’d then mix in with your compost and a bit of water to form the seed bombs.

For my purposes this first time, I found that lots of folks recommend not following recipes that call for much more clay than soil. Though my seed bombs did end up being mostly clay, I was careful to only mix in small amounts of clay at a time, kneading the mixture like a bread dough to incorporate as much compost as possible. Once I had a crumbly consistency I was happy with, I moved on to forming the bombs.

Step Two: Form Small, Dime-Sized Bombs

Most seed bomb recipes will tell you to form your mixture into golf ball-sized bombs. While this may sound reasonable, bigger does not always equal better! In my research, I found some great advice to make your seed bombs smaller — about dime-sized — for more effective germination and a greater likelihood of success.

In forming my dime-sized bombs of clay and compost, I tried to incorporate as much soil as I could. Though they did end up being mostly clay due to the nature of the particular modeling clay I chose, I think the smaller size will help to break down the materials faster and more uniformly when the time comes for the seeds to germinate and sprout in the garden. We’ll see what happens, and I’ll keep you posted!

Step Three: Press the Milkweed Seeds into the Compost/Clay Bombs

I chose to first mix all of my compost and clay bombs before adding the milkweed seeds, which may (or may not) have been a wise choice. On the one hand, if your seeds need light to germinate, you don’t want them buried in the middle of your seed bomb. To me, if I’m making much smaller seed bombs with the goal of having them incorporate into the soil easier, then having more exposure to sunlight is a good thing. It was difficult, however, to fold them into the sides of the bombs that had already started to harden.

I eventually got the hang out of it by using my nail to cut a slice in the side and sticking a milkweed seed in there, making sure to close it up around the seed as much as I could. I also didn’t anticipate the seeds being so large and flat. Full of surprises, this project!

Each seed bomb ended up with between 1-3 milkweed seeds, which worked out perfectly for the number of seeds I had between two packets and the number of compost/clay bombs I had made earlier.

Step Four: Leave to Dry at Least 24 Hours

Whether you use dry clay mixed with water or a wet clay like I did, you’ll need to let your fresh seed bombs air dry for at least 24 hours. This should be enough time if you make smaller bombs, but if yours are larger, you’ll need closer to 36 hours for them to dry.

In the meantime, pour yourself a glass of rose in your favorite fancy glass and pick up a breezy summer reading book (I’m making my way through Joyland by Stephen King), or dive into Season 3 of Stranger Things. Relax! It’s hot AF outside right now.

Step Five: Put Together as a Gift or Store for Later

At long last, your final step is to store your milkweed seed bombs in a cool, dry place until you’re ready to throw them. Because I planned to gift about half of my seed bombs, I picked up a packet of two attractive burlap sachets at AC Moore when I bought my modeling clay. You could also use a muslin spice sachet, but do think about how much loose soil you’ll have, and if it’ll come through the fabric you’d like to use.

I put together a little planter gift basket for a fellow gardener as part of a surprise bachelorette brunch a friend organized this past weekend, and I know these milkweed seed bombs have found a good home! Because it’s already mid-summer, I chose a few different seed varieties that can be planted in late summer or early Fall to accompany the seed bomb sachet.

Milkweed seeds are perfect for this collection because they too should be planted into the Fall, to then bloom in the Spring. They need a cold, wet period to stratify and aid in germination, so mid to late summer is the perfect time to spend some time crafting milkweed seed bombs. All together, it makes for an inexpensive, yet elegant gift that I’m sure the gardener in your life would also love.

Final Thoughts

Though I was skeptical at first and some steps ended up being tougher on my hands and wrist than I anticipated, I’m glad I did my research beforehand, and that I followed through with this project I’ve wanted to try for a long time. You can make seed bombs with other wildflower varieties, and with some experimentation, I’m sure it can become a fun ritual to look forward to each year.

Just keep in mind your soil to clay ratios, the number of seeds in each bomb, the size of your seed bombs, and where you’re tossing them for your greatest chance of success. Bringing milkweed back to our butterfly populations is for sure a worthy endeavor, and why not have some fun with it? Bombs away, bitches!