CasaSugar

Growing Heirloom Veggies From Seeds

Casa Community — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 06:00:49 PDT

Here's a post from Casa Community member Lauren from The Girls' Guide to Gardening:

My husband and I bought our first house this last year and while the inside is almost finished, we have now started on the backyard! For the last couple of weeks, we have been working on building raised beds on the sunny side of the house. When we started this project, my friend sent me a link to the site Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. The company only sells non-hybrid, natural, and non-genetically modified organism. I spent a couple hours admiring all of the different varieties and, of course, order a few that seemed pretty unusual. I will, of course, pick up some other plants from our local nursery but I am excited to try growing a few of plants from seeds. I picked up the following: Mexican sour gherkin, purple tomatillo, melon tigger, beet bull's blood, thai five star cucumber. As long as these go well, next year I will get my order in a little earlier and start my plants before the last frost. Has anyone grown veggies from seeds or ever had these specific veggies? Any tips for a newbie?

Have tips for Lauren? Leave them in the comments! If you want to learn more about growing your own vegetables and flowers, or share photos and stories of your own garden, join The Girls' Guide to Gardening.

Do You Care If Seeds Get in Your Food?

Katie Sweeney — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 03:10:52 PST

At his oil demonstration, while squeezing a lemon into a bowl of freshly cut avocado, Fabio Viviani said, "If you're afraid of seeds, I'm sorry." He didn't bother to pick out seeds that had fallen from the lemon into the avocado and pointed out that there's really no harm in consuming the seeds of citrus. Normally I'm nitpicky about getting seeds out of salads and such, but maybe from now on, I'll be more like Fabio. How about you? If a seed drops into a dish, say guacamole, are you careful to pick it out?

Garden Therapy: Just Shake It

CasaSugar — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:00:00 PDT

If you're planting flowers or plants in your garden from seeds rather than seedlings, I commend you! I'm definitely not one to start from scratch, but sometimes seedlings are simply not available for the blooms I want in my garden. It's also fun to see the full growth process! So here's a tip for you if you're planting seeds: use a standard saltshaker to distribute your small garden seeds. It'll help scatter the seeds evenly, and it's a great way to store your seeds for future seed. Just store the shaker upright on a shelf or put a bit of tape on top to keep the seeds contained.

Seed Sorter

OnSugar Blog — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 05:30:00 PST

Here's a post from OnSugar blog Zone Nine:

As a gift to myself this Christmas, I bought a set of jewelers cases from Lee Valley. I'm using it to save the seeds I've collected from my plants and other plants. I was using the little half sized ziplock snack bags, but they were starting to get a bit untidy.

Find out how the seeds are organized when you

Importing Seeds

OnSugar Blog — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:30:16 PST

Here's a post from OnSugar blog Zone Nine:

Buying seeds can be addicting... and frustrating - when you see seed catalogs from outside the US and find out you can't order from them. So I was excited to find out about importing seeds from other countries. Annie's Annuals posted Secret Seeds as one of their favorite seed catalogs, and as I was perusing their site, I found their instructions on how to import seeds to the US - whoo-hoo!

Want to see more? Start following Zone Nine or start your own OnSugar blog. Maybe your story will be posted here on CasaSugar!

Burning Question: Why Don't Limes Have Seeds?

YumSugar — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:30:59 PDT

I get curious about this every time I cut open a lime: How can these citrus fruits not have seeds? Or are they just so tiny I can't see them? Turns out, the limes typically sold in supermarkets are Persian or Tahiti limes and, like the Bearss lime, are indeed seedless. Key limes, on the other hand, contain seeds. The seedless limes are classified as a parthenocarpic fruit, meaning the flowers don't require pollen to make fruit. Though some fruits are bred to have no seeds, seedless limes are naturally occurring. So squeeze away.

Got a burning question? Contact us.
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Cool Idea: Free Tomato Seeds From Campbell's

CasaSugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 06:15:18 PDT

Ready to start your victory garden? Then consider adding some tomatoes to the mix. For the first time ever, the Campbell Soup Company is offering you the opportunity to grow the specially cultivated seeds used to grow tomatoes for its tomato soup.

This offer is part of the company's goal to grow more than one billion tomatoes across the country and to support American agriculture. As part of this effort, Campbell's is also teaming up with the National FFA Organization and Urban Farming Incorporated, each of which will use the special seeds to help create five community gardens in urban communities.

To find out how to get free seeds,

read more. Through June 21 (or while supplies last), every household that purchases any variety of Campbell’s condensed soup and enters the code on the can at Help Grow Your Soup can request a free packet of Campbell’s tomato seeds to plant in their own backyards and windowsills. With each request, Campbell's will donate the seeds being used to plant community gardens and achieve the one-billion-tomato goal. One of my favorite eco-oriented designers, Danny Seo, is helping to kick off the Spring planting spree. “There is a huge trend right now of people seeking to grow their own food in their own gardens, because it’s cost-effective, environmentally friendly and ultimately produces delicious, fresh-tasting ingredients,” said Seo. “What’s exciting about using Campbell’s seeds is that people will be able to grow a very special tomato that goes into America’s favorite tomato soup - and get those seeds for free!” Are you a Campbell's soup fan? Will you be trying the company's tomato seeds?

Do You Eat the Seeds of Pomegranates?

YumSugar — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:45:12 PST

A coworker and I recently got into a discussion about eating pomegranates. I grew up eating the juicy pulp surrounding each pomegranate seed, and then spitting out its remains, but she loves eating the entire seed and can't imagine going through the hassle of spitting them out. What about you?

The Card Shop: Notes to Grow On

CasaSugar — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:00:23 PDT

When sending a hand-written note, it always pays to have cute stationery. But, what about multipurpose stationery? Why just send a card, when you can send a small packet of seeds along with it? The Lizard Press Notes to Grow On Set ($25 for 7) features beautiful green illustrations of seven different herbs reproduced from Albert Schramm’s Der Bilderschmuck der Frühdrucke (Germany 1450-1500AD), and adhered to the back of each is a small packet of coordinating seeds. Handsome brick-red type reads the name of the herb, and script indicates the most common uses for each herb. It's a small but heartfelt token to send to your green thumb friends, but who needs presents anyway? Also, check out this plantable card set.

Cool Idea: Swords Into Ploughshares, Planting the Piece

CasaSugar — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:00:57 PDT

Richmond, VA, artists Christopher Humes and Noah Scalin have taken the Bible literally in their art installation strong>Planting the Piece. The artists interpret the Book of Isaiah quote, "And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks" in a wholly 21^st century - and absolutely inspirational - manner.

The artists molded a 9mm 910 pistol, and then filled the mold with red clay powder, organic humus compost, water, and a seed mixture of annual and perennial flowers, including cornflower, daisies, blazing stars, lupines, poppies, and many other flowers. After these pieces of growable art have been exhibited, they are then planted, sometimes in garden boxes, and sometimes in abandoned city lots. As the "gun" decomposes into the landscape, flowers grow from it, echoing an iconic antiwar image from the '60s.

To find out how you can get your own seed gun or seed bomb, as well as to see a gallery of photos,

read more. In their artist's statement, they write:

Over time and with the appropriate amount of nurturing, the simple act of planting a seed can create life; sustenance and beauty. Applying a dedication to the act, or prayer, we can unite the audience and promote a discussion for change. With our literal sowing of these "swords into plowshares" we visually eliminate the violence from our community and pay respect to the lives lost and affected. . . . And in nurturing the "piece" to flower or fruition we are then committed to change and at the same time giving something back to the community.

To order your own seed gun, seed bomb, or donate to the project, go here. Source