I realized I've missed doing homestead updates on steem. Lately my steem time has been fairly focused on working on and promoting Homesteaders Co-op. But I want to get back in the habit of regular homestead updates! I realized I have a backlog now of stuff to share.
My valerian seeds just sprouted a few weeks ago.. probably right around new year. This is kinda crazy to me because the seeds have been sitting in this pot since early spring 2018. I thought they would have sprouted by summer, but then when they didn't I thought I wouldn't see them sprout until next spring, if they sprouted at all.
It seems strange that they would sprout in the middle of winter, but then again this winter has been really mild where I am living. We have been getting frosts and freezes but it has been consistently above freezing more than not.
My takeaway from this experience (aside from feeling joy that my valerian sprouted!) is to be patient with perennial seeds. If they don't sprout in days or weeks like we are used to with most veggie seeds, don't give up on them. I am told some perennials and trees can take multiple seasons to "unlock" dormancy and sprout.
This is a perfect example. I put a lot of perennial seeds in pots last spring and summer. Most of them were cold stratified for 3-4 months. While I had a good number germinate, many of them did not. They are still sitting in my nursery, getting rained on, getting frosted and freezing and going through another stratification period.
I will not give up on them, at least not for a few years! I'll keep patient and keep watch over my nursery. Luckily there has not been any pest predation, except for the occasional stratching from a curious bird and the seeds remain safe in the nursery.
I've learned to mark the pots not only with the species but also the year it was put into pots. Since many will be a multi year process I can keep track of them and know how long they take to germinate, or not. My notebook includes more details like where and when the seed was collected or purchased for future reference.
Well, if all these babies survive, it looks like I will have some extra valerian plants to share with my friends or neighbors, or sell at the farmers market :)
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That's exciting! I usually give up on seeds if they don't sprout when they should. Although from reading your past posts, it sounds like you have a truckload more experience with gardening than I do. My parents live in Jacksonville Oregon, so I get a daily weather update from my mom. She has been remarking that the winter is much milder than usual too. When we get our garden going, I'll send you all my most perplexing questions!
Hi @goat-girlz! I am learning as I go ... wouldn't call myself an expert at all, just a passionate gardener and passionate about growing perennials from seed :) Wow how cool, I am actually very close to your parents, about 50 minutes away, cool! I would be happy to help answer questions or if its beyond me,, pointing you to someone that can :) Thanks for the nice comment.
Awesome! Look at those happy little sprouts growing away! What a satisfying endeavor after being so patient for so long. Here's to hoping more sprouts shoot up in your nursery. For heavens sake, please keep on sharing your blogs!! Great to see this one today! Steem on friends❤☀️🦋
Aww thanks @yogajill! I will get back on posting more garden blogs. Its been too long :) Thank you! Yes this spring/summer I hope to share all of what is sprouting in the nursery ;)
Wow! Look at that!
Patience with perennial seeds. Dang, this is gonna take work? I'm terrible with patience lol
Haha, takes patients to get packages from the ozarks here in Canada! Tap, tap, Ohm, ohm, ohm..... tick toc! LOL it crossed the border. Actually, this reminds me i will check the tracking code to see where it's at now. Great to cross paths today! ❤☀️🦋🎶
💛🖤💛🖤💛
YES! So exciting :D
Lol yes patience :) its great! makes it more enjoyable when they surprise you and sprout at some odd time
Happy birthday to the Valerian. Exceptionally mild here too, till this sudden spat of frost (how hardy might the valerian be?). Can't wait till you discover lunar/stellar (cosmic) calendars.... Experiments galore await you!(more here for example: https://awaytogarden.com/planting-cosmic-calendar-biodynamic-qa/)
Yeah I should pull the valerian into the greenhouse just in case, thanks for the reminder :) I am in a biodynamics study group for the rudolph steiner lectures. It is very interesting to say the least! I am not sure if I will be following biodynamics but its eye opening to learn about the philosophy.
Can see the great need to take and keep your notes @sagescrub.
I was thinking that as these seeds take extra time under the different conditions, maybe they'll be all the hardier for it?
I've never had a valerian plant ~ Wish you could come to our organic farmers market. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
Yeah! Notes can be a bother, but once in a while they come in really handy :) I like that way of thinking about the plants' hardiness.. i think you may be onto something there! They all have unique "upbringings". Too bad.. it would be fun to visit Oz sometime one day, but I think that if I can sprout Valerian seeds, that means you can too!
I've never taken notes ~ Think I REALLY need to though. In some ways, Steemit has become my notebook for my artwork. But that's different again.
I purchased a kit greenhouse a few years ago at the Flower Show in Melbourne ~ Which is the biggest garden trade show in Oz. But I haven't set it up yet. Something else on the 'to do' list as I'd love to start sprouting my own seeds.
Ah, but now you have me thinking 🌼 🌼⚖️🌼🌼
I am not a bit notetaker in general. I mainly find myself taking gardening notes to keep track of where/when I planted what because inevitably I will forget, no matter how sure I am at the time that I will have no problem remembering. LOL! I sometimes jot down insights/observations that might come in handy later.
Kit greenhouse sounds very exciting! Maybe this will be the year ;) What are you growing this year?
At the moment, I'm mainly just preparing another huge compost pile. Need to get some more chicken wire to line it, then fill it with all the leaves that didn't breakdown in the last compost.
My compost heaps have been mainly in response to cleaning up after a Brush Turkey who built his mound in our backyard. Has been A LOT of work tidying up after him. He scrapped off every square inch of mulch accumulated from clippings etc over the last 10 years ~ As well as all the topsoil in the process. So it's been a difficult summer just keeping everything alive.
BUT he did leave us with a great compost pile, that can be used to plant out, just as soon as the summer heat eases. Mainly salad greens: lettuces, chicory, rocket, silver beet, kale and pawpaw just for the leaves until the winter frost kills them.
My pride and joy at the moment is a mango tree that grew from vegie scraps planted into the ground about 7 years ago, which had fruit for the first time. There were about 20 budding mangoes to start with, but most dropped off, now only 4 remain: still green, but reasonably sized mangoes.
Another pride and joy is a grapevine with about 5 BEAUTIFUL bunches of grapes, ripening now ~ Last year the birds ate them, so watching them more closely now.
Yes, I think it's time to set the greenhouse up. The drawback is that we're on rented property and at some stage, I'll have to take it down, which is why I've been a bit reluctant to set it up. BUT have to live and plant for now and have faith that the Universe will take care of us. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
Ooh compost! That sounds like a worthwhile chore. I am really happy to hear about your success with the young mangos and grape vines :) It is so precious to savor the first fruits and such a contrast to the abundance that will be in the years to come. How beautiful that you are planting trees and perennials even though you are renting. That is a great outlook and very unselfish to be planting trees on someone else's property :) Very wise @allyinspirit, live now and plant now because after all, tomorrow is now.
Knowing little about planting seeds etc, I have learned something today.
That makes me so happy!
That is awesome!! I've read this with some plants... I know that Elderberry takes over a year at least. Also I had an interesting experience with some MJ this past summer. I traded seeds with someone and the ones I got took a lot longer to sprout than the ones I've been using. I came to realize that these were CBD medicinal plants!! And that the longer sprouting time and slower growth were part of the plant's makeup. Your sprouts feel like love!! Good job for your patience. Ps I love your seed/gardener's catalog. I followed and resteemed you so I can refer back to the catalog.
Thanks for the warning :) I actually just put some elderberry seeds out a few weeks ago. I had collected them two seasons ago, so they are a little older too. I will be patient with them :) Very interesting about MJ vs CBD... it seems that nature is always open to trying things in new ways and see what works :) Thanks for the compliments about the seed catalog! It has been a fun project and very educational for us!
Makes me think of Valarian Steel, inspired by GOT?
I have know idea what that is :P
Oooh exciting!!! I wonder.if you can send seeds sneakily to me in Oz?
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I would happily try, but I am fresh out of valerian seeds now!
It has beautiful flowers, the bees love them! Here the plant is usually sold by the root, not by seeds, probably because they are hard to start? It is good to divide the root every few years, so it grows best.
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I am looking forward to seeing, smelling those flowers! That is great, bees! Another reason to have more valerian around :) They reseed very easily, maybe I will be sharing roots in future years ;) Thanks for the division tips!
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