Seed starting for beginners

Can’t wait! Just can’t wait, and I know I’m not alone. My recently arrived seeds are sitting in the refrigerator and I can’t wait to start them. Sure it’s too early for most seeds, but the worst thing that can happen is the plants will take over the house before I’m able to plant them outside . . .

The answer of course is to read the instructions on the seed packets and wait. When it says start four weeks before my last frost (24^th of May, more or less) it means I shouldn’t start them until the 24^th of April — two whole months away. Here are a few tips and reminders.

Propagation Containers:

Anything that can hold a couple of inches of soil and has drainage holes in the bottom will do. For individual containers, use coffee cups — plastic or Styrofoam are fine, and yogurt cups are great too

No need to be fussy about containers as long as they’re clean and have drainage holes in the bottom. It’s also a good idea to poke or slice a few holes in the sides too. It allows for better drainage and lets oxygen get to the roots, which is very important. If you’re recycling last year’s containers, be sure to wash them well to prevent the spread of any fungal diseases.

All containers will need a plastic cover to keep up the humidity level. However, the cover should not be totally airtight and is best removed as soon as germination occurs. If you can match a plastic cake cover up with a pot the same size you’ll have the perfect propagation chambers, or you can slip a large one over a number of individual pots. Plastic stretch-wrap over the pots will also do the trick, but poke a couple of holes in it. Clear plastic produce containers work well.

Soil Mix:

A soil-free mix is an excellent medium for starting seeds, especially if you’re a beginner. These mixes are usually made up of peat moss with vermiculite and perlite added. Regular potting soil is a little too heavy and if not reasonably sterile (potting soil is not actually sterilized) it will allow the dreaded damping off fungi to develop. This is what causes seedlings to keel over and die for no apparent reason. There is a reason: they’ve been attacked at the base of their stalks right at the soil surface. Avoid using garden soil for this same reason.

Once the seedlings begin to grow well, some liquid fertilizer will be necessary, especially with the soil-free mixes, but check the instructions and use at half strength or less. Too strong and there’s a chance the little guys will be burned.

Light:

It’s essential for plant growth, but not for starting all seeds. The seeds of calendula, gazania, delphinium, pansy, verbena, and vinca are typical of those that prefer to be left in the dark until they germinate, but check daily because they will need light as soon as they do pop up. A simple LED grow light fixture suspended about 100cm or so above the seed trays is a perfect light source. Use a timer so that the lights are on for around fourteen hours each day. If you intend growing a large number of seedlings, use a small fan to provide gentle air circulation.

Starting seeds on a window sill is fine, but never in full sun. A container with a clear plastic cover placed in full sun will get hot enough to poach an egg. A south facing window with sheer curtains is as good as you can get.

If seedlings begin to look like giraffes on stilts it means they’re not receiving enough light; likewise if they begin clawing at the window. Rotating the pots will straighten them up. If your windows are poorly located for good light, don’t give up, focus on growing shade loving plants such as impatience.

Don’t forget to move seed trays away from windows in the evening as it will get too cold there. Correct temperature is very important for seed germination. Most seeds, but not all, germinate best at a steady temperature of around 20 - 24C. After germination, the temperature lower.

Watering:

Keep the growing medium for seeds and seedlings moist but not wet. Watering from the bottom up will cut down the risk of damping off disease. Use room temperature water and check at least once daily, because seeds will not germinate if the soil is allowed to dry completely.

Seeds:

Another reason seeds don’t germinate is because they’re planted too deeply. In fact, some seeds need only be scattered on the surface. A tiny seed, germinating too far down, will use up its food store before it ever reaches the light where it can begin making its own food through the process of photosynthesis. Follow the instructions on the seed packet closely. If there are none, or you’ve lost the packet, plant at varying depths as deep as two to four times the size of the seed. This will ensure a degree of success.

There’s lots more to starting seeds, but if you follow these basic instructions you’ll be successful, maybe even too successful. Now, what you should do is clip and save this article until it’s the correct time to start seeds — unless you can’t wait. But just remember, the house can get pretty steamy when it’s brimming with enough tomato plants to attract Campbell’s attention.

DREAMING OF A GREENHOUSE?

 A Beginner’s Guide to Greenhouses

When it’s cool outdoors, I love to walk through an old greenhouse and feel the warmth around me. Slatted wooden benches, a hard-packed dirt floor, rusty heating pipes and, of course, plants all add to the pleasure. Throw in an old chair and a cup of tea and I'm a child again, back in my uncle’s greenhouse watching his tomatoes grow. It's the all-pervading earthiness, combined with nostalgia-inducing fragrances that evoke these feelings. To me, a greenhouse is such a comfortable place to be.

Around this time of year, I begin to think, boy, it sure would be nice to have a greenhouse in my backyard. I do have a small one, but it's just something I knock together in April to hold seedlings prior to planting, little more than a glorified cold frame. So, why don't I have a real greenhouse in my back yard? I'm not sure. Just haven't got around to it, no space available, not cost effective. These are the usual excuses, but they aren't very strong ones.

Making the Commitment

I know I'll be looking closely at all the greenhouses on display at the spring garden shows. I'll also be asking all kinds of questions and carefully considering the pros and cons. After returning home, I might even venture into the garden with a tape measure to size up suitable locations. I do this every year, but somehow the commitment is lacking. Part of the problem is that it's a conundrum. If I use space in the garden for a greenhouse, where would I plant all the extra stuff that I'd be sure to grow in it? I barely have room now.

And so it goes. Maybe you aren’t trouble by indecision and are happily planning for a new greenhouse. If so, here are a few tips to keep in mind.

Basic Guidelines

Look twice at the quality, especially if you get the bug at a garden show. There are high-quality greenhouses on display at reasonable prices. The framework is usually solidly constructed of aluminum with windows of glass or polycarbonate, but I've also seen flimsy plastic frames. These look fine at first glance, but you wouldn't want to be inside one during a wind storm.

Furthermore, consider how you will be using the greenhouse. For instance, if you want to grow orchids or other exotic plants year-round in a cold climate, you will want a substantial greenhouse, so look at double or triple glass or polycarbonate panels and a heating system. If it's only to provide an early start in spring, then a lightweight model may be sufficient. As for size, I haven't met an owner yet who hasn't wished for a greenhouse that was just a little larger. At least ensure the doorway is wide enough to haul stuff in and out with ease.

It's easy to say buy the biggest, but do consider where it will be situated. Out of the way at the bottom of the yard might be the first choice, but unless you like trudging through snowbanks to visit your orchids, the closer to the house the better, provided it will receive plenty of sunlight. Additionally, having a greenhouse close to the house means it will be easier to provide heat, light (if required) and water.

I might wax nostalgic about packed dirt floors, but these really are impractical. Paving stones or gravel are far superior, or better still, install a concrete base. Either way, ensure the greenhouse is anchored to the ground. There’s no point buying one if you're going to donate it to a stranger three blocks away after the first gust of wind.

Additional Considerations

Before signing on the bottom line, think about the extras. How will you heat it? How will you cool it? How will it be ventilated? These are important factors to consider, and they need to be addressed. A greenhouse might produce wonderful, evocative fragrances, and your very own tomatoes in January might prove delicious, but if the cost of growing them is equivalent to a trip to California to pick your own, you might want to hang on to the growing space.

What's in a Name

Experienced gardeners don’t have a problem with horticultural terms, but when someone is fairly new to the pastime, constant use of binomial nomenclature will soon have them throwing the rake and shovel back in the shed and turning to extreme sports as a hobby, maybe alligator wrestling or even bowling.

It doesn’t hurt to pick up a few terms, though, if only to avoid stomping on your best cookware when someone suggests breaking up the hard pan in your backyard. And, you’ll feel much less intimidated around the garden centre when asked if you’d prefer bare root to B and B, which might be misinterpreted as a vague proposition.

Accent Plant — A focal point plant, a plant to catch attention. Principal plant used to anchor a grouping. Usually the one you spent the most money on.

Aerate — Loosening or puncturing the soil to increase water penetration and allow oxygen to reach plant roots. Worms will do a very good job of this if you let them.

Air Layering — A specialized method of plant propagation accomplished by cutting into the bark of the plant to induce new roots to form

Alkaline soil — A soil with a pH higher than 7.0 is an alkaline soil, whereas a soil pH lower than 7.0 is acidic. Many plants have a distinct preference.

B and B — Trees or shrubs that are sold with the roots balled and burlapped as opposed to bare root or potted up.

Bedding plant — Mainly annuals. Quick, colourful flowers, typically used for mass planting in public gardens.

Biennial — A plant that grows the first year, flowers the second, then sets seed and dies — hollyhocks, for instance. However, the flowering sequence of a clump of biennials will eventually overlap and will appear to flower every year as though they were perennials. 

Bolting — Vegetables which quickly go to flower rather than producing the food crop. Usually caused by late planting and excessive heat. Common with lettuce in summer.

Bracts — Modified leaves growing just below a flower. These are often confused with the flower itself. Typical is that red and green Christmas thing.

Cambium — The thin membrane located just beneath surface of stems and beneath the bark on trees. It's where cells originate, producing growth.

Cotyledon — The first set of leaves to grow after a seed has germinated. Use these as handles when it’s time to transplant.

Damping off  — A fungus, and something to think about when you begin starting seeds. It usually affects seedlings and causes the stem to rot off at soil level. Use sterilized potting soil and careful sanitation practices to prevent this.

Dead head — The process of pinching off used or spent blooms to keep plants well groomed and discourage them from setting seed. Promotes continued bloom. Not necessary on plants like impatience, but recommended for regular petunias.

Dibble — A pointed tool used to make holes in the soil for seeds, bulbs, or young plants.

Double flower — Not two flower heads but a flower with many overlapping petals that gives a very full appearance.

Drip line — The line below the tips of the outermost branches of a tree or plant. It’s the place to water the tree, not the branches as I often see being done (okay, maybe he was washing the leaves).

Espalier — The process of training a tree or shrub so its branches grow in a flat pattern against a wall or trellis. Very useful for growing fruit trees in a confined area.

Friable — loose, crumbly soil.

Flat — A shallow box or tray used to start cuttings or seedlings.

Foliar feeding — Spraying foliage with a liquid fertilizer. Better to feed the roots.

Girdling — The choking of a branch by a wire or other material, most often in the stems of woody plants that have been tied to tightly to a stake or support.

Hard pan — The impervious layer of soil or clay lying beneath the topsoil

Heeling in — Temporarily setting a plant into a shallow trench and covering the roots with soil to provide protection until it is ready to be permanently planted.

Herbaceous perennial — A plant with soft rather than woody stems that die to the ground in winter.

Humus — The brown or black organic part of the soil resulting from the partial decay of leaves and other matter (definitely not to be confused with hummus).

Loam — A rich soil consisting of a well- balanced mixture of sand, clay, and decaying organic materials.

Microorganisms — Animals and plants that are too small to be seen clearly with the naked eye but are essential in healthy soil.

Node — The part of a stem from which a leaf or new branch starts to grow.

Pinching back — Using the thumb and forefinger to nip back the very tip of a branch or stem. Pinching promotes branching, and a bushier, fuller plant.

Perennial — A non woody plant which grows and lives for more than two years. Perennials usually produce one flower crop each year, lasting anywhere from a week to a month or longer. Conversely, annuals go from seed to bloom to seed in one season.

Scarify — To scratch or break the hard coat of some seeds, so that they’ll germinate easily. Fine sandpaper or just soaking the seed will do the trick.

Sucker — Growth originating from the rootstock of a grafted plant, rather than the desired part of the plant. Sucker growth should be removed, so that it doesn't draw energy from the plant.

Trug — A shallow basket for light chores, like carrying flowers and fruits and veggies. Traditionally made of wood. Very functional.

Variegated leaf — A green leaf with differently coloured zones in the leaves. Blotched or edged, typical in hostas. 

Xeriscape — This is a name of a landscaping method based using drought tolerant plants in areas with little water.

There you go, just a few words and expressions used to describe things in or around the garden and keep you out of trouble. If you need more, just ask. That’s the easiest way to pick up garden lingo.

Space Invaders

Over 800 alien plant species have invaded Canada, more than 400 in Ontario alone. Most recently, kudzu vine, bane of the southeastern United States, has made its way northwards and in 2009 slipped across the border near Leamington.  Fortunately, it was soon spotted and is being closely monitored. Other pesky invaders are already well established here in meadows and woodlands, beside trails and waterways, and quite possibly in your own backyard.

According to Stephen Murphy, Professor and Chair of the Department of Environment and Resource Studies, University of Waterloo, garlic mustard is number one on his list of most troublesome plants in this region. Challenging garlic mustard for top place is common buckthorn followed by dog strangling vine, Japanese knotweed, and dame’s rocket (Hesperis matronalis). Dame’s rocket is often referred to as wild phlox — yes, that plant with the lovely purple and mauve flowers. Yet it’s a serious menace, posturing as a native flower in a beautification project while quietly intruding into woodlots, overwhelming early spring ephemerals.

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), meanwhile, may sound like a perfect condiment, and has been called poor man’s mustard, but it’s a prolific self seeder, and is unthreatened by the insects and fungi that keep it under control in its native habitat — Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa. Deer rarely eat it but can aid its spread by disturbing the soil, creating optimum conditions for further regeneration. Garlic mustard also has a negative allelopathic effect by producing chemicals that suppress soil organisms required for optimum growth of native plants like blue cohosh, trout lily, and bloodroot. Even our beloved trillium faces eviction. “Garlic mustard overwhelms these smaller understorey plants,” says Professor Murphy, “while buckthorn moves in on the overstorey plants.”

Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) can grow to a height of two to three meters or more. It produces berry-like fruit that is eaten by animals and birds, particularly starlings. In return, these helpful critters carry out a handy seeding program by making deposits far from the source, resulting in new colonies. Like many invasive plants, it was originally introduced as an ornamental plant, often used as a hedge or windbreak. It’s one of the first plants to leaf out in spring, forming a dense canopy leaving seedlings of native plants and trees in the dark.

Almost as troublesome is the ominous sounding dog strangling vine (Cynanchum rossicum). If you’re regularly kept awake by a hound from hell, a dog strangling weed may not sound like a bad idea to you. It’s an herbaceous perennial twining vine that forms a loose, ropy canopy, choking out competing vegetation. I’m not aware of dogs actually meeting their demise due to this plant, but I might be concerned if Rover vanished into a patch with a magazine or Sudoku puzzle. DSV has become the number one problem for Joshua Shea, Natural Area Coordinator with the City of Kitchener. “It’s widespread, particularly in the Huron Natural Area,” he says.

A member of the milkweed family, DSV doesn’t have any natural enemies as it does in its native Europe, but monarch butterflies are attracted to it. This concerns environmentalist Sean James, a graduate of the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture and expert on invasive plants. “The monarchs lay their eggs on the plant, but the plant doesn’t support the development of the larvae. Regrettably, this has an impact on the number of butterflies.”

Even if the DSV is physically removed, it readily re-roots (picture the scene in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" where the broomstick chopped up by Mickey Mouse becomes an army of brooms). Nothing appears to have a permanently damaging effect on this plant as it even tolerates burning and resists herbicides.

Perhaps the most aggressive invasive plant is the dreaded Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica). It, too, was introduced as an ornamental plant back in the nineteenth century, and has since made tremendous headway in its quest to take over the world. If it appears in your garden, moving may be the only option as it is notoriously difficult to eradicate. By the time it’s stuck its head above ground — even through asphalt or concrete, vigorous roots are already spreading laterally as far as ten meters and up to three meters deep — try digging that up! Leave behind the tiniest fragment and it will sprout a new plant, while parts of the stem will produce shoots and roots within days when dropped into soil or even floated in water.

The above plants cause the greatest problems, but there are many garden plants that given the opportunity will make a break for freedom. They may appear innocuous; I mean, who could be concerned about the delightfully fragrant lily of the valley, periwinkle with its cute blue flowers, or goutweed, the oh so efficient ground cover. They may be acceptable, even useful — if restrained by concrete, but given the chance they’ll take over flowerbeds or whole gardens and potentially create rifts in an otherwise peaceful neighborhood.

These sneaky plants recognize no boundary and will quickly overrun or crowd out native plants. “It’s important for the municipality to monitor for early detection,” says Josh Shea, “particularly the border between private gardens and parks or wilderness areas.”

Although there are limits on the use of herbicides, particularly in private gardens, digging and removing as much as possible of the plant then stifling it with a black plastic cover for as long as a year or more can be effective.

While there may not be easy solutions to deal with invasive plants, there has been success with Purple loosestrife, the plant once feared would colonize every wetland in the province. It has been brought under reasonable control thanks to the release in the late 1980s of a pair of leaf eating beetles, but only after extensive research was done to ensure the helpful bugs would not move on to native plants.

This may be viable solution for other problem plants, and research is underway but it takes years of study and sufficient funding to ensure there would be no unexpected consequences. “Unfortunately,” says Professor Murphy “although the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, for instance, has some control at airports, there is no one stop organization for control of invasive weeds. Municipalities, however, do a reasonable job with the funding they have.”

Although there is no monitoring of invasive species at the regional level, most local municipalities usually have a weed inspector on staff. Some municipalities enlist volunteers to help track and monitor invasive species in natural areas or assist in labour intensive eradication programs. While vigilante groups can also be helpful, it is important that they be aware of property issues and have an expert on hand to aid in identification.

Meanwhile, homeowners need to be vigilant and persistent if they are to eliminate invasive plants from the garden, or avoid inadvertently introducing invasive plants. The Ontario Invasive Plants Council offers a useful “Grow Me Instead” guide at http://www.ontarioinvasiveplants.ca/ while Ontario’s Invading Species Awareness Program recommends the following strategies:

Learn how to properly identify Japanese Knotweed and how to effectively manage invasive plants on your property.

Avoid using invasive plants in gardens and landscaping.

Purchase non-invasive plants from reputable suppliers. When gardening, consider the use of native plants which provide habitat and food sources for wildlife.

Do not dispose of invasive plants in the compost pile – discard them in the regular garbage or check with your municipality for disposal information.

When hiking, prevent the spread of invasive plants and seeds by staying on trails and keeping pets on a leash.

But why care, you may ask, as long as natural areas look more or less greenish? Unfortunately, when the biodiversity of ecosystems is disrupted or destroyed by invasive species, there are long term effects and often unexpected consequences. Besides removing a food source for birds and animals, alien plants harbour pests and disease that threaten agricultural crops. Ontario Ministry of Resources estimates that every year, invasive plants cost the agriculture and forest industries in Canada about $7.3 billion.

And besides, this is our home and native plant land . . . so please stand on guard.