seed starting

21 Seeds for your Fall Vegetable Garden

May 23, 2023 Leave a Comment

Just because summers almost over doesn’t mean you can’t continue to grow and harvest food. Many gardeners grow fall vegetables well into winter. Having home grown food beats grocery store food hands down! There are so many vegetables you can grow successfully!

Here are some seeds that you can sow for a fall vegetable harvest:

Arugula
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Chinese cabbage
Cucumbers
Kale
Leeks
Lettuce
Mustard greens
Okra
Onions
Peas
Potatoes
Radishes
Spinach
Swiss chard
Turnips
Winter squash

These fall vegetables are all cool-weather crops that can be planted in late summer and harvested in the fall or early winter. They are a great way to extend your growing season and enjoy fresh, homegrown vegetables. If you grow your vegetables under cover you can extend your gardening season even longer.

To learn how to grow Kale from seed read this post here

Here are some tips for planting fall vegetables:

Start your seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before your first frost date.
Transplant the seedlings outdoors 2-3 weeks after your last frost date.
Water the plants regularly, especially during dry weather.
Fertilize the plants every 2-4 weeks with a balanced fertilizer.
Harvest the vegetables when they are young and tender.

With a little care and attention, you can easily grow a bountiful harvest of fall vegetables.

Happy Gardening

Ciearra

How to Grow Petunias from Seed

May 22, 2023 Leave a Comment

Petunias are a beautiful flowering annual plant that you can easily grow from seed. Annual plants provide you season long color in the garden with their continuous blooming and fast growth habits. When planning your annual garden be sure to think about color, growth habit and sun needs. Petunias are hungry plants meaning they love to be fertilized and they love water

Here are the steps on how to grow petunias from seed:

Start your seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before your last frost date or earlier for early blooms.
Fill a seed starting tray with a sterile seed starting mix.
Sprinkle the petunia seeds on top of the soil.
Lightly cover the seeds with more soil.
Mist the soil with water.
Cover the seed starting tray with plastic wrap or a clear lid.
Place the seed starting tray in a warm, sunny spot or under grow lights.
Remove the plastic wrap or lid once the seeds have germinated and the seedlings have their first set of true leaves.
Thin the seedlings so that there is only one seedling per cell.
Fertilize the seedlings with a weak solution of liquid fertilizer once a week.
Harden off the seedlings by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions for a few hours each day, before transplanting them outdoors after your last frost date.
Water the petunias regularly, especially during hot, dry weather.
Fertilize the petunias every 2-4 weeks with a balanced fertilizer.
Deadhead the petunias regularly to encourage new blooms.
Enjoy your beautiful petunias!

close up photograph of petunia flowers in bloom — Red Petunias

Here are some additional tips for growing petunias from seed:

Use a good quality seed starting mix.
Keep the soil moist but not soggy.
Fertilize the seedlings regularly.
Harden off the seedlings before transplanting them outdoors.
Water the petunias regularly, especially during hot, dry weather.
Fertilize the petunias every 2-4 weeks with a balanced fertilizer.
Deadhead the petunias regularly to encourage new blooms.
Protect the petunias from pests and diseases.

With a little care and attention, you can easily grow beautiful petunias from seed. Petunia do so well planted in containers or in ground.

Happy Gardening!

Ciearra

How to Grow Cucumber from Seed

March 10, 2023 Leave a Comment

Cucumbers are great for pickling, eating fresh and even chickens love them. The Cucumber plant is a fast growing vine that needs a lot of care throughout the growing season. Here’s how to grow your best Cucumber!

This blog post may contain affiliate links and if you make a purchase you will be helping me continue my love and passion for gardening.

Before you begin you will need Cucumber seeds. There are many retailers that will have seeds in stores beginning in January and sometimes earlier. If you want more variety than what’s in store I suggest ordering online. Here are some of my favorite places to buy seeds online.

Now that you’ve got your seeds it’s time to decide when and how you want to plant them. The easiest way to grow Cucumber from seed is to plant them directly in the garden after your first frost date. You will follow the depth requirements on the seed packet then once planted water them in and let nature do the rest! Kidding, well not entirely.

Inside or Out?

Outside

Whether you start your Cucumber seeds inside or out is up to you. Both options are wonderful depending on your situation. Starting your Cucumbers outside will be the easiest by far but you will have to deal with pest pressure early on.

Birds, chipmunks, squirrels among many others will be after your seeds as soon as your plant them in the ground. Aside from watering nature will take care of them for you. You will have stronger seedlings that are adapted to the outside elements and do not need transitioning.

Follow the planting guide on the seed packet for planting outside in ground. You will likely need to plant your seeds about 2 inches apart and and inch or so down in the soil.

If you also plan to grow Tomatoes you can learn how to grow them here!

Inside

To grow indoors you are going to need patience and space because Cucumbers sprout and grow very fast! They will start throwing out tendrils that will wind and twist around anything that is nearby. Here’s what you need to get started.

Seed Starting Supplies

Seed Starting Mix

Small Pots

Grow Light

You can get high tech/expensive with seed starting if you want, but you can totally do it low cost. All you need is what’s listed above. Using seed starting mix when starting seeds indoors is important because seed starting soil is sterile. Potting soil can have bacteria that can aid in seedling death called damping off. So you need to keep clean tools, pots and soil for the best germination rates.

How to grow Cucumber From Seed

Fill your pots with seed starting mix then depending on the size of your pots plant your seeds 1/2 inch down, cover with soil and water them. Be prepared to keep your seed mix consistently moist. Dry soil can be the death of young seedlings

If you don’t have strong window light or overhead grow lights you will get leggy (stretched) seedlings. While you can grow your seeds in a window sill but I highly recommend you get a grow light or two. Leggy seedlings isn’t a big deal for Cucumber plants as it’s a vine but a lack of light will make a weaker plant overall.

Aside from overhead lighting you will want to keep your seedlings in a warm area of your home. Cucumber seeds don’t have to be on a heat mat to germinate, a warm room will do.

Cucumber Seedlings

Once your Cucumber seeds sprout you will want to continue keeping the soil moist, consistent light and the space warm. Seedlings need at least 13 hours of daylight. This is made easier by the use of artificial lights. You can leave your grow lights on for at max 16 hours a day to keep your seedlings happy.

When you begin seeing roots growing from the bottom of your pots it’s time to repot your plants. If your outdoor temps are warm enough ( Above 46 degrees at night) you can transition your seedlings into your garden.

To learn how to transition your seeds I recommend you read this post!

If it’s not yet time to plant your seedlings outside then continue with regular care until the weather is right. You may have to repot your seedlings several times before transitioning them out into the garden.

Planting Outside

Once you’ve transitioned your seedlings it’s time to plant. You can plant your seedlings in containers, raised beds or in ground. When you plant be sure to use an organic fertilizer to feed your plant. Annuals grow quite fast and are very heavy feeders so make sure to provide them with fertilizer all season long.

Cucumber plants will require a trellis as they grow and mature. Provide them with something sturdy to climb on because once the plant starts to produce cucumbers it can get very heavy. If there is no support for the growing plant stems can break.

Once your plant begins to flower it wont be long after that you will begin to see tiny cucumbers begin to develop. Don’t forget to add a few flowering plants like Marigolds or petunias to your garden to bring in pollinators.

Happy Gardening

Ciearra

How to Grow Tomatoes from Seed

February 16, 2023 1 Comment

There is nothing better than a homegrown sun ripened Tomato. If you do not know this yet, there is a BIG difference in flavor of store bought tomatos vs’ homegrown tomatoes and once you’ve tried homegrown you’ll never go back if you don’t have to. So here is your guide to growing your own Tomatoes in your garden.

This blog post may contain affiliate links and if you make a purchase you will be helping me continue my love and passion for gardening.

Did you know that there are over 10,000 varieties of Tomatoes? Ranging in flavor from sweet to acidic. There are so many varieties and flavors to choose from!

To get started you need to source seeds. There are many retailers that will have Tomato seeds in stores starting in January and sometimes earlier. If you want more variety than what’s in store I suggest ordering online. Here are some cool places to shop online.

Now that your seeds have arrived it’s time to decide when and how you want to plant them. The easiest way to start Tomato seeds is to plant them directly in the garden after your first frost date. Its a good idea to have a space in your garden prepared prior to planting. You can prepare a bed by tilling the soil and adding in compost prior to planting.

You will follow the depth requirements on the seed packet then once planted, water them in and let nature do the rest! Kidding, well not entirely. You will need to keep watch for birds and other critters that would love to dig up and eat your seeds. While also keeping the soil moist by hand watering or drip irrigation.

Inside or Out?

gardener planting seeds on a tray of soil

Outside

Whether you start your seeds inside or out is up to you. Both options are wonderful depending on your situation. Starting your seeds outside will be the easiest by far but you will have to deal with pest pressure from the start.

Follow the planting guide on the seed packet for planting outside in ground. You will likely need to plant your seeds about 2 inches apart and and inch or so down in the soil.

Determinate vs Indeterminate Tomatoes

Determinate Tomatoes grow to a certain height and stop. Determinate Tomatoes are perfect for growing in containers and for small space gardens. Different determinate varieties will grow to different heights based on variety but top out at a certain height. Tomato cages are nice but not always necessary depending on the variety.

Indeterminate tomatoes grow to an indeterminate height meaning that they can grow as tall as they please. If you choose to grow Indeterminate tomatoes, be ready to provide a trellising system for them. Simple tomato cages will only be enough if you “Top” your tomatoes at the same height of the cage. If you let them grow taller than your trellising system you are asking for a mess. They will flop over and grow all over the place.

To real an awesome book about tomatoes click here!

Inside

To grow tomatoes indoors you are going to need patience and space because tomatoes sprout and grow very fast! Here’s what you need to grow your own tomatoes.

Seed Starting Supplies

Seed Starting Mix

Small Pots

Grow Light

How to grow Tomatoes From Seed

Aside from overhead lighting you will want to keep your seedlings in a warm area of your home. Sunflower seeds don’t need to much heat to germinate but do best in a warm room.

Should your Tomato seedlings get leggy there is a fix! You can bury tomato plants deeper into soil and the stem will root. It’s amazing!

Tomato Seedlings

Once your seeds have sprouted you will want to make sure to keep the soil moist, overhead light consistent and your space warm. Seedlings need at least 13 hours of daylight. This is made easier by the use of artificial lights. You can leave your grow lights on for at max 16 hours a day to keep your Tomato seedlings happy.

When you begin seeing roots growing from the bottom of your pots it’s time to repot your plants. If your outdoor temps are warm enough ( Above 46 degrees at night) you can begin to transition your seedlings into the garden.

To learn how to transition your seeds I recommend you read this post!

If it’s not yet time to plant your tomatoes outside then continue with regular care until the weather is right. You may have to repot your seedlings several times before transitioning them out into the garden.

Planting Outside

Once you’ve transitioned your seedlings it’s time to plant. You can plant your seedlings in containers, raised beds or in ground making sure your plant is in full sun. Full sun is at least 6 hours of direct sun oh the foliage.

Fertilizing

When you plant be sure to use a fertilizer to feed your plant. Tomato plants grow quite fast and are very heavy feeders so make sure to provide them with fertilizer all season long. You can use a tomato specific fertilizer to feed them all season long.

Watering

Tomatoes love moist soil as much as they love being fertilized regularly. Keep your tomatoes consistently moist especially if you plant them in pots. You can water them by hand daily or install drip irrigation so that you don’t have to water daily.

Once you grow your own tomatoes you will never look at store bought tomatoes the same. There are so many types of tomatoes that there’s always new tomatoes to try.

Happy Gardening

Ciearra

How to Grow Dahlia From Seed

February 13, 2023 1 Comment

I don’t know if you know this but Dahlias are so easy to grow from seed. They make beautiful cut flowers adding whimsy and wonder to any garden they reside. You can start your Dahlias from seed outside directly in the garden or start them early indoors and get a jump on the garden season.

This blog post may contain affiliate links and if you make a purchase you will be helping me continue my love and passion for gardening.

Before you begin you will need to source out Dahlia seeds. There are many retailers that will have seeds in stores starting in January and sometimes earlier. If you want more variety than what’s in store I suggest ordering online. Here are some of my favorite places to shop online.

Now that you’ve got your seeds it’s time to decide when and how you want to plant them. The easiest way to start Dahlias from seed is to plant them directly in the garden after your first frost date. You will follow the depth requirements on the seed packet then once planted water them in and let nature do the rest! Kidding, well not entirely. You will need to keep watch for birds and other critters that would love to dig up and eat your seeds

Inside or Out?

Outside

Whether you start your Dahlia seeds inside or out is up to you. Both options are wonderful depending on your situation. Starting your Dahlia seeds outside will be the easiest by far but you will have to deal with pest pressure.

Follow the planting guide on the seed packet for planting outside in ground. You will likely need to plant your seeds about 2 inches apart and and inch or so down in the soil.

If you also love Zinnias you can learn how to grow them here!

Inside

To grow indoors you are going to need patience and space because Dahlias sprout and grow very fast! Here’s what you need to get your Dahlias started.

Seed Starting Supplies

You can get high tech/ expensive with seed starting if you want, but you can totally do it low cost. All you need is what’s listed above. Using seed starting mix when starting seeds indoors is important because seed starting soil is sterile. Potting soil can have bacteria that can aid in seedling death called damping off. So you need to keep clean tools, pots and soil for the best germination rates.

a close up shot of a dahlia flower in full bloom

How to grow Dahlia From Seed

Aside from overhead lighting you will want to keep your seedlings in a warm area of your home. Sunflower seeds don’t need to much heat to germinate but do best in a warm room.

Dahlia Sprouts

Once your Dahlia seeds sprout you will want to make sure to keep the soil moist, light consistent and the space warm. Seedlings need at least 13 hours of daylight. This is made easier by the use of artificial lights. You can leave your grow lights on for at max 16 hours a day to keep your seedlings happy.

To learn how to transition your seeds I recommend you read this post!

Planting Outside

pink ball dahlia flower in selective focus photography

Growing Dahlia from seed is such a great way to add beauty and life into the garden and what’s amazing is that you can collect seeds from your own plants and grow your own stock year after year. Dahlias are amazing in potting arrangements and come in so many different heights. You can add them to your landscape or in a cut flower garden.

Happy Gardening

Ciearra

How to grow Cilantro from Seed indoors

January 5, 2023 Leave a Comment

Cilantro is an amazing herb and grows very easily from seed. It’s native to the southern regions of Asia and Europe and what’s even cooler is that Cilantro seeds have even been found in Egyptian Tombs! Meaning it’s been around for a very long time. Cilantro grows best in cooler weather so growing your spring or fall garden will yield you the best growth. Here’s how to grow Cilantro!

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure for more information

Buy Seeds

With so many awesome retailers that offer seeds online the world is your oyster when It comes to where to buy seeds. Here are some of my favorite places to shop online for seeds. If you prefer to go in store you will find most retailers carry seeds in the spring.

Park Seed

Seedville USA

Etsy

Seed Starting Tools

You can get high tech and expensive with seed starting if you want, but you can totally do it low cost. If you need to go the low cost route shop at Dollar Tree or another Dollar store in your area. They all carry seeds and seed starting equipment in spring. All you need is what’s listed above.

Using seed starting mix when starting seeds is important because seed starting soil is sterile. Potting soil can have bacteria that can aid in seedling death called damping off. So you need to keep clean tools, pots and soil.

Getting Started

Now that you’ve got your seeds and supplies it’s time to plant. Add your seed starting soil to your pot and follow the planting directions. Typically planting two seeds per pot or cell if your using planting cells. Two seeds just in case one doesn’t germinate. As your Cilantro grows you will want to keep potting up, not allowing your seedlings to become root bound. Cilantro grows a long tap root and can often struggle after transplanting outside.

Watering

Now that your seeds are planted it’s time to talk about watering. Keeping seedlings watered is so very important. If you let your seedlings dry out you risk damping off. It’s best to water seedlings from the bottom so put them on a tray and allow them to soak up all the water they can within an hour.

Air Flow

When growing Cilantro from seed or any seeds rather, you need air flow. Warm temps and moist soil are a recipe for mold so keep your seedlings in an open area or keep a small fan nearby to help.

Light

Cilantro seeds need light to germinate so keep your potted seeds in a very bright room or under grow lights. Seedlings need at least 14 hours of light to grow properly. If you choose to not use a grow light make sure to provide as much light as you can to your seedlings. Overhead light being the best.

Transitioning

When your area is no longer at risk of freezing temps you can begin transitioning your seedlings outside. Here’s how you do it.

Planting

Once your seedlings are fully acclimated it’s time to move them to their final location. When you grow Cilantro it’s best to not plant them in full direct sun nor during the summer. The summer heat can cause your Cilantro to bolt (Bolting is when your plants flower and go to seed earlier than expected) and after your vegetables bolt the flavor changes. Spring and fall are a great time to plant your Cilantro seedlings. Plant them in a space that gets part sun so 4-6 hours of sun with some shade relief.

Fertilizer

Cilantro thrives with a nitrogen rich fertilizer. Be careful not to over fertilize. Over fertilizing can cause issues within the plant. One issue being a change in flavor. Follow the directions on the package and opt for organic fertilizers if possible.

Ongoing care

Cilantro is an easy and delicious herb to grow. You can begin harvesting when your plant is at least 6 inches tall. Keep on a regular water and fertilizing schedule and you will have happy healthy plants.

Happy Gardening!

Ciearra

seed starting

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Inside or Out?

Outside

Inside

Seed Starting Supplies

How to grow Cucumber From Seed

Cucumber Seedlings

Planting Outside

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Inside or Out?

Outside

Determinate vs Indeterminate Tomatoes

Inside

Seed Starting Supplies

How to grow Tomatoes From Seed

Tomato Seedlings

Planting Outside

Fertilizing

Watering

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Inside or Out?

Outside

Inside

Seed Starting Supplies

How to grow Dahlia From Seed

Dahlia Sprouts

Planting Outside

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Buy Seeds

Seed Starting Tools

Getting Started

Watering

Air Flow

Light

Transitioning

Planting

Fertilizer

Ongoing care

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