MrBrownThumb

Plastic Lawn Chair Scrimshaw

2012-05-22T09:43:00.000-05:00

A plastic lawn chair isn’t something I thought I would ever feature on this garden blog, but here we are. Ordinarily, these lawn chairs are nothing special. They’re so cheap-both in quality and price- yet they’re found everywhere. Even in the winter they serve a purpose in places like Chicago where we use them to hold parking spots we shoveled out of snow. Captain’s Chair by Michael Dinges is your typical plastic lawn chair that employs scrimshaw and trench art techniques to make a statement.

Scrimshaw is an art form popularized why whalers that carved designs and stories into byproducts of whaling, like bones and teeth. Similarly, trench art is the name given to the same technique used by soldiers and prisoners of war who decorated shell and bullet casings.

Michael used both of the techniques to comment on the changing nature of labor and global trade, and the downsizing of the craftsperson to assembler.

From the Artist's Statement:

"I want the viewer to imagine themselves sitting in this "captain's" chair making decisions involving globalization and capitalism. By using an iconic chair that is ubiquitous, but personalized, I want the viewer to question their own responsibility for the presence of everyday objects that surround us."

If you have a plastic lawn chair in your garage or garden shed and you’re looking for a way to personalize it, why not scrimshaw it and turn it into a piece of garden art?

I came across Captain’s Chair at an exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center. Back in 2009 in the same location I encountered Deceptive Garden, a really cool concept planter that transformed into a table and had storage space for potting soil and garden tools.

#TomatoBomb Louisiana

2012-05-10T21:01:00.000-05:00

Dear Internet,

I need your help. I get a lot of weird comments and requests through my contact form on this blog. Most of them are demands for plants and seeds which I promptly ignore. After a few years of having an “open door” to the Internet you quickly become jaded at the hardship notes that accompany the requests for free stuff.

Today, I received the following message:

"hi my name is kevin .i live in a nuresy home. i am asking plesae for a little help. like a dontation of biggest tomato seeds. plesae. this would make some old people happy. plesae. address 417 industrial dr oberlin la 70655 ph 337 639 2934"

I don’t know what it was about the message that made me Google the address and phone number to see if it was an actual nursing home. I don’t know what made me call the number, but I did.

“[Indecipherable] this is Karen.”

“Hi, my name is MrBrownThumb. I’m from the Internet.” [I always wanted to say that!]

“Did Kevin Email you something crazy?”

“Uh-I was just calling to confirm that a Kevin was a resident there.”

“Yeah, he lives here. We get calls from all over the place. He Emails everyone on the Internet.”

“He asked me for tomato seeds for a garden.”

[Laughing] “I swear we’re going to end up with a tropical rainforest back there because of him.”

“So there is a garden?”

“Yeah, there’s a garden out back. Don’t nobody care about that garden but Kevin. But he does have a garden here. Some of the nurse staff helps once in a while.”

“So, he’s legit?”

[Laughing] “He works our nerves, but he’s legit. The other day he came with his mom and a wheelbarrow of stuff for his garden.”

During the rest of the phone call I learned Kevin in a 45-year-old resident of St. Francis Nursing Home who uses his own money to plant a garden there, and spends his free time soliciting for free plant material. His requests for plant material and the reactions the staff get through phone calls is something they find great humor in.

So, I’m asking for your help to tomato bomb Kevin in Louisiana. I’m going to send him seeds, and I’ve put a request on Twitter and Facebook for someone in Louisiana to help me get him some actual tomato plants. Perhaps someone can even pay Kevin and his garden a visit and see if there’s anything else that could be sent to him that would be of use.

Now I’m turning to my garden blog in the hopes that maybe this request gets more attention and he gets the “biggest” tomatoes possible. I’ve never asked the Internet for anything, and I really need this right now. The magic of Caine’s Arcade is leaving me and I desperately need to see something good happen in this world.

If you would like to help fulfill Kevin’s seed request you can mail him some seeds at the address below, but I hope someone can get some actual plants too.

Kevin Gatte C/O St. Francis Nursing Home
417 Industrial Drive
Oberlin, LA 70655

If you pledge to send him seeds leave a message below. Ideally, any plants should come from within the state to avoid any issues with plants or soil crossing state lines. Similarly, some consideration should be taken in regards to the seeds sent so that something that is manageable in our area will not turn into an ecological disaster in Louisiana.

My #tomatobomb seed package consists of various tomato and basil seeds. I've included the 'Green Zebra' seeds I saved from a tomato I stole from the Cook County Jail that I've used to start the Chicago Seed Library with.

Update: The following have pledged to donate materials to the Kevin and his garden

Tomato/Flower Seeds

A Succulent Life
Bonney Lassie
In the Garden Online
The Garden Faerie
The Garden Hoard
@orgavsmecha
Between The Limes
Jenn's Gardening Spot
The Kat's Garden
Snarky Vegan
Science Museum of Virginia via @KatieGantt
Tiny Eden
Miss Lady Bug
CS Designer
From Austin 2 Texas
Mosquito Creek Farm
Bucket of Mud
From the Garden Bench
Tangled Branches: Cultivated
DeAnna Michelle
How Does My Garden Grow
Perennial Harmony Garden Shop

Garden Tools/Plants/Products

My Skinny Garden
Tuff Guard Garden Hose
Organic Mechanics Potting Soil
Burpee
Baker Creek Seeds
Question and Planter

Update 2: May 16th.

After a couple of comments this morning from nurses who work with Kevin I called the home again and spoke to Nurse Carol who commented below. I've learned that Kevin is in a wheelchair and has a few container gardens, and a raised bed Carol's husband helped build to make his garden more accessible.

They're going to work on getting us pictures of the garden. Nurse Carol says that the mood at the nursing home is one of excitement as they've been reading what you all have said below. In particular because Kevin had posted to another garden blog asking for seeds and was told, "It's the real world, stop begging and get a job!" I don't know what blog this happened at, and I hope to never find out. THIS is the real world and in the real world there are still good people willing to help out someone in need.

I'll update with pictures as they come in. Thank you to everyone who has offered to help.

Black Iris Flower

2012-05-08T13:24:00.003-05:00

I've written before about this unknown iris that I grow in my garden. It was a mislabeled perennial in a box from Menards a few years ago. I've also shared pictures of it in the past, but I couldn't resist sharing this picture of my "black" iris flowering this spring. Just look at this Gothic-looking beauty for yourself.

If I recall correctly, the bloom was suppose to be brown, but what unfurled instead a year later after planting the rhizome was this dark purple bloom. In some lights-in particular when backlit- it really looks more purple, but when the weather is cool, rainy, and cloudy I'm presented with the black iris you see in the picture.

To give you an idea of the color variation you can compare it to the original post "Black iris-A Garden Surprise" from 2007 and what the blooms looked like in 2009 when I wrote the post on how to plant iris rhizomes in your garden.

What started as two small pieces of rhizomes has grown over the years into several nice iris clumps and my favorite bloom in every spring in the garden. Heck, my favorite perennial I have ever planted in my garden. I can't believe I was once disappointed that the flower didn't turn out to be brown.

Have you fallen in love with a garden "mistake" before? Do you have any black irises planted in your garden?

'Mahogany Splendor' Hibiscus

2012-04-27T12:17:00.001-05:00

I haven't grown a tender or tropical hibiscus in my garden since the year I forgot to bring one in before the first frost and it died. The joy of growing a potted hibiscus all summer long doesn't make up for the stress at the end of the season caused by deciding between attempting to overwinter it inside or composting it. I was pretty sure I was done with non-hardy hibiscuses in my garden until last year when I toured the gardens at Ball Horticulture. I saw what I thought was an amazing Japanese maple from a distance. When I ran up to it I discovered it was a 'Mahogany Splendor' Hibiscus.

Not only is the dark color of 'Mahogany Splendor' beautiful, but check out these deeply lobed leaves and their serrated edging. You can see why I mistook this hibiscus for an Japanese maple. This hibiscus is suppose to be heat and drought tolerant, and in full sun develop the dark purple coloring to their leaves. It's grown from seed and several seed sellers like Burpee and Stokes Seed currently offer the seeds. I'm sure it will be available as starts and larger plants at garden centers and nurseries this year as the weather warms.

Hardiness for 'Mahogany Splendor' hibiscus is somewhere between Zones 7-11 where it dies back to the ground and emerges again in the spring. Some websites I've come across report it being hardy to even lower gardening Zones, but I would just grow it as an annual foliage plant where you get real winters. Burpee's website says it grows to 5-6 feet, but other websites listing the seed say 3-5. When I saw the hibiscus in person it was close to 6 feet tall towards in the end of summer.

If you've ever wanted the look of a Japanese maple but don't have the space or pocketbook of a Japanese maple owner, check out 'Mahogany Splendor' hibiscus. It is the new poor man's Japanese maple.

Are you one of the lucky people who have grown this hibiscus already? If so, feel free to leave your thoughts below on how well it grew in your garden and any cultivation tips. Also, if you're curious: that green plant in the background is coleus 'Wasabi.' I grew a trial plant of it last year and have to take a picture to post soon.

Living Wall Planted with Nasturtiums

2012-04-24T10:16:00.000-05:00

I love growing nasturtiums, but I had never thought of them as plants that could be used in a living wall. Living walls and vertical gardens are usually planted with low growing plants-primarily succulents-that, to me, don't make me want to go out and install a living wall. Although, this living wall planted with nasturtiums is giving me ideas.

I photographed this living wall planted with nasturtiums at the Chicago Botanic Garden last year and I've returned to the picture several times when I needed a fix of color over the dreary winter. I'm not sure what kind of living wall system the nasturtiums are growing in, but I can tell you the nasturtium varieties chosen here are the mounding type.

Mounding nasturtiums for which you can easily buy seeds for include 'Creamsicle,' 'Dwarf Cherry Rose', and 'Jewel Mix' among others. 'Spitfire' and 'Moonlight' are two trailing types of nasturtium that you could also plant in a living wall system. Nasturtiums are easy to start from seeds, and the leaves and flowers are edible. Saving nasturtium seeds is really easy too. Do I need to give you 5 Reasons Why I grow Nasturtiums? Grow some in your garden this year.

'Boxwood' Basil

2012-04-19T19:25:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about basil this spring and wishing I had land to grow a lot of basil. In particular, I really want to grow a knot garden of 'Boxwood' basil and inside the geometric shapes plant dark basil varieties like 'Purple Ruffles' and 'Dark Opal.' I didn't grow the 'Boxwood' basil picture below, it was photographed at the gardens of Ball Horticulture, but all winter I've been revisiting the picture in my computer.

I keep trying to come up with ways to describe this basil variety but all I can come up with is "adorable." So, I guess the basil is adorable to me. Its compact leaves remind me a lot of the 'WindowBox' basil from seeds given to me by Renee's Garden a couple of seasons ago, and for all I know the only difference between 'WindowBox' and 'Boxwood' could be the name. Although, the Ball Horticulture website says that 'Boxwood' basil is a Ball "exclusive." You can buy seeds for this basil from Burpee.

If you're looking to create an edible front yard and or an edible landscape give 'Boxwood' basil a try this year. As you can see from the picture, it's leaves and growth habit made a good candidate to trim into a border and unless someone takes a cutting they probably wouldn't notice it isn't a hedge. Basil is an easy herb to grow either in the ground or in a container garden.

Seed Starting Tips for Beginner Gardeners

2012-04-02T10:30:00.000-05:00

Over the past few years, I have amassed a number of posts here about growing from seed that should be helpful to beginner seed starters. While these seed starting tips are aimed at beginners hopefully, they will be of use and interest to more experienced gardeners who may not have done much seed starting in the past. These tips on seed starting cover what items you can repurpose in your home to make seed starting pots, seed germination, and the types of seed staring mixes you can use. If you find that there’s a seed starting question that has not been answered you can leave a comment below or try my seed snatcher search engine which is exclusively devoted to information on seed starting and seed saving.

Organize Your Seeds Before Seed Starting

The first thing I do in preparation for starting seeds is to take inventory of my seeds. Make a seed organizer so you know what you have on hand and do not buy seeds you do not need. Once you are organized, test your older seeds for germination rates.

Seed Starting Soils

Last year I tried Jiffy-Mix from Ferry Morse and it worked fine. I cut it with coco coir, which is what I mainly use as a seed starting mix. You can find coco coir bricks at most garden centers now, but the cheapest source for the bricks is you local pet shop where coir is sold as reptile bedding. This year I'll be experimenting with Organic Mechanics' new line of seed starting soil.

Seed Starting Pots

Repurpose disposable containers like yogurt cups, clamshells for fruit and pastries, and you can even start seeds in plastic soda bottles. If you want to save on seed starting soil and pots, you can sprout seeds in plastic sandwich bags and transfer the seedlings into pots after they have germinated.

Biodegradable Seed Pots

Toilet paper rolls, newspaper pots, eggshells and egg cartons work well as seed starting pots. Because egg cartons are so shallow, use them for seeds you will transplant quickly after the seeds sprout.

Do You Need Seed Starting Lights?

I do not believe you need seed starting lights, a windowsill works pretty well, but there are inexpensive options for indoor seed starting under lights.

Make Your Own Seedling Labels

You will not remember which seedling are which after a couple of weeks. Make your own seedling labels and markers from empty milk gallons and other plastic you are going to throw away. Save yourself the trouble of handwriting out many seed labels if you are planting several varieties of one plant. Use colored Popsicle sticks for seedling labels if you are planting a lot of seedling that look the same.

Temperature for Seed Germination

Different seeds will germinate at different temperature, but 65F to 75F is best for most plants. Once your seeds have germinated ten degrees less is a good temperature range for growing them on until you are ready to harden them off and transplant outdoors.

Preparing Seeds for Planting

Depending on the types of seeds you're planting the seeds may require stratification, scarification or they may benefit from some soaking prior to planting. If the seed packet doesn't have recommendation on whether the seed needs scarification or stratification you can usually assume that large, hard seeds will benefit from being scarified and soaked overnight.

Moisture and Seed Starting

Keep your seeds moist once germination has started. When a seed dried out it can kill the embryo. Seeds need as much as 50% of their weight to germinate. To achieve this you need to make sure the soil is moist and the seed is in contact with the moist soil. As the soil, dries out it can wick out water from your seed and dry it out resulting in the embryo's death. Take off seed starting domes after the seeds have germinated.

Make a Seedling Watering Can

You may have noticed that using a regular watering can will splash a lot of water around that displaces your seeds and seedlings. Make yourself a little watering can out of a plastic water bottle that provides a gentle stream of water to keep seeds and seedlings in place.

When to Sow Seeds Indoors

Start your seeds 4 to 12 weeks before your last spring frost. Outdoors you can start seeds after all dangers of frost have passed.

How deep to plant seeds

The depth you plant your seeds at is very important. One rule I like to follow is to plant at 1.5 times the size of the seed. If I am direct seeds sowing and there will not be rain for a few days I will plant the seeds 2-2.5 time the size of the seed. For smaller seeds, I like to just barely cover them with a fine layer of seed starting mix, sand or vermiculite.

How to Sow Small Seeds

Tiny seeds can be quite the hassle to sow. Mix your small seeds in a container like a matchbox or a mint tin with sand or finely sifted compost to evenly space the seeds when sowing.

Direct Seed Sowing

Sowing seeds directly into the ground or containers will save you a lot of time and trouble. If you are unfamiliar with what your seedlings will look like make some collars for your seedlings out of paper tubes. When you are digging or weeding around in your garden you will know the plants growing in the paper tube collar are seedlings and not weeds.

Fuzzy White Stuff on Seed Starting Pots

When starting seeds in biodegradable materials like newspaper pots, paper tubes and peat and coir pots you may encounter a fuzzy white growth on the pots or the soil. The fuzzy white stuff growing on your pots is called mycelium, and it is pretty much harmless. It occurs and spreads when the soil and biodegradable pots are too wet and the pots too close together and there's not enough air circulation. To prevent the white fuzzy growth from occurring make sure you're not over watering and there's plenty of air circulation. Open nearby windows or install a small fan to move air. If the fungus has grown and spread you can try some home remedies like sprinkling cinnamon or watering with chamomile tea to kill it.

Homemade Cloches

Early spring temperatures can fluctuate widely and put your recently planted seedlings and transplants at risk when the temperatures dip at night. To protect your seedlings from frost and cold temperatures you can cover them with homemade cloches.

Starting Seeds Too Early

It is easy to jump the gun and want to start seeds the moment spring officially arrives on the calendar. Unless you can provide seedlings with the proper light requirements, temperature and moisture wait until the weather warms up enough. I know it is hard, but resist starting seeds too early to ensure you start your garden with healthy plants.

If you have questions about starting seeds that are not covered in these tips for beginners you can leave a comment below. Hopefully this collection of posts on how I start seeds and answers to some of the frequent questions I receive on seed starting will cover all of your questions. Answers to questions or problems on seed starting can also be found in the seed snatcher search engine. Give it a try and let me know what you think. I'll add to this post but you can also refer to the tab on seed saving for more posts on seed starting and saving.

Macy's Flower Show Goes to Brasil

2012-03-23T13:55:00.001-05:00

Earlier today I attended the press preview of the Macy's Flower Show for 2012 at the State Street store in Chicago. This year's flower show is titled Brasil: Gardens in Paradise. In previous year when I've encouraged people to attend the flower show I've been told that it wasn't necessary because they had already seen the pictures on this blog. So I'm only showing a few shots of the show because I want people to see the changes themselves and experience the gardens. Brasil takes you through a tour of gardens in the country's colonial past, arid landscape, lush tropical forest, slum gardens and modern Brazilian gardens.

The show, which was little more than floral decorating in the past- if I'm being honest, has been moved from the 1st floor to the 9th floor at the State Street store. This has brought a dramatic change. It looks like a real flower show with a display garden you can walk through. It's an experience of sights, sounds and scents. I'm a big fan of topiary; I judge flower shows by whether or not they have topiaries, and how large they are. In previous years I was charmed by the giant flamingos at Macy's, and I'm glad that this year there are two giant toucan bird topiaries at the show. Several of these were created for Macy's flagship stores across the country, but Chicago is the only location with two of them.

You enter the show through a proscenium that depicts Carnaval in Rio de Janiero, and begin the garden tour in the arid gardens. It's a wonderful collection of cacti and succulents amid a backdrop of colonial architecture.

From the desert gardens you can enter the lush, jungle interior and see vignettes like this tropical hut. You almost expect to see some villagers walk in and lay on the hammock.

There's even a tropical waterfall in the gardens. To get the design of the waterfall right the show's designers visited the Garfield Park Conservatory and studied the waterfall in the Fern Room to get it just right. A bulk of the plants from the Brasil garden show will be donated to the Garfield Park Conservatory after the show closes.

The slum gardens of Brazil were explained to us before we actually got to see them. The moment I heard "slum" I cringed internally because I was expecting poverty pimping. Once I saw what the slums looked like I felt foolish. Given that the flower show pays homage to the country's Portuguese heritage by using the Portuguese spelling of Brasil, my concern of how they'd represent the poor areas proved to be unfounded. The slum garden (not fully pictured) is very tastefully done.

Another sign that Macy's was careful and respectful of the theme is the nod to the country's present and future in this modernistic garden.

The plant selection consists of 5,500 tropical plants and 60 specimens of trees, representing more than 200 species. I won't show you all of them because you have to experience the gardens for yourself. But I will say that I was blown away by the colorful bromeliads the show is covered in.

After touring the flower show, which is more like a conservatory mixed with a natural history exhibit, you can head to the Walnut Room where the second of the toucan topiaries can be found and dine one Brazilian flank steak from March 25th through 31st and grilled pork churrasco from April 1st through 7th. The Brazilian wines and other food items are offered throughout the store. Brasil: Gardens in Paradise is located on the 9th floor of Macy's on State Street and is free to the public. The flower show runs from March 25th to April 7th. I highly recommend it. If you go to the flower show in your area this weekend I'd like to hear how different the setting is compared to the one in Chicago.

I'll leave you with one more picture of the toucan topiary. 30,000 Brazilian button flowers comprise the beak. 7,000 black Brazilian strawflowers comprise the stripe/ring around the beak.30,000 dyed magnolia leaves create the "feathers." Man, I wish I worked on the Macy's flower show so I could take home of the toucans.

'Purple Ruffles' Basil

2012-03-22T10:28:00.000-05:00

The year before last I tried to grow 'Purple Ruffles' basil from Burpee seeds which unfortunately didn't come true. The seeds did produce basil plants-they were just some genetic green basil. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. Last spring I managed to find 'Purple Ruffles' seedlings at a community garden's plant sale and purchased a few.

If you're a lover of black plants I recommend growing Ocimum basilicum 'Purple Ruffles.' The dark coloring of the fringed leaves make it perfect candidate for a Gothic garden. Normally I'd recommend growing basil from seed because it's so easy, but if you have your heart set on growing a particular cultivar I'd advise you to seek out seedlings or plants.

How to Grow 'Purple Ruffles' Basil Would you believe this is the same basil plant as the one pictured above? This basil photograph was taken in the middle of the growing season when I started to run out of room and moved 'Purple Ruffles' to a spot that was shaded by my Smart Pots container garden. After a few weeks in the shade the leaves started to lose their purple coloring and flatten out. The effect looks like my basil plant has a disease, doesn't it? When I finally noticed what was happening with my basil plant I moved it back into full sun and the leaves started to darken and ruffle by the end of the growing season when I took the top photograph. If you're growing 'Purple Ruffles' keep it in full sun and don't forget to water regularly.

'Purple Ruffles' Flavor

The flavor profile of the basil is rich and spicy. If you don't like the taste of anise or black licorice then you probably won't like the flavor of 'Purple Ruffles' either. When I decided to grow it the first time I wanted to make an oil infusion, but that never panned out. Instead I would wrap cherry tomatoes in the purple leaves and sprinkle other herbs and pop the whole "taco" in my mouth when hanging out in the garden. Provided you can buy a 'Purple Ruffles' seedling or propagate it through cutting I would recommend it for any gardener. Don't bother trying to grow 'Purple Ruffles' from seed as you can rely on them coming true. If I can find seedlings or cutting I'll be growing this basil again this year. I'm also going to star some dark opal basil from seeds. Any other dark herbs you'd recommend?

How to Sow Small Seeds

2012-03-20T13:35:00.000-05:00

The only part of starting my own plants from seeds that brings me any kind of frustration is sowing really tiny seeds. Small seeds are easy enough to handle, but if you're trying to sow seeds that are no bigger than the tip of a pencil and make sure they're distributed evenly across your soil it can be a challenge. If you're having trouble sowing tiny seeds you can use this old gardener trick.

Take a small container like a matchbox and fill it with 50% sand and 50% seeds. Close the container and gently shake it so the sand and seeds mix. For this example I used poppy seeds, but this works for smaller seeds like basil and lettuce too.

Now you can evenly distribute the seeds either directly into the soil where you want them to grow or into a seed starting pot.

Tips for Sowing Small Seeds
If you don't have sand available finely sifted seed starting mix or compost works just as well.
I used a matchbox because that's what I saw used years ago in an old garden book, and I find them quaint. But a mint container like the ones I use to collect seeds, salt shaker, and spice jar would work as long as the openings are big enough for the seed to pass through.

Benefits of Sowing Small Seeds This Way
Unless you're sitting there placing each tiny seed into your seed starting mix individually it is almost impossible to get an even distribution of small seeds. Small seeds will clump together and compete for light and space as they grow. You'll end up with lots of weaker seedlings instead of strong and healthy ones. Mixing the seeds with something like sand prior to sowing ensure the seeds have enough space to grow. You can sow small seeds using this old gardener trick when starting seeds indoors too and when you're direct seed sowing after all dangers of frost have passed in your area.

Grandpa Ott's Granddaughter

2012-03-09T09:01:00.000-06:00

This post was written for the http://mrbrownthumb.blogspot.com blog and this text of chunk is just here to attempt to thwart the feed scrappers. If you like this blog please consider subscribing via RSS at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MrBrownThumb and get the MrBrownThumb blog delivered to your inbox. You can find my gardening videos at http://youtube.com/mrbrownthumb and my gardening tweets at http://twitter.com/mrbrownthumb
I love morning glories, but there has always been one morning glory that I've never taken a liking too. Ipomoea purpurea ‘Grandpa Ott’s’ is a ubiquitous morning glory. When I started trading seeds online it was always offered, and even as a SASE seed trade you couldn't get me to take any of its seeds. I’ve always been partial to the Japanese morning glories and the more dramatic ones like ‘Sunrise Serenade.’ I guess I’m a morning glory snob.

My neighborhood has always had its share of transients, and sometimes people in the neighborhood employ them for various tasks. One such individual, who I’ll call “Speedy,” because that’s the name I knew him by, popped up one day a few years ago. He came to my attention one day while he was working on my father’s car, and soon after he was speeding around the neighborhood on a bicycle fixing, cars, radios and all manner of electronic equipment. The rumor was that he was either the son of an MIT professor or a drop out of MIT-I forget which. Speedy was a diminutive man with few teeth, balding unkept gray hair, a high-pitched nasally voice that was almost comical-and he was dirty. Not in the figurative sense, I mean in the literal sense. He prescribed to the hygiene regiment of your average homeless individual battling addiction and living on the street. The rumor was that his drug of choice was crack, though I never asked and he never explained.

If you could get past his outward appearance you’d encounter a man who was personable and obviously intelligent. His ability to quickly fix just about any car or piece of electronics using very few tools gave credence, at least in my mind, to his connection to MIT. One day while sitting on the front stairs and pondering a stack of seed packets I heard the familiar screech of Speedy’s bike tires and that funny voice ask, “Hey, is your dad home?” I looked up to find him balancing on his bike while holding onto the wrought iron fence. I shook my head to indicate he wasn’t and went back to the seed packets because I knew the next question was going to be if I could loan him a couple of dollars. I could sense him looking at me when he asked, “Whatcha got there?” I looked up again but this time I said, “Just some seeds for vine I’m thinking of planting there on the fence.” I was hoping he’d go away because I had some serious seed making decisions at hand. “Ooooooh, are you going to plant 'Grandpa Ott's,' he inquired. I shot him a look and incredulously asked, “Are you on crack? ‘Grandpa Ott’s’ in my garden?”

Almost instantly my brain registered what I had just done and I felt horrible. He either didn’t catch it or- to his credit-chose to ignore it.

Within moments Speedy was through the gate and in my yard extolling the virtues of ‘Grandpa Ott’s’ and why it deserved a place in my garden. He painted a scene of what he imagined the fencing around the garden to look like if I grew that morning glory over them. His right hand flailed about like a mad orchestra conductor as he explained how the vine would ramble over the fences. The pads of the fingers of his left hand came together and pushed apart to represent the purple flowers of vine opening up early in the morning. I was mesmerized, confused, a little bit frightened, and wished he had just asked me to loan him a couple of dollars. Almost as quickly as he was in the gate and dancing around he was gone. “Think about it, man, ‘Grandpa Ott’s’ is a beeeeeeutiful flower. You won’t regret it,” he shouted, over his shoulder, as he rode his bike away.

In the intervening 3-4 years since the day this took place I only saw him once. Aside from neighborhood gossip that he’d been beaten and robbed there hadn't been news of him. Speedy hadn’t crossed my mind until one day this winter when I received a copy of Diane Ott Whealy’s memoir, Gathering, to review.

Diane Ott Whealy co-founder of Seed Savers Exchange at Chicago Botanic Garden

I knew of Diane Ott Whealy, I certainly was familiar with ‘Grandpa Ott’s,’ and I knew she, along with her husband Ken, was a founder of Seed Savers Exchange. But I’d never made the connection prior to reading her memoir. She writes lovingly of her grandfather, Baptist John Ott, and evenings on his farm where family members would sit on a porch covered in the vine we know today as 'Grandpa Ott's.' In the book, she recalls saving the seeds along with her grandmother as an insurance measure. Some of the purple morning glory seeds were saved and others Grandpa Ott would share with family, friends and anyone who admired his prized vines. The seeds came to America with Diane’s great-grandparents when they emigrated from Bavaria.

Shortly after Diane and Ken Whealy were married, Ken asked Diane’s grandfather for some of the saved morning glory seeds. Over the ensuing years where Ken and Diane moved to in search of creating their own life the seeds went with them. One day they began to wonder if there were others like them who cherished seeds and the stories behind them. Grandpa Ott had passed away in 1974 and Diane and Ken were the only family members in possession of his seeds. That year Ken had written letters to various magazines, including Mother Earth News, after they had started to read articles that warned about the loss of genetic diversity, hoping to find like-minded individuals. Word had begun to spread about the young couple interested in preserving and swapping seeds.

In 1975 Twenty-nine gardeners from across the United States and Canada mailed in 25 cents and a large envelope to what was then known as the True Seed Exchange. The name was chosen to stress that they were trying to save heirloom seeds that produced plants that were “true” to type every year. The gardeners who replied listed their seeds and sent along letters with personal stories of the seeds. The next year the listing of seeds and members was larger and the beginning of what we know today as Seed Savers Exchange was established and starting to grow.

My gardening awakening came at an age when I was already a cynic and Grandpa Ott must have been filed away in the recesses of my mind along with the old-timey mascots for brands created by Madison Avenue to ignore.

I have memories of my grandfather coming to visit from California and unloading seeds from his pockets to plant his vegetable garden. So, why the idea of a real Grandpa Otts so inconceivable to me? After reading the memoir I came to the conclusion that it was because my grandfather lacked that nurturing gene that Diane’s obviously was born with. He never explained what he was doing when he was sowing his seeds, didn’t share stories of where they came from and didn’t, to my knowledge, share them with others in order to keep them going.

Recently, Diane gave a presentation at the Chicago Botanic Garden about the origins of Seed Savers Exchange, and I got to hear her tell the story of Grandpa Ott and those morning glory seeds in person. I asked Diane how she felt about the fact that so many commercial seed sellers are now riding the heirloom wave and selling heirlooms like ‘Grandpa Ott’s’ and watermelon ‘Moon and Stars’ (another interesting story in her memoir, btw) that originally were only available through (and because of) Seed Savers Exchange. She was very diplomatic in her answer and said that their commercial availability is just an indication that Seed Savers Exchange has fulfilled its mission to preserve heirlooms so that they’re available for future generations. Although, she did mention being in Europe once and spotting ‘Grandpa Ott’s’ in a garden and wishing that there had been an indication on the plant label of where it came from and the story. She recounted an exchange where she recommended 'Grandpa Ott's' to a gardener and was told that morning glories were too invasive. Perhaps it was just how I interpreted the story, her tone and facial expressions, but I gathered that she may have been a little offended. She showed some slides and said that the vine stayed pretty much in place in her garden.

At that moment I had a realization that I've had countless times. There are many plants I "hate" until I hear a personal story behind them. Suddenly they're not just common, boring, or weedy plants in the garden. Hearing about someone's connection to these plants puts them in a new perspective.

After reading Gathering and hearing Diane speak in person I have a whole new appreciation for the morning glory that I once turned my nose up at. The story, its importance to the founding of Seed Savers Exchange, and the impact that those morning glory seeds had on gardening took on a whole new relevance. If not for Grandpa Ott passing on those little black seeds in a white cardboard pill box how grave would the issue of genetic diversity be today? How many of the varieties of fruits and vegetables that members of Seed Savers Exchange have saved and traded would have been lost to history?

At the presentation a friend mentioned that she had no familial seed saving history so that she would have to borrow the traditions of others. Fortunately, we have Seed Savers Exchange documenting the history and tradition of seeds so that those of us without a familial history can borrow from.

I’m left to forever wonder how Speedy knew of ‘Grandpa Ott’s’ morning glory. I’ll probably never get an answer and it will bug me for a long time to come. Maybe I'll sow some of these seeds and one day there will be the familiar screech of bike brakes at the garden gate and a comment on how beautiful the 'Grandpa Ott's' blooms are.

How to Save Morning Glory Seeds

Diane Ott Whealy will be at the Chicago Flower & Garden Show on Saturday, March 10th giving a presentation. If you're in the area I recommend attending it. The following day, Sunday, I'm hosting a seed swap the show from 3-5pm outside the recreated White House kitchen garden.

Grow Lights for Indoor Seed Starting

2012-03-06T09:14:00.000-06:00

One of the most popular seed starting questions I get from people interesting in growing from seed is whether they need grow lights when starting seeds indoors. The answer to that question depends on several factors. How many seeds are you trying to start? How much money can you invest in buying grow lights? Do you have any south-facing windows? Is your season long enough for direct seed sowing in the garden? The way I see it, buying grow lights for indoor seed starting is a luxury, not a necessity.

Let me be clear. When I speak of "grow lights" I'm referring to the light bulbs, kits and setups sold specifically for seed starting. Yes, they're neat and sometimes the connection to hydroponics gardening makes them alluring. If hydroponic gardeners use grow lights for their, um, lettuce crops they must be good, right? What can be better than virtual sun lights to give your seedlings a jump start on spring?

How much do grow lights cost?

Out of curiosity I searched Google to see what the price of grow lights were nowadays and the just about choked. The hoods for grow lights alone can cost you a close to $200. Plus, the cost of the special light bulbs which can cost nearly $100 for just one bulb. Add in the cost of electricity to run grow lights from 14-16 hours a day, and those tomatoes you're growing to save money on food just got a lot more expensive.

Cheap alternatives to expensive grow lights

Nothing's cheaper than the sun when you're looking at alternatives to grow lights. I would kill for more south facing windows, but even with one small window I manage to do alright when starting seeds indoors. The majority of my seeds are started in soda bottle greenhouses outdoors, but occasionally I'll start some in the one window. The rest I sow directly in the garden after the last frost has passed. Diversifying how I start seeds helps me never feel like I have too many seeds going and since things are naturally timed to grow at different stages I never feel overwhelmed when it comes time to transplant.

If you have to-because of a short growing season or because you don't have window space-use lights to start seeds indoors opt for shoplights. For a fraction of what fancy grow lights will cost you can get a shop light and two T8 Fluorescent Light Bulbs (one cool and one warm)from the hardware store with which to start your seeds indoors. What some consider to be a downside of using shop lights is actually a benefit for seed starting. Their large size is perfect if you're trying to start a lot of seeds. Using a small grow light setup like the one pictured above you'd never get enough seeds started in time for planting even with an relatively small space garden.

Do you swear by High pressure sodium bulbs, metal halide bulbs, or even LED grow lights? If you do you can try to convince me in the comments of this post. But I doubt that I'll be swayed and switch to using grow lights to start seeds indoors. Look through my seed starting archive for more tips and posts on starting seeds. You can also search through the seed snatcher search engine to find even more articles and posts related to seed starting from all around the web.

Amaryllis cybister 'Chico'

2012-02-25T21:00:00.000-06:00

I was gifted a bulb labeled as Amaryllis cybister ‘Chico’ this year. As I’ve mentioned before, amaryllis, the name I prefer, is technically incorrect. The proper name for an amaryllis bulb is Hippeastrum. So, the proper name of Amaryllis cybister ‘Chico’ is H. cybister ‘Chico.’ There is some debate online about whether or not H. cybister ‘Chico’ is a hybrid produced by the late Fred Meyer, or just a selected clone of the species H. cybister. Honestly, after reading various websites, forums and blogs-I have no idea. Each source sways me in a different direction. What I do know is that it is the tiniest and most exotic of all the Hippeastrums I’ve ever grown myself. I can understand why it is sometimes called a “Spider Amaryllis.”

The flower pedals of ‘Chico’ are thin, red and accented with a green throat. Giving this Hippeastrum a very orchid-like appearance. Certainly a lot smaller than my Amaryllis ‘Charisma’ bulb. The bulb itself was not much larger than your standard light bulb. When the scape (flower stem) emerged it colored up a nice oxblood red color as it was exposed to sunlight.

An overhead view of the scape and blooms. Some bulbs may have more than one scape and each space may have 4-5 blooms growing on it. I kind of prefer the 4 blooms as I find that 5 per scape make it look a little “messy.”

A closer look at the top of the trumpet-shaped flower of H. cybister 'Chico' and the deep red coloring I mentioned that develops in intense light.

How to Pollinate an Amaryllis

While searching for a definitive answer on amaryllis cybister ‘Chico’ being a hybrid; I noticed a lot of amaryllis growers had questions about how to pollinate an amaryllis. And whether H.cybister 'Chico' was self-fertilize and could self-pollinate. Yes, it is self-fertile. At least from my experience growing it this year. All four of my blooms are currently swollen and producing seeds.

The other thing I learned is that the term “cybister amaryllis” or “amaryllis cybister” are trade terms. Cybisters, as a group of plants, are a separate species from their more common amaryllis cousin but, they too, originate in South America. The diminutive size of H. cybister ‘Chico’ makes is a perfect plant for a windowsill in my experience. Unlike its unruly cousins a single bulb doesn’t need a large pot and there’s not a wild mane of foliage that has to be contain either.

If you have any recommendations for cybister to grow I'm all ears.

The Pathogen in your Poinsettia

2012-02-17T10:11:00.000-06:00

Guest post: Kathie Hodge is a mycology professor in Cornell University's Dept. of Plant Pathology. She likes fungi best, and writes about them at the Cornell Mushroom Blog.

Poinsettia production greenhouse

Poinsettias are worthless as house plants, Mr. Brown Thumb told us recently. I agree they are vexing things. Soon after Christmas they grow leggy, drop their leaves, and drip white sap on my seed catalogs. Further, they're reputed to be fatal to cats (untrue!). Yet it's hard to pitch them in the trash after Christmas, because there's no truer mark of a gardener than stubborn stick-to-it-iveness.

In fact, poinsettias are only worthwhile because they are intriguingly diseased. Commercially grown poinsettias are all infected with a pathogen called a phytoplasma. It is this phytoplasma that renders them bushy, compact, and temporarily desirable. In their natural habitat in Mexico, healthy poinsettias are unkempt, leggy weeds. That's right, the best-looking poinsettias are all diseased.

The poinsettia industry is huge, especially around Christmas time. In 2010, the US poinsettia crop was worth well over $146 million (wholesale!). They're cheap, perky, and come in several colors. In my experience, it is practically impossible not to obtain one. They owe their success to a phytoplasma.

A phytoplasma is a crummy kind of bacterium, sometimes charmingly called a "mollicute." Lacking walls, it can't survive outside a living host. It's very fussy about hosts, too: your poinsettia phytoplasma will not attack your orchid or cactus or you. It lives in the phloem of the plant--the part of the vascular system that carries nutrient-filled sap. Once inside, phytoplasmas sip sap and multiply; they alter hormone balance and wreak havoc. They may not kill their hosts outright, but often induce aberrations like witch's brooms, stubbiness, and yellowing (a stubby poinsettia is a good poinsettia). But here's their slickest trick: phytoplasmas are transmitted plant-to-plant via leafhoppers.

a leafhopper: Graphocephala sp

After a sip of sap, phytoplasmas in a leafhopper's gut move into its body cells, multiply, go for rides in the circulatory system, and then settle in the salivary glands. Now leafhopper spit is infective! This infective spit spreads phytoplasmas to the next plant the leafhopper probes with its syringe-like mouth. Despite their seeming crumminess, phytoplasmas are impressively co-evolved with their bug hosts. Which leafhopper species transmits poinsettia phytoplasma? We don't know--all of today's cultivars arose from a single mysteriously infected plant in the 1920s.

Phytoplasmas cause about 600 plant diseases, abetted by their insect partners. They include Ash yellows, Hibiscus witch's broom, and X-disease of stone fruits. Many cause real economic damage-- our poinsettia phytoplasma is an anomaly in that the disease symptoms it causes are considered handsome. Incidentally, there are plenty of less handsome poinsettia diseases to make poinsettia-growing difficult-- I especially admire the powdery mildew that blotches them in snowy white. And friends, if you have one of those leggy leftover poinsettias dropping leaves and sap on your windowsill, I hereby give you permission to get rid of it.
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Mushroom in my yard.

I enjoy Professor Hodge's postings at Cornell Mushroom Blog. I'm no mycologist. Honestly, my interests in fungi is proportional to how "weird" they are, or how much they appeal to my juvenile sense of humor. Ahem. Recently I commented on the professor's blog and she emailed to mention that she had recently been at this blog to read about houseplants. In our email exchanged she told me part of the story on the pathogen that make poinsettia look so bushy so I asked her to guest post here. Over at the Cornell Mushroom Blog I recommend reading: Evening glow, Puffballs at my mulch, and The Lichens of Tower Road among other entries. Thanks for the informative post.

What Does "P.V.P" on Seed Packets Mean?

2012-02-14T10:00:00.000-06:00

I love seed packets almost as much as I love the seeds inside. Sometimes I purchase a seed packet just because I like the photo or seed packet design and I have no intention of ever growing the seeds. My seed keeping bin is stuffed with old seed packs of some seeds I've sown and packs that are there just as curios. Take, for example, this seed packet for ‘Lumina’ pumpkin. In the upper-right corner of the seed pack you’ll note that “P.V.P” is printed on the seed packet next to the name.

One year at a seed swap a gardener made a big deal about someone bringing F1 hybrid tomato seeds. It was a ridiculous scene to have to witness at an event like a seed swap. There’s nothing inherently wrong with F1 hybrids, if they’re not genetically modified. I felt really bad for the gardener with the hybrid seeds. He didn't seem to know any better. Since it wasn’t my seed swap I decided I should leave before I lost my cool and confronted the obnoxious seed purist. Then I witnessed a lady pull out the packet of ’Lumina’ pumpkin seeds. The first thing that caught my attention was the ghostly white skin of the pumpkin. The second thing I noticed was the “P.V.P” designation. Considering what had just transpired over an F1 hybrid I made the lady an offer for her seed pack and stuffed it into my jacket before anyone noticed what she was about to set on the table. Hopefully she didn't have any more P.V.P seed packs and she wouldn’t get publicly dressed down after I was gone.

What does P.V.P on the seed packs mean?
The Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Act was enacted to "encourage the development of novel varieties of sexually reproduced plants" by granting plant breeders with exclusive marketing rights for their creations in the United States. The act was enacted on December 24, 1970 after several unsuccessful attempts were made in the 1960's to enact something similar. There are certain requirements that a variety must meet in order to be certified, but once they are met the Certificate of Protection remains covers the plant for 18 years from the date it was issued.

As of summer 1992 there had been over 2,700 Certificates of Protection issued to over 1000 crops. Within 24 months of the filing the application 75% percent of those certificates had been issued. [source]

According to the Plant Variety Protection ACT FAQ produced by the Colorado State University Extension, "It is the responsibility of the seller to inform the buyer if a variety is protected. Seed containers should be labeled indicating the type of protection for which the owner has applied. If the owner of the variety has chosen to sell either uncertified or certified seed, the label should state "Unauthorized propagation prohibited--U.S. protected variety." This statement, or others similar to it as defined in the act, is sufficient notification of protection. If the seed is purchased in bulk, the appropriate statement should be printed on the bulk sales certificate."

The back of this 'Lumina’ seed packet reads, "P.V.P signifies that Lumina is protected by the Plant Variety Protection Act so producing the seed for sale without permission is illegal." Olds Garden Seed, who produced this seed packet, is following the letter of the law.

Who's down with P.V.P?!?!
If you're the kind of gardener who bristles at the mention of Monsanto and genetically modified organisms, chances are that plant varieties protected by patent don't sit well with you either. Although, as a gardener that likes new and interesting varieties of plants I can appreciate the need for plant breeders to be compensated and have their work protected. But patenting plants seems a little naughty; it is after all nature we're talking about. If you, as a home gardener, were to save seeds from a P.V.P the seed police wouldn't kick down your door and drag you away. There is also some leeway given to farmers that allows them to save some of the P.V.P seed produced by bulk seeds they buy.

How do you avoid P.V.P seeds?
The easiest way is not to buy seeds with are identified as P.V.P. Reputable seed sellers will clearly mark seed packs as illustrated above. But as the seed industry continues to shift towards selling seeds online this may be difficult unless you call your seed company and ask if the seed variety you're interested in is P.V.P protected.

While researching this post I came across Botanical Interests' online seed catalog listing for 'Lumina' pumpkin. Their webpage didn't indicate whether the seed was P.V.P protected or not. I called and spoke to Michelle in customer service just to make sure the patent hadn’t expired, withdrawn, or been abandoned. Michelle put me on hold while she consulted with their seed buyer and confirmed that it was still protected by P.V.P and said that the listing would be updated to reflect that.

Similarly, Burpee's listing for 'Lumina' pumpkin on their online seed catalog doesn't make mention of the seeds P.V.P protection. There are other seed sellers online who don't make mention of 'Lumina' being P.V.P protected, but since I've recently recommended these seed sellers I feel I should make mention of them specifically. Maybe it isn't that big of a deal, but I think that we, gardeners, should respectfully demand transparency from our seed sellers, and ask they give us the information we need so we can make informed decisions that coincide with our ideals. Furthermore, we should allow them the opportunity to correct oversights in their listings. When we know better we buy better.

Give Seeds Instead of Roses This Valentine's Day

2012-02-07T10:43:00.000-06:00

In Radical Gardening author George McKay quotes a Colombian activists as saying, “Behind every beautiful flower is a death. Flowers grow beautiful while women wither away.” She is speaking to western buyers on behalf of the 40,000 women that work in the Colombian cut flower trade. According to this CNN article, the United States imports more than 80% of its Valentine's Day roses. Most of them imported from Columbia and Ecuador. In the language of flowers, roses symbolize love and passion. The gifting of roses on Valentine’s Day will probably lead to many Valentine’s Day babies nine months from now, but will anyone involved in the ritual stop and think of the women withering away behind every stem rose? Giving seeds for plants that symbolize love and romance is a way to participate in Valentine’s Day that is slightly more sustainable and will create a connection to nature that will last longer than a week.*

Many seed packets are just as decorative as Valentine’s Day cards, and you can present your seed packets in creative ways to show that there’s some thought behind the gesture.

With an knife you can hollow out a box of chocolates and transform it into a gift box for seeds that express your feelings for your valentine. 'Loves Lies Bleeding' from Renee's Garden on the left and 'Heart Seed' from the Hudson Valley Seed Library on the right.

'Love in a Mist' beautifully rendered by the Hudson Valley Seed Library on the left. The old-fashioned flowers of 'Bachelor Button' get an update and serve as commentary of our modern times on the right. Saving 'Bachelor Button' seeds is really easy, BTW.

Adding to the list of seeds that mean love and romance, (or fit the Valentine's Day theme) and can be given in lieu of roses: 'Black Valentine' beans, Sweet peas 'Queen of Hearts', 'Exotic Love Vine', sunflower 'Valentine'. 'Forget-Me-Nots,' Lovage, and the green 'Love Lies Bleeding'.

If we were to examine the seed industry we would likely find that the conditions of workers in the trade where not that different from those of the cut flower industry*. But I feel that seeds are a gateway to living a life that is in tune with our communities, ourselves, and ultimately with nature- and the people we share this planet with. You can profess your love and devotion for your valentine this year by opting out of buying roses this Valentine's Day and instead giving seeds. Not only will the gift show that you've put thought and have an interest in the recipient's passion for gardening, but the resulting flowers will last longer than a bouquet of cut roses ever will If you have any suggestions for seeds and seed companies to buy from this Valentine's Day you can leave them in the comments below.

Miniature Gardening is a Real Trend

2012-01-30T12:03:00.000-06:00

Recently there's been a lot of talk about garden trends for 2012. While I find that many of those trends are more like people trying to make fetch happen, the talk about miniature gardening is the real deal. Back in November of 2011 I wrote about fairy gardening bringing miniature plants back in style. Since then I've seen examples of miniature and fairy gardens on television, print and on the Internet. Take this photo for example.

Photo Copyright Reddit user, wwjdforaklondikebar. Used with permission.

This miniature garden was created out of a broken terracotta pot. The garden inside consists of a small fern, a strawberry begonia, two clumps of mondo grass and some Norfolk island sapplings. It is top dressed with moss, pebbles and three decorative bird houses and some pieces of bark.

While this garden in a container is really nice, what's newsworthy is where I found it. On the morning of January 13, 2012 it made the front page of Reddit. For those that don't know, Reddit is a social news website where entries are submitted by members and voted up or down. To make it to the front page of the site is an accomplishment that some members, marketers and publicists would kill for. Why? Reddit's traffic is huge. Reddit is one of the most popular websites on the Internet. It is described as the "front page of the Internet" because if it's popular or newsworthy and it being discussed on the site. A lot of online activism (like the recent anti-SOPA campaign) and Internet jokes originate there. The demographics of the average Reddit user is a single 20-something American male. Many of the comments on the entry mentioned that the miniature garden was evocative of an Ewok village, others joked about killing plants or being dragged to the garden center by their girlfriend to make a terrarium.

The gardening industry is twisting itself into knots trying to figure out how to attract young gardeners. This example of a miniature garden making it to the front page of a site populated by young American males shows that it is possible. You just have to know their language, where they hang out and what appeals to them. The garden was created by a 27-year-old garden center employee in Louisiana.

TL;DR. A 27-year-old girl makes miniature garden from a broken pot. Posts it on Reddit and a bunch of guys upvote her to the front page above funny videos, pictures, video game and political news. Proving young people are interested in gardening and that miniature gardening is a real trend.

The Seed Sharer

2012-01-16T10:48:00.000-06:00

I'm always looking for ways to store seeds I saved from my garden and creative ways to share seeds with other people. When I see a product my mind automatically finds a way that I can put it to use saving and storing seeds. The seed organizer made from a plastic shoe box is one example. Another would be the pocket seed banks made from candy tins. When I saw this container of candy sprinkles for baking I thought it would be a great way to make a gift of some seeds from my garden. After removing all the sprinkles The Seed Sharer was born.

My label on the top of the container is a little crude. You can a nicer label for your Seed Sharer with a printer or by hand if you have nice penmanship. I had neither so I cut out the logo of a seed packet from One Seed Chicago, a greening project I work on that gives away free seeds to gardeners in Chicago.

This Seed Sharer container has five chambers that I filled with seeds. Blackberry lily, Christmas Lima Beans, scarlet runner beans, snack sunflower seeds, 'White Wonder' cucumber, and nasturtium seeds.

I've used a few of these containers to share seeds before and I really liked this particular one because it had two options for the opening that allowed for shaking out small and large seeds.

Besides using these containers to share garden seeds I think they'd be a great option in creating a personal seed bank. This year while updating my seed trade list I realized that I had several seeds that I meant to sow for a school garden's seed library that I'm working on that I never got around to. Keeping them in The Seed Sharer will remind me to sow them this spring because they won't be hidden away in the seed organizer. For more seed saving and seed starting posts see the seed saving page on this blog.

The Real Gardens of Downton Abbey

2012-01-05T21:30:00.000-06:00

Back in October You Grow Girl posted about some issues of Garden News a friend had brought her after a recent visit to England. I commented on the post after visiting the link to GardenNews, a weekly newspaper about gardening, that I wished I was in England because the next issues were about “The Real Gardens of Downton Abbey,” and being a superfan of the show I was really interested in reading them. The next day I awoke to an Email. It was Lindsey Holmes, Editorial Assistant at Bauer Media, which publishes Garden News, asking for my address so she could send me the issues.

Within a few days both of the issues were in my mailbox and were as good as I was hoping they would be. It was interesting to read about the gardens I just knew where there, even if we don't see them during filming. Downton Abbey is filmed in Highclere Castle in Berkshire. The current Lady Carnarvon is in the process of creating gardens that are historically accurate to Highclere, which was designed by Charles Barry, who also designed the House of Parliament at the same time.

Lady Carnarvon and the 8th Earl of Carnarvon took over Highclere 10 years ago. An avid gardener, Lady Carnarvon is eager to turn the gardens into a destination for gardeners, regardless of the castle's connection to Downton Abbey.

The castle sits on 1,000 acres of parkland that was originally designed by Capability Brown at the end of the 18th century. A new arboretum, borders and 15,000 bulbs have been planted by Lord Carnarvon. According to Jim Carter, who plays the butler, is an avid gardeners but says the gardens are out of bounds when Downton Abbey is being filmed. Although, there are hours and tour dates so that people can tour the gardens.

Aside from the parkland and arboretum, the gardens are split into two distinct parts, The Monk's Garden and The Secret Garden.

Lady Carnarvon, who is interviewed for the article, comes across as someone who values tradition and restoring trees and plants that would've been planted when originally landscaped. There are no vegetables grown there, but fruit trees like peaches, nectarines, medlar, and quince trees are grown in the glasshouse.

In the era that Downton Abbey takes place a shift in gardening had occurred that did away with the garish Victorian bedding and mass borders. The preferred landscaping style took advantage of herbaceous borders of shrubs and used perennials and annuals to provide a more relaxed year-round interest in the garden.

Technological and scientific innovations lead to understanding that diseases like potato blight were caused by a fungus. Improvements in greenhouse technology and boiler designs enabled fruit and vegetable production to occur year-round. The artificial fertilizer industry hadn't yet developed for these Edwardian gardeners, but the gardeners at Downton Abbey would've followed a strict fertilizer regiment that used bird droppings, known as guano, from South America. These advances lead to an explosion in the number of mail order gardening companies that supplied seeds, garden tools, equipment and garden furniture.

Besides a tour of the gardens the article also gave some tips on how to achieve the style of the era, but I was particularly interested in the use of houseplants, which the article didn’t cover. So, one week while I rewatched season one of Downton Abbey I made sure to take note of the use of plants indoors. The plants used in the show aren’t much home to write about, most of them are the plants that what is currently in fashion at big box stores. Sansevieria (snake plant, mother-in-law’s tongue), assorted ferns, palms, and maybe a clivia or two. The weight of providing color and interest indoors is carried by cut flowers and a few potted annuals. What I found interesting while playing houseplant bingo was that most of the plants are placed in what I would think to be areas that are too dark for their long-term care. The brightest areas of the house, that we see on television, seem devoid of living plants altogether.

About Garden News
Garden News is a fantastic gardening publication. I wish we had a weekly newspaper in America devoted to gardening. The garden advice is practical and informative without being underestimating the reader's intelligence. The issues I own cover everything imaginable under the category of gardening. From bulbs to giant vegetables. I'm amazed at just how much information and photographs they are able to pack into it. If American gardening magazines were relied less on trends, outdoor rooms and style maybe I'd read more of them.

Downton Abbey season 2 premiers this weekend on PBS stations in America? Are you a fan?

The Best Garden Seed Catalogs

2011-12-28T22:28:00.000-06:00

You can tell a lot about a gardener by walking through their garden, but if you really want to get to know a gardener take a peek inside their mailbox during seed catalog season. Seed catalogs are more than just a listing of the current offerings of a particular seed company, at least the good one are. They’re archives of common names, a seed’s history in gardens, and instruction manuals. Seed catalogs are also passports that allow gardeners to travel to distant lands, and teleport months ahead in time and imagine what the next growing season will be like as they flip through the pages. A handful of seed catalogs will let you know if the gardener prefers heirlooms, vegetables and herbs, or ornamentals and the year’s fanciest hybrids.

Like with so much else in life, technology is displacing the need for printed catalogs because a company can just list their seed selection on their website. Add to that the rising costs of doing business, the consolidation of seed companies, and the pickings can seem slim if you prefer printed seed catalogs. Fortunately, if you know where to look (and are willing to pay a few dollars in some cases) you can still participate in the tradition and escapism that is a seed catalog.

Below is a listing of printed seed catalogs that I recommend. The seed catalogs range from heirloom vegetables and herbs for the traditionalist. Exotic fruits, vegetables, and herbs from around the world for the adventurous gardener. Flowers and grasses that attract wildlife to our garden. This is by no means an all-inclusive list, but rather, a sampling of seed catalogs that I think (based on my experience) you’d enjoy. visit the seed company's website to request a catalog. Some may be free, others may cost a few dollars or only be shipped with an order.

http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net
http://www.rareseeds.com (Baker creek Heirloom Seeds)
http://www.johnnyseeds.com
https://www.superseeds.com (Pinetree Garden Seeds)
https://www.botanicalinterests.com
http://www.highmowingseeds.com
http://www.kitazawaseed.com
http://www.seedsavers.org
http://www.rhshumway.com
http://www.territorialseed.com
http://www.landrethseeds.com
http://www.burpee.com

What does my list of seed catalogs say about me? What kind of gardener do you reckon I am, or wish I was? Are there any printed seed catalogs that you’d recommend for me after viewing my list? Feel free to drop your suggestion in the comments, or share your experience with any of these seed catalogs that you think other gardeners would find helpful.

Note: you can find these seed companies and more listed in my Seed Snatcher search engine. It is a search engine powered by Google that only displays the results that I carefully select. These sources are websites, blogs, forums, and articles about everything related to seed companies, how-to seed sowing and saving articles.

Seed Packs As Stocking Stuffers

2011-12-15T17:04:00.000-06:00

The proverb, “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime” applies to gardeners too. While you can give several houseplants for the holidays, giving a gardener (or potential gardener) a pack of seeds can lead them down a path of self-exploration, garden activism, an understanding of their role as stewards of heirloom plants in the garden, and within their community. Seed packs make great stocking stuffers because they are relatively inexpensive. There are a few seed companies that really produce seed packs that can capture the imagination and inspire a gardener to get their hands in the dirt. Below are four examples of seed companies that create exceptional seed packs that you can stuff a gardener’s stocking with this Christmas.

The Hudson Valley Seed Library’s seed packs are my favorite seed packs. Each seed pack is a unique piece of art created by an artist that enters a yearly call for artists. The mediums used to create the artwork for each seed pack varies from artist to artist. As does how each artist chooses to represent the seeds inside. Sometimes they’re graphics, paintings, or illustrations that interpret of the plant’s name. A handful of seed packs from the Hudson Valley Seed Library is like holding an art exhibit in the palm of your hand.

Botanical Interests seed packs are similarly artistic. The front of each seed pack is decorated with an original botanical illustration by one of a handful of botanical illustrators contracted by the seed company to produce the artwork for the seed packs. On the surface the illustrations may all look alike but after you’ve examined a few seed packs you start to develop an eye for identifying which artist created the artwork for the seed pack.

Renee’s Garden seed packs have been decorated by botanical illustrations since Renee founded her first seed company, Shepherd's Garden Seeds. Mimi Osborne, a botanical illustrator, has designed every seed packet for Renee's Garden. Mimi's illustrations of plants, flowers and vegetables have graced the seed packets for over 25 years. Renee decided to use illustrations instead of photographs before it became stylish for modern seed companies because she believed that sometimes the stock photos could be misleading to the gardener.

The Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company has two types of seed packs. The light seed packs are usually an illustration, while the black seed packs, like the one pictured above, use photographs of the fruits or vegetables. Both seed packs are larger than standard seed packs but the black ones are my favorite because they’re so striking and not as feminine as say the art for Renee’s Garden or Botanical Interests.

Tips on Buying Seeds.
Around the holidays Renee’s usually has sale and the sale’s coupon code is posted on her online seed catalog. Botanical Interests includes a free desk calendar featuring botanical illustrations with online orders during specific dates in December. If you are buying seeds for a gardener and don’t trust your tastes to match up with those of the recipient you can give them a gift certificate to one of the companies or a membership, in the case of the Hudson Valley Seed Library, and let them choose the seeds they want to grow. If you’re on a budget save on shipping by buying Renee’s Garden, Botanical Interests and Baker Creek Seeds at finer independent garden centers near you.

There are many fine seed companies that carry heirloom seeds that you can buy from to fill stockings with during Christmas, these are just some of my favorites because their seed packs are beautiful. For a more personal touch you can gift gardeners seeds you saved from your own garden and create your own unique seed packs. What’s important in the act of giving seeds is that you’re passing on history and inspiration to a fellow gardener. Substituting candies and chocolates with seed packs in the stocking of a child can teach them the benefits of healthy eating and an appreciation of nature. Using seeds as stocking stuffers can demonstrate that you're paying attention to a gardener's interest by gifting them something they actually want and need.

Do you give seeds during the holidays? What are your favorite seeds to include in stockings?

Houseplants to Grow or Give on the Holidays

2011-12-04T18:00:00.000-06:00

Houseplants are great any time of the year, but the holiday season gives us an opportunity to buy a plant to decorate a corner of the home or office. Commercial plant growers and garden retailers realize that the allure of a green or flowering plant this time of year is too much to resist. A handful of houseplants make popular gift ideas for gardeners and party hosts, because they're affordable and considered disposable after the holidays. With some knowledge you can select a good houseplant for yourself or one you can give as a gift to a gardener. Below are some of the more popular holiday houseplant options and some information on how to grow and care for them.

Norfolk Island Pine
Araucaria heterophylla is the botanical name for the Norfolk Island pine. The common name comes from Norfolk Island where it was discovered in the South Pacific. It may look like a pine tree growing outdoors but this plant wouldn't survive a real winter outdoors. Plants available during the holidays can range in size from a few inches to a couple of feet in height and resemble Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. You'll often find them festooned with Christmas decorations at garden centers during the holidays. They thrive in bright light with only a couple of hours of direct sunlight a day. Ideal temperatures indoor range from 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit with high humidity. Dead branches and dropping needles are a sign of dry air, poor circulation and too warm a location in winter. During spring and summer, and fall keep the plant moderately damp. Keep drier in the winter months

Mediterranean Cypress
Another popular plant around this time of year because of it's Christmas tree-like appearance. The general consensus arrived at after consulting with a group of garden center owners is that there are several varieties and cultivars in the genus Cupressus available as holiday houseplants. Whatever cypress made to look like a miniature Christmas tree you buy; the one constant for them is that they're non-winter-hardy varieties. Like the Norfolk Island pine they like bright light but cooler temperatures ranging from 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of this ideal indoor temperature range cypresses don't make good indoor plants. Yes, they look like cute miniature trees, but they'll easily dry out and die in a warm home environment. If kept warm during the winter keep the soil moist to prevent it from drying out. If kept cool water sparingly and keep uniformly damp.

Rosemary
The popular garden herb, rosemary, is another shrubby plant sold during the holidays. The majority of these plants may clipped and shaped into triangular shapes or grown as standard topiary or clipped to look like conifers. While it may thrive in the hot conditions of the summer garden that emulate its Mediterranean origins, indoors those same conditions are a death sentence for this plant. When overwintering rosemary indoors it prefers a bright, cool location with good air circulation. The only time I've successfully overwintered rosemary I did so in an unheated room where temperatures stayed around 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit. If you keep your rosemary in a warm location the soil should remain evenly moist and prevented from drying out.

Amaryllis
The genus Hippeastrum is most commonly known as Amaryllis. These bulbs are native to central and south America and are non-hardy. You'll find them available as bare bulbs, as Amaryllis bulb kits with a soil disk, or with a vase and stones that you're suppose to add water to. The Amaryllis pictured above is 'Minerva' but you'll find many cool cultivars like 'Charisma.' The soil disks that come with the bulb kits are usually made from cocoa coir. You can use this as a potting medium or opt to plant the bulb your favorite potting soil mix. When blooming the bulbs are usually too heavy for the plastic pots that come with the kit. Plant your bulb in a heavier pot to keep it upright. If the light from your window isn't bright enough the scape (flower stalk) and leaves will lean or flop to the sides. When the bulb receives plenty of sun the scape and leaves are a deep green color and remain upright. If the bulb isn't getting enough sun the leaves and stem will be a light green and the scape tilts towards the light source and leaves will splay. When you get your bulb plant it in the potting mix of your choice and place it in a warm location to break the bulb's dormancy. Fertilizing new bulbs isn't a necessity when you buy them as they come prepared to bloom when you buy them. See the link for 'Charisma' for video instructions on planting your bulb. In my observation the flowers last longer when they're kept cool and 60 degrees Fahrenheit seems to be an ideal temperature to prolong the life of the flower. After the bulb has stopped blooming you can move it to a warmer location and treat it like the rest of your houseplants.

Schlumbergera
There are a lot of options available in the "Holiday Cactus" department this time of year. Whether it's a Christmas Cactus or a Thanksgiving Cactus the care for them are pretty much the same. The Schlumbergera genus is native to South America where these epiphytic plants grow on trees or rocky crevasses in areas that are humid and shaded. A bright window in a cool room ( 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit) where the plant doesn't get much direct sunlight is an ideal location to prolong the blooming period. If you move a plant that's setting buds into a room that's very warm the plant may drop all of its buds. If you forget to water your plants for a couple of days the plants themselves are very forgiving, but you may lose all of your flowers or some stems may fall off the plant. You can propagate your "Holiday Cactus" by planting these segments and whole stems that fall off.

Bulbs for Forcing Indoors
Alongside the Amaryllis kits you may find kits for bulbs like tulips, hyacinths daffodils and potted cyclamens. The tulips, daffodils and hyacinths are all outdoor bulbs that bloom in the spring but have undergone an artificial cold period to prepare them for indoor forcing during the winter. These bulbs either come bagged in or as kits with a vase and stones you add water too and place the bulbs in. They're not meant to last longer than the couple of weeks it takes the bulbs to sprout and flower. After the blooming has occurred they're usually tossed in the garbage or compost pile because the bulb has used up its energy during blooming. Although, if you manage you keep the bulbs alive until spring you can attempt to plant them in your garden where they may or may not recuperate and bloom the following year. For the best results with these blooms emulate the conditions of spring indoors and keep them in a cool location (50-60 degrees Fahrenheit) where they get bright, indirect sunlight. A warm location will cause the bulbs to grow rapidly and flop over. Warm temperatures will also cut the blooming period by as much as half. Too much direct sunlight will encourage algae in the water, but not enough sunlight will and the flower stem and leaves will be light-colored and weak.

Florist cyclamen are another popular plant available during the winter months. The flat tubers come potted and prepared for blooming. Choose a plant that hasn't opened up all of its blooms yet and keep it in a cool location. If the room you place yours in is kept at temperatures higher than 70 degrees Fahrenheit your cyclamen will not be very happy. They like bright winter light indoors and consistently moist soil- too wet and the tuber will rot. Avoid watering the center of the tuber by sitting the pot in a saucer of water so that it soaks up water from the bottom or water along the edge of the pot. After blooming the leaves will turn yellow, this is a sign of the tuber going dormant. Most people toss or compost the plant at this point.

Poinsettia
Ugh. Just don't. Poinsettias are ugly plants. If someone gives you a poinsettia during the holidays take it into another room and toss it out the window into the cold, freezing air and allow it to die. Alternately, you can wrap it gift wrap in the other room and hand it back to the poinsettia-giver to take home as they walk out the door. If you insist on keeping a poinsettia (and I don't know why you would) you'll need to provide temperatures between 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit and very bright light. Low light will cause the lower leaves of the plant to drop until you have only a few leaves at the tip of the plant. If the plant is exposed to drafts from either the outside or heating vents the leaves will also fall off. Check the soil daily and when it is dry to the touch give it a good drink of water. Unless you've pampered your plant once spring rolls around you'll have a leggy, leafless plant that barely resembles the full and colorful bush you received for Christmas.

Whichever of these holiday houseplant you choose to buy or give during the holidays the most important thing to consider is the temperature of the room. Provide cooler temperatures and your houseplants will grow slower, extend the life of the blooms and you'll water a little less. The second most important thing to consider is removing the foil wrappers that many of these pots come covered in. They may make look holiday houseplants look more attractive but they will collect water which could lead to root rotting and wetter soil that gnats will thrive in. Finally choose a holiday houseplant based on gardener who will be growing it and the conditions they will be able to provide. Forced bulbs and poinsettias may be good candidates for gardeners who don't want to make a commitment to a plant for longer than a couple of months. Indoor gardeners with limited space may appreciate one of the Christmas or Thanksgiving Cactus plants available or an Amaryllis bulbs. While an indoor gardener who also has outdoor space may be able to give a rosemary topiary, Mediterranean cypress or Norfolk Island pine a sunny spot outdoors in the spring and summer.

Radical Gardening and #OccupyGardens

2011-11-22T15:04:00.001-06:00

Once while riding in a car I saw a ‘Keep Your Laws Off My Body” bumper sticker and inside my head I shouted back “Keep Your Politics Out Of My Garden!” I surprised myself because in my youth I’d been anything but apolitical. I’d participated in rallies, marches, protests, voter registration drives and volunteered on a political campaign before I was old enough to vote myself. Perhaps I was burnt-out on politics after being immersed in it at an early age. The last place I thought politics belonged was in the garden.

Recently I came across a mention of the book Radical Gardening: Politics, Idealism & Rebellion in the Garden by George McKay. Intrigued by the title and cover I sent off a request to the publisher for a review copy which they granted me. After reading this book I’ve come to the realization that my opinion that gardening should be free of the political is myopic to say the least. Gardens and the gardened landscapes are deeply rooted (ugh) in the political. George McKay uses historical examples to illustrate an "intimate relationship between politics, social change and landscape or garden" many of which mirror those taking place today.

The chapter on green and open spaces and their uses in protests reminds me of the #OccupyWallStreet movement. Victorian public parks were intended to "improve" the park users and to encourage local pride and patriotism. The parks weren't about public health, as much as public order. Statues of the Queen, Prince Albert, local dignitaries and benefactors stood high above parks so they could be looked up to physically and metaphorically. The parks were seen as a place where the affluent and the working class could mix and hopefully the contact with the affluent would rub off on the working class. Ironically, while public open spaces were seen as a way to civilize the working class, their nature allowed them to be used for demonstrations and civil unrest.

When #OccupyWallStreet took "Zuccotti Park" in Lower Manhattan issues of the park’s ownership, the effect of the protesters on safety and public health were raised echoing the same complaints raised in the book about demonstrators using Hyde Park.

The violent reaction to 'Occupy' events across the country have a striking resemblance to the reaction against the People's Park at the University of California at Berkeley in 1969 discussed in the book.

Pepper Spray Cop Visits My Garden

On October 8th I started the #OccupyGardens hashtag on Twitter as a tongue-in-cheek way to motivate me to do fall garden cleanup and save seeds from my garden. The more I thought about it I started to wonder why the ‘Occupy’ movement didn't address the issues of public spaces, vegetable gardening and seed saving as a means of self-sufficiency. 'Growing a garden has become-at least potentially-an act of resistance. But it's not simply a gesture of refusal. It's a positive act. It's praxis,' explains George McKay.

Since I started using #OccupyGardens as a way to express that we need to spend time outdoors, rethink what we personally, and a society, value I've seen two instances of gardens and gardening being incorporated in 'Occupy' demonstrations and I'm glad that people are realizing there's a connection between gardens and what the 'Occupy' movements across the globe want to achieve.

After Arizona passed SB 1070 I joined the boycott of the state. This year in the garden I grew several vegetable crops that the state exports as part of my boycott. I haven’t mentioned it to anyone because I thought a ‘protest garden’ as small as mine is was silly. When I read the 'Planting as a form of protest' quote by Paul Gough in Radical Gardening it gave my idea validity and I understood that next year it has to be bigger. Gardens have never been apolitical...

'If I sowed, planted or dealt in seeds; whatever I did had first in view the destruction of infamous tyrants.' William Cobbett, 1819.

... my instance that they be came from a "parochial or suburban or landed versions of garden understanding." Gardens don't have to be a place of repose to forget the realities of our lives and society. If gardens are extensions of our homes and ourselves then they too can embody the politics of our existence.

In the forward to the book George writes: “My hope is that you will find something new here, thought-provoking, inspiring, and that you will experience the sense of excitement I did on learning about the ways the generous space of the garden can have political resonance.” Radical Gardening has done just that for me. It has opened my eyes and given me new insight into what a garden is and what it can mean, celebrate and how it can be approached. I can't recommend Radical Gardening more, it is a fascinating look at the way gardens have shaped people, communities, policies and land use. It explores areas such as public parks, Utopian societies, organics and permaculture, community gardens and garden design.

George McKay is a leading British author on aspects of alternative culture through music, protest and lifestyle. He is Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Salford. You can visit his website (where he regretfully doesn’t blog about his garden) and you can buy his book Radical Gardening on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Edit: Over on Google+ someone shared one of the #OccupyGardens images I posted that reads The only banks that have your best interests in mind are seed banks. A person asked "who controls the seed banks?" The truth is that we can control the seed banks by creating personal seed banks, seed lending libraries and saving our own seeds, and hosting seed swaps in our own communities.

"Christmas Cactus" Blooms, Care and Identification

2011-11-16T18:17:00.000-06:00

November is the time of year we start to complain about how early Christmas music and decorations show up all around us. In the indoor garden it is the time when gardener's thoughts turn to Christmas & "Thanksgiving Cactus" blooms, or why your Holiday Cactus is not blooming. If your "Christmas Cactus" is setting buds or blooms right now, you may not have a true "Christmas Cactus" at all. So, how do you know which of the Schlumbergera you're growing? How do you make your "Christmas Cactus" bloom? And Can you grow more plants from cuttings of your "Christmas Cactus?"

"Christmas Cactus" or "Thanksgiving Cactus?"
Before trying to under why your "Christmas Cactus" isn't blooming or figuring out how to force your plant to bloom you have to identify which of the Schlumbergera you're growing. Do the leaves of your "Christmas Cactus" have pointed edges? Do the flowers of the cactus droop down from the ovary like in the picture above? Is it setting buds or flowering in early to mid November? If you answered to all of these questions then you can say with 99% certainty that you are growing Schlumbergera truncata, also known as "Thanksgiving Cactus." As explained in the post, Not Your Grandmother's Christmas Cactus, the true "Christmas Cactus" is Schlumbergera x buckleyi and usually isn't found in big box garden centers and greenhouses for sale around the holidays. It's easier for commercial plant growers to propagate, grow and prepare Schlumbergera truncata to bloom in time for holiday sales. They may even come with a generic "Holiday Cactus" label. A "Christmas Cactus" is easily identified by the segments of the leaves because it doesn't have pointed edges and the blooms don't curve down from the ovary like the "Thanksgiving Cactus."

How to Make Your "Christmas Cactus" Bloom.
The post, How to Make Your Christmas Cactus Bloom, covered the methods indoor gardeners can use to make their Christmas Cactus bloom in time for the holidays. In short: blooms are triggered by the cooler temperatures and longer nights. If you grow your "Thanksgiving Cactus" outdoors during the spring and summer it should naturally start to develop flower buds as summer ends and autumn arrives. If you brought your plant indoors too soon or kept it indoors all year you may still be able to trigger a flowering period in time for the Christmas and New Years. Place the plant in a cool location where the temperatures are around 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. This could be in a separate room, an enclosed porch, a garage, a cool windowsill or a basement. The plant will need darkness for about 12 hours to set blooms, you may have to put your lights on a timer or avoid turning on the lights in the room from the hours of 8pm-8am if it is in a room you use. If the only light your plant receives is natural sunlight from a window the longer night period will happen naturally. Once the flower buds have set on your plant keep it in the same location until they begin to open up. If you move the plant to warm location to enjoy it before the buds have opened the plant may drop all the flower buds and all your work will have been for nothing.

"Christmas Cactus" Cuttings and Pollination.
Propagating succulents is easy-anyone can do it. You can propagate succulents from leaf cuttings and from stem cuttings like I did with the Jades. Schlumbergera being succulents are just as easy to propagate from a cutting you take or from the stems and branches that may naturally break and fall off the plant. Once you have a leaf segment or a stem set it somewhere for a couple of days and allow the cut end to dry and insert it into a pot with a well-draining potting soil mix like in either of the examples linked above. While cuttings are the easiest way too make more plants from your "Christmas Cactus" you can also pollinate the blooms of your "Christmas Cactus" and save and sow the seeds from the fruit that develops.

Even though Schlumbergera truncata is passed off as "Christmas Cactus" by big box retailers and a lot of the times just given the "Holiday Cactus" moniker it is still a nice plant to have around. In my experience these plants take a lot of neglect and still manage to produce beautiful blooms just as we need them most during the early, dark days of winter. You can extend the life of the blooms of your Schlumbergera by keeping the potting soil evenly moist and the temperatures of the room it is residing in on the cooler side. Let the plant dry out too much while it is setting buds or flowering and the buds and flowers may fall off. Don't worry about a few leafs or stems that may fall off of your plant. Take advantage of these pieces of the plant to propagate more plants. If you need an indoor gardening project to take your mind off of winter try your luck at hand-pollinating the blooms.

Smart Pots for Smart Container Gardening

2011-11-13T19:32:00.000-06:00

As a frugal urban gardener who often creates container gardens from buckets and other items I have a hard time recommending gardeners buy pots because they're so expensive at garden centers and nurseries. But after trying some Smart Pots in the balcony garden this year I've discovered some pots I'm happy to recommend. I met one of the men behind Smart Pots this past winter at the Mid-America Horticultural Trade Show who convinced me to try some Smart Pots after I told him I didn't believe in buying pots. When I saw him again this summer at the Independent Garden Center Show and he inquired about the Smart Pot samples he gave me, I had to admit he was right. Smart Pots are a smart solution to container gardening.

What are Smart Pots? They're soft-sided, fabric containers that feel a lot like felt, but aren't made of felt-it's a polypropylene material. The photo on the left was taken on 6/13 after I planted two purple tomatillo starts, four bell pepper starts, three eggplant seedlings and sowed lots of basil seeds. The photo on the left was taken on 9/13 and as you can see this vegetable container garden was a bit wild. Did I mention that the pot is only 7 gallons? I don't recommend planting that many plants in a 7 gallon pot, but I like to really push garden products I'm given to review. If I have a successful experience with a garden product knowingly abusing it then I fell like a gardener who follows the manufacturer suggestions can get good results too.

Since Smart Pots are made from a permeable material plant roots don't circle the pot and eventually become rootbound like in traditional containers. The root tips emerge outside the fabric only to be "pruned" by being dried out by the air-causing the plant to send out more roots at the root ball. This is called "air pruning." The result are stronger, healthier plants.

These pots are good solutions for container gardening because they're reusable, weigh less than terracotta, stone and metal pots; even less than their alternative fiberglass pots. Their light weight also makes them ideal containers for older gardeners, gardeners with mobility issues, balcony gardeners and rooftop gardening.

The garden at the Smart Home at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago features Smart Pots; demonstrating that they'd be good pots in school gardens and community gardens, because they're more affordable than building raised beds and they're portable. Similarly, Smart Pots could replace the need for urban farms and urban agriculture projects to build raised beds on asphalt and concrete . They're also pretty affordable and within the means of groups and organizations gardening on a budget.

While I used my Smart Pots to grow vegetables they're also applicable in ornamental container gardening. Even though I over-planted the pots I still managed to grow a nice crop of healthy vegetables. My one problem-if I can call it that-is that they're round pots. Round container take up too much space when you're gardening in a square or rectangular location like a balcony or porch. While the pots come in a variety of sizes, but it would be nice for urbanites with gardens in small spaces to have rectangular pots as an option. I received two Smart Pots for free for the purposes of trialing and reviewing them. I used one of them in my container garden on the balcony and the other to grow potatoes.