Planting Seeds
Planting and Growing Non-Hybrid
Vegetable Seeds
When it comes time to plant your vegetable garden you have two options. You can either buy plants that are already started or you can plant seeds. The first option tends to be a bit more expensive and you run the risk of them containing pesticides or being genetically altered.
When planting seeds you know what you are getting. For an organic garden you will want to select only non-hybrid (open-pollinated) seeds which allow the gardener to collect seeds from a crop for future planting. With these types of seeds you can potentially feed your family indefinitely. If you plan to purchase your seeds from your garden center or nursery read the labels carefully. Hybrid seeds are genetically modified and need to be purchased every year.
You can purchase non-hybrid seeds online from Heirloom Organics.
Planting seeds directly in the ground—
Some seeds are large enough to plant directly in the ground. These include pumpkin, zucchini, cucumber, peas, beans, corn, squash, and sunflower.
Starting seeds indoors—
Some seeds are too small and delicate to plant directly in the garden. You will need to start the seeds indoors or in some type of greenhouse about eight weeks before planting time. These include Swiss chard, spring onion, celery, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, and parsnip.
Getting started —
You can plant your seeds in just about any type of container as long as it isn’t too shallow. Old margarine or yogurt containers work well; simply punch some drainage holes in the bottom. Plant them fairly shallow, about as deep as they are big. Use a good quality seed starting mix, widely available at your nursery or garden center. Water them daily. When the plants look strong and the roots start popping out the bottom drainage holes they are ready to plant in your vegetable garden.
Planting the seedlings —
Before removing the plants from their containers it’s a good idea to submerge them under water until all the air bubbles stop floating to the surface. Then turn the entire container upside down letting the seedlings fall into your hand. Gently place the plants down and with a sharp knife cut in-between the seedlings so that each plant gets its own clump of soil. Plant the seedlings in organic material, such as compost, making sure to firm the soil around the plants then water well. This will help keep your plants moist and help to discourage weeds.
Watering your plants —
Water your plants every day for the first few days until you see signs that the seedlings are starting to thrive. At this time you can back off the watering to every 2 to 3 days. Check the soil moisture about twice a week and adjust your watering as needed. The soil should remain moist but not soggy.
If you follow these simple guidelines when planting seeds in your vegetable garden you should have a bounty of food in no time.
Jonathon White a professional environmental scientist and gardener put together an information package on the eco-gardening system. In his book and video package he provides step by step instructions and complete checklists for building, planting and maintaining an eco-garden. If you would like more information on how to make your own organic ecological vegetable garden you can download Jonathon’s package at his website Food4Wealth.com
Easy Growing Organic Vegetables
