Redwood Seeds Blog
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Dual Purpose Gardens: Eat and Save Seeds Too!
A few weeks ago we focused on seed saving and I promised to return to the topic. Today we return! If you hope to save seed from your garden this season, a little planning goes a long way. Specifically, knowing how many varieties of a given species you can grow without cross pollination. If you want to refresh your memory or missed the last seed saving blog you can view it here. A commmon question I hear is this. Can I still eat from my seed garden? Absolutely, you can grow for food and seed in the same space. Remember the golden... read more »
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Year-Round Harvest- Planning your garden
A common question I hear is, "What do I plant, when?" Timing is a cornerstone in the garden. For experienced gardeners this becomes intuitive, but when you are first embarking it can be a steep learning curve. The same is true when one moves to a new gardening zone. To make it simple in my mind, I lump annual veggies into two main groups: warm season and cool season. Most climate zones experience their warm season in the summer months and the cool season in the shoulder seasons of fall and spring. The exceptions to this are northern latitudes and mountain/coastal... read more »
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Variety Spotlight Sunflowers
There are many things to love about the sunflower: its beauty, height, vigor and food potential to name a few. They have been a regular in my garden for the last 20 years and are always a top seed seller which tells me that my love for this flower is not unique. A few weeks ago I read that the sunflower had become a symbol for Ukrainian resistance and peace and that got me wanting to know more. So I started googling, reading and have distilled that info below. Origins and History: The common sunflower Helianthus annuus originated in North... read more »
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Seed Starting: Tips for strong seedlings
Seed starting at its most base level is a very simple equation. Seeds+light+water=plants. There are a few variables like temperature and planting depth that can effect your outcome. In this post I've included a lot of great information for newbies and experienced gardeners alike. Keep reading below for my 5 Top Seed Starting Tips applicable to most varieties. Read more »
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Water Wise: Gardening in times of heat, drought and smoke
It is no secret the heat is on; conditions are drier and it affects us all. Some of my top tips for gardening through hot, smoky summers are as follows: 1. Mulch, mulch, mulch. It may seem like old news, and it is. Mulch helps soil retain moisture, stay cool and eventually breaks down to add organic material to the soil. Last year we spread 30 bales of organic rice straw over our 2 acres of seed gardens then planted through the mulch. Read more »
