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Too many seeds? National Seed Swap solves a common problem

Organize your own local swap for Jan. 28

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JAN 18, 2023

Get those excess seeds working in someone else’s garden — swap them! Kathy Morrison

It’s a January gardener preoccupation: Seed shopping. Whether browsing catalogs or online websites, we are constantly tempted by “new and improved” or “best ever” varieties as well as vegetables or flowers we’ve never seen before.

The result? Quite often, we accumulate too many seeds! It's time to do some seed swapping.

Saturday, Jan. 28, is National Seed Swap Day, a coast-to-coast gardener initiative to get more seeds and gardens growing.

To be held on the last Saturday of each January, National Seed Swap Day was launched by Washington Gardener magazine, a mostly online publication dedicated to gardening in the nation’s capital and surrounding areas. It has an official website, https://seedswapday.blogspot.com/, which lists upcoming seed swaps and encourages others to share their unwanted (or unplanted) packets.

National Seed Swap Day is local and totally grassroots. Gardeners in any kind of group – community garden, club, church, neighborhood, work, etc. – set a time and place, then bring their excess seeds. They can break down a packet (do you really need 30 of the same tomato variety?) or trade last season’s seeds that are still viable. Seeds are packed fresh for each season for maximum germination rate, but most vegetable, herb and flower seeds remain viable for at least two or three years.

It’s likely other gardeners will appreciate those seed swap offerings.

U.S. nurseries and seed distributors are still catching up with record demand for garden seeds. During the pandemic, major seed houses such as Peaceful Valley Organic sold out of almost all their stock, frustrating many gardeners.

According to the National Garden Bureau, seed customers should find better inventory this season – but get your orders in early – then be patient.

“Seed companies are likely to experience delays in times of high demand so be aware of that company’s current timeline for shipping,” advises the bureau. “They will be transparent. Sign up for or subscribe to that company’s communications to stay informed and up-to-date.”

Seed demand is expected to remain high all year, says the bureau, so go ahead and order your fall seeds now along with seeds for spring and summer planting.

“Don’t buy just for spring because succession sowing is important for season-long harvest and there are wonderful vegetables like cabbage and kale that are great for fall plantings,” the bureau says.

For more about seeds and seed shopping, check out these tips from the National Garden Bureau: https://ngb.org/2021/01/28/ask-the-experts-about-seedfacts/.

For more on National Seed Swap Day: https://seedswapday.blogspot.com/.

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

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July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show

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June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden

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June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)

June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself

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May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs

May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power

May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens

May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend

April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look

April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower

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Garden checklist for week of Aug. 16

During this break in the heat, feed your garden. Make sure to water before and after applying fertilizer.

* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.

* Plant potatoes.

* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting.

* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.

* Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that’s still small.

* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don't let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.

* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Give them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.

* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.

* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias and container plants. Always water before fertilizing.

* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.

* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.

* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.

* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.

Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com

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