Park Seed Garden Journal

We all love health food, right? Of course we do– good for the heart, good for the mind. I’ve always loved sprouts– bean sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, and… no, not Brussels sprouts, but yes, delicious nutritious broccoli sprouts. Park Seed has a sprouting seed collection you could try if you wanted to grow your own sprouts.

If you look online, you’ll find the old-school jam jar and cheesecloth method of growing sprouts. Which is fine, and can be fun (i.e., Soak your seed– drain– soak your seed– drain, and keep doing it until you have sprouts). Park Seed offers this neat little sprouting tray that you can just spread your seed on and put on your windowsill and have your sprouts in about five days. Park Seed sprouting seed comes in sizes matched to our tray, but that may be more sprouts than you can use before they go bad. You may want to only use a little and save the rest because there are thousands per packet. For example, there are 12,000 seeds in the alfalfa sprouts.

There was a story last year from a Botanical Garden in Lyons, France of a mouse being eaten by a carnivorous plant. It was a big deal because this was supposed to be the first documented case of a mammal being devoured by a plant.

Alright, the story is cute. Visitors should “watch their fingers” says this reporter, and I probably would have made the same joke. However, I’m calling ‘hoax’ on this one. I know that the plants produce odors that attract flying insects, but what perceived benefit would a mouse have to climb up the outside of an awkwardly shaped pitcher plant and dive in?

Nope, I think some lowly and bored employee who had removed the mouse from a trap, or possibly found the carcass discarded by some predatory house pet, picked up the tiny rodent by the tail and dropped it in the Nepenthes’ mouth just to see what would happen. Well, his boss, the botanist, comes along behind him and makes this “discovery,” and things have gone way too far for anyone to fess up.

That’s what I believe happened. Little shop of horrors was cute, but it is fiction. I’m not saying that I believe this is is unheard of in nature, I just don’t believe this particular story.

Carnivorous plants are definitely fun and interesting. In a recent post over at Wayside Gardens Voices, John Durst mentions indoor bog gardens in terrariums. This would be a perfect place to grow some carnivorous plants, which are often sold in your local grocery store’s floral department as novelty items. While neither Park Seed nor Wayside Gardens sell any carnivorous plants, Wayside does have a few bog-loving plants that would complement such a collection. Try the Juncus Unicorn or any of our Iris or Daylilies. These will be too big for a terrarium, but pitcher plants are big enough that you could grow your carnivorous garden outdoors.

Thomas
tandrews@parkseed.com

It helps to know what other people are discussing when writing for varied audiences. Other bloggers can be an invaluable inspirational resource. When something is hot, or at least noteworthy, we all want to have our own take on it. I spend a little time each day reading other garden blogs. In my personal blogs, on topics other than gardening, I am a little more brazen when talking with other bloggers. As a writer for a corporate blog, I have a tendency to be more careful. Everyone knows that I represent a business, Park Seed, and they assume I must be working some angle.

The truth is, my primary function in this medium is similar to a customer service role. I have been given charge of this blog to fill it with meaningful content and answer questions as best I can. I am supposed to function as a liaison for some of the best horticulturists and botanists in the business. I am no expert, but I have plenty of people close by to field questions. It’s true. I could walk right up to them right now if I wanted and ask how to take care of a brand new blueberry bush. I’d promptly be given an answer longer than I wanted to write, and I’d have to condense it for you.

I have a found a sea of entertaining and incredibly informative people online since I started doing this. Just like with any other subject, some people who are blogging about gardening are real experts who I truly enjoy reading. One I have recently started following is Graham Rice and his blog, Transatlantic Plantsman. He gives his truly insightful perspective from both sides of the pond, writing about his horticultural adventures in England and New England alike.

In a recent post, he mentioned the loss of the canine mascots Beanie and Bear, and that really hit home. We here at Park Seed would be crushed if we lost little Ernestina. I know I recently called her a child-eating monster, but she only eats bad children. There is something about having a dog around that makes the day go by a little easier.

Thomas
tandrews@parkseed.com

It has been suggested that raw garlic reduces the risk of certain cancers and heart disease and lowers cholesterol. It has been taken in supplements and as a folk remedy for ages, but a recent study has shown that at least one of garlic’s purported homeopathic talents is in question. In a new report from the Associated Press, scientists have just finished a study that shows the cholesterol reducing properties of garlic may be diluted when eaten. The right chemicals are there, but nobody consumes enough garlic to make a notable difference in cholesterol levels (being a real garlic lover, I beg to differ).

However, past studies have concluded that the alleged cancer-preventing and heart-helping abilities of garlic are legitimate. It has also been shown to help regulate blood sugar levels and prevent some complications of diabetes. Fresh garlic is packed with B vitamins, antioxidants, and other chemicals with known antibiotic and anti-fungal properties.

Though some of garlic’s medicinal charms may have been taken away by recent findings, rest assured, it is still very good for you. That wouldn’t matter to me anyway. Garlic is delicious. “You can never use too much garlic,” that’s my personal culinary mantra. That could be why I don’t get to cook for people that often.

Thomas
tandrews@parkseed.com

AP article from Yahoo! News

I wouldn’t like to make a habit out of posting about the Park Seed Newsletter. If I just wrote about what they write about, what work am I doing? But this particular newsletter sparked my interest. I love the rare and unusual, and the February 24 newsletter was about rare seeds offered by Park Seed this season.

Not only are they rare, they are container varieties you can grow in doors. Personally, I am most excited about the Cactus Hardy Blend and the Bird of Paradise. All the varieties in this list are supposed to be hardy and easy to grow inside. I have a fairly dark house, and I have a hard time growing things inside. My windows don’t face the right directions and my neighbors are too close. I love plants that are easy to grow indoors, because I have an extra hard time with house plants. I guess it’s a trade-off, my yard being so warm, moist, and fertile I have to scare away confused jungle animals.

Anyway, check it out the Park Seed Newsletter if you haven’t already.

Thomas
tandrews@parkseed.com

Here at the Park Seed Company, we sure do love corn. Well, I know love corn. I just assumed that the rest of Park Seed loves corn because they sell so much of it. I love my corn,and I love it sweet. I’m not a fan of over-cooked corn, or corn from a can. I like corn on the cob, but not so much from the freezer. I like to take a fresh cob of corn, shuck it myself, cover it in butter (real butter) and garlic, wrap it in aluminum foil and put it in the oven just long enough to melt the better. Or maybe, eat it straight off the stalk.

If Park Seed has a variety of anything it’s corn. There are four basic varieties offered: regular sweet, sugar enhanced, super sweet, and triple sweet varieties. After that it is broken down into specific cultivars. Of course, we also have ornamental corns, if you just want to look at your corn.

Park Seed has a few corn cultivars worth mentioning alone this season. Corn ‘Avalon’ is the very first white triple sweet. With it’s crunchy kernels, long-lasting flavor, and classic corn taste this triple sweet performs as well as it’s yellow cousins. ‘Silver Princess’ is another white variety, and it produces earlier than both ‘King’ and ‘Queen’. And of course, our rockstar this season, the Corn Mirai, a wonderfully sweet and tender variety from Japan. It comes in several color variations and has already created a little buzz.

Thomas

tandrews@parkseed.com

You may have heard of Karen Park Jennings’ book Success with Seed! Now there is a “Success with Seed” website. Want to know what seed to buy? Want to know what to do once you get your seed? Want to learn specifics about about this seed or that seed? Or maybe you’ve just like to talk with other gardeners about growing your seed on the forums. It is a wonderfully informative website about growing from seed.

Check out www.successwithseed.org when you get a chance. It’s just budding now, but with your help it can be a thriving online community of gardeners who grow from seed. Growing from seed is a unique experience in gardening that requires special knowledge and is especially rewarding. Karen, Park Seed, and Wayside Gardens invite you to join the online seed community.

tandrews@parkseed.com

I love the variety of the Park Seed catalog, I love the beautiful flowers, but I have to admit, I love gadgets more. The back of the catalog is my favorite part. As a gardener, you may think that’s blasphemy, but I believe hardware is just as important as your plants. True, you can do a lot with just your hands. But, when life could be a little easier, why not let it?

Yes, I was one of those kids that took things apart. I always collected the batteries and electric motors out of any appliance that was “broken”. I was sure I was going to invent something. I think I got that from my dad. He has more tools than anyone I know. He will go and buy a tool that does fifty different things, even when he already has the other fifty tools, and he would never think of getting rid of any of them. I guess I might be like that, a little.

That is why I love the back of our catalog, or any tool catalog, or any electronics catalog. Heating pads for seed starting, the Bio Dome seed starter, an electronic soil analyzer, and a timer for your garden hose are just a few of my favorites. Check out the back of your catalog, or just search for “accessories” on the Park Seed website.

Thomas
tandrews@parkseed.com

I just spied this article, which mentions Park Seed in The Times and Democrat about a three-part travel guide entitled, Backroads of South Carolina, written by authors Nancy Mikula and her husband, Paul M. Franklin. The article really hit close to home because it mentioned some of the places I grew up visiting. I went to school in Ninety Six just down the street from the Ninety Six National Historic Site. I spent a few warm summer days, deep in Stumphouse Tunnel, an unfinished train tunnel, trying to scare my younger siblings. And that beautiful waterfall pictured at the top of the article, Isaqueena, I climbed straight up it’s hundred-foot face not too long ago. Waterfall hunting is a little hobby of mine. A funny thing about Isaqueena falls, It is named after the Native American Princess, the star of the legend that gave the town of Ninety Six its name.

The really fun part is that Park Seed Company is listed as one of the featured stops in Backroads of South Carolina. Park Seed wears its best face from late spring through summer when the trial gardens are in full bloom– so visit us soon. They also mention the historical value, the company being started in 1868 by a 16 year old George W. Park with a humble hand-press. Please come by and sit on Park Seed’s benches and enjoy the gardens and South Carolinas pleasant climate. Peruse our public greenhouses and our Garden Center retail store.

You are welcome at Park Seed anytime,
Thomas
tandrews@parkseed.com

Organic gardening has grown in popularity as commercial food sources have become increasingly reliant on synthetic processes. Organic gardening on an individual level is not really all that difficult, in fact, you’d probably only have to change a few things to make your garden organic. For some food product to be defined as ‘organic’ it must simply be grown without the aid of any synthetic chemicals like fertilizers, pesticides, and hormones. In the case of livestock, they must not be given synthetic hormones or supplements, they are kept on very strict diets, and they are only treated for specific medical issues instead of routine administrations of preventative meds.

So, to make your home garden an organic garden you have three little hurdles. First, you must buy certified organic seed, which is not very difficult. If you’ve got the Park Seed catalog, pages 104 and 105 are full of organic seeds, or you can search for organic seeds at Park Seed’s Website. Second, you can’t use any synthetic weed killers. Sorry, no such thing as an organic weed killer, you’re just going to have to get down in the dirt and do a little weeding. When you’ve got all of your weeds removed, mulching will help keep them from coming back. Finally, in an organic garden you can’t use any synthetic pesticides. There are a few organically approved pesticides, but there are also alternative methods, such as the use of beneficial insects such as ladybird beetles, lacewings, mantis, and the ground beetle.

If you do not start from organic seed, and you are not growing certified organic plants, you could still benefit from organic growing practices. Some chemical pesticides and herbicides have been known to be somewhat unhealthy for humans. If you spend a lot of time in your garden, have children or pets that play outside, or if you’re worried about the birds and butterflies, organic gardening techniques could be what you’ve been looking for.