By Vanessa Richins

Many gardeners choose to store garden seeds–especially from vegetables–at the end of the growing season, but the seeds will not last forever.

The natural shelf life of garden seeds depends on the kind of plant.

Store seeds in a cool, dry location so they will last longer than their natural shelf life.

They can be placed in a sealed jar in the refrigerator with a moisture absorbent like rice, silica packets or powdered milk.

One Year

Seeds that can be stored successfully for one year include parsnips, spinach and sweet corn. Annual flower seeds can last from one to three years.

Two Years

Beans, beets, Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

Many gardening companies are jumping on the bandwagon of urban gardening.

They offer support and products to help individuals and groups improve their neighborhoods.

Nature Hills Nursery is no exception.

Their website proclaims “Our goal is to help communities reclaim land, turning eyesores into oases. We want to help dedicated individuals, groups and organizations make their local communities better Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

Every year the All American Selection committee announces the newest winners in its testing programs.

Their mission? “To promote new garden seed varieties with superior garden performance judged in impartial trials in North America.”

They test new varieties that have not been available for sale yet, then choose the most promising ones as winners.

This year, there were 4 winners announced:

- Viola F1 ‘Rain Blue and Purple’ (Viola cornuta) was named as the 2009 Cool Season Bedding Plant Award Winner. This viola was bred Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

As the gardening season slowly draws to a close, there are still many opportunities for urban gardening fun.

One of these could be a Seed Exchange Party!

Perhaps you had a bumper crop of your favorite heirloom bean. Sue, who also lives in your town, may have extra tomato seeds. Joe has squash seeds.

If everyone brought their seeds to a party, everyone could end up with three different kinds of seeds for next year instead of just one.

First, you would need to save some seeds. Methods differ for every plant, but for most, let the fruit sit on the stem until it is fully mature or dried out. You should be able to remove the seeds and save them for future use. Be sure to Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

The summer garden season is in full swing.

The plants are huge and lush, and you collect produce daily.

You wish the summer wouldn’t come to an end so your garden could keep thriving.

Never fear! It’s actually time to start planting seeds for your fall vegetable garden.

That’s right - you can still grow some vegetables even into the autumn months. The key is to choose the right ones.

Vegetables are divided into two different categories - cool season and warm season. Warm season vegetables are ones that grow best during Read the rest of this entry »