I've been asked countless times how do you know how deep to plant seeds.   A simple and very effective way to figure out how deep to plant or how much dirt to cover seeds is to gauge the SIZE of the seeds.

A simple rule we follow is: "The size of the seed is how deep you cover with soil."   Quite elementary, my dear, and very simple to remember if you are without instructions on the back of your seed packet.

There are a number of different types of seeds that require different conditions to grow. Some seeds may need light to grow, some may need darkness, and. believe it or not,  some may even need to be charred by fire. There are so many variations in the ideal conditions to stimulate seed germination you need to ask yourself:  How does seed size impact the process of germination? Do certain size seeds need special conditions?

Very small seeds usually are planted at a very shallow depth.  They will receive 10% to 20% of the light incident on the soil surface.  The reason for the shallow planting is that these seeds have very few reserves for producing shoots. If they were planted any deeper, the shoots would not manage to go the full distance. Plants that germinate like this are termed “positively photoblastic."

As an aside, the above article states that many weeds are also "positively photoblastic." Their seeds can enter a state of dormancy after being worked into the soil or, unfortunately, when inadvertently put into the compost heap.  Many farmers will insist on working the soil at night to reduce the possibility of weeds occurring as there is no light to trigger the seed germination.  If the soil or compost heap is turned over once and exposed to the light, the seeds will awaken and you will now have weeds to contend with but a layer of mulch will deprive the weeds of the needed light.  We have used mulching here extensively for over 25 years.  In fact, that is how we started all this by smothering our back lawn (er weeds) and  front lawn with a layers of newspapers and mulch.   Now, we are about a 1 1/2 feet higher than our neighbor!  Yeah, I know I said something of the sort in our award winning little film - check out the clip where it shows me on top of the compost pile!

With it feeling more like Spring than Winter, I've been busy planting hundreds of soil blocks full of peas, greens and more!  And of course, watering MORE than I should for this time of year - that's bad!   Normally the hose & I  takes a hiatus during winter, but not this year.

I'm really worried, with winter not shaping up, there's no rain.  It's sooo dry, it's scary - really scary!   We are praying that we get some desperately rain and snow - and soon!

:: Resources ::

Heirloom & Organic Seeds - featuring our fave varieties that we sow

Soil Block Maker - the most used garden tool, I make thousands every year!

Making Soil Blocks - a highly efficient way to start your seedlings

Check out our GARDEN supplies too!

Banging in the poles

Now for the seed trays

All done!

Getting a jump on spring plantings a few weeks back I made a few hundred soil blocks, have 50 or more trays filled with seedlings and 20 flats of wheat grass (for the poultry)

To be able to get the most from your garden, successive plantings are a must.  Yet, doing so is challenging for so many reasons.   Additionally, as we have a very small urban garden (4,000 sq ft), it also requires finding available space for trays and trays of seedlings. This is very hard to do in our compact space.  Though I have a few small greenhouses and a couple of metal seed shelves, surplus seed trays are sometimes lined up in the driveway, pathways making for a rather tight walkabout the yard.

Yesterday afternoon (in between rain showers and little hail storm) another seed shelf went up!  We had a few (salvaged) metal poles stored down stairs and a bucket full of brackets, screws in the garage.

Materials:

Metal posts 4 – recycled
Brackets
Wood: 8 2 x 4  Purchased from a local, family owned lumber shop

Cost: $25

How are your spring plantings coming along?

"Air Jordanne"

I know, I know enough of the supposedly dwarf pea pictures.  But we just couldn't resist just one last one because now I think they are done growing!  Pretty soon these peas will succumb to mildew and become goat food.

Peas on Steroids?

Remember the 9 foot eggplant that we grew one summer! (here's a pic)  Well, these dwarf peas are now over 9 feet high!

Justin proudly informed me that these dwarf sugar snow peas haven't been watered by humans since they were 6 inches tall.

No kidding!  Of course, this winter we were extremely blessed with rain but still that's pretty impressive I think.

Because of our tiny plot, we plant at a much closer proximity (bending the gardening rules a bit) which comes down to a higher density planting per square inch.  Of course there 's a balance and you can only learn by "trowel and error."   Planting crops at a much closer/higher density we find, in our climate, saves water because the plants act like a living mulch.  Too much exposed dirt leaves to evaporation and we need all the moisture as we can get.

Having cut our water usage in 1/2 while maintaining our high yields is one positive step in our water conservation and soil management program.

Here's how we are conserving water here on the urban homestead

And we aren't done yet.  The guys have been working on two, yep TWO, new water projects (photos coming soon)

We attribute our growing success to healthy soil - good soil is a blessing and like Will Rogers aptly said said "they ain't making any more of the stuff."   Taking our dry "adobe-like" soil and turning into what we have now took patience, lots of mulch, compost and care.   Good soil doesn't happen overnight but it's worth the work.

So we have to treat the soil that's under our feet like that's all we have -- because it is.

:: Field Hand Appreciation :: JF $24   Thank you for your kind words and support.

Well, these towers ain't leaning that's for sure, but can you believe these peas are the Dwarf Gray Sugar Snow Peas that grow to the height of 3 feet!  No kidding!

Yeah, what's with that?  Farmer Justin's magic, green thumb, improved soil conditions, the rains, stars?  Whatever it is these peas sure aren't dwarf.

The Towers of Peasa  Farmer Justin picks peas from a ladder.

Grow yer own!

Seed Source: FreedomSeeds.org Variety: Dwarf Gray Sugar Snow Peas

Coming up....

Weekly meal wrap up, another pictorial dispatch from the urban homestead (includes small wiggly things and a "ginger bug"), a very smokin' compost pile and dvd giveaway!

Remember those cabbage patch dolls?  Well, I do!  All the girls my age had to have them and my grandma got me one waaaay back when.  But here on the urban homestead, thanks to our farmers here, we have (er modeled) our very own "homegrown" version.

As you can tell, we don't have cable.... so have to keep ourselves amused somehow, either that or we have a bad case of spring fever!

Oh, in case you didn't notice Jordanne's head is bigger than mine (all that coding I suppose)

Grow yer own!

Seed Source: FreedomSeeds.org Variety: Early Jersey Wakefield

On the front lines of this GM veggie invasion is India

There's a fierce battle brewing as they fight to not be the "lab rats" of this latest tapering with the DNA makeup of seeds.

Will this Franken veg enter their food supply and what implications does this have on the rest of the world?

Scary stuff.

What You Can Do

Save your own seeds!

The survival of the food supply is depending on us to stand up against the giant M.

Here at LHITC we've talked countless times about seed sovereignty issues and saving seeds.

If you have to buy seeds look for sources (like our own FreedomSeeds.org) that sell organic non gmo and non Monsanto owned.  Just because a seed source is gmo free doesn't mean that Monsanto doesn't own the rights to the seed.

I know it's confusing, so check out DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR SEEDS COME FROM

A few years back when we realized that Monsanto took over one of the biggest supplier of veggies seeds in the nation, we were on a mission to track down the 3,000 or so vegetable varieties (check out list here) and faze these corporate own seeds out here in the garden on the urban homestead.

This year, thanks to FreedomSeeds.org we can proudly say that our garden is almost completely free of Monsanto owned seeds.

So when you are drooling over photos of the harvest and garden (like in the previous entry) you can get yer own at FreedomSeeds.org- now is the time to plant greens, broccoli, turnips, radishes, cabbage and peas!

Related News

Can India Achieve Food Security

How can we survive perhaps the greatest danger we now face - climate change? Global Warming may be a contentious issue for many but there’s no argument – some areas of our planet that were once ‘food bowls’, abundant, fertile and productive land, are now dust bowls where people scratch a living from the dry soil and hope for rain.

What: Film Screening of SEED HUNTER & Local, Vegetarian Potluck

When: Sunday, August 23  (6:00 PM - 9:50 PM)

Where: 626 Cypress Ave, Pasadena CA (see map)

Cost: $10 (children under 12 are free) A small entrance fee is required to help pay for facility rental, dvd screening fee, sound system, and purchase of eco friendly compostable dinnerware

Space is limited so please RSVP by calling 626.844.4586 or filling out the online reservation form

Event Schedule  (entire event will be held outdoors so please note time change)

6:00 PM - event starts / Freedom Gardens Swap N Meet

6:30 PM - 7:45 PM - local food potluck

8:00 PM - SEED HUNTER (50 minutes)

9:00 PM - discussion / pop quiz and win prizes!

9:30 PM - event ends

Film Details

Our planet is heating up and one of the first casualties will be the crops that supply our food. Scientists are working overtime to find solutions including going back to the ancestral origins of our staple foods.

Seed Hunter will take you on a remarkable journey from the drought ravaged farms of Australia, to the heart of the Middle East, to the mountains of Tajikistan where charismatic Australian scientist Dr Ken Street – a real life version of Indiana Jones - and his team of ‘gene detectives’ hunt for plant genes that will help our food withstand the impact of 21st century global warming.

Along the way we meet farmers around the world who are struggling to grow crops in a climate that’s gone haywire, as well as scientists working at the front line of gene technology to save tomorrow’s food. At journey’s end, deep in the Arctic Circle, Ken deposits his bounty of seed in the newly constructed seed bank known as the ‘doomsday vault.’

Potluck

Bring something (preferably vegetarian) to contribute to the potluck - bring enough food for yourself/family and a bit to share. The primary focus of the ‘Locavore’ potluck is to promote eating whole foods, in their nature-made state, focusing on fresh food from local sources (or as local as possible)

If not FROM BACKYARD then locally produced.
If not LOCALLY PRODUCED, then Organic.
If not ORGANIC, then Family farm.
If not FAMILY FARM, then Local business.
If not a LOCAL BUSINESS, then Fair Trade.

Freedom Garden Swap N Meet

Join local homegrown revolutionaries - swap crops, seeds, expertise and more.

Growing for 21st century food security, FreedomGardens.org is a free interactive, online social community of gardening enthusiasts who are fed up with foreign oil, frequent food miles and high food prices.

To reserve space for this event fill out this easy regisration form or contact 626.844.4586

We've been getting back positive feedback from our first foray's into offering safe, secure (and free) seeds (thanks!)

When we visited Freedom Farmer S's plot on Sunday we were thrilled to see his Freedom Seeds growing so well. The veggies were so beautiful that I had to snap photos of the patch of Ashworth Yellow Corn, Early Jersey Wakefield cabbage (which had beautiful heads)  Supposedly I am going to get a few of those heads to make sauerkraut!  Yep, off with their heads!

Here are some of the other customer reviews....

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Hi, I bought some seeds from you earlier this year, many of which are doing very well, thank you

--Chris

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While this is an incomplete review not covering the tomato itself (yet) the seeds are doing quite well. I started 20 Valencia tomato seeds and ALL of them have germinated.

I had also bought tomato seeds from another heirloom seed company and only about half of them have germinated in the same amount of time. They are a different type of tomato, so Im not sure if that makes much difference.

I will come back for a follow up review after Ive eaten some of these Valencia tomatoes!

-DA

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Just wanted to thank the Dervaes family for their nice selection of seeds and placed another order. I do hope they add more heirloom tomato seeds to the website!

I had previously ordered some Valencia tomato seeds a month ago from FS and have 100% germination. Im impressed and proud to order again from you. Im not getting 100% from other OP/organic/heirloom companies seeds.

Im having a fun gardening season so far and thank Freedom Seeds for their selections. Cant wait to see the site grow!

--Dave

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I absolutely agree about the FG seeds.  I planted some zucchini and the plants are taking over my yard, they are so healthy.  I've already harvested 4 zucchinis!  In contrast, I had bought a zucchini plant at a big box store, it's a fourth the size and finally producing, well, one so far.  And it was planted a couple of weeks before the seeds.  I'm a believer!!

--Aliska

Have you posted photos of your Freedom Garden plot filled with Freedom Seeds?  Care to share?

Pretty soon vegetables could be at risk now that big M has stopped their meddling with rice, corn and soy -- looks like swiss chard is threatened  with contamination and cabbages are next!

BATTLE OVER BEETS

Organic seed producer Frank Morton has been warning people for years that genetically modified organisms pose a serious threat to the Willamette Valley’s vegetable seed industry.

Now he thinks his worst GMO nightmare may be coming true.

Roundup Ready sugarbeets — a patented variety engineered by Monsanto to tolerate the company’s widely used Roundup herbicide — have turned up in a soil mixture being sold to gardeners at a Corvallis landscaping supply business just a few miles from Morton’s fields.

Read full article

“There is a myth that there are agricultural societies, and then there are industrial societies and service societies, as if when you become an industrial or service society you don’t need food,” she says. “As we hit climate chaos, as we hit peak oil, assuming that you can get your food from far away and use fossil-fuel-intensive systems to produce food is totally not sustainable. Bringing food security close to home will have to be the project of the future.”

Indian environmental activist Vandana Shiva on how economic salvation may be as close as the dirt under our feet.

We got some April showers last night!  What a blessings!  There's still a chance of more rain later today and we are praying the rain down.

Planting, planting and more planting.  It's that time again to get all the crops sown and into the ground.

Of course our goats want to get in on the action (fun) too!   Fairlight, curious as always,  wants to know what Justin is doing will all those soil blocks in the greenhouse.  To the right of the photo a few homemade self watering containers using ollas and in the blue bucket the nettle tea is brewing or more like fermenting in its own juices.

A bed of Provider beans are looking good - filling out the bed very nicely.

The green crops are lush not to mention FULL of what every gardener loves to see LADYBUGS!  In the photo is bed of nutritious kale that we are growing in the front yard.

Here's a handful of celery harvested to make a special vegetarian lasagna dish (note the "gardeners bandage" - good ol' duct tape)

Soil blocks of lemon cucumber are ready to transplant from greenhouse into the ground.

Soil blocks of squash are ready to go into the ground too.

Another round of squash will be planted in soil blocks today - yellow crookneck, black beauty, baby blue hubbard, burgess buttercup and musque de provence pumpkin along with a winter squash seed given to us by a Freedom Gardener or "farmer" I should say.

Our family is really feeling empowered this year with our Freedom Garden which is nearing 4000 members btw -- WOW!   Not only are we continuing to grow closer to home but the seeds we are sowing are free of any corporate controls but what really is wonderful to see not only the cultivation of hundreds of backyard, patio and front yard gardens but the growing community full of wonderful, helpful folks.   If you haven't already signed up to this growing social network, it's free so what are you waiting for!  Let's get growing....

Inch by inch row by row freedom grows!

BTW don't forget to check out the FREEDOM GARDENER OF THE MONTH! Featuring a family who is passionate about growing, preserving and caring for all creatures great and small.

With the spring Holy season upon us, wishing everyone a blessed, bountiful and productive year.