Seed Starting, Transplanting & Nutrients

Mary's Heirloom Seeds Quick Links Echinacea Seed Starting SUPPLIES Organic Plant Food Organic Pest Control 15 ORGANIC GIFTS IDEAS UNDER $20 Savoy Cabbage Heirloom BEANS   Heirloom BEETS Heirloom CABBAGE Heirloom CARROTS   Heirloom CORN    Heirloom CUCUMBERS Heirloom EGGPLANT Heirloom GREENS Heirloom ONIONS   Heirloom PEAS   Heirloom PEPPERS  Heirloom RADISH Heirloom SEEDS Heirloom SQUASH & PUMPKIN Heirloom TOMATOES HERB Seeds Organic Wildflowers Seed Pack Combos FRUIT: Berry Seeds Melon Seeds Watermelon Seeds  SPROUTS DIY Tincture Kits $10 Order Minimum Order Online and we SHIP! All of the seeds listed are open-pollinated, non-gmo & non-hybrid, non-patented,  untreated, heirloom garden seeds. Mary has signed the Safe Seed pledge.  Most orders place Monday-Thursday ship within 48 hours, except for Holidays.   CHERVIL  Join Our List Recently added SEEDS Bitter Melon Boston Pickling Cucumber Delicata Squash A Few Favorites Black Beauty Zucchini Genovese Basil DWARF SUNSPOT SUNFLOWER SUNGOLD SUNFLOWER April 13, 2016 CONGRATS to our 3 winners Autumn, Rachel and Kathy! They were randomly chosen via rafflecopter from our latest Seeds Giveaway!    In case you did not win, we have a special offer for YOU! Thru Sunday, April17th at midnight, we have 2 different Seed Combo Pack ON SALE! Baker's Dozen seed combo pack Organic Garden Starter Pack BONUS:  We are offering a special discount on Micronized Azomite as well as Greensand thru April 17th Let's get Planting!!! We're kicking off a new series on our blog at Mary's Heirloom Seeds.  First we shared about organic pest control.  NOW we're talking about growing your own organic food from seeds. If you're interested, start with You Don't Need A Farm to Grow your Own Food  Tips for Seed Starting  Here's an older post from our old blog.  Enjoy! Sometimes you get lucky and you plant a seed, give it a bit of water and it grows.  Other times it takes more effort to get things growing. 1. Remember that each seed variety germinates at a different rate.  Example:  Beans can take as few as 5 days to germinate while tomatoes may take up to 14 days.  Cabbage can germinate in as few as 5 days and peppers typically germinate in 10-14 days. 2.  Soak your seeds.  Not all seeds should be soaked.  I prefer to soak seeds like peppers, squash and tomatoes.  Soaked seeds tend to germinate quicker after a 12-24 hour soaking.  I soak beans for only 3 hours before I plant. 3.  Water.  It is important to keep your soil moist but not drenched.  Standing water is a no-no for germinating seeds.  On the other hand, if you let your soil completely dry out you might kill the delicate germinating seeds. 4.  Soil.  For smaller seeds, delicate seeds or sometimes just because, I use Coconut Coir Pellets for seed starting.  We use Coconut Coir because it is not acidic like peat moss.  I know that the soil has not been contaminated with soilbourne fungus or disease AND Coconut Coir pellets make transplanting simple and easy.  When transplanting your seedlings in pellets I place the entire pellet into the ground or soil-filled container and cover with dirt.  EASY! 5. Warmth.  Seeds and seedlings should be kept warm during germination and growth.  Some people use grow lights.  I use my laundry room where I have plenty of natural light and no air conditioning. Helpful Links about Plant Food   Which Plant are Heavy Feeders Vegan (non-animal), Organic Plant Food Organic Nutrients that Give Your Soil a Boost Using Azomite in the Garden for Healthier Plants  Hardening Off Seedlings   If you're growing seedlings indoors, they might have been pampered all winter/spring.  Aside from the random cat attack or possibly too much watering, they have been relatively safe compared to the dangers that await them in the great outdoors. Hardening off gradually exposes the tender plants to wind, sun and rain and toughens them up by thickening the cuticle on the leaves so that the leaves lose less water. This helps prevent transplant shock; seedlings that languish, become stunted or die from sudden changes in temperature.   Time to transplant this squash seedling!  Hardening off times depend on the type of plants you are growing and the temperature and temperature fluctuations. So be flexible when hardening off your seedlings and be prepared to whisk them indoors if there's a late freeze and snow. Not everyone grows seedlings indoors.  Even some of my seedlings that were grown outside needed to be acclimated to their new are before being transplanted. CONTINUE READING INOCULANTS  From Mycorrhizae: The Fantastic Fungus What is Mycorrhizae?  Mycorrhizal fungi include many species of fungi, like mushrooms. They all have long filaments that resemble roots, and they grow near plants with which they can share a beneficial relationship. They seek out plants that have tiny bits of food dripping from their roots. They then attachthemselves to the plant and extend their filaments into parts of the surrounding soil that the plant can't reach.  The difference in roots is amazing! A plant would soon exhaust its small area of surrounding soil of nutrients, but with the help of mycorrhizal fungi, plants benefit from nutrients and moisture found further from home. In addition, they produce glomalin, a glycoprotein that helps stabilize the soil.   ENDO-MYCORRHIZAE  CONTINUE READING At the end of each mailing we usually include our HELPFUL LINKS just in case you missed it! MARY'S 2016 PLANTING GUIDE FOR THE US Make Your Own Organic Liquid Fertilizer ANCIENT SEEDS (part 2) Build Your Own Raised Beds Growing Tomatoes from Seed to Harvest Growing GREENS from Seed to Harvest Growing BEANS from Seed to Harvest Growing CORN from Seed to Harvest Growing CARROTS from Seed to Harvest Growing CABBAGE from Seed to Harvest Growing BEETS from Seed to Harvest Stay tuned for more information about planting and growing seeds! If you have additional questions please feel free to ask.  Happy Planting, Mary Mary's Heirloom Seeds

Mary's Heirloom Seeds, P. O. Box 3763, Ramona, CA 92065

-Mary

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How to "Harden Off" Seedlings before Transplanting

If you're going seedlings indoors, they've been pampered all winter/spring.  Aside from the random cat attack or possibly too much watering, they have been relatively safe compared to the dangers that await them in the great outdoors.

Hardening off gradually exposes the tender plants to wind, sun and rain and toughens them up by thickening the cuticle on the leaves so that the leaves lose less water. This helps prevent transplant shock; seedlings that languish, become stunted or die from sudden changes in temperature.  

Hardening off times depend on the type of plants you are growing and the temperature and temperature fluctuations. So be flexible when hardening off your seedlings and be prepared to whisk them indoors if there's a late freeze and snow.

Not everyone grows seedlings indoors.  Even some of my seedlings that were grown outside needed to be acclimated to their new are before being transplanted.

From VegetableGardener.com,

One Way to Harden Off Seedlings

Through your own experimentation in your specific zone you'll come up with your personal technique for hardening off seedlings, but until then here's what I do:

1. Take my little ones outdoors under a protected/covered area for a couple of hours to start a 7 to 14 day hardening off process. 
Remember that this is under cover, not in a sunny spot in the yard. My preference is to get the seedlings used to the temperatures and breezes before I introduce the sun. After 2-3 hours, I bring them back inside.
2. After a couple of days vacationing in a shaded area, I place them out in the light for 1 hour (usually be morning sun because it's a gentler light than the afternoons sun). After their daily dose of sun, I pull them back into the shaded area until evening -- then I bring them back into the house.

3. Day after day, I increase the time that they spend in the sun. After about a week, I let them spend the night outdoors in the covered or protected area.

4. The time they spend in the sun becomes longer and longer until I hit about two weeks after I first began the process. At this point I'm confident that they're ready to take on the world in their garden bed.

HELPFUL LINKS:

Growing Heirloom Tomatoes from Seed to Harvest

The Importance of Soil

Using Coconut Coir in the Garden

MAY Seed Planting Guide for the US (by region)

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GROWING FROM SEED TIPS & TRICKS PART 2

Have you already planted your seeds?  Are you planting this weekend?

Mary's Heirloom Seeds Growing from Seed Tips & Tricks PART 2

Quick Links SUPPLIES ORGANIC & VEGAN Plant Nutrients Heirloom SEEDS Heirloom BEANS Heirloom BEETS Heirloom CABBAGE Heirloom CARROTS Heirloom CORN *Non-GMO* Heirloom CUCUMBERS   Heirloom FRUITS    Heirloom GREENS Heirloom ONIONS Heirloom PEAS    Heirloom PEPPERS Heirloom RADISH  Heirloom SEEDS Heirloom SQUASH & PUMPKIN  Heirloom TOMATOES  Specialty Heirlooms  HERB Seeds  Organic Wildflowers  Seed Pack Combos Mary's Herbal Organix Mary's Tincture Shop TIPS & TRICKS *NEW* Compressed Coconut Coir Bricks *Add water and wait up to 1 hour.  Bricks expand 3 to 9 time in volume* FAVORITES: EARLY WONDER BEETS PURPLE TOMATILLOS SCARLET NANTES CARROT Join Our List

April 26, 2015 Last night I had the pleasure of speaking with a customer about planting seeds.  There was definitely a bit of confusion about how many seeds to plant. One very cool and important thing to remember about Mary's Heirloom Seeds, If you have questions You can call us!!  You can Email us!!  Not many companies will take the time out to explain about growing from seeds. We want to help!!! Below are a few additional tips for seed starting AND an extra special offer.  Using Coconut Coir Pellets for Seed Starting These little pellets are AMAZING!  Check out MY results using Coconut Coir pellets. and  Indoor Seed Planting in Coconut tutorial. When planting in coconut coir, plant 1-3 seeds per pellet.  1 seed will produce 1 plant but some people prefer to plant more than 1 seed. Below are my Peppers in Coconut Coir.  You'll see that 2 pellets are empty.  Either the seed did not germinate OR I accidently killed it. Pepper seedlings in Coconut Pellets IF you choose to plant more than 1 seed per pellet and more than 1 lives, do not pull out the extra seedling.  It is best to pinch off the extra seedling at the base so the stronger seedling's roots are not disrupted. When planting tiny seeds: Thyme, chamomile, oregano, etc It is okay to plant multiple seeds per pellet.   WHEN is it Time to Transplant? As the seedling grows in the pellet, you'll start to see roots growing out of the pellet material.    Time to transplant this Pumpkin    Once your seedling is 2-4 inches tall or taller and/or the roots are growing out of the pellet, it is time to transplant.  Either transplant directly into the garden, Into a larger container or into it's final container. There is no need to remove the outer cover of the coconut Pellet.  These are bio-degradable and not like to plastic mesh on peat pellets. SPECIAL OFFER: We've decided to extend the FREE SEED OFFER on all orders of COCONUT COIR Pellets thru April 30th.  Give your seeds a jump start with Coconut! About Coconut Coir Pellets  OUR VIDEOS to Help you GROW! *NEW* Make Your Own Organic Liquid Fertilizer Using Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth Seed Starting Made Simple Make Your Own Herbal Tincture Helpful Articles: Tips for Transplanting Tomato Seedlings GROWING TIPS Growing In Containers SEED STARTING TIPS & TRICKS Soak your seeds for faster germination Use fresh, sterile soil for seed germination Don't leave your seeds or soil water-logged If growing indoors, Use a fan to ***gently*** blow air on your seedlings *This can reduce disease and strengthen seedlings* We've grown quite a bit of lettuce and Basil in these 6-Cell Germination trays.  Once the seedlings are 2-4 inches tall or the roots are starting to escape from the bottom it is time to transplant

If you have additional questions please feel free to ask.  We usually reply within a few hours (unless we're out in the field). 
Thank you and have a weekend!

 

Happy Planting,

 

Mary

Mary's Heirloom Seeds