35 Seed Varieties that Need Stratification and How & Why It Improves Germination for Seeds Like Lavender

The Rusted Garden Seed and Garden Shop

Have you ever wondered why certain seeds, like lavender, germinate poorly and can take 4 weeks or longer to sprout?  If they even germinate at all. It is because they need to go through stratification. 

Stratification is the natural process of seeds needing a prolonged period of 'cold' to prepare them for germination come warming spring temperatures. The need for stratification is a survival mechanism certain plants developed so fallen seeds stay dormant until the cold of winter passes. Seed are produced when it is warmer, fall to the ground, but won't germinate until the are chilled over a long period. Once chilled, they sit waiting for the warmth of spring. The need for a long period of cold prevents them from germinating early as winter approaches and during periods of overly warm winter days.

Place Your Seeds in the Refrigerator - Stratification

If you don't stratify purchased or collected seeds, they can still germinate but the rate is often much lower and they can actually take 2 or 3 times longer to germinate. A refrigerator is all you need. Most seeds don't need to be stratified. Generally speaking many perennials, that are native to areas with a freezing a winter, benefit from a chilling period. I prepared a list of 35 plants that can benefit from being stratified. These are plants I often seed start indoors.  

There are two ways to stratify seeds. One is called wet and the other is dry. Dry is the only process I do because it is what is most practical when starting seeds indoors. Wet stratification is no more than planting your seeds in a moistened (wet) starting mix and exposing the whole set up to a cold period. That is perfect for greenhouses, cold frames, and places where you can get the right temperatures for the required period of time. I find the dry method to be effective with less work. I just toss them into my refrigerator.

Anise (Hyssop)

Asclepias (Butterfly Weed)

Asparagus

Asters

Bachelor Buttons

Beebalm (Bergamont)

Cantaberry Bells

Catmint

Chamomile

Chives

Columbine

Coneflower (Echinacea)

Delphinium (Larkspar)

False Indigo

Foxglove

Hollyhocks

Joe Pie Weed

Lavender

Lobelia

Lupine

Milkweed

Mint

Oregano

Passionflower

Poppy (Perennial)

Rudbeckia

Sage

Scabosia

St Johns Wort

Strawberry (Wild)

Sunflowers (Perennial Type)

Thyme

Valerian

Vervain (Verbena)

Wormwood

Yarrow

We can artificially create the needed cold period by using a refrigerator. Seed packs or hand collected seed should be placed in the refrigerator for 4-8 weeks. There is no clear information on exactly how long different plant varieties need the cold periods to last for their seeds. The above range seems to be fine. The temperature should be near 32 Fahrenheit or 0 Celsius in theory but most refrigerators are several degrees above freezing and that works. I recommend buying your seeds, that need stratification, several months early, and simply toss the seed packs into the refrigerator. Take them out about 5-7 days before planting them into your seed trays and let them feel the warmth of your home. This process will increase the rate of germination and decrease the time needed for seeds to sprout.

This stratification process can be done on all seeds, in theory. So when in doubt, stratify them in a refrigerator. Check out my seed shop The Rusted Garden Seed & Garden Shop for seeds and all seed starting supplies. And follow me on YT under The Rusted Garden Homestead as I will doing a video series on starting seeds indoors for 2022. I also have plenty of other seed starting videos availble now for viewing.

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Keys to Buying & Growing Herbs, Flowers, and Vegetables in Vertical Towers: Join Me for My 2022 Vertical Gardening Series

 Ultraviolet Protection:

Vertical towers are made from plastic and sit outdoors. Any vertical tower you purchase must be able to manage the ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun. The sun will degrade plastic that can't resist UV damage in 1-2 years. Plastic will become brittle and the tower will actually crack and crumble. I have had some of my GreenStalk Garden vertical towers outdoors 24/7 for over 6 seasons. They have not shown any degradation, damage, or cracking from UV rays. They stand behind their towers with a 5 year warranty. You are making an investment and want your towers to last and not need replacement every year or two. Ultraviolet resistance, is key 1, as you want to protect your investment. 

Limited Quantity - Free Shipping Lower 48

6+ Gallons of Material Per Tier:

The tiers need to hold a lot of container/potting mix.  Some of the less expensive vertical towers, that you can find, often only hold a few gallons of material in each tier and don't have UV protection. They appear to work fine in the early spring and when plants are small. However, I recommend each tier being able to hold a minimum of 6 gallons of growing medium. The GreenStalk Garden 5 tier vertical tower has 10 inch pockets and it holds 8 gallons of material. I grew 30 peppers in a 5 tier tower very successfully. This amount of soil volume supports the plant's root growth, nutritional needs, and greatly cuts down on the frequency of watering which is always a challenge for towers come the midsummer heat and mature plants. Key number 2 is a minimum of 6 gallons of growing medium for each tier or compartment.

 

 

Budget Friendly & Effective Growing Medium:

The need for more frequent watering becomes an issue as the heat of summer rolls in and plants mature. Having 6 gallons or more of growing medium really helps with this, but key 3 is selecting or making the right soil blend for your vertical towers. Any premium bagged container/potting mix will work but it is expensive and they are basically the same. They contain at least 50% peat moss and some basic fertilizer.  Don't pay more for fancy packaging and misleading words. You can make something as good and even better. You can save a lot of money by purchasing a compressed bag of peat moss and a bag of organic granular fertilizer.  Simply use 50% peat moss and 50% earth from the ground. This makes a wonderful basic blend that holds water.  I, in general, use this base mix to fill 75% of each level of the tower. To that, I add several handfuls of organic granular fertilizer, compost, or other organic matter. If you don't have additional amendments, just add some extra peat moss and level off the fill. You can also add additional amendments as you wish, like worm castings. I often change my mixes, as noted in the videos, but they always have a lot of peat moss. Key 3 is retaining moisture and that is what peat moss does.

 

 

Watering:

Watering will vary greatly depending on the plant sizes and temperatures. I recommend a vertical system, like GreenStalk's tower that has at top tier water reservoir that you can fill and it will gravity feed water down to each lower tier of the tower. It is also a great way to move water soluble fertilizer throughout the entire tower. The watering system uses drip trays on each lower tower tier that catches water from the main reservoir, and it slowly drips water into to soil to maximize distribution. This is the best watering system I have seen but even with that, in mid summer with producing plants, I water each pockets of the tower. Container gardening is always a challenge, come midsummer, because mature plants really pull the water out of the soil. A watering system and watering schedule are the 4th key. You will have to adapt the frequency of watering, come mid summer, no matter what type of tower you purchase. Never let your towers or any container dry out completely as it will damage the plant and production.

 

 

Water Soluble Fertilizing:

No matter what type of vertical tower you invest in, you will typically have 3-6 pockets for plants in a single tier. That means watering and feeding will become ongoing concerns over time. There are a lot of plants growing and their demands will increase. When plants are small, they can do quite well, using the fertilizers you mixed into the soil to initially set up your growing medium. When plants begin to flower and produce, they can quickly use up the nutrients in the soil. The best way to replace nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium is with a water soluble fertilizer. Water soluble fertilizers are in a form that is immediately available to your plants. I recommend using fish emulsion which is typically higher in nitrogen than in phosphorous and potassium. Nitrogen is the most used macro-nutrient by plants and it really needs to be replaced regularly in containers. I recommend feeding your tower plants, with a water soluble fertilizer, 1x in May, 2x's in June, 3x's July, 2x's in August, and 1x September. It is a 12321 method you can apply, based on your growing season, spring through fall.  Water soluble fertilizers vary, so follow the mixing instructions and make sure each tier of the tower is well saturated during each feeding.

I am affiliated with GreenStalk Garden. The Rusted Garden Red 5 Tier Tower is on sale now and shipping is free in the lower 48 States. There is a limited production to TRG Red. I have worked with them for over 5 years and fully support their product. You can see how I use them in my garden if you watch the linked videos.

If I had to pick the two things most important in purchasing a vertical tower... I would go with UV resistance and deep pockets. You want your investment to last and you want plenty of soil for your plants to grow in and the extra weight of soil and water also helps them do well in the wind. I get 40 mile an hour wind gusts at times and haven't lost a tower yet.

Have a great season!

 

 

 

The Rusted Garden Seed and Garden Shop

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Gardening Coast2Coast Episode 1 Podcast: How to Start a New Vegetable Garden

The Rusted Garden Seed and Garden Shop

Gardening Coast2Coast Episode 1 Podcast: How to Start a New Vegetable Garden

Gardening Coast2Coast is hosted by Gary Pilarchik of the Rusted Garden Homestead and Kim from CaliKim. You can find them both on YouTube. He lives on the east coast, in Maryland, and she live on the west coast, in central California.  Their podcasts will cover gardening from coast to coast and across the world. 

You can find their podcast website at GardeningCoast2Coast.net with updates on what podcasts are scheduled and a place you can leave gardening questions. They will be doing a Q&A podcast every month. Leave a question and if it is used, you'll get a shout out on the podcast.

Episode 1 is all about starting your first gardening and they cover the basic to get your garden started of the right way. You can listen below or find them on all the popular podcast platforms. Just search Gardening Coast2Coast.

If you want to embed this on your site for educational use and not profit, you have permission. If you want to use it differently or want to advertise on their podcast website or in show, please email them at gardeningcoast2coast@gmail.com.

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What is the Key to Having A Successful Vegetable & Flower Container Garden?

The Rusted Garden Seed and Garden Shop


I am often asked what is the key to having a successful container garden and the answer is consistent even moisture. If a container plant dries out completely, one time, it devastates the future growth and production of that vegetable plant. For instance, tomato plants, can manifest a physiological disease called blossom end rot. The bottoms of the tomato turn brown and rot. This is due to the plant not being able to access calcium through its roots. While fertilizer, sunlight, and pest and disease management are important, success starts with soil.

Visit Beyond Peat's Website to learn more about their products.

The number one reason this occurs, is not because there isn't calcium in the soil, it is because the root system dried out or watering and moisture have been very inconsistent. The bottom line to container gardening success, is making or buying a potting or container mix that holds water and helps the gardener maintain consistent moisture in their containers over the season. This is especially true come summer time when temperatures rise,  plants mature and begin producing fruit. 

I've written extensively on making your own container mixes from peat moss or coco coir but not everyone wants to make their own mixes. People have asked me about alternatives to peat moss as they want a product that is more sustainable. Sometimes people are concerned with coco coir with respect to its green foot print and the cost associated with moving the product across the ocean.  

Beyond Peat checks the bagged product box for moisture management in your containers and it is 100% peat moss free. It uses a Bio-Fiber technology to create up to 25% more air space for plant roots than traditional peat products. This patented process also creates a growing medium that can hold up to 7 times it weight in water. I've been working with this product and like the feel and consistency of the mixes. It is not just wood chips or other chopped natural materials. You can see the fibers in the product.

You will often find three general categories for bagged soils. The first is garden soil and that is best suited for your garden earth beds or the bottom fill of larger raised beds. It is a good product to mix into your existing soil to help build structure for vigorous root growth. Beyond Peat is certified organic, sustainable and locally sourced.  

The next type of bagged product, seen more often now-a-days, is a raised bed mix. This blend sits between garden soil and a potting or container mix. I have found the raised bed mixes are best used for higher sided raised beds and for filling the top 6-8 inches of the raised bed .  Raised bed mixes are often more expensive and aren't needed to fill the entire bed. You can put more inexpensive materials in the bottom 2/3 of the raised bed and the better quality raised bed mix in the top 1/3 of the bed. That is what the surface roots of your plants will enjoy.

Finally, containers require a better soil product that is porous and drains well, but also holds moisture. That is the key. Excess water can sit in the air spaces of poorer quality container mixes and plants can easily develop root rot. However, plants do need moisture. The Bio-Fiber process Beyond Peat uses to prepare the soil mixes, meets that mark. As mentioned the soil can hold up to 7 times its weight in water. You want the water to be held in the organic matter of your potting or container mix and not sitting is the air spaces between the soil. 

Selecting a soil product like Beyond Peat for your container gardens (and garden needs) is the key to container gardening success. The next steps for success, include setting up a watering and fertilizing schedule that increases in frequency as the season progresses, the plants grow, and the heat of summer rolls in. Many bagged products like Beyond Peat come with organic fertilizer in them and that helps your plants get off to a great start. I recommend fish emulsion as an adjunct water soluble fertilizer for your container gardens. The first step is selecting the right mix for you container gardens, the next step, and a future blog post, is managing watering and fertilizing over an entire season.

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24 Cool-Season Crops You Can Plant in Your Gardens in Both the Spring and Fal

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A  Mix of Cool Weather Vegetables: The Rusted Garden

What Makes A Vegetable a Cool-Weather Vegetable?

The cell structures of vegetable plants differ in that some vegetables have plant cells that will burst if they freeze or encounter even a light frost.. Cool weather vegetables tend to have the ability to freeze without cell damage. They are designed for the cooler temperatures. The cells can freeze and defrost in the sun without damage to the plant leaf. When a extend cold comes that will freeze the roots or area where the roots meet the stem, that is when the plant usually dies or is damaged. So you have a lot of time to grow cool-season vegetables!

Cool-weather vegetables enjoy cool soil temperatures as well as ambient temperatures but most plants regulate themselves based on the soil temperatures. The cool-weather crops thrive when soil temperatures remain in, generally speaking, a range of 50-65 degrees. As the soil temperatures increase, the plants often move from leaf, bulb and bud production into full flower production mode. That is when you see lettuces bolt and flower, broccoli and cauliflower heads flower, radishes become pithy and our cool-weather crops  have one goal. That goal is to flower and produce seed. When the soil temperatures leave that 'cool' range that is when we often pull them and plant our warm-weather or warm-season crops.

Fully Frozen and Survived: The Rusted Garden

Cool season vegetables prefer the cooler weather. This group of vegetables grows best and taste their best with ambient temperatures of 50 degree (F) nights and 60-70 degree (F) days. These temperatures are easy to look up than soil temperatures.  Cool-weather vegetables can be broken into two sub-categories which are Hardy and Semi-Hardy.

Hardy Cool Weather Vegetables: 

This group of vegetables can manage well with mid 40 degree days and can survive a prolonged frost. Many vegetables in this group can over-winter in your garden and bring you early spring greens. Vegetables in this group can be planted up to 4 weeks before the average last frost date in your area. You can probably even get away with 6 weeks if you like pushing garden limits.

Semi-Hardy Cool Weather Vegetables: 

This group of vegetables doesn’t fare as well with frost although they can handle a light frosting with minimal to no damage. They prefer daytime temperatures in the 50’s and nights that don’t fall below 40 degrees, although they can handle nights in the 30’s. Vegetables in this group can be planted up to 2-4 weeks before the average last frost date in your area.

Cool-Weather Crops Can Often be Planted Twice a Season

In many gardening areas, you actually have two cool weather seasons. I plant in Maryland. I can start my cool-weather plantings March 1st and I can plant them again mid August for a fall crop. I actually also plant at this time to also establish vegetables that I will let over-winter. Your cool season crops can be planted in the spring and fall. In the spring, we often seed start indoors as the ground temperatures are to low for a speedy germination. In the fall we can direct sow the seeds as the warm soil temperatures actually increase the speed of germination. The key with fall planting is timing, as you are planting into the coming winter and freezing temperatures. You want to have enough time for your crops to mature.

Different Types of Cool Weather Vegetables

The exact split, between hardy (H) and semi-hardy (SH), and where to place a vegetable in the sub-categories is debated. It is best used for general planting guidelines and understanding they simply like the cool weather. My guidelines for each vegetable is based on my growing area in Maryland (Zone 7). I am giving you the general range for first planting of these vegetables when moving from cold weather to warm weather.. You can plant successive crops every 2 weeks as you wish based on your planting zone. I will be doing new blog posts on planting your fall season cool-weather crops. Planting these crops in August doesn't require you to start the seeds indoors or worry about planting around your last average frost date.

Some Cool Weather Vegetable Crops: The Rusted Garden

Asparagus (H) (Perennial) It takes about 3 years to establish a viable crop. It is a perennial plant that will start sending up stalks in March when planted the previous year. If you are planting it for the first time to establish it your garden, it is best to use transplants. You can grow them from seed in cell trays. They should be planting in the garden in May.

Arugula (SH) It can be started indoors and planted in the garden 2 weeks before last frost date. You can also plant seeds at the same time.

Beets (SH) It can be planted as seeds 2 weeks before last frost date. I have had success growing transplants.

Bok Choy (Pak Choi) (H) It can be planted as seeds directly in the garden 2-4 weeks before last frost date. I do recommend growing it indoors and transplanting it into the garden 2-4 weeks before last frost date.

Broccoli (H) It is best planted as a transplant 4 weeks before last frost date. I would not recommend starting it as seeds in the ground in Zone 7.

Brussels sprouts (H) It is best planted as a transplant 2 weeks before last frost date. I would not recommend starting it as seeds in the ground in Zone 7.

Cabbage (H) It is best planted as a transplant 4 weeks before last frost date. I would not recommend starting it as seeds in the ground in Zone 7.

Carrots (SH) Carrots should not be grown as transplants. They can be seeded in your garden 2-4 weeks before last frost date.

Cauliflower (H) It is best planted as a transplant 2-4 weeks before last frost date. I would not recommend starting it as seeds in the ground in Zone 7.

Celery (SH) It is best planted as a transplant 2 weeks before last frost date. I would not recommend starting it as seeds in the ground in Zone 7.

Cilantro (H) It can be planted as seeds directly in the garden 2-4 weeks before last frost date.

Collard Greens (H) It can be planted as seeds directly in the garden 2-4 weeks before last frost date. I do recommend growing it indoors and transplanting it into the garden 2-4 weeks before last frost date.

Kale (H) It can be planted as seeds directly in the garden 2-4 weeks before last frost date. I do recommend growing it indoors and transplanting it into the garden 2-4 weeks before last frost date.

Kohlrabi (H) It can be started indoors and planted in the garden 2 weeks before last frost date. You can also plant seeds at the same time.

Lettuce (H) It can be started indoors and planted in the garden 4 weeks before last frost date. You can also plant seeds at the same time.

Mustard Greens (H) It can be planted as seeds directly in the garden 2-4 weeks before last frost date. I do recommend growing it indoors and transplanting it into the garden 2-4 weeks before last frost date.

Onions (H) If you are using bulbs you can plant them 6 weeks before last frost date. I have not used seeds.

Parsley (H) It can be planted as seeds directly in the garden 2-4 weeks before last frost date. I do recommend growing it indoors and transplanting it into the garden 2-4 weeks before last frost date.

Peas (SH) They should be planted directly in the ground 4 weeks before last frost date. Peas do not like soggy cold soil.

Potatoes (SH) They should be planted directly in the ground 4 weeks before last frost date.

Radishes (H) They should be planted directly in the ground 4 weeks before last frost date.

Spinach (H) It can be planted as seeds directly in the garden 2-4 weeks before last frost date. I do recommend growing it indoors and transplanting it into the garden 2-4 weeks before last frost date.

Chard (SH) It can be planted as seeds directly in the garden 2-4 weeks before last frost date. I do recommend growing it indoors and transplanting it into the garden 2-4 weeks before last frost date.

Turnips (H) They should be planted directly in the ground 4 weeks before last frost date

Good Luck with Your Garden, 

Gary (The Rusted Garden) 

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