Before buying more, thin your seed stockpile; compost or share the rest
These catalogs are tempting, but it's best to check over the seeds already in hand before ordering more. (Those golden beets? From 2015 -- and headed to the compost pile.) Kathy Morrison
January is both the month of organization and the month when gardeners finally dive into seed catalogs or jump down the rabbit hole of online seed sources. So much fun to choose new varieties to grow!
But first: Declutter that seed collection so everything is up to date and viable. Those onion seeds from 2021 likely should be tossed (in the green waste or compost), since onion seeds last only a year or so. Tomatoes, on the other hand, can do well up to five years, maybe more, so there's no point in buying another packet of a favorite variety without knowing how many usable seeds are left.
As for those other seeds that went unplanted last year: Is there really room in the garden for a patch of Cinderella pumpkins? How about donating them to a good cause (a school or community garden) or trading them in a community seed swap?
Johnny's Selected Seeds online has excellent charts showing seed viability and storage life estimates. Not just vegetables, they cover flowers and farm/cover crop seeds. (Oh, yeah, can I still use that red clover I bought a few years ago?) The Johnny's website also offers tips on seed saving, storage and how to test seed viability.
Seed viability vs. seed germination rate is an important point when saving seeds. As Johnny's notes, "Both germination rate and seed viability can decline with age of the seed. Viability refers to a seed's ability to produce a vigorous seedling. Seed viability typically declines before germination rates do, so it is possible for old seed to still germinate yet produce weak seedlings."
Also important: Seeds must be stored properly. Keeping them in a hot garage will cause them to deteriorate faster than in a closed box in a cool interior closet.
So, what to do with older seeds of varieties you like and want to grow again?
-- Mix them with new seeds if they're scatterable (zinnias, poppies);
-- Start some old ones alongside some new ones (I do this with Juliet tomatoes);
-- Give the old ones a chance. Debbie once found 6-year-old beet seeds that grew just fine; other older seeds never germinated. But unless this is just a garden experiment, as hers was, have a newer backup.
For more information on seeds, seed packets and seed saving, see the UC Sacramento County Master Gardener Garden Note 128, "Understanding Information on a Seed Packet." Search for GN 128 on this page of Master Gardener Publications .
Watch for seed swaps in the region late in the month. National Seed Swap Day is Jan. 25; here's information on the event in Loomis. The Placer master gardeners also will present a workshop on seed saving Jan. 11 during their monthly open garden.
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Food in My Back Yard Series
July 1: How to grow summer salad greens
June 24: Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
June 17: Help pollinators help your garden
June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests
June 3: Make your own compost
May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?
May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
March 4: Potatoes from the garden
Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting
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Garden Checklist for week of June 29
We're into our typical summer weather pattern now. Get chores, especially watering, done early in the morning while it's cool.
* It’s not too late to add a splash of color. Plant petunias, snapdragons, zinnias and marigolds.
* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, radishes, winter squash and sunflowers. Plant Halloween pumpkins now.
* Keep your vegetable garden watered, mulched and weeded. Water before 8 a.m. to reduce the chance of fungal infection and to conserve moisture.
* Water, then fertilize vegetables and blooming annuals, perennials and shrubs to give them a boost. Feeding flowering plants every other week will extend their bloom.
* Don’t let tomato plants wilt or dry out completely. Give tomatoes a deep watering two to three times a week.
* Harvest vegetables promptly to encourage plants to produce more. Squash especially tends to grow rapidly in hot weather. Keep an eye on zucchini.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushy plants and more flowers in September.
* Harvest tomatoes, squash, peppers and eggplant. Prompt picking will help keep plants producing.
* Remove spent flowers from roses, daylilies and other bloomers as they finish flowering.
* Pinch off blooms from basil so the plant will grow more leaves.
* Cut back lavender after flowering to promote a second bloom.
* Give vegetable plants bone meal or other fertilizers high in phosphate to stimulate more blooms and fruiting.
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