Calling All Gardeners 2022

[samsteele]

Like last year, if you need veggie seeds for your home garden, container and urban gardening, you may wish to order quickly. I've now placed my online orders for mckenzie seeds, lindenberg seeds and OSC. I noticed today there are already some limited quantities esp for beans both pole and bush, some peas, some carrot and some lettuce. Traditionally, Canadians order from late Jan through March while our US cousins often order in late Nov and Dec. Looks like another rush on veggie seeds so if interested, order now. While many Cdn seed companies will prob get more supply in the weeks to come, gives us a good idea of how big demand is when we start to see issues in early Jan. Also possible that staffing issues with covid could be at play. But best of luck and happy hunting!

 

[hdrolfe]

If I still have seeds from a year or two ago, what are the odds they will grow this year? Mostly beans (bush) and carrots. I didn't end up putting anything in last year but a tomato plant (that was not the cherry tomatoes it promised to be).

 

[samsteele]

If I still have seeds from a year or two ago, what are the odds they will grow this year? Mostly beans (bush) and carrots. I didn't end up putting anything in last year but a tomato plant (that was not the cherry tomatoes it promised to be).

Your seeds are good. Don't throw them out. Hopefully, you stored them in a cool, dark and dry location (eg in a tupperware container or mason jar in the basement) as that works best for long term storage. You will want to start a couple of extra seeds as the germination rate declines with each passing year so start extras just in case some don't sprout. Just plant some extra seeds when you start them and then cull the weakest or give them to a neighbour who wants to try. The beans should do very well. The carrots may be a bit weaker but just start extra. Good luck!

 

[Starwind]

Your seeds are good. Don't throw them out. Hopefully, you stored them in a cool, dark and dry location (eg in a tupperware container or mason jar in the basement) as that works best for long term storage. You will want to start a couple of extra seeds as the germination rate declines with each passing year so start extras just in case some don't sprout. Just plant some extra seeds when you start them and then cull the weakest or give them to a neighbour who wants to try. The beans should do very well. The carrots may be a bit weaker but just start extra. Good luck!

By "weaker" do you mean say out of ten seeds a few may not sprout [but that the ones who do grow to be normal veggies] ? Or does it manifest in lesser quality grown veggies ?

(I should know all this because I grew up with half our backyard being a garden because of my Mom... but this kind of wisdom did not sink in... OTOH, I can tell all about what to do with Monster Zucchini due to The Year We Ate It In Nearly Everything )

 

[samsteele]

but that the ones who do grow to be normal veggies

Just fewer seedlings and as the years go by fewer and fewer will sprout. But the seedlings that do start should produce good quality veggies. eg most of my tomato and pole bean seeds I planted last year were from the year before, and the vast majority of them sprouted and the tomatos in particular did really well and produced great fruit. I wanted to save many of my 2021 seed just in case it was really difficult to find this year.
Hear you about the Monster Zucchini. LOL. Zucchini bread, zucchini noodles ('zoodles') and oodles more. I try to pick them before they become baseball bats. But they get away from us.

 

[damo]

Oh gosh we had sooooo many zucchini last year. We gave them away to everyone!

Anyone ever plant edemame?

 

[samsteele]

Anyone ever plant edemame?

No but interesting to hear from anyone who has.

Wanted to mention there are some great vlogs on youtube that are really helpful re seed starting. One that come to mind is MI Gardener. He's in Michigan so similar frost and growing conditions for some of us. The Rusted Gardener is another great resource. Think he's in Maryland so seed starting timing is very different there but he's posting almost daily seed starting tutorials right now that are really practical. You have to do your own math to know when to actually start. eg for me in central/eastern Ontario, I won't start my seed onions, rosemary and other slow hard to grow veggies and herbs until early Feb. Then again for me, I won't start my tomatoes until late March because I don't want them to grow too large and their roots stress out before I can safely plant them out in May after my last frost. These are both really helpful gardening sites and worth the time investment to watch. While I love watching some of the english gardening vlogs, a bit of a downer when I see how lush their gardens are and how they can overwinter a lot of green veggies because of their very different growing conditions.

 

[Starwind]

Just fewer seedlings and as the years go by fewer and fewer will sprout. But the seedlings that do start should produce good quality veggies. eg most of my tomato and pole bean seeds I planted last year were from the year before, and the vast majority of them sprouted and the tomatos in particular did really well and produced great fruit. I wanted to save many of my 2021 seed just in case it was really difficult to find this year.
Hear you about the Monster Zucchini. LOL. Zucchini bread, zucchini noodles ('zoodles') and oodles more. I try to pick them before they become baseball bats. But they get away from us.

Thank you !!

My zucchini favourite I think was shred the stuff and put it in chocolate cake. Totally hides that it is there, and adds some nice moisture If made into cupcakes, they freeze really well and are good for kid lunches.

Everyone who came to our house that year went away with monster zucchinis, even the Canada Post deliveryperson ! *and we still had lots and lots and lots* the stuff was like a weed!

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

Oh gosh we had sooooo many zucchini last year. We gave them away to everyone!

Anyone ever plant edemame?

I had problems last year with my zucchini and spaghetti squash. I had an infestation of squash line bore that infected most of my plants so I had maybe 5 zucchini and 2-3 spaghetti squash. Has anyone had experience with this bug and what I can do not to have that happen again as the previous summer (2020) I had so many zucchini and squash that I had to give some away to neighbours?

 

[samsteele]

I had problems last year with my zucchini and spaghetti squash. I had an infestation of squash line bore that infected most of my plants so I had maybe 5 zucchini and 2-3 spaghetti squash. Has anyone had experience with this bug and what I can do not to have that happen again as the previous summer (2020) I had so many zucchini and squash that I had to give some away to neighbours?

I've had this also. You could switch up where you grow your zucchini and squash as the bugs hatch from soil where the moths lay their eggs. So if you've been direct seeding in the same location for years, it becomes a problem. You'll need to make sure the new location is far enough away from the original site so the bugs can't just fly over easily. Another possible, that I'm trying this summer, is to wrap the stems of my young zucchini and squash with tin foil. Then every few days readjust it so you don't have it too tight and strangle the plants. This may help reduce the number of plants lost to the bug. Good luck!

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

I've had this also. You could switch up where you grow your zucchini and squash as the bugs hatch from soil where the moths lay their eggs. So if you've been direct seeding in the same location for years, it becomes a problem. You'll need to make sure the new location is far enough away from the original site so the bugs can't just fly over easily. Another possible, that I'm trying this summer, is to wrap the stems of my young zucchini and squash with tin foil. Then every few days readjust it so you don't have it too tight and strangle the plants. This may help reduce the number of plants lost to the bug. Good luck!

Thank you for the suggestions. I think I’m going to try and plant them in a different location this year and see how that goes.