seed starting Archives - A Way To Garden

surrendering to snapdragons, with joseph tychonievich

margaret — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 20:51:52 +0000

ANYBODY IN THE MOOD for something just plain pretty at the moment? Something to search the seed catalogs for, choosing among the many wildly colorful varieties, and then get ready to sow for a result that’s all hopeful and bright? Well me, too. So after I saw a photo of a bed of snapdragons the other day from last year’s garden of Joseph Tychonievich, I thought they might be just the thing to bring us all some delight. Joseph is a writer, a plant breeder, and of course a gardener and the creator of Josephgardens.com and a Substack newsletter by the same name. It was in his latest Substack post that I saw a photo of his lavish display of snapdragons from last year’s garden (above) and called him up to ask for more information. Joseph, who gardens in South Bend, Ind., enticed me further and told me how to grow them, and which ones to look for especially. Read along as you listen to the Jan. 27, 2025 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify (and browse my archive of podcasts here). […]

The post surrendering to snapdragons, with joseph tychonievich appeared first on A Way To Garden.

getting organized for seed season, with ken druse

margaret — Sun, 14 Jan 2024 00:26:36 +0000

IF YOU THINK nothing’s on the to-do list in winter, fellow gardeners—that we’re all meant to be dormant, like the cannas in the cellar and the herbaceous perennials outside and the flower beds—well, think again. Most of us in colder zones, especially, may not be actively prepping or planting outdoors at the moment, of course. But even within the realm of seed-related activities alone, there’s plenty wanting our attention. That’s what Ken Druse and I realized when we got to talking seeds the other day on the phone. And one thing led to another, and even though it’s not yet full-on seed-starting time, we found ourselves with a list of tasks—and no, not just the task of seed shopping (though he did hunt down seed for Eryngium leavenworthii, above). Ken Druse is an old friend, the author of 20 gardening books, and my collaborator on our Virtual Garden Club online class series. And he’s currently sorting through leftover seeds, and also a pile of seed catalogs, over at his New Jersey home. Seedy tasks for winter days was the subject of our conversation. Read along as you listen to the Jan. 15, 2023 edition of my public-radio show and podcast […]

The post getting organized for seed season, with ken druse appeared first on A Way To Garden.

peat-moss alternatives, with dr. brian jackson of north carolina state

margaret — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 23:39:23 +0000

GARDENERS HAVE increasingly heard the call to reduce or eliminate their use of peat moss, the most familiar ingredient in seed-starting mixes and potting soils—one that a lot of us have long relied on. But peat is not sustainable, and its harvest releases substantial CO2, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. So what to use instead? That’s our topic with North Carolina State University Professor Brian Jackson, an expert in soilless growing media or soilless substrates, as they are also called. Brian Jackson is a professor in the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State, and director of the university’s Horticultural Substrate Laboratory. He’s one of perhaps five U.S. scientists at public universities studying these materials and their role in horticulture and agriculture. (Below, Dr. Jackson alongside a pile of engineered wood fiber being processed by heating to stabilize and sterilize them, for use as a substrate. He predicts such materials will fill the largest part of the peat-alternative puzzle globally.) Read along as you listen to the March 7, 2022 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify or Stitcher […]

The post peat-moss alternatives, with dr. brian jackson of north carolina state appeared first on A Way To Garden.