Today in the garden...

[Alistair]

:gardening: There are little precious moments to be had in the garden and it's nice to be able to share them.

Even if your backyard is a forest of trees or concrete - there are little delights, visitors and plant surprises that are good to read about.

So - what happened in your garden today?

[Gliondrach]

I don't have a garden but I do have a balcony. Not a lot happens out there but a couple of plants that I don't recognise have appeard in pots that were just bare earth. One has been there for about 3 years. It dies back in the Winter and grows again in the Spring. The other one appeared this year. Both look as if they are foreign. The older one looks more like a houseplant. Another visitor is a large-ish nettle that has sprung up in another pot.

I saw one small caterpillar on my small bay tree but that seems to have disappeared. A few years ago there were swarms of caterpillars on a birdsfoot trefoil. They were an inch long. Some green, some brown. They completely stripped the plant.

I also suspect that there is a puma living out there. I haven't seen it but I have seen pug marks in the soil of plant pots.

[paul]

sparrows and starings, and herring gulls, feeding, and hopping around.

[thevegantwins]

I have 2 mystery plants on my balcony as well Gliondrach but they're growing in 2 pots that contain the original occupants as well.

I visit an organic farm every week. Last Saturday, I picked butternut squash, tomatoes, kale, pears and eggplant/aubergine.

[Alistair]

I harvested olives today - more!! I have given about four big buckets away and picked another big bucket today. Took a while to prepare them but it's soothing work.

I had 9 bales of straw delivered; 1 meadow hay, 3 pea straw and 5 barley hay. It's for mulching, the rabbit's bedding and meadow hay is good for them to eat.

I am looking forward to a productive garden this year so getting ready as the weather warms up.

Nettles are exciting Gliondrach! They are good to eat, can make a yellow dye and they bring up minerals from deeper down.

I was given a rare perennial nettle which I have dutifully planted and am hoping that it doesn't get too big.

I will deal with that if it happens - for now - I am just happy if it survives! :)

[Alistair]

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e148/veganblue/Garden/P1030339.jpg

This unusual flower chose to not flower last year. It likes being pot bound and I think that will be forced to divide it this year. It's called Scilla Peruviana and is a native of SW Europe.

Also known as Star of David, Cuban Lily, Wild Hyacinth or Squill.

[Alistair]

I put in irrigation today!

I want to have a forest of food by the time that a wonderful friend from Brasil comes to visit and it's going to be a hot long summer this year - and watering will be a big stress - so this will be the way to avoid worrying.

I am putting in dripper lines that weep out water slowly into the soil around the roots and it doesn't evaporate if you mulch around the plants.

I am hoping to grow some tomatoes that I have been told get as big as 3 pounds. A two pound one is average!!:eek::tomato:

[thevegantwins]

veganblue, how do you prepare olives? I know they are quite bitter if eaten fresh from a tree (I tasted them in Turkey :blecch: ). Will you preserve them or make oil?

[Bowwowmeow]

I used to cure olives. I would pick them when green, and soak them in a pure lye solution. It sounds scary, but it was safe. The solution would turn deep wine red, and you would leave the olives for a certain amount of time (I can't remember exactly how long anymore), and then rinse them and soak them, changing the soak water every day until it became colorless. Then I would prepare a very salty brine to store them in, and canned them in a pressure canner. They were delicious, and I never got sick from them. They did need soaking in fresh water to remove some of the salt before eating them, though.

[paul]

thats really kind of you to cure olives bwm hope they all got better:D :hbang:


been watchimg the sparrows, starlings, and gulls, feeding in the garden.

[Bowwowmeow]

Haha paul! ;) Considering how bitter they were before curing, they did get much better afterwards. :agree:
I wish there were as simple a cure for human bitterness.

[paul]

it would be good if you could soak humans for a few days to get rid of bitterness.

why dont you cure olives now? they arnt my favirite food, to salty and bitterish

[Bowwowmeow]

I don't work for the people who owned the trees anymore. I used to be their nanny, but their kids are all grown now.

[thevegantwins]

I don't work for the people who owned the trees anymore. I used to be their nanny, but their kids are all grown now.
How'd you like to be a nanny for 2 adorable 2-year old vegans? :D You get to live in a cramped, 2-bedroom apartment in bucolic New Jersey, within smelling distance of a major oil refinery. Come on, you know you can't resist.. :agree:

[Bowwowmeow]

Not to mention getting to live with the beautiful Felíne! Seymour thinks it would be a great idea. :smallheart: ;)

[thevegantwins]

Not to mention getting to live with the beautiful Felíne! Seymour thinks it would be a great idea. :smallheart: ;)
Oh didn't I tell you, part of the deal is that Felíne gets to live on the houseboat with Seymour and the gang. :D

[Gliondrach]

[QUOTE=veganblue]
Nettles are exciting Gliondrach! They are good to eat, can make a yellow dye and they bring up minerals from deeper down.

QUOTE]

This one is covered in greenfly and looks too manky to eat. I have some dried leaves which I use to make nettle tea.

[Alistair]

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e148/veganblue/P1030201a.jpg

This is two of my preserving experiments. On the left is cut olives - with rock salt. I will pour off the fluid that comes out of them.

On the right is cut olives in brine. I have to change the brine daily for a week before making a stronger solution.

I have also dried them in salt without cutting - that works well - but takes a lot longer. The shrivelled olives can then be rehydrated in brine, vinegar, herbs and spices, with a little olive oil. They are supposed to plump up again - unfortunately they are disappearing too fast... :yum: :dribble: :eat:

[paul]

:rofl:
thats really good vegan blue, have you ever tried to sun dry them?

[my3labs]

Yummy...Olives!!! VB, Are they standard black, or Kalamata or some other type?

My garden is almost done for the season. I planted tomato starts several months ago. They are huge but were not ripening until last week. I was really starting to get worried but they are finally starting to turn color.
I did cherry tomatoes for the first time this year and they were fantastic. It still amazes me how much better organic, fresh veggies taste compared to store bought.

[Alistair]

:rofl:
thats really good vegan blue, have you ever tried to sun dry them?

It's still too cold here - only averaging 20 celcius - but aren't the still bitter when sundried???

I am not sure what they are my3labs - I know they are huge, dark and fleshy - that's about it. I had some chopped with lettuce and felafel balls for dinner. :)

[thevegantwins]

I love the salt cured olive better than ones in a brine. It's easy to wash the excess salt off and the olive is so much tastier. You could also make a tapenade, just puree some of the olives with some herbs. Tastes fantastic on good crusty bread.

[paul]

It's still too cold here - only averaging 20 celcius - but aren't the still bitter when sundried???

I am not sure what they are my3labs - I know they are huge, dark and fleshy - that's about it. I had some chopped with lettuce and felafel balls for dinner. :)
dont know my knowledg of olives is zilch, i was just thinking of preseve things:dizzy:

[my3labs]

Yes, tapenade! I love it.
I add red pepper flakes as well.
YUMMY!!! :eat:

[forthebirds]

Today in my garden I...

Removed a dying bush. I think I trimmed it a wee bit too much last spring. :rolleyes:

Mowed the yard

Trimmed some other bushes (only a little) ;)

Rearranged some garden ornaments

Brought my cockatiels outside with me to enjoy some sunshine :sunshine:

[Alistair]

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e148/veganblue/th_arctotis.jpg http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e148/veganblue/th_Inchworm.jpg http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e148/veganblue/th_P1030339.jpg

I planted corn and carrots. Not pictured - but they will be. :)

[thevegantwins]

What is that interesting looking critter in the middle photo, Alistair?

[Alistair]

That's an inch worm - a catterpillar. He was minding his own business and I may have bumped him while planting some alstromerias but he is beautifully patterned.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e148/veganblue/Animals/Inchworm-catterpillar.jpg

[thevegantwins]

Looks almost like a Dalmatian. Our inchworms are just green (and only an inch long :) )

[my3labs]

That's an inch worm - a catterpillar. He was minding his own business and I may have bumped him while planting some alstromerias but he is beautifully patterned.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e148/veganblue/Animals/Inchworm-catterpillar.jpg
Wow! That coloring is gorgeous!

Alistair, I'm jealous. My garden is just about done for the year.

[Alistair]

Wow! That coloring is gorgeous!

Alistair, I'm jealous. My garden is just about done for the year.

I'll think exactly the same thing 8 months from now...!

You can brighten up your Autumn and Winter looking at the Southern Hemisphere. :)

Vegantwins - I thought they were called inch worms because the 'inch' along!:lol:

[Oracl]

That's a great picture of the caterpillar, Alistair. :colors:

[Alistair]

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e148/veganblue/Garden/bee_bottom.jpg

[my3labs]

Gorgeous pic Alistair.

My cherry tomatoes are ripe and they are fantastic. They're sweet and firm. We've been eating them for about two weeks strait.

My regular tomatoes are just about ready and I will have a lot so I'm thinking of canning them. I've never tried canning before and I just hate the idea of them going to waste (or giving them all away to my neighbors). I'd take them to a food bank but I don't think they take produce or fresh foods.

[Alistair]

I have never canned anything before. I must admit, I am a bit scared of the process.

I use purpose designed Fowlers-Vacola jars to preserve tomatoes and fruit.

Sterilise - pack jars - cap - bake and they are done! The vacuum keeps the lid on so you know if the lid comes off any of them, there is bacteria present so don't eat them.

They keep for years and I would say that it was possible to keep them bottled for a decade or more.... if you have the space!

[Oracl]

:wow: I love that photo of the bee, Alistair. :nanakiss: He's so busy he's not even aware that his picture is being taken! :)

[Alistair]

:wow: I love that photo of the bee, Alistair. :nanakiss: He's so busy he's not even aware that his picture is being taken! :)

I needed to name the picture - so it's known as bee_bottom :wigglebutt:

I wonder if the bee minds having it's bottom blown up and posted on the web??

[Sparkle]

At the moment, the house that my mother and I live in has a beautiful big garden. Over the years, my mother has made the garden beautiful, adding herbs, honeysuckle, azaleas, and a variety of other beautiful flowers which I can't even name.

This summer, however, we had to get the garden looking good in preparation for selling the house, which saddned me. I spent hours weeding and tending to the flowers. Now we've sold the house and are having to move into a much smaller place, due to lack of money. There is no garden. There is a drying area with washing lines. The ground is ugly tarmac. This actually depresses me more than I first thought it would. I love nature and cannot bare the thought of looking at some hideous concrete.

[paul]

sorry to hear that Sparkle.
could you get some pots full of plants out side, mabe have honysuckle growing up some treles up the house, and window boxes or/and hanging baskets.

hope you find a solution.
i know its not the same but here is some flowers etc for you.:daisy: :flower: :rbow: :sun: :sunrain: :window: :monarch: :tulips:

[thevegantwins]

I know the feeling, Sparkle. We live in an ugly apartment complex and they spray poison on the grass so it's not even safe to sit in. I have 2 plants dying on my balcony, that's about it.

What saddened me this weekend and touched me occurred during our weekly trip to the organic farm to pick veggies. I was in the field picking kale and Sarah and Ben were running around though every so often, Sarah would lay in the grass and just run her fingers through it while staring at the sky. It was a beautiful sight, how much she loves the feeling of grass and the earth but it's also sad because we have to drive 40 minutes just so she can do so. :(

[Gliondrach]

I think I mentioned some months ago that two strange plants were growing in pots on my balcony. I didn't know what they were and thought they were cultivated ones that had blown in as seeds. I now realise that one is a forget-me-not, and the other is a cowslip. The forget-me-nots are easy to recognise now that they are in flower. I bought some plants years ago to plant on my mother's grave. I think I brought one home with me and planted it. It grew for a couple of years but then disappered. This one must have been lying dormant in the soil - a seed from the one I planted. It started growing two years ago but only flowered a couple of weeks ago for the first time. As I bought it in a garden shop I supposed it was a cultivated type but it looks very much like a wood forget-me-not, which are native here.

The cowslip is in a pot that has a cowslip marker in it. I planted some seeds there years ago but thought they wouldn't grow after nothing happened. This started growing about two years ago. It hasn't flowered but I hope it does this year.

[Bowwowmeow]

Forget-me-nots were my favorite flower when I was very little. They were the first seeds I learned how to grow. :smallheart:

[my3labs]

Today in the garden, I actually planted my seeds and starts. We have Kale, Green Leaf Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, Carrots, Bean, Snap Peas, Zucchini, Beef Steak Tomatoes, Roma Tomatoes and Cherry Tomatoes.
On the deck, I have chives, parsley, rosemary, dill, chamomile and cilantro.
I LOVE this time of year when things are growing and blooming.

I've never grown Kale before and don't really know what to do with it so I guess I'll have to go hunt down some recipes.


Oh, and my compost pile is looking fantastic.

:flower: Happy Spring everyone!:flower:

[Oracl]

:flower: Happy Spring everyone! :flower:
Thanks, my3labs! :) I'll just convert 'spring' to 'autumn'. :updn: ;)

[my3labs]

That's right...all of you in Ozland are just starting fall.
:rain: Happy Fall to y'all:kangaroo:

[Oracl]

Thanks again, my3labs! :D

[paul]

Eek oz is falling http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n137/paulpic_2006/8Faint.gif http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n137/paulpic_2006/whistle.gifhttp://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n137/paulpic_2006/eusa_whistle.gif:whistle:

i finaly planted a tomato plant that got left at mine today.

[Oracl]

Eek oz is falling http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n137/paulpic_2006/8Faint.gif http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n137/paulpic_2006/whistle.gifhttp://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n137/paulpic_2006/eusa_whistle.gif:whistle:

:rolleyes: :D

[Gliondrach]

I have some more unrecognisable plants growing on my balcony. The leaves are heart-shaped and deeply veined. They are from seeds of a wildflower mix. I planted seeds of cornfield and woodland plants but the packets don't say what they are as the mixtures can vary. I already recognise the corn chamomiles coming up. And I saw the seed case of a cornflower still on the leaves of one seedling. Corn poppies and long-headed poppies are easy to recognise by the very thin leaves. A Welsh poppy, that was self-seeded from another plant that I had for years but that has now died, is nearly in flower. And a couple of white campion plants are already in flower. They have both been growing for a couple of years.

[thevegantwins]

I just went outside on the balcony to water my organic tomato plant and discovered there is a tomato!! A small, golf-ball sized green tomato but it is my first tomato. :smallheart: I'll take a photo shortly. I feel so Mother-Earthy. :D

[my3labs]

What type of tomato is it?
I felt the same way last year when we grew them for the first time.
My snap peas are probably ready to pick, we've already eaten the lettuce, and the zucchini are getting big.
The rest of my garden isn't doing so well. :no:

[thevegantwins]

What type of tomato is it?:
:tomato: A small, round green one? :rofl: I just remember that it was organic and I potted it in organic soil. There is also a cherry tomato plant in the same pot but they aren't doing anything.

Fresh picked snap peas are :eat: :yum: .

[my3labs]

:tomato: A small, round green one? :rofl
:rofl:

We have three varieties plus cherry.
YUMMY

[Gliondrach]

The corn chamomiles have died. There were dozens of poppy seedlings but they've nearly all died. No sign of any cornflowers. The Welsh poppy has had many flowers and seed pods. Those large-leaved plants are growing well. Another climber-type plants is growing with them. I think it is developing a flower bud.

My sister sent me a packet of spinach seeds. I must plant them before it is too late to harvest some crops this year. I will plant them in trays and keep them in the house. I should get a crop of baby spinach in a few weeks.

[Fauxmage]

I watered my bonsai, snacked on a few blueberries, picked some lemon cucumbers and tomatoes, and found three baby watermelons growing on my watermelon vines!

[Fauxmage]

I watered everything, saw that my baby watermelons are ranging in size from blueberries to tennis balls, pulled some old cucumber and bean vines, and enjoyed watching hordes of syrphid flies visiting the jasmine and lavender blossoms. :):gardening:

[Gliondrach]

Is it scented jasmine? A lovely smell.

[Fauxmage]

Yes it is. I love scented flowers.

[Gliondrach]

I had a pot of the Winter flowering jasmine a few years ago. I like scented flowers but most of my favourites don't have a strong or even a very nice smell.

I like the smell of roses. Some apples smell of roses, which is not surprising as they come from the same family.

I heard recently that all eating apples have been traced back to wild apples in Kazakhstan. But the ancient forests there are being put at risk by some industry or other. Building or oil, I think.

[Gliondrach]

Basic Instructions for Saving Vegetable Seeds

SEED TYPES: When you first purchase seeds you should avoid “Hybrid Seeds.” Instead you should buy “Heirloom Seeds” or “Open Pollinated Seeds.” Hybrid seeds are “man-made seeds” and they are only good for ONE planting. (Note: If you plant hybrid seeds and then save the seeds from the hybrid plants that are produced, and then plant those seeds the following spring, the results will be unpredictable. The plant that grows will usually resemble one of its parents or grandparents or something in-between. It is also possible that it may produce NO fruit at all.) Heirloom seeds, on the other hand, will produce crops that yield seeds that will reproduce the same plant year after year after year as God originally intended. (Genesis 1:11 – Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth;” and it was so.) When you purchase a package of seeds, you should NOT plant ALL the seeds from the original package the first year. Instead you should save some of them for planting in future years in the event your first year’s planting efforts are not successful. You should also clearly mark exactly where you plant each type of seed with the name and variety of that seed so you can keep track of which varieties of seed do best in your climate and in your soil.

DISEASE AVOIDANCE: After you have planted your seeds and the plants appear, do NOT collect seeds from a diseased plant because the disease will have infected that specific plant’s genes and all future plants grown from those seeds will be easily susceptible to that same disease.

SEED SELECTION: Use the very best looking, strongest, and most productive plants in your garden for seeds. Generally, you are NOT looking for that ONE special fruit on the vine. Instead the characteristics you should look for are: early bearing of fruit, total fruit yield, fruit size and flavor and aroma, and disease resistance. Also, if applicable, late bolting to seed. Resist the urge to eat your most delectable looking vegetables. Those are the ones you want to duplicate every year in the future. After you have selected the fruits you want to keep for seed, identify them with a special marker such as a wooden stake beside the plant, or a ribbon or string loosely tied to the plant or vine. In most cases (but not all) it is important to save seeds from at least three different plants of the same variety to provide good pollination opportunities the following spring.

SEED RIPENESS: Allow seeds to fully ripen before harvesting to achieve the best germination yield the following spring. The seed must be given time to store enough nourishment so it can germinate the following spring and grow into a healthy seedling.

DRYING: Seeds must be dried before they are stored (between 5% to 13% moisture content, with an average of 8%). Individual seeds should be separated from one another so they can dry more evenly. Larger seeds will require more time to air dry whereas smaller seeds will require less time. Do NOT try to dry the seeds too quickly or they may shrink and crack. And do NOT dry at a temperature higher than 100°F. Indoor air drying is usually the best. However, if you live in an extremely humid area, then you may dry your seeds by placing them in the sun in front of a southern facing window for about two days. Since there is no easy inexpensive method for measuring the exact moisture content of your seeds, you will need to use your own judgment based on your personal experience. Generally the drier the seed (but NOT below 5%), the longer the seed will remain alive in storage. Based on Dr. James Harrington’s research, each additional 1% decrease in the dryness of a vegetable seed from 13% down to 5% will double its storage life, However, below 5% will normally kill the seed and above 13% will usually result in the seed not surviving the first winter. Since the home gardener does not have the expensive equipment to accurately measure the exact moisture content of a batch of seeds, the home gardener may wish to use a trial and error approach. When you first suspect that your seeds are dry enough, put half of them into paper envelopes and label the envelopes with the variety of seed and indicate how many days the seeds were dried. Continue drying the remainder of the seeds for a few more days. Then put half of those seeds into paper envelopes and label them as your second drying with the total number of drying days. After a few more days of drying put the remainder of the seeds into a paper envelope and label them as your third drying with the total number of drying days. When you test each envelope of seeds in future years, you can use this trial and error method to estimate the optimal number of drying days for each type of seed based on your climate, and your humidity, and your average normal drying conditions.

STORAGE: AFTER your seeds are dry, store your seeds in a standard small paper envelope, or a paper bag, or a cloth bag in a dry, cool area. Do NOT allow the seeds to remain in direct contact with the air or they will gradually absorb moisture from the humidity in the air with the passage of time. After placing the seeds in a standard small paper envelope or cloth bag, you can store that envelope or bag inside a standard plastic freezer bag. Freezer bags are more expensive and of a higher quality than regular plastic bags. Do NOT seal your seeds inside a vacuum plastic bag without air because seeds are living organisms and they need a MINIMUM amount of air to continue their life cycle. The BEST place to store seeds is in a plastic freezer bag inside a refrigerator at a temperature between 33°F to 40°F. This will more than double the storage life of your seeds.

LABELING: Clearly label each of your seed envelopes or bags using permanent ink to identify the exact variety of seed and the year the seed was harvested. Also include the number of days the seed was allowed to dry, along with any unusual weather conditions during the drying process, such as unusually humid weather or unusually warm or cold weather during the drying process.

SEED BANK: Most seeds can successfully germinate for three to five years after harvesting, even if they are NOT stored in a refrigerator. Therefore, it is prudent to have your own “Seed Bank” into which you deposit approximately 10% of the seeds you harvest each year. If an unexpected disease attacks your crops one year then you will NOT be able to harvest any seeds from that year’s crops, even though you may be able to eat some or most of that year’s poor quality marginal vegetables. In this type of situation your “Seed Bank” will permit the re-establishment of the quality of your crops in future years. The seeds in your “Seed Bank” are your insurance against unpredictable future diseases that may sweep through your geographical area. They are also good insurance against an unexpected cross-pollination that produces a seed that is different than you expected. In most cases you will not become aware of this type of problem until harvest time the following fall. Once again, your “Seed Bank” will allow you to re-establish this variety the following spring using seeds saved from previous years BEFORE the problem appeared.

EMERGENCY SEED RESERVE: Each spring you should gradually plant each variety of seed over an extended period of several weeks. You should NOT plant all your seeds of one variety at the same time. This reduces your risk of loss to late frosts and it provides a longer harvest period for fresh vegetables for the table. If you have seeds that are more than one year old which are NOT part of your “Seed Bank”, then your first planting the following spring should be one-half of those older seeds. If you do NOT have any two or three year old seeds, then do NOT plant more than half your previous year’s seed the following spring. Save at least half of the previous year’s seed as an “Emergency Seed Reserve” (in addition to your “Seed Bank”). Occasional late snows or an unexpected late frost can kill everything you plant at the beginning of spring. Your “Emergency Seed Reserve” will allow you to plant a second time that same year. Later during the spring or summer other problems may arise, such as heavy rains or no rains or insect damage or tornados or hurricanes, and these disasters could result in no crops to harvest in the fall. In disaster situations like these, it provides some comfort to know that you still have a reasonable amount of seed reserved for planting the following year. If you are forced to use your “Emergency Seed Reserve,” then only plant half of them and keep the rest of the seeds in reserve. Always keep at least half of your remaining seed as an “Emergency Seed Reserve” for really hard times. This means each future planting will be much smaller, but that is much better than having NOTHING to plant at all. Because of unpredictable situations such as the above, each year it would be wise to harvest at least twice the amount of seed you think you will need the following year. This strategy will also provide you with seed to share, sell, or trade and it will bring you one step closer to being an independent, resourceful human being in God’s natural order of things.

PREPARING SEEDS FOR PLANTING: (Note: These suggestions are optional.) Place the seeds you wish to plant in the freezer compartment of your refrigerator for three hours. When you remove the seed from the freezer the rush of warm air will help to break its winter dormancy. Then place the individual seeds between two damp paper towels for one day in a warm area. The seed is now in an optimal condition for immediate planting.

SPRING GERMINATION TEST: (Note: This step is optional.) You can test the viability of your seeds BEFORE you plant them in the ground in the spring. Use a medium-tip permanent marker to write the name of the seed and the year it was harvested on a DRY paper towel. Then dampen the paper towel and place ten seeds on one-half of the towel. Fold the towel in half so the seeds are between the two halves of the damp paper towel. Place the damp paper towel inside a plastic trash bag and put it in a warm place. You can put several damp paper towels containing different seed varieties in the same plastic trash bag. Keep the paper towels slightly damp but NOT soaking wet. Periodically check the seeds based on the average germination time for each type of seed. You can determine the “approximate” germination rate by counting the number of seeds that sprout and dividing by the original number of seeds tested. For example, if you tested 10 seeds and 8 of them sprouted, then the germination rate is 80% (8/10 x 100). You can then plant these sprouted seeds in a peat pot indoors if the outdoor weather is too cold, or you can plant them in the ground if warm weather has arrived.

survivingthemiddleclasscrash.wordpress.com/2009/03/23/how-to-harvest-process-and-store-vegetable-seeds/
BUT THE ORIGINAL SITE IT COMES FROM ALSO TELLS YOU HOW TO TRAP AND KILL VARIOUS ANIMALS SO YOU CAN EAT THEM. THE SITE MENTIONED ABOVE IS NOT VEGAN BUT HAS SOME INTERESTING THINGS.

[Gliondrach]

I don't think they're swapping seeds, Oxighica. Have you saved some seeds for next year to plant out? I save seeds from pots of wild flowers I grow on my balcony.

[Fauxmage]

I've had to take my container garden off the upper deck, now that the veggies are all gone, and move the planters and soil to my new place. So there is not going to be much going on in my garden for a while.

[gabbles]

Do you have a garden in your new house?

[Fauxmage]

No, no real garden, except the grape arbor I guess. But it's an acre, so there is plenty of room for many gardens when I get around to planting them! I want to have a greenhouse too, since I can't grow citrus outdoors in this climate, and I will miss having lemon trees.

[Gliondrach]

You'll be able to grow just about all the food you need.

[Fauxmage]

Maybe. There are an awful lot of groundhog or molehills, so I will have to see how much they are going to steal. Rabbits too. There ought to be deer as well, but either they don't like grapes, or they actually don't come around, because I had plenty of grapes off the grape arbor right after I took possession of the house.

I'm not going to do anything nasty like trapping and relocating the critters on the property. I may have to get clever with chicken wire underground and so forth, but I am not going to drive these guys away.

[Gliondrach]

Perhaps you could make raised beds, using rocks as walls, with something at the base to stop the beasties digging up but allowing water to drain through. It would be hard work collecting the rocks. And netting over the top.

[Fauxmage]

I always used to double-dig my garden beds, so I think I will do this, and line them with aviary wire before I put the soil back. I may then need a wire fence high enough to keep the bunnies from jumping in. The person next door has some garden beds surrounded by high wire fences. I can use the fencing for trellises too.

It is very hard work collecting the rocks. I need to replace about 14 feet of rotted wood fencing along my patio, and I am collecting pieces of slate from the property to make a stone wall. There are plenty of rocks around, and while it is hard work, it will last a lifetime or more once done.

[Gliondrach]

Are you going to plant any fruit trees?

I would have a mini orchard.

[Fauxmage]

Oh yes! I can grow peaches, apricots, apples, pears, cherries, and even figs. I want some nut trees too. I think it is too cold for almonds, but walnuts will work. Pistachios might. There are already several pines, either gray pines or coulter pines, with huge pine cones that bear edible seeds, so I will have to examine them further. Plenty of live oaks too, though I might like to plant some California White Oaks, as they yield much larger, milder acorns.

I also want to plant plenty of blackberries along the property line to act as natural fences in some sections. The property is too large to fence in completely.

[Gliondrach]

There are some interesting things on this site. One of the blokes is vegetarian. The other says he is interested in vegetarian and vegan food. They talk about growing food and foraging for wild plant foods.

But in the forum section there are threads about fishing and keeping chickens.

ht--tp://ww--w.selfsufficientish.com/

[firenexx]

Today in garden... well, nights have been in the 30s and 40s but thanks to some blankets, my carrots and beets and spinach and kale are still going strong!

[Gliondrach]

Hello Firenexx. :wave:

I hope you manage to harvest your crops before the first frosts come.

There's a link to winter gardening somewhere in the gardening section.

[gabbles]

welcome firenexx :wave: