Giving Seeds What They Need In Storage
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Article by: Fred Davis On a recent visit to the home , Outdoor Accessories: Fashion that Goes Beyond Furniture of dear friends--a family blend of professionals, gardeners, homemaker, outdoorsman, and delightful youngsters--we brought along a package of choice vegetable seeds , Grow the BEST Tasting Tomatoes that I knew would be accepted with appreciation, and probably shared with several of their friends as well. My heart sank as our host retrieved a Tupperware container from a cabinet above the stove. In it were small, labeled paper envelopes containing an assortment of their cherished seeds , Growing Organic! Herbs, Flowers and Fruit carefully saved from the previous season. , Patio Furniture Accessories Temperatures in this cupboard that Thanksgiving Day had to have been better than 100 degrees and, in all likelihood, it must frequently have soared to well in excess of 120 as large dinners cooked and scrumptious desserts baked. Humidity levels must almost certainly have wildly fluctuated between a parched zero and a sloshy 100% as torrents of steam bathed those cabinets as well. Hot , Low Cost Home Landscaping Tips and crackling dry one day; hot , New for 2006 - Granite Flexible Preformed Rock Ponds and tropic-wet the next! As you might have already guessed, those are not the ideal seed , Wild Flower Garden - Make Amends...Your Plants Will Love It storage conditions. So, how and where should they be kept to maintain vigor and viability? First, consider that only drying-tolerant seeds , What Type of Gazebo is Right for You? Top Questions You Need to Ask (those that can handle drying out; see note, below) will enter into the following discussion--nearly all common flowers, , New for 2006 - Granite Flexible Preformed Rock Ponds herbs, , 6 Indoor Plants That Love The Dark: A Tip From The Garden Center Nursery vegetables, , Orchid Care shrubs, , Artificial Trees Advantages and a great many trees. , Wild Flower Garden - Make Amends...Your Plants Will Love It Drying-intolerant types like aquatics, some large-seeded plants, , The Front Porch Swings Through History and the nut-like seeds , Palm Tree Lamps of a number of trees--oak, chestnut, ginkgo and buckeye, for example--are normally planted fresh, and are usually not long-term storable. In their natural , Winterberry Holly 'Winter Red' setting, drying-intolerant seeds fall , Growing Organic! Herbs, Flowers and Fruit to the ground and then immediately germinate. Nature--whose methods are age-old, tested and proven steadfastly effective--almost always gradually matures and dries seeds , Orchid Care - What The Leaves Tell Us on the plant. , How to Choose a Snow Blower for Your Garden Nature , WaterWise Gardening - The Basics Required to Create a WaterWise Garden has learned that, as seeds , Which of the Hundreds of Tomato Varieties Should I Plant? undergo this drying and transition from active growth to full dormancy, important physiological changes , Wild Flower Garden - Recreate the Splendor of Nature in Your Own Backyard occur as food , What Type of Gazebo is Right for You? Top Questions You Need to Ask reserves convert from vulnerable sugars to more stable (storable) fats and starches. In this more stable condition, a broad range of seed , Terrace Gardening And Landscaping Ideas types can be stored for sometimes years. . .assuming optimum storage conditions are maintained. What are those ideal conditions? Humidity levels within the storage environment , How to Build a Shed should, as a general rule, be maintained in the range of 25-35%. The average home , Rose Success during a typical northern-tier winter , Which of the Hundreds of Tomato Varieties Should I Plant? is exceptionally dry, often dipping into the low teens. Lower-than-optimal humidity draws moisture , Wicker Patio Furniture is Gorgeous with Colorful Patio Furniture Cushions from delicate seed , Shrub Roses and Climbing Roses structures and exerts a negative impact on vigor and germination rate. Drying seeds , Shrub Roses and Climbing Roses to zero moisture , The Omega Garden, The Ideal Commercial Hydroponic System or For The Indoor Grower will, of course, destroy them. The rule: once seeds , How to Build a Shed have dried (cured) to the correct moisture , Why Gardening is Better level (by weight), store them in sealed, air-tight containers such as glass , Two Answers to a Poinsettia FAQ: How Can I Get My Poinsettia to Rebloom? jars or doubled zippered plastic , Adirondack Chairs - How to Care for and Clean Them bags. In the highly variable home , Chain Link Fences or small farm environment, , Palm Tree Lamps paper envelopes, cloth bags, or cardboard boxes allow for exchange of far too much (or too little) moisture , Grow the BEST Tasting Tomatoes for long-term storage. Temperature, of course, must be maintained within a relatively narrow range. I've heard it said that the home , Lattice Patio Covers freezer is the ideal place. , Marvellous May Plant Colour Personally, I question the advisability of freezing temperatures , Adirondack Chairs - How to Care for and Clean Them during one- to two-season storage. While it is true that many seeds , Lattice Patio Covers will store almost indefinitely if deep-frozen, experts in the seed , Terrace Gardening And Landscaping Ideas industry have done the research and recommend short-term home , Tomatoes: History, Origin, Facts... or Fiction? storage between just above freezing, to about 40- or 45-degrees. I've found an ideal location--once properly sealed after drying--to be near the cellar floor , Who Sells Flower Bulbs? in a corner furthest away from heat , The Front Porch Swings Through History sources such as furnaces, water , Two Answers to a Poinsettia FAQ: How Can I Get My Poinsettia to Rebloom? heaters, or warm-air ducting. Our new "root cellar"--an enclosed, insulated crawl space beneath a recently reconstructed attached solarium--has proven to be perfect for our seed , How To Use Feng Shui Oustside Your Home storage needs at a comfortable 25% (+/-) humidity and 42-degrees (F) nearly constant temperature. , Chain Link Fences Darkness is a third equally important requirement. Bear in mind that certain conditions (moisture, temperature , Orchid Care - What The Leaves Tell Us and light--most often in combination) stimulate and support the process of germination"¦sprouting. Just as many foods, , Planting for Wildlife pharmaceuticals and chemicals rapidly deteriorate when exposed to light, , Patio Furniture Accessories so also is seed , Orchid Care viability and vigor impacted by being exposed to illumination during storage. That cool corner of the cellar or root/vegetable storage area should also be very dark. Worse possible scenario: sudden changes , Grow Some Interesting Plants You Won't Find At Your Local Greenhouse to warmth, humidity, and light , Adirondack Chairs - How to Care for and Clean Them during winter , Outdoor Waterfalls storage. . .followed by chilling, drying and return to darkness. Kiss those goodbye! Seed storage problems: Mildew or Mold. Seeds , Terrace Gardening And Landscaping Ideas not dried to the correct moisture , Shrub Roses and Climbing Roses level before being sealed in glass , WaterWise Gardening - The Basics Required to Create a WaterWise Garden or plastic, , Who Sells Flower Bulbs? will surely rot. A simple test: After "drying" and placing in closed glass , Palm Tree Lamps jars or plastic , Chain Link Fences bags, the appearance of condensation on the inside , What Type of Gazebo is Right for You? Top Questions You Need to Ask of those containers within a few hours indicates the need for further drying. Stay right on this one because damp seeds , Your Rose Garden Planting will decay (and die) very quickly! Insects. Weevils, borers and small beetles that may have escaped notice during harvesting and drying will wreak havoc on stored seeds. , Location, Location, Location: Where to Put Your Water Garden A few pinches of diatomaceous earth , Natural Gardens (DE) is a safe, , Artificial Trees Advantages inexpensive, prudent, and non-toxic bit of insurance against most insect damage. DE is available at Johnny's, organic gardening , Wild Flower Garden - Recreate the Splendor of Nature in Your Own Backyard stores, and most garden , Lattice Patio Covers centers. It doesn't take much; just be sure to lightly coat all seeds , Caring for Your Water Garden Pond before final sealing and storage. A light , Growing Organic! Herbs, Flowers and Fruit dusting of Rotenone is also effective. Avoid the use of powerful--oftentimes highly toxic--commercial pesticides. Rodents. Seeds , Growing Organic! Herbs, Flowers and Fruit in storage, unless precautions are put in place, , Adirondack Chairs - How to Care for and Clean Them can provide a virtual banquet for mice or other small vermin. Prevent damage by placing labeled seed , Orchid Care containers in either metal , 6 Indoor Plants That Love The Dark: A Tip From The Garden Center Nursery or plastic , Palm Tree Lamps storage containers, or enclose them in an unused picnic or camp cooler. Please don't use tanglefoot traps to capture, terrorize, and torture mice. Following these easy "rules" will insure longevity and viability of the seeds , Caring for Bonsai plants of a new generation of flowers, , The Omega Garden, The Ideal Commercial Hydroponic System or For The Indoor Grower herbs, , Garden for Birds #3 fruits, , Wild Flower Garden - Make Amends...Your Plants Will Love It and vegetables. , Outdoor Accessories: Fashion that Goes Beyond Furniture Have a warm, safe , Know Your Bird Feeders, Part 1 and pleasant winter , Planting for Wildlife and holiday!An extensive list of flower , Tomatoes: History, Origin, Facts... or Fiction? and vegetable seeds, , Shrub Roses and Climbing Roses and how long they'll last in ideal storage conditions, is available at: http://www.hillgardens.com/seed_longevity.htm. Fred Davis is a Master Gardener, Master Composter, , Which of the Hundreds of Tomato Varieties Should I Plant? lecturer, and long-time nurseryman. He and his wife, Linda, own and operate a popular perennial , Outdoor Waterfalls nursery in Palermo, Maine, and maintain a no-frills gardening , Grow Some Interesting Plants You Won't Find At Your Local Greenhouse information website at: http://www.HillGardens.com/. |
  
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