Are the petals of a Cosmos flower more perfectly placed than those of any other flower? The folks who named Cosmos “Cosmos” were thinking along those lines since the Greek word cosmos means order and harmony. Another name for Cosmos is Mexican aster. It is native to Mexico and Central America and then travelled to … More A cosmos of another colour
Helen Skiba gets into saving Bupleurum seed and Dahlia tubers in episode 6 of The Seed Growers Podcast. Here are some of the highlights of the bupleurum seed conversation: • Planting schedules • Plant spacing • When seed is mature • Harvesting gradually through the season • Threshing and winnowing • Farm saved bupleurum seed … More Saving bupleurum seed and dahlia tubers
Flower Seeds Biology and Technology I haven’t actually read this book. In fact, I received it about an hour ago. There aren’t a lot of references about flower seeds out there and a few folks have mentioned this one to me. (In fact, Eric Budzynski just brought it up two weeks ago when we were … More Farmer Book Club: flower seeds biology and technology?
Ten Seeds by Ruth Brown is a book about the value of starting with good seed. The unnamed narrator starts with 10 sunflower seeds. And recklessly sows all 10 into the garden, holding none back in case they need to reseed the crop. The 10 seeds are faced with a number of challenges as they … More Farmer Book Club: 10 Seeds
I was going to write up Celosia seed for #seedsavingformarketgrowers but then I realised I wasn’t sure how much Celosia crosses with other Celosia. I’ve been growing the same mixed up population for years and years. So I don’t know whether I’m seeing new crosses or just the same old crosses doing their thing. I … More Are Celosias Crossers?
General rules for saving cut flower seeds. 1?? Don’t pick all the blooms. Forget a few for a while. 2?? Go back later to the forgotten blooms. Are they all dried up? Yes ?? Go to #3. No ?? Repeat #2 until flowers are all dried up 3?? Get seeds … More General rules for saving cut flower seeds
Are sunflowers good for #seedsavingformarketgrowers? ???????????????????? There’s the squirrels, the birds, and the children tearing up those mature heads to get the seeds. But you can work your way around that by covering the flowers once they start to set seeds with onion bags. You can also cut the seed heads and set them to … More Can Market Growers Save Their Sunflower Seeds?
Love in the mist – what an aptly named plant – whimsical wispy mist leaves surroundings a lovely seed pod. Like something from another planet. I came upon Nigella damascena when I apprenticed at Orchard Hill Farm. I’d been saving vegetable and herb seeds for a few years. But had done little with cut flower … More Love In The Mist
Oh, how I would like to be your Amaranth guide. To walk you through A. cruentus, A. hypochondriacus, and A. caudatus by way of A. tricolor and those other Amaranth species.. I would like to tell you which Amaranths have hanging flowers and which stand up straight. Which have white seeds and which black. And … More Oh, how I would like to be your Amaranth guide.
Poppies with their big showy petals and their fat green pods are next on #seedsavingformarketgrowers. There are a number of different poppy species. But what I have in mind when I’m talking about poppies are the species Papaver somniferum. And they are very high on the EASY seed saving list. In some cases you simply … More Poppies in your garden? Save their seeds!