All the Dirt on Gardening

Swallowwort Asclepias incarnata After thoroughly browsing the 2016 plant and seed catalog from Select Seed , I called one of the owners, Allison Barlow to ask a few questions. One of the things that I noticed about their catalog is that they mix seeds and plants on each page which is unlike most catalogs with seeds in one section, plants separated out into another section. "Once we started growing our own plants in our greenhouse, we thought that mixing them in the catalog showcased them better," Allison said. Select Seeds greenhouse is on their own property. Allison said that they also have a small organic garden for growing their own organic seeds in-house. If you read the catalog, you may notice, as I did, that their seed packets have unusual seed counts such as 58 Clary Sage seeds, 372 Dreadlocks Amaranth seeds, 113 Phlox Cherry Caramel seeds. Most catalogs use round numbers - 250, 100, etc. "We measure our seeds by gram," Allison said. "Rat...

We had a deep freeze - 28 degrees F ( 15.5 C ) - that turned our late fall garden into a blackened early winter scene. Luckily, I took a few snapshots the day before. Mexican Sunflower - Tithonia - was a volunteer in the both the flower and vegetable garden this year. Ever-durable - Autumn Joy Sedum - was flowering in pink and feeding butterflies. And, the June planted Renee zinnias brought bright colors, skippers and small butterflies by the hundreds. This was the year of basil for me. I planted hundreds of seedlings for a non-profit fundraiser and put the extras everywhere in the garden for the butterflies. Over the past few years, I collected asters and many of them are still hanging on despite the hard freeze. All in all, it was a glorious fall.

Tithonia, Mexican Sunflower, is so popular with butterflies and hummingbirds I wish I had more success with starting them from seed. Some years, not one seed germinates. This year there were 4 plants from a pack of seeds started indoors and babied. The apples were harvested today - we think they are gala but we lost the tag years before it ever produced fruit. Tonight while watering I discovered a few Monarch butterfly babies on the Asclepias in the front walk flower bed! The photo isn't very good but it's the best the camera could do with flash. More garden miracles to come, I'm sure.

Monarch Watch is restocked on their Monarch Butterfly Waystation Kits. You don't have to become an official stop for migrating Monarchs in order to plant the seeds and enjoy the view. Use the discount coupon code 2008SEED to get 15% off Monarch Waystation Seed Kits. Each Kit includes 12 seeds of 12 plants. Six of the plants are for adult butterfly nectar and the other six are to feed caterpillars. These host plants are where the adults lay eggs and are the plants the caterpillar stage Monarchs eat in order to grow into butterflies. MILKWEEDS are both host and nectar plants. Aphids love them, so put them in full sun. The information from Monarch Watch on the contents of the seed packs: BUTTERFLY WEED (Asclepias tuberosa) Perennial; Height: 1 to 2 feet; Blooms summer/fall. Attractive prairie plant with orange clusters of dainty flowers. Attracts butterflies. This drought-tolerant plant blooms from June to September. Host plant for monarch and queen larvae. For best germination rates...