Category Archives: Garden Advice

Garden Advice

Seeds: Tips for Storing, Testing, & Saving

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Almost all gardeners end up with extra seed each year. Whether you saved more than you needed from your own plants, wanted a lot of variety, or simply got overzealous when all the beautiful catalogs came in the mail chances are you’ll have a bit of seed left over from year to year. No matter if you purchased the seed or saved it yourself, you don’t want it to go to waste. Many seeds can last years like this variety of squash which was revived from 800-year-old seed found in a clay jar in Wisconsin!

Germination Test

There’s a simple germination test you can do at home to ensure your seeds are still good before planting time. Simply take 10 seeds and place them, folded into a damp paper towel in a container or bag (to help hold in moisture). Set your container in a warm place. The amount of time you’ll need to leave them will, of course, depend on how long whatever type of seed your testing requires to germinate. Be sure to keep the paper towel damp. You may have to sprinkle water on it if it begins to dry out. 

The number of seeds that germinate will give you a rough idea about their germination rate and you can plant accordingly. Even if only half germinate you still use your seed just be sure to plant thickly in the case of direct seeding or multiple seeds per cell when starting indoors. If you have a lot of seed, testing more than 10 will give you a more accurate percentage. 

Tips for Storing Extra Seed

While some seed like beans, corn, and peas naturally keep longer than others like spinach, alliums, and parsnips, storing your seed properly will greatly increase its shelf life. 

  • Extra seed should ideally be kept somewhere cool (about 50°F), dark, and dry. 
  • Unless your house is extremely humid storing your seeds in the paper packets they came in should be fine. However, you can place the seeds or entire packet into mason jars to be extra safe. 
  • Mason jars are also an excellent way to store seed you’ve saved at home.
  • Label everything with the variety and date you stored or last tested your seed.
  • Organize your seeds in the fall that way they’re ready to go and you’re not left scrambling with last minute orders when you can’t find a variety you thought you had in the spring.

Saving Seed at Home

If you’re planning on saving your own seed this year be sure that you’re processing it properly if you want it to last. Here are a few of our resources for those looking to become more knowledgeable about saving seed at home.

Even if you don’t have the time or desire to save your own seeds learning to properly care for your purchased seeds can save you time and money each year. 

Pin it for later.

Garden Advice

Eat Your Beets: Fudgy Chocolate Beet Brownies

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Sure beets are delicious on their own, but baking can be a great winter substitute for gardening. When the winter blues have set in and there’s no way you can get out in the garden to do much in this weather, baking up some chocolatey goodness might be the next best thing. These brownies are great because you can use some of last year’s harvest and claim that they’re sort of healthy. They do have vegetables in them!

Brownies

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup cooked, pureed beets
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil

To make the brownies whisk together all of the dry ingredients and then stir in the beets and oil. Pour batter into a well-greased 8×8 baking pan.

Bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool before icing.

Icing

Icing may not be required for brownies but look at how pink and cheerful it is! Let’s not worry about any healthy eating new years resolutions yet and smother these in frosting. At least it’s naturally dyed!

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2-3 TBS beet juice

To make pink icing squeeze a bit of beet juice out of the puree and add a tablespoon at a time to your powdered sugar until you the icing is spreadable but not runny. Spread evenly over brownies once cooled.

Enjoy! My favorite thing is to have them with a cup of coffee or tea on a cold day. This might also be a great recipe to keep around for Valentine’s Day.

Garden Advice

Cornbread, Black-Eyed Peas and Collard Greens for New Year’s Good Luck

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by Ira Wallace

A pot of southern peas (black-eyed peas are only one kind), some greens simmering on the stove and fresh ground cornbread in the oven always takes me back to my grandma’s kitchen. We always ate collards on New Year’s Day along with some black-eyed peas and freshly baked cornbread for good luck in the coming year.

Updated Collards: Young & Tender, Briefly Cooked

As an heirloom gardener I strive to keep up old fashioned food traditions while updating them to be more sustainable and healthy for our lifestyle. Check out all of our collards online. I prefer my collard greens young, tender and quick cooked with garlic or onions and a little vinegar or hot sauce for added zing.

Fresh from the garden is always best as shown the last few years when our heirloom Alabama Blue Collards, closely followed by Carolina heirloom Yellow Cabbage Collard and Shiny Green Glaze Collards are competing with the ever popular kale varieties.

Home-Grown Corn: Fresh Ground Cornmeal for Incredible Flavor


All winter but especially during the holiday season I feel so blessed to live with great cooks who use our homegrown dent, flint and flour corn to make fresh cornbread, grits, tortillas or polenta almost every day throughout the winter.

The only problem is which do I enjoy most – Floriani Red Flint, old fashioned Tennessee Red Cob, Texas Gourdseed, Blue Clarage or Kentucky Rainbow (aka Daymon Morgan’s)? I think of it like having a dozen children, you love them equally for different reasons.

If you are new to growing and using your own home ground dent and flint corn check out Jordan’s blog post Processing Flour Corn at Home and look for more about growing and using corn for as a staple and for special meals soon.

Black-Eyed Peas for New Year’s Luck

Check out my earlier blog post for a little more about why we eat Black-eyed Peas at New Years and look for a delicious Hot Pot recipe before New Year’s Eve.

Until then here is my recipe for quick vegetarian New Year’s Collards if you want to add some good luck to dinner tonight! (This is also good the way my grandma made them, slow-cooked with bacon grease and served with bacon bits on top).

Quick Southern Style Collards

1-2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 sweet onion, diced

1 to 2 bunches tender collard greens, well washed, stems removed and chopped

1/2 cup rich savory broth or ¼ cup vinegar 
(optional 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions


Coat the bottom of a large cast iron skillet with the olive oil then add the onion and cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the chopped collards to the pan along with the broth or vinegar, optional red pepper flakes and some salt and pepper and cook until tender, but still bright green, 4 to 5 minutes. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Serve with bottled hot sauce and vinegar at the table.