Hi, guys,
I have a new gig writing about gardening for the Associated Press, and I’m really excited! If you missed it in your local newspaper, here’s my first column, Houseplant Trends for 2022.
I’m pretty much snowed in here on the northwestern shore of Long Island. Not much to do except binge-watch (just finished Ozark, Yellowjackets and Upload, and working on Servant and The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window) — and dream of the spring garden.
If you’re dreaming along with me, the good news is seed-starting time is either beginning or looming, depending on where you live.
The dilemma: You’ve got a bunch of leftover seeds from last year, and you’re not sure if they’re viable. If you start them and they don’t germinate, it might be too late to start over by the time you realize it. But if you order a new batch from the get-go, there’s a chance you’ll be wasting perfectly good seeds — and money.
No worries! I’ve got a simple germination test that will save you the heartache in 5 easy steps:
Moisten a paper towel with water (aim for damp, not wet).
Place 10 seeds on the paper towel and fold it up.
Place the whole thing in a plastic zipper-top bag and seal it up. If you’re testing more than one variety, write the seed type on each bag.
Wait five days and check whether any of the seeds have sprouted. Re-moisten the paper towel and return it to the bag.
Depending on the type of seed, the process can take anywhere from those initial five days to three weeks. Tomatoes, for instance, will sprout within 10 days; peppers, 21 days. Printed information on the seeds packet should provide guidance.
Do the math: If nine of the 10 seeds sprout, you can expect a 90% germination rate from that particular batch. To compensate, sow 10% more seeds than you need.
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📬 Ask Jessica
DEAR JESSICA: We’re looking for a recommendation on what you would consider the best multi-head garden sprinkler. The ones we've bought — including Melnor and Dramm — work well for a couple of months, then leak badly. I don't care about expense as I'd rather pay more and get a few years’ use instead of buying one every few months. Any suggestions? —Bob and Linda Cavaliere
DEAR BOB AND LINDA: I’m a hold-the-hose kind of girl, so I have no first-hand experience with sprinkler systems. So I’m going to crowdsource and defer to The Weekly Dirt community.
If any of you have a recommendation, either place it in the comments or shoot me an email, and I’ll report back in an upcoming edition.
💡 If you do one thing this week…
Unless they’re under a foot of snow, as mine are, cut back hellebore foliage now, even if it doesn’t look bad. Don’t worry — more will grow soon.
👏 Sunday shoutout
Georgia E. Binns of Babylon, NY, shared this lovely photo of the garden thriving inside her home. “My husband has been nagging me to send photos of his blooming jade trees, which we transported in our Volvo from my mother’s home in 1988,” she wrote.
“We keep them outside all summer, and before first frost, we lug them in using a pot sling and much effort! They bloom at the beginning of December, [and] wow everyone who sees them.
Also in the photo is my grapefruit tree, [which] I grew from seed [obtained from ] my husband’s mother’s home in Cape Coral, FL, before the city had to remove so many of the wonderful thin-skinned and juicy old stock trees due to a decimating citrus blight.
It is a dangerous tree to move inside for winter (we wear safety glasses!) and to keep in the home due to the inch-long thorns, which we remove as best as possible.”
Because of its large size, Binns said, she is currently looking for a new home for it.
Send in your photo, and you could be featured next!
📧 How’m I doing?
I welcome your comments and suggestions, so please send them along — as well as any topics you’d like to see covered and questions you’d like answered in the Ask Jessica section.
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Congrats on the AP gig! Something is up with Substack - I tried to "heart" your column but got an error message.
Your words warmed me up on this cold week. Reminds me spring is around the corner