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Greetings!
Have you been missing your garden lately? It's tempting to get out there and get your hands dirty. The spring rains have been busy washing away the winter snows and encouraging the bulbs we planted last fall to wake up and get busy!It's best to remember not to be too eager just yet. There frost is still in the ground and there is just too much water! Make sure when you do go for your walks to stick to the pathways still. We don't want to compact our earth by walking on it.Turn your spring energy into starting your garden...inside! Get the Jump on Spring by starting your plants from seed. This will save you money, it gives your garden a head start, you can choose what you want to grow, and you have the personal satisfaction of watching life stretching up to the light from a tiny seed.Looking to beat the winter blahs? Our first shipment of pansies, violas and primulas have arrived to give your front door an extra burst of spring colour! Photo GalleriesWorkshops and Seminar Series for Spring 2010 |
Get the Jump on Spring!
Starting annual flowers or vegetables from seed can be very rewarding. The process is easier with the proper materials and following the proper steps. The reward will be vigorous plants flowering earlier and an earlier harvest of vegetables than those started directly outside!
Getting Started:
Choosing the Right Containers: can be started in anything from egg cartons to coconut (coir) fibre pots to jiffy pellets as long as they are 2-3" deep and have some drainage holes
- wide shallow containers prevent overcrowding and excessive moisture
- must be clean and sterile
Best Growing Medium: soilless growing mix provides the optimum growing conditions or an earth friendly alternative of coconut fibre
Choosing your Seeds: choose high-quality seeds packed for the current year (older seeds may not germinate well)
- read the back of the package for sowing time and special instructions
- as you plant, write the plant name and date planted and put it on a label (with a permanent marker) and put it in each pot
Planting
1. Moisten the growing mixture before filling the containers
2. Seeds can either be scatter on the surface of placed individually into each cell or pot
3. Gently moisten to ensure good contact between the seeds and soil
Temperature: nature causes each type of seed to awaken at a certain temperature, refer to the seed packet
Lighting: most seeds don't require light to germinate. Seedlings need to be placed in a south-facing window or under special lights
Moisture: seeds need to be consistently moist. One sprouted, remove any plastic coverings to reduce humidity. Apply a weak fertilizer several weeks after germination
Transplanting
Once the weather has warmed up, the hardening off process can begin. Gradually, at least one week before you plan to plant them in the garden, place your seedlings on a sheltered porch or under a tree for one hour each day, protecting them from too much wind and hot sun.
For more detailed information; visit the Dufferin Garden Centre to speak to one of our staff, pick up our brochure "Starting Seeds from the Soil Up" and our "Seed Starting Checklist" to get you started.
News Stories Online:
Eating Locally - Right in Your Own Backyard
Events - Spring Beginnings: Starting Seeds and Planning your Veggie Garden
Do you know another gardener who might enjoy this article?
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Seedling Heat Mat by Hydrofarm
Get a jump start on your seeds with a waterproof mat that gently
warms root area to improve germination.
(includes 6' power cord)
- increase the growth success of seedlings and cuttings
- includes lighting, watering and planting information printed directly on the
Heat Mat
- fits under one common seed flat
Regular $34.99 (see coupon below for savings)
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CocoEarth by Grotek
(Organic Growing Medium)
- made
from coconut coir, a biodegradable renewable resource
- clean, lightweight and easy to use
- ideal for seedlings, containers and hanging baskets
- use alone or blend with potting mix
An earth friendly product recommended by Burns Bog
Conservation Society.
CocoEarth products help save Canadian peat bogs.
Save Our Peat Bogs
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Donna's Top 5 Seed Selection
Owner Donna Zarudny is keen on getting the Jump on
Spring! Here are her top 5 seed
selections for this month.
5. Monet's Palette
Sunflower (Ontario Seed Company): This
rare mix of colour and flower form borne on an old fashioned plant habit is a
true masterpiece!
4. Scarlet Runner Pole Beans (Ontario Seed
Company): these densely leaved,
vigorously growing heritage variety plants are used mostly as ornamental
climbers due to the abundance of brilliant scarlet flowers they produce. The broad oval strangles pods are delicious
when harvested and cooked young
3. "Eat Me
Plant" Tom Thumb Nasturtium: from Mr. Fothergill's Fun Seeds Collection
for kids. A bushy long flowering dwarf
variety with brilliantly coloured single blooms. Easy to grow and flowers all summer! (pictured above)
2. Mixed Lettuce Red
Leaves: from Mr. Fothergill's Salad Bar
Collection. Ideal for small space and
container gardens. Grow for delicious
'baby' leaves or for full heads.
1. Brandywine Tomato
(Aimers Organics): Donna's Favourite! Few tomatoes can claim
the mystique of Brandywine. It is
generally thought to be an old Amish variety passed down through generations of
gardeners. Whatever its heritage, modern
gardeners agree that its flavour and texture cannot be beat! 12 to 20 oz fruit with "flavour like your
grandmother used to grow".
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Eco-Tip - Earth Hour on
March 27, 2010 at 8:30pm
This March 27 at 8:30, hundreds of millions of people around
the world will turn their lights for an hour to demand action on climate
change. But that's just the
beginning. Every hour, Canadians are
taking small steps to lessen their impact on the environment.
Take a stand by joining the millions of Canadians
participating in Earth Hour. It's as
easy as turning off your lights.
Email us your plans for Earth Hour and see your comments on
our website.
- candlelight dinners, play board games, sing songs with your children
Visit the Earth Hour Countdown in the Toronto Star for more
ideas on lessoning your carbon footprint at home, office and in your
environment.
Earth Hour Canada
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Gardening Tip - Hardening Off
Before moving the colourful pansies, primulas and seedlings
that have spent their lives so far in our greenhouse or on your sunny
windowsill, take the time to acclimate them to life in the garden
1. Keep a note as to
the transplant date. It usually explains
that on the back of the seed package as every plant will be different. Keep the seedlings well watered.
2. Set the containers
in a sheltered, shady spot outdoors.
Start this about a week prior to the transplant date. A covered porch is an ideal starter spot (or
a table or bench under a leafy tree).
Bring the plants back inside at night or during the day if the weather
turns cold, windy or rainy.
3. Expose the plants
gradually to more sun. After two or
three days, you can safely keep them in the sun for half a day, then return
them to the shade. By the end of the
week they'll be tough enough to soak up the rays all day long.
4. Transplant the
seedlings to the garden on an overcast day to ease the shock of transition from
pot to ground. If a light mist is falling
so much the better.
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Cedar's Corner
Hi
everyone! I'm back and I cannot wait to
see you.
Is everyone ready for spring! I smell it in the air and I feel the ground
warming up under my paws! Our greenhouse is feeling
more and more like spring every day with lots of spring-flowering plants.
Calling all Kids...ready for an experiment? Great!
Let's go!
Did you know that seeds are amazing! In every one lies the complete plan for a
living plant, plus all the food that it needs to get started. They need the right conditions (warmth, darkness and moisture) to get
growing.
Once they are have grown
through the soil and formed their second set of leaves, they become seedlings
and need to sunlight and nutrients to keep growing.
Try this: to get an
idea of how powerful a little seed can be, try planting a bean seed and then
covering it will a coin. Keep the soil
moist. When the seed sprouts, it will
lift up the coin and push it over!
Give it a try and come and tell me how yours did! Heads or Tails?
Purchase your Kit today for $0.99
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