Give Your Vegetable Seeds a Great Start

photo courtesy of Tom Mann via Annie's Pinterest board

Wouldn’t you like to increase the chances of your vegetable seeds not only germinating but developing strong roots in their early growth stages?

I have been vegetable gardening for over 30 years and a retailer of vegetable seeds with our Seeds of the month club for just over three years. As you can imagine I run into a wide variety of vendors in the vegetable gardening industry that make claims to be the best, the greatest and the only product you, your garden or your vegetable seeds will ever need to grow into big and strong vegetable and fruit producing plants.

Some of these vegetable gardening products are just ok, and many are complete duds, border lining unsafe to have near my family let alone spray on my seed starting soil. There is one vegetable gardening product though that I can’t brag enough about. It is safe, great for your vegetable seeds, inexpensive, produced right here in the United States, and quite frankly I don’t think you will find another person in this industry that is happier to sell a product of this sort, and her family has been doing it for decades. Now that is a track record.

I first learned of Annie Haven about 3 years ago when I was perusing an article in a magazine I subscribe to. Compelled by how well that article was written about Annie, I looked up her company and a phone number and gave her a ring. I wanted to learn more this vegetable gardening product line that she was selling, how in the world she got into the business, and what it can do for my own customers when they go to germinate their vegetable seeds. It took all of about 30 seconds on the phone with her to realize she is as genuine as they come in the vegetable gardening industry and is passionate about selling her product line.

Nestled in San Juan Capistrano, California, Annie Haven, owner of Authentic Haven Brand produces a special line of all natural soil conditioners. This soil conditioner, also known as manure tea, is harvested from Annie’s own livestock.

Since 1924, Annie and her family have raised only natural grass fed livestock. It has been about the last 20 years though where they have harvested their livestock’s manure, seasoned it and packaged it for the general public to be used as manure tea for the home vegetable gardener.

The process is very simple. You take one of the manure tea bags and steep it in 1 to 5 gallons of water for about 1 to 3 days. Then use the mixture to water your garden soil with. If the organic health benefits of using such a product line with your vegetable seeds were not enough, they took the extra step of using a manure tea bag that is biodegradable and can be thrown right into your compost pile, once you completely use up the manure tea bag of course.

The manure tea bags come in three varieties, Horse manure, Cow Manure and Alfalfa. Annie recommends using the horse and cow varieties for vegetable gardens and the alfalfa on roses.

While I will be the first to say that I did not conduct any scientific testing, I did use the manure teas on some black beauty eggplant and compared that to some I grew without the teas and the results were remarkable. The manure tea treated eggplants had a better root system, looked lusher and greener in the leaves, and the fruit itself seemed sturdier (although I had no other way to verify this other than feeling it).

Since that time (about two years) that I conducted my informal testing, I have used Annie’s manure tea in my garden ever since. I will soak my vegetable seed starter soil when I plant my seeds, then water my gardens with the manure tea every two weeks throughout the entire vegetable gardening season.

But you don’t have to take just my word for it. Here is Annie’s Pinterest board where users of the manure tea have posted their results for the world to see: http://pinterest.com/greensoiltea/authentic-haven-brand-soil-nutrients/

Have you planned that fall vegetable garden yet?

The summer months are getting oh so much closer to the end. While the heat and humidity may not support that claim, the fact is, time is moving forward and eventually the summer vegetable gardening season will come to a close. That does not mean though that your gardening is over for the year. The use of a cold frame will still yield plenty of crops such as lettuce, spinach, kale, beets and chard well after Jack Frost nips at your nose.

Now is the perfect time to start planning that fall garden. Your mind is already on gardening with all of those tomatoes and cucumbers you are growing (or trying to grow), so get that pencil and paper out and start charting your course for the extended cooler weather season.

What I like to do is list the items that I am going to focus in on for the fall. Normally my inventory includes those items I mentioned previously plus a few more. I change it up from year to year just as I would for my spring/summer garden.

A lot of your leafy vegetables are excellent choices for the cooler months. I even read in an issue of Mother Earth News Magazine how a light touch of frost on your kale will enhance its flavor. I have not tried that myself, but if you do, or have, please let me know how it turned out for you.

A couple of good choices for quick growth include radish and turnips. They mature quickly and have great flavors. Keep an eye on some of those veggies you were meaning to start for the fall as we are at that point in time where you better get them started because they will need time to grow. Examples include rutabaga and spaghetti squash. If you use cold frames, the temperature won’t be as big an issue as sunlight will be, so get them started right away.

If you are like me, chances are you will be using the same garden areas in the fall that you used in the summer. The soil is going to be depleted with many nutrients, which does not necessarily mean you won’t be able to grow anything, it just means the growth could be stunted or the flavors of what you are growing won’t be as ideal.

After you remove your summer plants and before you plant your fall harvest, enrich your soil with the nutrients it needs. If you keep a compost pile, that would be perfect. Take your compost and mix it in. Don’t be afraid to add in some blood meal, fish emulsion or seasoned manure for your nitrogen, bonemeal for your phosphorous and seaweed, wood ash or green sand for your potassium. If you are going to add these items from store bought packages, be sure to pick items that contain other valuable nutrients as well, such as magnesium, calcium and so on.

But to reiterate, if you are keeping your own compost and better yet, vermicompost, then those items will give you just about everything your fall garden will need to thrive.

About the Author

Mike Podlesny is the author of Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person: A Guide to Vegetable Gardening for the rest of us, the moderator for the largest vegetable gardening page on Facebook and creator of the monthly Seeds Club.

Watch the video below to learn more about Mike`s Seeds of the Month Club:

7 Top Benefits of Liquid Seaweed Fertilizer

Seaweed has been used in its raw state for many years by gardeners to improve and nourish exhausted soils. Unfortunately most of its use was concentrated around coastal areas because of its bulk, however since the introduction of the refined liquid seaweed fertilizer, gardeners the world over have had a chance to experience the wide amount of benefits that liquid seaweed fertilizer can offer.

So what are the 7 top benefits of concentrated extract of seaweed?

1. Used as a rooting solution for cuttings, it will promote strong and vigorous development of roots giving the cuttings a superior chance of surviving.

2. Used as a general organic soil treatment, the solution encourages stronger, healthier plants that have a greater resistance to diseases.

3. Seeds that are soaked in the solution will have an improved percentage of germination and the roots and seedlings will enjoy enhanced vitality.

4. When applied as a foliar spray to flowers a day or two before cutting, liquid seaweed extract will give the cut flowers a longer life.

5. The solution provides natural hormones and nutrients in an immediate and easily absorbed form when applied as a foliar feed.

6. During drought and periods of stress, general use will encourage betaines that assist osmosis in plants and help them increase the uptake of nutrients and proteins that will give the plants a boost to overcome the distress.

7. Liquid seaweed concentrate contains starches called alginates that act like sponges. These alginates hold and supply water droplets near to a plants roots giving a more even supply of moisture to the plants.

There are many more benefits that liquid seaweed fertilizer brings to the garden. Generally the plants, flowers, grass and crops become vigorous and healthier. More fruit will develop, grass will be lush and green, flowers become more numerous and are more vivid and crops will be in greater abundance.

If you are interested in finding out more about this organic extract, please check out this site - liquid seaweed fertilizer and discover the gardeners best kept secret.

Six Vegetable Gardening Questions you Need Answered

When is it safe to plant vegetables outdoors?
You log on to the USDA website, find the frost map for the United States, look up your zone and low and behold it is time to plant. But wait there’s more! The dates give for the last frost in your area are only a suggestion and the recommendation from most gardeners I talk to is two weeks after that date to avoid that rare case of cold weather that could wipe all of your indoor growth.

When should you start fertilizing your vegetable plants?
In short, never. Let me explain. Products like miracle grow and others similar to it do work and they work well. But if you really want to build a great garden and one that is chemical free, you need to compost. If you started your seedlings in a potting soil enhanced with products like miracle grow that is fine, but there is really no need to give it anymore than what is required and that is sun and water. Your plants will do fine.

What methods can be used to ensure I am getting the most production out of what little space I have? The word of the day is “up” boys and girls and know it well. Many vegetables such as beans and cucumbers can be grown vertically. You can accomplish this by placing a bean pole or narrow yet tall fencing next to these plants and then as they grow you assist by moving them up the structures. Going vertical will save you plenty of square footage in the garden for those plants that need the room.

What vegetables can I grow in the fall? Fall is a cooler time of the year so therefore look for vegetables that do better in a cooler climate. Lettuce, radishes, spinach, turnips and various other green vegetables do really well when the temperatures are starting to drop. Visit a local garden center and look for ones that are indigenous to your area and ask the people there. They can assist you in planting the right ones for your area.

I have limited space in my condo or apartment and want to grow vegetables from containers or pots. Is that possible? Yes it is very much so. Container gardening has become increasingly popular the last couple of years and the trend looks like it will rise. Regardless of whether a plant is in the ground or a container it needs sun and water so make sure wherever you put your plants you can easily access both. Tomatoes and peppers grow the best but you can try pretty much any type of vegetable, just make sure you use a large enough pot to satisfy the root growth. A pot no less than ten inches should suffice, however you can go as low as six inches for herbs.

How hot does it have to be for my tomatoes to produce fruit? Studies indicate that steady temperatures at or above seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit work best for tomatoes. The same studies also showed that it was the temperature that aided in ripening the tomatoes and not the direct sunlight.

About the Author
Mike is the author of the book Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person. It is a practical easy to follow book that teaches gardeners everything from composting techniques, aeration and frost conditions, to choosing the right tools and picking the right seeds. You can follow him on Twitter.