Infinite Gardens

Garden Design with Native Plants (Article)

2010-01-06T16:51:00.007-05:00

Excellent points on why people don't garden more with native plants and how to overcome these obstacles....an honest and forthright perspective:

We’ll set aside the arguments for supporting biodiversity and feeding local birds and bugs, and just argue from an aesthetic perspective for a moment. When you go on vacation to a place that touches your soul, is it the McBurger you remember? The Home Depot you passed?

Source: http://www.northcoastgardening.com/2010/01/designing-with-pacific-northwest-native-plants/

How are you using native plants in your garden design? If not, why?

Can farming save Detroit? (Article)

2010-01-06T03:23:00.008-05:00

Unique idea to turn Detroit into an urban farm with solar panels and windmills to produce sustainable agriculture (and jobs!)

Yes, a farm. A large-scale, for-profit agricultural enterprise, wholly contained within the city limits of Detroit. Hantz thinks farming could do his city a lot of good: restore big chunks of tax-delinquent, resource-draining urban blight to pastoral productivity; provide decent jobs with benefits; supply local markets and restaurants with fresh produce; attract tourists from all over the world; and -- most important of all -- stimulate development around the edges as the local land market tilts from stultifying abundance to something more like scarcity and investors move in. Hantz is willing to commit $30 million to the project. He'll start with a pilot program this spring involving up to 50 acres on Detroit's east side. "Out of the gates," he says, "it'll be the largest urban farm in the world."

Source: http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/29/news/economy/farming_detroit.fortune/index.htm?cnn=yes

Is urban farming the answer? What are the benefits? What are the costs?

Gardening Without Irrigation (Audio book)

2009-11-04T14:00:00.003-05:00

The public domain audio book of Gardening Without Irrigation: or without much, anyway by Steve Solomon read by Betsie Bush is now available in full at LibriVox.org:

Gardening Without Irrigation: or without much, anyway by Steve Solomon
Text Source: Gutenberg e-text #4512
Running Time: 3:05:30
Zip file of the entire book (85 MB)

Summary: Gardening expert Steve Solomon has written extensively on gardening techniques for the home gardener. Water conservation is the focus of this work, along with more information on how to have the healthiest plants in your garden through "fertigation", appropriate plant rotation, and soil preparation.

Organic Gardener's Composting (Audio book)

2009-05-27T18:52:00.003-04:00

The public domain audio book of Organic Gardener's Composting by Steve Solomon read by Betsie Bush is now available in full at LibriVox.org:

Organic Gardener's Composting by Steve Solomon
Text Source: Gutenberg e-text #4342
Running Time: 7:35:23
Zip file of the entire book (208 MB)

Summary: The art and science of composting is presented in a humorous and readable manner from the basic elements to the in-depth science. An entire chapter is devoted to composting with red worms (vermiculture), and detailed information is provided on building different types of composting units. The history of the organic gardening movement is included as well as an annotated bibliography of works on the subjects of composting and food gardening.

Mini Sprouting Kit

2008-11-29T21:46:00.005-05:00

Just in time for the holidays! Infinite Gardens brings you the:

*Mini* Sprouting Kit

with 3 ounces of sprouting seeds of your choice so you can create your own sprout blend. The perfect gift for your veggie friends or as an educational tool for children. It is the perfect size for individuals who want to make only a small batch of sprouts; however, the lid will also fit on the larger sized (wide mouth) jars if you want to upgrade later.

Kit includes:
- Mini Sprouting Jar (half pint)
- Strainer Lid
- 3 ounces of sprouting seeds
- Instruction sheet

Choose 3 Seed Packets (Specify in shipping instructions or send us a message with your choice...or let us choose for you):
- Alfalfa
- Broccoli
- Mung Bean
- Radish
- Sprouting Seed Mix (Includes: alfalfa, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, radish, mung bean)

This item includes Free Shipping to U.S. addresses.

New Inventory

2008-09-28T20:49:00.004-04:00

Fall is here, and we have begun listing fresh seeds for sale in our Infinite Gardens Etsy shop. We have collected some new varieties this year and will be adding them to the inventory as soon as they are cleaned and sorted. If there are specific seeds you are seeking, send us an email, and we will be happy to make them a priority: info@infinitegardens.com

We have a new source for our hop seeds this year.... Look at the size of those cones!!!

Hops from seed ... a progress report

2008-04-11T17:26:00.008-04:00

Newspaper pots filled with potting soil on a Styrofoam food tray.

A meat tray below with eight more paper potted seedlings. These were the first to sprout of the 100 seeds I used for germination testing. These sprouted between five and six weeks of cold moist stratification in the refrigerator between moist paper towel. I did have to replace the paper towel twice as it became nasty looking and started to mold.

In the picture below you can see the seed leaves as well as the first true leaves on these hops seedlings. These seedlings are about 2 weeks old out of the sprouting baggie and growing fast.
At 7 weeks I had to pot up 8 more. At 8 weeks I had to make up a whole flat of 36 pots as a large number of additional seeds sprouted. At 9 weeks more seeds are still sprouting which puts the germination rate at about 50%, and I have no doubt this number will push higher in the coming weeks as I can see the seed root pushing out of the seeds in the paper towel. If I were to count the ones I need to pot up that are currently in the paper towel (need to get more pots made up) then my germination rate is about 75% at nine weeks. While this is a little longer than I expected, it is quite welcome to the less than 15% germination rate of directly planted seeds with no stratification.

See also our entry on growing hops from seed: http://infinitegardens.blogspot.com/2008/03/growing-hops-from-seed.html

Sprouting Kit

2008-03-25T14:38:00.004-04:00

The Infinite Gardens Sprouting Kit has arrived!

Sprouting seeds at home is inexpensive, educational, and produces delicious, healthy results.

The kit includes:
2 ounces alfalfa seed (about 5 tablespoons)
1 glass sprouting jar (quart size)
1 strainer lid
1 instruction sheet

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10503065

Thyme Lawn

2008-03-20T11:17:00.008-04:00

I am in love with thyme and especially enjoyed this article, Are You Spending Too Much Thyme On Your Lawn?, on the Green Talk blog about using thyme as a ground cover instead of grass.

An excerpt:

Last year, I planted curly thyme around my raised vegetable beds since it is low to the ground and can take moderate traffic. My garden is enclosed with an 8 foot fence. I feel much cooler when I walk on the curly thyme versus the dark mulch in my garden. Another reason I planted thyme is the flowers attract beneficial bugs.

http://www.green-talk.com/2008/03/10/are-you-spending-too-much-thyme-on-your-lawn/

How long does seed last?

2008-03-10T02:46:00.013-04:00

If you're the kind of person who likes to have a little bit of everything in your growing repertoire, then likely you are a seed saver, or at least a seed acquirer. You collect seeds, purportedly to grow them. If you're like me, you don't always grow them due to circumstances such as running out of planting space or misplacing the seeds. As a seed addict, you will want to know when it is time to give up on those ancient seeds and what to do to increase their germination rate of the potentially viable ones. Some seeds last a very long time when dried and stored at normal room temperatures. Often these seeds will last longer if kept cooler, about 40 degrees. Some seeds can last 20 years or more in their natural seedbank, the soil, much to the chagrin of weed haters everywhere.

You don't want to freeze them, as ice crystals can form killing cells in seeds. Some water in seeds is necessary, which means that freeze drying, aka freezer burn, can remove necessary water in seed cells, thereby killing them. Leave the freezing to experts with their liquid nitrogen and special tools that calibrate mineral and moisture contents for supercooling by using spin glass or transition state liquids. If that sentence made sense to you, it probably means your garden is in or at a seed research lab.

For the rest of us, it is important to know that not many seeds will last more than 10 years in normal room temperature storage. Many seeds won't last more than 5 years, but most will last 2-5 years. Refrigeration and controlled moisture can double these numbers. See the chart below for assessing the potential life span of those vegetable seeds stored in your desk drawer or seed box (at room temperature).

Seed	Life in Years
Bean, Broad	2
Beet	5
Beet Spinach	5
Broccoli	5
Cabbage	5
Carrot	3
Cauliflower	5
Cucumber	7
Kale	4
Kohlrabi	4
Leek	3
Lettuce	4
Marrow	6
Courgette	6
Onion	4
Parsley	2
Parsnip	1
Peas	2
Radish	4
Salsify	2
Spinach	2
Tomato	3
Turnip	2

Some seed varieties require different amounts of cold and moist storage temperatures--stratification--to become viable. This natural resistance gives seeds an edge when conditions are not favorable. However, if you're wanting to plant, say, milkweed, you're going to have very poor results without 180 days of cold moist treatment.

The basics of germinable seeds, however, are very simple: remove germination inhibitors and provide the seed with its preferred conditions of temperature and moisture. Most, if not all, seeds germinate at one of two temperature ranges: 38-42 degrees and 64-72 degrees. Some may be slightly one side or the other, but almost all fall close to these two temperatures.

Further, some seeds are highly vulnerable to viruses. Often you will see it recommended that these seeds be treated with near boiling water which kills viruses and bacteria that may be dormant. Others will have hard seed coats, and you will see treatments such as immersion in sulfuric acid or a requirement to file or nick the seed coat to remove the physical barrier that prevents moisture from entering and inhibitors from exiting.

When looking at wildflower seeds, it seems there are about as many treatments as there are kinds of seeds. Many seeds require leaching or exposure to a particular mold, producing a particular inhibitor removal plant hormone. Whatever the treatment, it is almost always for the purpose of removing an inhibitor or a pathogen. Providing that your seed is viable, using the proper treatment for your seed will save you time and money and increase your chances for success.

Online Resources

Grassed up: Principles of native grass seed storage - New South Wales Department of Primary Industries
Longevity of seeds in ideal storage - Hill Gardens of Maine
Maintaining Seed Viability in Storage - Oregon State University, Seed Services Laboratory
Personal Seed Bank - Johno's Garden Blog
Proper Storage Important to Keeping Seeds Viable - Ohio State University Extension
Seed Germination Database - Backyard Gardener
Seed Saving for Beginners - FedCo Seeds
Storing Vegetable and Flower Seeds - Colorado State University Extension
Vegetables: Storing Vegetables and Seeds - Mississippi State University Extension

Willow Water

2008-03-06T11:21:00.003-05:00

A rooting hormone mixture made from willow twigs and branches steeped in water.

Willow branches have a high concentration of salicylic acid and other indole compounds in their growing tips and twigs. Small branches of willow trees root easily in moist wet conditions as a result of this. To make willow water, cut up several fresh pencil sized willow twigs, remove leaves if any, steep them overnight in room temperature water. This water leaches out the plant hormones in the twigs that aid the rooting process. Cuttings can then be placed in this water to root more quickly or can be planted and watered with the willow water.

Salicylic acid also conveys systemic acquired resistance (SAR) and can be used to trigger a plant's natural defenses against bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Resistance to pathogens can seriously help an injured plant such as a cutting or transplant that has repair work to do. If you don't have willow trees growing near by do not despair there are a number of other plants that produce salicin and salicylic acid.

In a pinch you can even use asprin, which is acetylsalicylic acid. About 1 asprin to 1 gallon of water (3 asprin/4 galons water). As asprin produces a much stronger mixture be sure to error on the side of caution and add a little extra water. If mixed too strong and the asprin can be toxic to plants. With willow water your mixture should be just right. Refridgerate or freeze unused willow water for future use and warm to room temperature before using.

Growing Hops From Seed

2008-02-29T23:59:00.002-05:00

I have successfully grown hops from seed by planting in the fall about 1/8th to 1/4 inch deep in potting soil in mid winter and setting the moist planter out on my unheated porch. Covering with plastic to prevent drying will reduce your need to water. Seeds will come up in the spring at the proper time. Seeds can also be planted in the ground in winter or fall. This is commonly called the winter or fall sown method. Some seeds may not come up the first year but will the second.

To prep the seeds for spring, you could also place them in a plastic baggie of moist peat/sand or perlite/potting mix or even a paper towel (if you can squeeze more than a drop of water out its too wet)in your refrigerator crisper. Pre-chilling at 0°-5°C (32°-41°F) for between 5 and 10 weeks is required to promote full germination of dormant seeds. You will want to check regularly in case there is mold that needs to be removed from the bag and for sprouted seeds. If seeds begin to sprout in the bag, you will want to commence planting immediately (otherwise wait at least 6 weeks). This technique is commonly called stratification.

Plant 1/8th to 1/4 inch deep in well drained seed starting mix and once leaves appear keep in a well lit location with at least 6 hours of bright light per day. Plant outside at the same depth after last frost for your area, as seedlings will be tender for several weeks. Protect them from deer, rabbits, etc., and provide a trellis of some sort for them to climb. About the second year, your vines should be hardy enough to produce hops cones and you can then determine the males from the females by the presence of lupulin in the cones. In extremely cold or dry areas a layer of thick mulch will help.

Without a period of cold treatment, you can expect about 15% germination. I have not had much success without a cold treatment. If you do this and seeds do not come up you can initiate a cold treatment assuming the seeds have not rotted or otherwise become damaged. With cold treatment, germination rate is usually much higher but can still be quite variable. Some seeds will be stubborn and will not come up until a second cold treatment, and they may come up in the second year.

For more information on various scientific germination treatments see:
Bioversity International: Handbook of Seed Technology for Genebanks - Volume II. Chapter 48. Moraceae

To purchase seeds, please visit our shop at Etsy:
Infinite Gardens: Hops Seeds

There are many other pages that can be found through Google with different methods for achieving good germination rates.

Stevia: Send in the Clones

2008-01-22T21:07:00.000-05:00

My stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) mostly grows indoors, with a month or two outside in summer in a 12 inch pot. Never let a frost or cold temps (below 50) hit them, though I've had mature plants recover after being frosted. Keep the soil moist (mine are in half potting soil/peat and half sand) by not letting it dry out more than an inch down as they have shallow roots. I keep a plastic tray with about an eighth to a quarter inch of water under my cuttings/plants. They seem to like 12-16 hours light under fluorescent tubes, rather than 8-12 hours which makes them leggy and have fewer leaves. The leaves get minty tasting when the stems start to get woody. Usually this is a good time to chop the woody stems in 4-6 inch sections with 2-3 nodes and root them in water. New plants have more usable/tasty leaves--I use it as a sweetener in tea.

Plants I've had in the ground, in the past, grew up to 3 feet tall by the end of the summer here in zone 4. For a pesticide against aphids, I dust them with rustic tobacco powder. I chopped them down and brought the stumps in pots indoors, sometimes they have even made it to spring. I've had near continual blooms since the second year with my potted plant and even set seed, but I've never had these seeds germinate for me. I've read that they normally have a low germination rate (something like 1-10 per 100). If the plant gets cold or doesn't get enough light, it seems to shut down like an annual. Discovering that they root easily in water has been the best thing.

I keep re-rooting my stevia, and it keeps growing. I just planted 2 more this morning that had started roots in my glass of water full of cuttings. You do need to change out the rooting water regularly for good rooting or you may get some rot. Once Stevia branches get old and flower the stems get too woody to flex and break or dry up. So, I cut young shoots and root in water, or moist soil, these new plants make the best leaves. This also works well with basil, but I've never gone much more than 2 years with a basil plant, usually the roots quit working and the plant dries up.

I don't let them dry out completely, and I don't let them get chilled. Last fall I almost lost my largest one to an early September cold snap that frosted it. I almost lost two smaller ones while gone a few days over Christmas. They got too dry, all of the leaves drooped, and died back to the root. After steady moisture, they have bounced back and look better than ever. One thing I also noticed is that they thrive on light, lots of strong light. The ones that vine up into the fluorescent tube fixtures are always stocky and root the easiest.

Additional Resources:

Infinite Gardens is Open

2008-01-11T20:19:00.000-05:00

After a year of continued seed collecting & sorting, we have officially opened our Infinite Gardens website and shop on Etsy.com. We are slowly adding new seeds to the shop and content to the website.

Happy New Year!

Ray & Betsie Bush