Redwood Seeds Blog

  • Wake up, Seeds!

    Wake up, Seeds! Each year we do germination tests on our seeds to test their viability. As a seed company, we're required to meet Federal Germination Standards for each variety. This year we were met with great success. Not only did our seeds pass the germination standards, but many far exceeded it! To share our process, I sprinkled fifty seeds of each variety on a wet paper towel and folded it up. Then each paper towel square was placed into an open plastic bag (to maintain air flow) and labelled with the variety and date. All the bags were placed... read more »

  • Peautiful: Organic Pea Seed Production!

      Horizontal pea trellis Planting Peas This past week we planted nearly 7,000 pea seedlings representing 7 varieties: Sugaree Snap, Golden Sweetie, Green Beauty, Mammoth Melting, Oregon Sugar Pod II, Sugar Magnolia Purple and Sugar Snap.  We must have worked hard because we all had sore hamstrings then next day! Although peas are an easy crop to direct seed, years ago we switched to starting them in trays and transplanting after watching most of the pea seeds either rot in the ground due to weather or get eaten by gophers! The secret to transplanting peas with success is to plant... read more »

  • Seeding the Schools

    We get pretty excited about school gardens around here, and this year we have the honor of helping out a couple of local schools with our organic seeds. The Sequoia Middle School in Redding started their garden project last year, and if their initial success was any indication, it is a project that will keep growing. We have joined with the school to do a fundraiser for the garden. For one more week, students are selling Redwood Seeds through the school, and a portion of the proceeds go right back to the garden project. We are so proud to be... read more »

  • Fungus and Plant Partnership

    [caption id="attachment_84" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Myceliated seeds from Mycelium Running[/caption] Hello fellow gardeners! I am excited to announce the beginning of an informal experiment we've started at Redwood Organic Farm regarding the symbiotic relationship between mycorrhizae fungus and 95% of the plants you want to grow in your garden. I was captivated by a chapter of Mycelium Running by Paul Stamates that describes the process of mycorrhizal association with plants. The fungus colonizes the host plant's roots and thrives on the plant's waste products, sugars, hormones, and dead tissues that flake off. In exchange, the fungus brings distant nutrients and moisture... read more »

  • Planting Spring Lettuce

    After filling your trays with soil, sprinkle seeds in the planter cells. Water lightly, cover with soil, then water again. Watering before covering with soil gets the seeds nice and wet and encourages them to settle. Cover seeds with about 1/8 inch of soil. If the seeds are too deep, germination will take forever. 55-65 degrees is best for germination, which should happen within 10 days. Seed germination is an important time to focus on an even watering schedule. The seeds need to be warm and moist for days. In our green house we gently water 3-5 times a day... read more »