In an earlier post I wrote general themes for starting seeds in hot weather. Here are some specific tricks.
Seed Storage
Viability and vigor of seeds deteriorates when they are stored in warm places, especially if containers are not airtight, and the air is humid. If you have crops you grow in spring and again for the fall, store those seeds in a cool place over the summer.
Chilling lettuce seed can help germination in hot weather. We make a practice of putting our spinach seed in double ziplock bags and putting it in the freezer for two weeks before we attempt late summer sowings. This can trick the seed into germinating better.
This is for both the garden and book enthusiast to share an afternoon of conversation and ideas about garden books and gardening while enjoying a cosy refreshing break with friends.
If you are interested in joining us, contact wellgroundedgardens@gmail.com or 613-498-4475 for more information and to register for the first session Tuesday, April 24 at 2 p.m. Space is limited so be an early book worm.
Get to know how different browns and greens behave in your system and curate compost ingredients to optimize moisture levels, troubleshoot problems, and affect the rate of decomposition.
Knowing the quirks of individual items is particularly helpful if your compost system has limited space or is in proximity of wary or sensitive neighbors.
Transition Brockville, Brockville Public Library / 19 March 2018
In spring every gardener dreams of a beautiful, productive garden. The best way to realize that dream is to make sure your garden soil is healthy.
Following its presentation of the documentary Symphony of the Soil last month, Transition Brockville has invited Master Gardener Mary Ann Van Berlo to lead a lively discussion and demonstration on how we can improve our garden soil. She’ll present a short slide show at the next Transition Brockville get-together, Sunday, March 25, 2 p.m., at the Brockville Public Library. Then she’ll demonstrate how organic matter can improve the soil porosity of both clay soil and sandy soil.
A new partnership of three experienced seed producers (Kathy Rothermel, Frank Misek and Annie Richard), Kitchen Table Seed House offers certified organic herb, flower and vegetable seeds grown on Wolfe Island. With Kathy’s market garden experience, Frank’s culinary expertise and Annie’s plant breeding interests, Kitchen Table seeds will be “putting flavour on the table”. Their seeds will be available at Riley’s in Kingston, Sun Harvest in Glenburnie, Schell’s in Bath, Fargo’s on Wolfe Island, Burt’s Greenhouses in Wilton, and Willows Agriservice in Harrowsmith. For more information, go to kitchentableseedhouse.ca or contact them at info@kitchentableseedhouse.ca or 613-385-8569.
Kitchen Table Seed House joins two other local seed companies in Frontenac County. [ more… ]
Seed starting mixes are essential for sowing many vegetables, herbs and flowers. But with so much to sow over the coming weeks and months, they can be expensive – unless you make your own.
Resilience is the ability of a system or community to withstand impacts from outside. An indicator is a good way of measuring that. Conventionally, the principal way of measuring a reducing carbon footprint is CO2 emissions. However, we firmly believe that cutting carbon while failing to build resilience is an insufficient response when you’re trying to address multiple shocks such as peak oil, climate change and the economic crisis together.
In an earlier post I wrote general themes for starting seeds in hot weather. Here are some specific tricks.
A new partnership of three experienced seed producers (Kathy Rothermel, Frank Misek and Annie Richard), Kitchen Table Seed House offers certified organic herb, flower and vegetable seeds grown on Wolfe Island. With Kathy’s market garden experience, Frank’s culinary expertise and Annie’s plant breeding interests, Kitchen Table seeds will be “putting flavour on the table”. Their seeds will be available at Riley’s in Kingston, Sun Harvest in Glenburnie, Schell’s in Bath, Fargo’s on Wolfe Island, Burt’s Greenhouses in Wilton, and Willows Agriservice in Harrowsmith. For more information, go to 
