More Zombie apocalypse Garden Info

      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