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I know you have been busy in your garden with watering, harvesting, fighting the pests and you thought it was almost time to sit back and take a breath!  Not quite yet!  You need to save those seeds!  Seed saving has become such an important part of gardening to me.  Let me explain why.....

Back when "Covid" hit and I was waiting in line to visit my local Home Depot, when it was finally my turn to go in and make my purchases, I noticed there were some items that were taped off and marked as "non-essential."  Seeds were one of those items and while they have become fairly easy to find since that time, I decided that I did not want to get caught "seedless" ever again!

Another reason to save seeds is that when you pick the best plant with the best fruit, you are almost guaranteed to have a healthy plant stock the next year.  If you have volunteer plants that come up, saving those seeds is a great idea!  Those seeds have shown themselves to be very hardy and well-adapted to your particular area. 

I used to be intimidated by the idea of saving seeds, but now it has become fun and I get more excited about growing plants from the seeds that I personally harvested myself.

There are some overall rules that pretty much apply to all seeds.  First and foremost, be sure that you choose healthy fruit from healthy plants.  Be sure that the seeds are completely dry before putting them away.  I lay mine out on paper plates and label label label!  I always think that I will remember what plant a seed belongs to but when they turn brown and dark, it can become very confusing.

Zinnia seed saving is a must for me as I have, over the years, accumulated so many different varieties.  This year my garden burst with color from these beautiful flowers.  The seed for flowers can be found in the flower head itself, so just pull those heads off when they mature and start to dry and lay them on a paper plate.

Beans are easy to dry.  Let some beans that have grown too big to stay on the plant until they begin to turn brown and then harvest them and let them continue to dry.

Peppers are pretty easy as well.  I just cut the pepper open as shown in the picture above and let it all dry out.  

Herbs such as the Mammoth dill that is pictured is already pretty dry.  I will let it sit out a bit more just to be sure before storing the seeds away.

I have wonderful way of saving tomato seeds that has proven to be a success for me every time!  I take a small pot of dirt and slice a tomato on top just like you would slice one for a tomato sandwich.  Cover with a sprinkling of dirt and put away in a dark, cool place.  DO NOT WATER!  Leave this pot put away until it is time to start seeds in the spring.  Bring it out and water it and voila!  You will have more tomato seedlings than you know what to do with!  I pick my favorite tomato varieties every year and start the seedlings this way.  When the plants start to grow, I pick them apart and replant them in their own little pots.

Even if you don't save all of your seeds, pick your favorite fruits and try it this year.  There may come a time when we will need those seeds and the knowledge on how to save them may be essential.  You can look forward to healthier plants and you may have some cross-pollination that results in a new favorite like I did with a beautiful pepper plant this year.  I hope this inspires you to go out and save some seeds!

Let's Save Seeds Together!

Julie Atkins

Milkweed Farms

Its time to think about food that can be grown in cooler temperatures.  Thank goodness!  It has been hot!  I will welcome the cooler temps along with the beautiful cool garden that comes with it.  Brassicas are the cool weather plants that we should be planting right now.  I have grown to appreciate the diverse tastes of crucifers such as broccoli, kale, cabbage, collards and cauliflower.

When was the last time that you took a walk through the woods?  Do you remember the soft, loamy soil that squished as you walked on it?  This is healthy soil!  Healthy soil has its very own tiny little eco system going on in it.  Mycelium, worms, insects, fungi, and moistness are all signs of a healthy soil. If you have ever reached down and picked up a handful of that soil, you would find another tiny little world going on amongst the moist, coffee-ground like soil.  In the woods, the soil is usually not disturbed and nature just takes its coarse by layering leaves and other natural debris creating a soft covering for the floor.

For years my husband and I tilled the soil for our garden.  While tilling may not kill out entirely the eco system that is so essential to good plant growth, it does disrupt it in a way that can take it a very long time for it to recover.  It can take living organisms that were meant to be under the soil and throw them up on top drying out their bodies along with the soil itself.

We have in the last few years adopted the "No-till" method and are very pleased with the results.  To begin a new garden, we mark off the border.  There is no need to dig up any weeds or grass as  the next few steps will kill it off and actually turn it into compost that will enhance your soil.  Next,  put down several layers of cardboard.  Always remove any tape or staples if you are using recycled boxes.  Finally, cover the cardboard with compost of some type.  Our choice is whatever is available at a reasonable cost and for us this seems to be composted horse manure.  Water each layer as you put it down on the grass. Your layers are completed when you put some kind of mulch, straw or wood chips on top.   The cardboard actually attracts the worms and they carry the compost into the soil.  The final step is to wait at least 3 months so that the cardboard can decompose and the worms can mix your little lasagna layers of cardboard, grass, and compost and mulch.  The more that you water, the faster the process will happen!

This process can be shortened by using newspaper rather than cardboard, however, you will most likely have a little grass and weeds to deal with that didn't get killed off.  Either way, this method provides a nourishing environment for your little eco system to take off!

After planting whatever it is that you are wanting to grow, be sure to mulch using straw, mulch from bark, or some kind of covering for the bare soil.  One time I used Coco bean mulch and while this worked well, it was a little pricey!  Have you ever noticed that soil never remains barren.  It always seeks a covering and if you don't provide one, nature will and it may be weeds, so choose your covering!  I do not recommend hay as it contains too many seeds that can germinate in your garden.  

When the plants are finished growing, do as little as possible to disturb the soil, by pulling them up and twisting them to loosen the root system.  In the Fall it is imperative to amend your soil by applying a layer of new compost in order to feed the soil and to keep a covering on it.  

So many times I have people tell me that they just don't have a "green thumb!"  Well, there are seasons that some things grow well and others don't.  That is why it is good to have a diverse selection of plants in your garden.  Everyone can grow something if they will just put the seeds in some good healthy soil.  I hope that this quick and easy method for starting a new garden inspires you to go out and grow some food.  

As I have searched my heart to find out why I am so drawn to the garden, I began to think about my childhood and the time that I spent on my grandparent's farm.  My grandma always had a huge garden and I can still almost smell the fresh breeze blowing through the trees as grandma and I sat in lawn chairs snapping the peas that we had just picked from the garden.  Those summer days seem to drift on endlessly.  Grandpa would often show up with a watermelon that he had picked from the garden.  We would cut it up and partake of its sweet juiciness right there under the trees.  There on the farm, the garden was the center focus of my days.  It was a happy time.  A time of getting my hands in dirt and enjoying the harvest.

As I grew up, I got away from the love of gardening.  Oh, we would have a few tomatoes and green beans but not anything that I put my heart into.  It actually became more of a chore than a love.  One day I visited my sister in law's house and although she lived in the city, her love for flowers was reflected in a mass of sky blue Morning Glories that she had planted behind her house.  She and I discussed flowers and plants over a cup of tea. My love for gardening grew as we thumbed through the pages of her coffee table book on perennial gardening.  It was as if I was the seed that had dried up and she had watered me.  I could feel my love for gardening began to grow.  It was only a few days ago that I visited her and although it was a cold, wet day, we were both content to sit on her patio and gaze at the plants and flowers that were coming to life in her garden.  We still share our love of gardening to this day!

My oldest son worked at a local nursery and he introduced me to Baker Creek's Seed Catalogue and my fate was sealed!  All of the beautiful, colorful, seeds and so many things that I had never seen before.  I was destined to become a seed addict!

Since that time, I have become a relentless gardener!  I love a morning walk through the garden with my cup of tea when the dew presents itself like a tiny little magnifying glass intensifying the green veins in each leaf.  This is a time where life seems to slow down and even the most stressful days find a backseat to the music that drifts from a nearby tree sung by a beautiful red cardinal accompanied by the soft melodic buzzing of bees.  

As I stand beneath my sunflowers, I find it an absolute miracle that such a small, dried up seed can grow into such a large beautiful flower!   Every time that I plant seeds, I am amazed when those tiny green sprouts begin to poke their heads up out of the ground.  I have planted hundreds of seeds and each and every time that one sprouts, I want to do my happy dance.  I am enamored by the garden and the life that springs forth!  Perhaps the garden satisfies that place that God put in my heart that longs for the garden of Eden.  A place where where my mind can be still and pray, and listen that small voice that speaks to my heart.

I hope that if you have never experienced the joy of gardening in the past that you will find a pot and plant a seed.  A garden can be as small or as large as you like.  There are no rules and it should suit your needs as well as your space.  I am sure that you will experience satisfaction and wonder when that first little sprout springs forth life from your container of dirt.  I hope that in some manner this inspires you to step outside and plant a seed..... or two.....or a packet.....or maybe more.....or maybe you could end up like me.....a seed addict!  Happy gardening!

I was love to hear your stories about gardening!  Please share them below!

Julie Atkins

Milkweed Farms