Park Seed Garden Journal

Daily Observances:

February 1 – Superbowl XLIII – The Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the
Arizona Cardinals in the most anticipated football game of the year! So grab
some pizza and hot wings, and enjoy!

February 2 – Groundhog Day – Today, Punxsutawney Phil, that
most famous of groundhogs, will emerge from his burrow to let us know if we can
expect more cold weather or if spring is at hand! If he fails to see his shadow,
winter’s almost over, but if our furry woodchuck friend does see his shadow,
it’s six more weeks of winter!

February 11 – National Shut-In Visitation Day – If you know anyone
who can’t get out of the house for whatever reason, go visit them – bring
groceries, grab a paper, bring him or her a houseplant, or just have a sit-down
and a chat!

February 13 – Blame Someone Else Day – You have a whole day to
pass the buck! Go ahead, say it – “It’s not my fault!” or “Not my job, not my
problem!” Enjoy it today, because tomorrow you have to take responsibility
again!

February 13 – Friday the 13^th – The fear of this day is
called paraskavedekatriaphobia. Say that 5 times fast! Lots of
people think this day is unlucky! Go out there and prove them wrong…but don’t
walk under that ladder!

February 14 – Valentine’s Day – Say through flowers, chocolate,
poetry, or whatever means you find appropriate or romantic, just how much those
you love mean to you!

February 16 – President’s Day – Say Happy Birthday to Presidents
Washington and Lincoln!

February 24 – Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras – This festive season occurs
immediately before Lent and involves a parade, a street party, and people
masquerading during the celebrations. New Orleans is the most well-known city
for this event.

February 25 – Ash Wednesday – The first day of Lent, this
Christian holiday gets its name from the practice of tracing ashes on the
foreheads of the faithful as a sign of their repentance.

February 28 – Floral Design Day – This day is dedicated to simply
creating and appreciating floral arrangements! Make your own or delight in the
beauty of someone else’s!

Weekly Observances:

1-7 – Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week – Acclaimed
authors and illustrators from Children’s Authors Network (CAN!) participate in
storytelling, presentations, and hands-on writing workshops at schools,
libraries, and children’s shelters.

10-12 – World AG Expo – The world’s biggest agricultural
exposition, it provides exhibitors an organized way to display their products,
services and equipment to interested farmers, allowing them to view the latest
technology.

11-17 – Random Acts of Kindness – It doesn’t matter whether it’s
opening a door for someone or paying for a stranger’s lunch, do something nice
for someone who doesn’t expect it. Pay it forward!

13-16 – Great Backyard Bird Count – An annual four-day event that
involves bird watchers of all ages and levels in counting birds to create a
real-time snapshot of where birds are across the continent.

Bake for Family Fun – Share the delights of baking with your family –
make memories, create traditions, and pass on recipes and family heritage
through delicious treats!

Festival of Camellias – Massee Lane Gardens in Fort Valley, GA
hosts this celebration. The festival is kicked off February 7^th, with
free admission for all visitors on that day.

National Black History – This month is dedicated to exploring the
historical issues of importance that relate to people of African descent, as
well as focusing on race relations in America.

National Bird Feeding – Wintertime is one of the most difficult periods
for North American birds. Providing food, water, and shelter helps them survive
and benefits the environment.

National Cherry Pie – Baking with the beautiful and tantalizingly
delicious cherry is especially appropriate during the month of George
Washington’s birth – cherries have become a symbol of his birthday! Say Happy
Birthday with a sweet treat!

National Senior Independence – Dedicated to celebrating and increasing
the independence of older Americans, this month of awareness promotes resources
that provide seniors self respect, self esteem, and the morale that enables them
to make informed decisions and age with dignity.

Plant the Seeds of Greatness – Grow the seeds of a healthy new career or
of new life objectives, for yourself, your family, your business, or your
community. As gardeners, we can plant the seeds of a great new harvest!

Sweet Potato – Commonly called yams in the US, the sweet potato is a
healthy and versatile veggie, delicious baked, fried, or boiled!

Tink here.

Seriously.  Any excuse for a goofy photo.  You can't always predict what may take place when creative-types are around, and happily, the camera is there to capture the madness. 

What would YOU caption this photo?  Let us know (post to "Comments" for this blog)! 

Park Seed employees are welcome to play, this is not a contest, it's just for fun.

Did you miss our previous Caption Jams?  Check it out.

If you subscribe to our wonderful gardening newsletters, you may have participated in this particular contest. We wanted to know what you were never, ever going to do in your garden again. I was lucky enough to be among the elite few selected to judge this particular contest. I based my choices on: 1. Helpfulness to other gardeners, and 2. Quality of the submission. I am partial to funny entries.

Below, I will list a few of my personal favorites – votes won't be tallied until this weekend, and my vote is only one of many, so I can't promise that any of the ones I list will win. But, I will announce the official results next week.

Top 3 Gardening Resolutions, According to Thomas, Whatever That's Worth:
I was not given any Identifying information, only the submission.

#3
Resolve to Always Read Instructions Carefully

#2
Resolve to Handle Small Seeds Carefully (This one just made me laugh)

And My #1
I resolve to keep the bird feeder away from the flower bed (I have personal experience with this one, but I did manage to get a few nice-sized sunflowers out of it)

Tomatoes are the most popular plants among fruit and vegetable gardeners: they produce lots of fruit per plant; the seeds are inexpensive; and, they are easy to grow from seed. You will need to sow your seeds indoors about 6 weeks before the last frost of the spring to maximize their growing potential.

Moisten your planting medium to prepare it for your tomato seeds, a store-bought seed-starting mix is perfect, but many veteran gardeners will have their own recipe of vermiculite, clay, and sphagnum. It's up to you, just don't use soil from your garden for seed-starting – it may be contaminates with all kind of fungi, disease, and bests that will make life harder for your seedling.

Steps To Germinating Tomatoes Indoors

1. Sow directly on top of the medium
   
2. Cover lightly (about ¼ inch) with the planting medium.
3. Place your seeds in a warm place – approximately 75 degrees F.
4. Keep the seeds moist (but not wet) until your seedlings are mature.

Your seedlings should emerge in just over a week, and in 5 more weeks, they will be ready for your garden. Don't forget to harden them off – give them a couple of days outside for just a couple of hours to allow them to acclimate to the wind and sunlight. This prevents damage from shocking them with a sudden climate change.

Check out our full Growing Tomatoes Guide for more information.

Apparently, the noble honeybee is not only a master pollinator, but also a consummate intimidator!  According to a study performed by German scientists, the buzz of nearby honeybees can cause plant-munching caterpillars to cease and desist.  Apparently the caterpillars can’t tell the difference between pollen seeking bees and caterpillar-hunting wasps.  Read more about it here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081222143511.htm

If you want a fun way to learn about honeybees visit helpthehoneybees.com.  There’s even a spot where you can create your own personalized bee.  I think the likeness of mine is unmistakable!

If you want to entice honeybees to your garden try planting blueberries, bee balm, coneflowers, herbs or sunflowers.

Seed ya later!
Stephanie

Raised beds are a great way to have a healthy garden. Think container
gardening on a much larger scale. You build a box and you control
everything that goes in. This is a great method for controlling pests
and disease, especially if you are an organic gardener and other means
of controlling pests are limited.

Raised beds can be built out
of all kinds of things, wooden planks, tractor tires -i've even seen
boats and old bathtubs sunken into people's yards (remember, we are
locating in South Carolina – People can be more than a little
"resourceful" when it comes to landscape design). I personally prefer
the railroad ties because there is very little actual construction
involved and they are fairly inexpensive, usually around ten dollars
each.

If you use Park's Space Saver Garden Corner Joints, you
can easily attach 2X6 planks any way you want. They make great raised
beds, and they come in pack of 4 or 6 flexible hinge joints, so you can make any
design with the angles that you need. They also make it easy to follow
the curve of a drive or the contours of your landscape. These corner
joints are stackable and require very little construction, just two
screws per joint.

Constructing a Raised Bed

It's as easy as making a child’s sand box, just hope your cat doesn't notice the resemblance.

• The
  depth will be the trickiest part, but you can’t really make it too deep
  (just keep in mind that you are going to have to fill this with soil).
  However, if you make it too shallow, the soil will dry out too fast and
  will need constant watering, so shoot for at least twelve inches.
• It’s a good idea to lay some landscaping
  fabric or screen in the bottom to keep out critters and unwanted
  growth.
• Add about an inch or two each of sand and gravel for
  drainage.
• Now
  fill with your soil of choice; if you are planning a
  large project you may want to order it to be delivered in bulk,
  especially if your vehicle is not really equipped for carrying dirt.
  Call around, this is usually a lot cheaper than you'd expect.

This
is would be a great way to get into organic gardening, as it will
reduce your need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides, for more
about this you should check Planning an Organic Garden – this article
is part of Park Seed's Online Gardener's Handbook.

Since 1932, The All-American Selections (AAS) organization has helped
to promote new seed varieties, educating gardeners throughout North
America and keeping us all up to date on the latest trends in
gardening. New plant varieties are grown every year at one of the AAS
Trial Grounds set up at seed companies, botanical gardens, and
university campuses. Each Trial Ground is supervised by a Judge at that
location. Stephanie Turner, Director of Seed Product, is the supervisor
of our trial garden. She is one of official judges who cast votes in
the annual AAS process.

Every year Park Seed offers all of the the AAS winners to our
customers, and for 2009 the winners were Eggplant Gretel, Melon
Lambkin, Viola Rain Blue and Purple, and Squash Honey Bear. Stephanie
told me that she was particulary fond of the Melon Lambkin, and she
knows her stuff – so you should give it a try.

In October of 2007, I posted a short entry about the super-sweet herb, Stevia, and it's growing popularity. I mentioned that food giants Cargill and Coke were courting the FDA to allow them to market a form of the stevia extract as a food additive/sweeter. Last month, Rebiana (the Stevia additive's trade name) was approved for use in North America, so you may start seeing it on shelves within the next few months.

But you don't have to wait that long – you can benefit from this zero-calorie sweetener within a few weeks by growing it in your own kitchen herb garden. I grew stevia last year. It was fairly easy and the plants were impressively dense with sweet foliage. You will probably not run out even if you grow only one plant. You can dry them and save them for later. Right now you can get a pack of 10 USDA certified organic Stevia Rebaudiana seeds for $3.95 from Park Seed.

I really wish I had taken pictures, I had one stem that was almost 4 feet tall on my patio, with leaves from base to tip. Just one leaf of stevia is more than enough to sweeten a glass of tea or lemonade.

Growing plants from seed is easy–people have been doing it for
thousands of years. Essentially, all you need seeds, soil, and water.
The difference between your garden and the gardens of thousands of
years ago is that you are not a tenth-generation farmer growing native
plants on your ancestors' land. You are a busy, modern person working a 40+ hour work week, and you may need a few extra tricks and
gadgets to coax your seeds into giving you the garden you want.

Remember these 3 things when you are starting out with a new garden:

1. Choose good quality seeds.
   To ensure good germination rates and healthy,
   fruitful plant growth, untreated, Non-GMO (genetically modified organism) seed, make sure that you buy from a trusted source. Park Seed is a trusted brand that guarantees the quality of their seed products.
2. Know Your USDA Hardniness Zone.
   Choose the hardiest varieties with resistances
   relevant to your zone. If you live in a hot dry climate, choose
   varieties that are drought resistant.
3. Get as much information about your plants
   as you can.
   At ParkSeed.com, we always list
   tolerances, hardiness, and specific care instructions for all of our
   seeds. The seed packet itself will give you planting and germination
   instructions.

You can read more in this extensive seed-staring guide from our Online Gardener's Handbook which feature other articles and links to helpful gardening sites..

Speaking of seed packets–by popular demand, Park Seed has
brought back the classic gold foil seed packets. People like them because
they keep your seeds safe and dry, and most of our long-time customers
associate them with the Park Seed brand.