Well here we are again! I have some more info on the Zombie Apocalypse Garden. The tomato seed has some special techniques that must be used in order to get a seed for the next season, as I discussed in the last Blog. The pepper is pretty straight forward. Just dry the seeds on a plate. The green beams are simple too. When the bean in the pod grows big and the pod starts to get thin and dried out, take out the beans and dry them on a plate. Not too hard.
Then there is the carrot. Had I known what was involved, I may have waited until next year to try this one. It seems that the carrot is easily cross germinated with Queen Anne's Lace. Queen Anne's Lace is a weed that grows wild in my area, it is also a wild carrot! So it is important to inspect the root to see if it is getting a white tint instead of an orange one. I've learned that the white root is the dominant color.
In order to get seeds that are germinated, one must keep the umbrels( blossoms that look similar to that of the dill plant, which is in the same family) covered so the insects can't cross pollinate the blossoms with weeds! Not too bad but wait, there's more. The umbrels still have to be pollinated. This is done by hand literally. You rub your hands on the umbrels of all the plants, everyday, in the morning, to spread the pollen to the other plants. Still not too difficult, oh but wait! You have options you can plant the seeds in the spring and get your harvest and let some go and use them for reseeding or you can plant in the fall and in the spring let them go to seed quickly and replant for that years harvest. Either is acceptable. The latter however does not let you inspect the roots for the color change. There's always a drawback to the easier method! I'm going to do some more research in this area so I can better inform you of the options. The way I see things right now it's about as clear as coffee.
Another thing I found out is that many of the dried beads you can buy in the store for making soup, can be planted and grown to produce more beans. From what I understand, they too have about an 80% germination rate also. The bag of store beans is a lot cheaper than the little packets one buys from a seed store, providing you want to plant the variety that the grocery store sells! Just something to keep in mind.
More to come next week, until then keep your dirt working!
Steven
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Zombie Apocalypse Garden info
Well everyone, Thank You for checking out this Blog! I was so nervous filming my first Vlog I didn't think anyone would ever get to this page! I thought you would be like, "Why would I want to read what that foole has to say?" I spell foole with the final "e" for two reasons: First reason that is how they spell when referring to a court jester and second it irritates some people!
At any rate, The zombie apocalypse garden idea is a funny way to bring up a subject that is actually very interesting. Heirloom seeds are seeds that are non-hybrid. Hybrid seeds do not produce a seed that can be germinated. So you can't regrow the plant from the seeds it produces. Usually hybrid seeds are engineered in some lab to be prettier, bigger, juicier, meatier, or possess some other attribute that people desire. This is great but the seeds are useless.
In comes the heirloom seed. These seeds can be saved and replanted from year to year to year. You may have heard that the countries of the world are sending seeds to a seed bank somewhere in Scandinavia to be locked up underground in case the world comes to an end and we need to grow more food. Great Idea countries of the world! How do I get there to get some seeds to grow in my garden?! The world has basically ended, Am I to walk there? Drive an SUV? Paddle a boat? I think not.
That is how I came up with Zombie Apocalypse Garden. Honestly, I don't think the world is going to end in October. The book I read says there is only one guy who knows, and he's not telling anybody! The garden is however fun and practical. It does take some planning but not a lot. If you already are a gardener then it will be easier for you than me! I ordered a book from Amazon called Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth. There are some important steps to saving tomato seeds that will help insure success. Here's why. The gel in the tomato that surrounds the seeds actually keeps the seeds from germinating. The gel rots away when the fruit falls to the ground, allowing germination to happen. So what the gardener has to do is ferment the seeds and gel in a bucket of water. (About one cup of water to one cup seed/gel mix). When the top of the mix is covered with mold, drain the water and wash the seeds off in a strainer. When skimming the scum off the top of the water, the seeds that are floating are no good you can discard them. Then dry the seeds on a flat glass plate, quickly so they don't germinate. (put a fan on them, no heat though). This is why I suggest getting a book, I never would have thought about that.
I got a late start on planting my seeds. About three weeks. I bought a propagation mat on the internet to help this along. By keeping the soil warm, the germination and growing process is spread up! I had tomato sprouts in 3days! I posted the first picks on Facebook and that is two weeks after planting. This spring has been cold and wet here in Western New York and the local farmers are worried about getting their crops in the ground. The ground is too cold for the plants to really thrive once replanted outside in the garden. This may allow my plants to catch up and I may have a harvest at the same time as the rest of the people in my area. Not that I'm competing or anything but I don't like to come in last.
The seeds I bought were about $1.50 for about 40 seeds. They say 25 but I got closer to 40. They standard is 80% germination. So that means that I should end up with about 32 of each plant. I planted 3 or 4 in each of the starter pots. I will thin out the weaker plants and keep the stronger ones after they grow some more. Fourteen plants is more than enough for what I need to eat and save for next year.
This is a fun little project and I hope I inspired you to try it out. There is a lot more to talk about concerning heirloom seeds and I will cite some other interesting facts and articles as I go along with these blogs. I will also be planting some of these plants in window boxes to see how it will work for more urban households.
I hope that you learned something here and want to return to find out more! Get out there and have some fun!
Steven
At any rate, The zombie apocalypse garden idea is a funny way to bring up a subject that is actually very interesting. Heirloom seeds are seeds that are non-hybrid. Hybrid seeds do not produce a seed that can be germinated. So you can't regrow the plant from the seeds it produces. Usually hybrid seeds are engineered in some lab to be prettier, bigger, juicier, meatier, or possess some other attribute that people desire. This is great but the seeds are useless.
In comes the heirloom seed. These seeds can be saved and replanted from year to year to year. You may have heard that the countries of the world are sending seeds to a seed bank somewhere in Scandinavia to be locked up underground in case the world comes to an end and we need to grow more food. Great Idea countries of the world! How do I get there to get some seeds to grow in my garden?! The world has basically ended, Am I to walk there? Drive an SUV? Paddle a boat? I think not.
That is how I came up with Zombie Apocalypse Garden. Honestly, I don't think the world is going to end in October. The book I read says there is only one guy who knows, and he's not telling anybody! The garden is however fun and practical. It does take some planning but not a lot. If you already are a gardener then it will be easier for you than me! I ordered a book from Amazon called Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth. There are some important steps to saving tomato seeds that will help insure success. Here's why. The gel in the tomato that surrounds the seeds actually keeps the seeds from germinating. The gel rots away when the fruit falls to the ground, allowing germination to happen. So what the gardener has to do is ferment the seeds and gel in a bucket of water. (About one cup of water to one cup seed/gel mix). When the top of the mix is covered with mold, drain the water and wash the seeds off in a strainer. When skimming the scum off the top of the water, the seeds that are floating are no good you can discard them. Then dry the seeds on a flat glass plate, quickly so they don't germinate. (put a fan on them, no heat though). This is why I suggest getting a book, I never would have thought about that.
I got a late start on planting my seeds. About three weeks. I bought a propagation mat on the internet to help this along. By keeping the soil warm, the germination and growing process is spread up! I had tomato sprouts in 3days! I posted the first picks on Facebook and that is two weeks after planting. This spring has been cold and wet here in Western New York and the local farmers are worried about getting their crops in the ground. The ground is too cold for the plants to really thrive once replanted outside in the garden. This may allow my plants to catch up and I may have a harvest at the same time as the rest of the people in my area. Not that I'm competing or anything but I don't like to come in last.
The seeds I bought were about $1.50 for about 40 seeds. They say 25 but I got closer to 40. They standard is 80% germination. So that means that I should end up with about 32 of each plant. I planted 3 or 4 in each of the starter pots. I will thin out the weaker plants and keep the stronger ones after they grow some more. Fourteen plants is more than enough for what I need to eat and save for next year.
This is a fun little project and I hope I inspired you to try it out. There is a lot more to talk about concerning heirloom seeds and I will cite some other interesting facts and articles as I go along with these blogs. I will also be planting some of these plants in window boxes to see how it will work for more urban households.
I hope that you learned something here and want to return to find out more! Get out there and have some fun!
Steven
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