How to save coriander/cilantro seeds from your garden
14.9 years ago cilantro, coriander, harvest, seed saving, seeds
Cilantro (at least that is what we call the plant in the United States) and the seed coriander as it is know to the rest of the world is the first plant I ever collected seeds from.
What I like about cilantro/coriander is that its flowers actually grow great and the bees seem to like them. As an added bonus the collection of seeds really couldn’t be easier. Like other plants I collect seeds on I let them mature as much as possible outdoors on their own and bring them indoors when the heavy rains come.
I give them a little extra time to dry by hanging the bunches upside down in my garage until I get around to the harvest.
To harvest simply find these flower shaped clusters of seeds and pull down to release the seeds and add to your awaiting container. If you don’t care as much how clean your seed collection is you can also run run hands down the whole plant from bottom to top. While this will drop many leaves in your collection, this is definitely the way to quickly harvest a large number of seeds.
Tags: cilantro, garden seeds, outdoor plants
How to save radish seeds
14.9 years ago harvest, radish, seed saving, seeds
Harvesting radish seeds is a little more labor intensive than some other seeds but still pretty easy to accumulate a decent number of seeds in a short period of time.
If you let your radishes be they will grow little flowers and pods like you see below. I like to let mother nature take care of this process as long as possible pulling them only after temperatures start to dip and heavy rains start coming. At that time I will pick the plants and hang them in the garage to dry a little longer.
Once the pods are dry, they should resemble those of the ones below.
All that is left to do is use your finger nail to split the pod open and with a quick swipe of your finger pop the seeds out into an awaiting container. One other option is to simply leave them in the pod and open them up during planting. Now they will take a significantly more space though if you only need a few seeds, definitely a viable option.
Tags: garden seeds, outdoor plants
Giveaway: $1354.83 worth of fresh produce
14.9 years ago giveaway, harvest, seed saving, seeds
Ok there is a little catch, you have to plant the seeds and grow the produce yourself and have perfect weather and unlimited space to do it. Over the past season I have intentionally harvested more seeds than I needed just for the purpose of sharing them so here is your first chance to get some of CVG’s seed stash. This should be a good addition to your current selection of seeds or great for a person just starting out next year.
The harvest values were calculated using my most profitable vegetables in your garden post, so numbers are estimated but I tried to be as accurate as possible. Below are also links to my harvesting techniques of most of the “Self” seeds below (just realized I never wrote up cilantro and radish seed harvesting so expect to see these soon).
CVG’s Seed Stash (Variety Pack)
| Seed | Seed Type |
Seeds (Est.) | Harvest Value (Est.) |
| Jalapeno Pepper | Self Collected | 10 | $ 45.00 |
| Radish | Self Collected | 30 | $ 11.66 |
| Lavender | ? | 50 | $ 10.00 |
| Cilantro/Coriander | Self Collected | 100 | $ 525.00 |
| Bhut Jolokia pepper | Self Collected | 10 | $ 150.00 |
| Sunflower (Big) | Self Collected | 20 | $ 10.00 |
| Spinach | Self Collected | 25 | $ 11.25 |
| Carnation | ? | 30 | $ 5.00 |
| Onions (White) | Self Collected | 50 | $ 12.94 |
| Tomato (Early Girl) | Hybrid | 15 | $ 233.55 |
| Corn (Sweet Yellow) | Self Collected | 25 | $ 31.25 |
| Pumpkin | Self Collected | 15 | $ 150.00 |
| Carrots (Finger) | Hybrid | 70 | $ 15.58 |
| Sunflower (Evening Sun) | Hybrid | 10 | $ 10.00 |
| Cucumber | Heirloom | 30 | $ 116.10 |
| Peas | Self Collected | 30 | $ 12.50 |
| Mint (Spearmint) | Hybrid | 50 | $ 5.00 |
| Total | $ 1,354.83 |
As always just enter a comment and a winner will be randomly selected using my patented “CVG’s Contest Winner Pickorama” on Jan 1st, 2010. This contest is open to everyone inside/outside the United States pending any export/import of regulations of sending seeds, which I am still doing some research on.
Tags: cheap, cilantro, garden seeds, outdoor plants, pepper plants, tomato plants, vegetables
EcoSmart Garden Insect Control Review and Giveaway
15 years ago aphids, giveaway, peppermint
One of the major disadvantages to growing plants indoors is the lack of beneficial insects. In a larger environment like a greenhouse you could release some ladybugs to initiate an aphid slaughter though the thought of 1500+ ladybugs investing my garage where my grow box resides does not seem like a good idea. I am always open to trying out new products so when EcoSmart contacted me if I was interested in trying out their garden insect control products I jumped at the opportunity.
I explained the problems I have with pests in my indoor growing and they suggested “Garden Insect Killer” Their documentation states, “Kills and repels garden insects and mites. Kills exposed eggs, larvae and adult stages.” This seemed to be exactly what I was looking for so once the first onset of pests arrived I applied liberally to tops and bottoms of leaves and so far the results are great. Not only were this effective on the little buggers, given the selection of Rosemary, Peppermint, Thyme, Clove oils it actually makes the garage smell pretty nice as an added bonus.
Want to try this out for yourself the great people at EcoSmart have offered to give away a bottle of any of their products. So under normal rules, enter a comment and a winner will randomly be selected and sent a bottle of their choice. Comment must be submitted by Friday, December 18th 2009 at midnight (Pacific) to be considered for the drawing. Good luck.
Tags: growbox, outdoor plants, pepper plants, peppermint plant
Heating row tunnels and grow box with Christmas lights
15 years ago cheap, indoor growbox
Currently it is 16 degrees outside and given my grow box containing jalapeno peppers is in my unheated detached garage, which can bring some challenges. Like most plants, peppers will continue to grow in the range of 60 to 90 degrees, but thrive in 70 to 90 degrees. With the lights on the grow box gets to about 60 degrees but drips to the 50’s at night. This will result in plants having stunted growth and begin dropping blossoms before they can start bearing fruit.
My solution, a string of green mini Christmas lights. Just to clarify these are your typical small bulb Christmas lights not LEDs, given the efficiency of LEDs they do not product much extra heat which is what I am going for here. I also chose green Christmas lights because plants do not absorb this wavelength very well so they can be left on at night to keep heating while still letting the plants “sleep”.
Of course results will vary depending on the size of your grow box or outside row tunnel, insulation, and exterior temperature, but I am seeing 8-10 degree increase in temperature with a single string (50 bulbs)
I am always open to new ideas to safely, cheaply and efficiently heat my grow box or row tunnel so if anyone has any other suggestions please add a comment.
Tags: cheap, grow lights, growbox, led, outdoor plants, pepper plants
Teaching children patience with gardening
15 years ago germination, hydroponics, kids, seeds
It shouldn’t be a surprise that kids these days are not as patient as previous generations. Personally I feel this is less on a change of parenting but a result of children’s expectations created because of the advance of technology. For example, When my daughter asks to watch a particular show “On Demand” and then 5 minutes later asks me to “pause it” so she can go potty. This makes me think back to the days of having a single TV station we could pick up with our antenna, which seemed to play reruns of MASH 24/7.
The great thing about gardening is with the exception of seed hybridization, synthetic fertilizers, and maybe techniques like hydroponics the hobby hasn’t changed too much in the past few hundred years. It still takes 1-3 weeks for seeds to germinate not matter what technology you throw at them. This is why I feel gardening is a great activity to share with the young ones in your life to help offset the instant gratification they see on a daily basis.
Here are a couple of ideas how to do this any time of year:
Cup of Dirt: Give your young one a cup of dirt and some seeds. To keep them interested give them a spray bottle to water everyday to keep them coming back every day to check how their plant is doing. The spray bottle will provide just enough water on the surface to allow the seeds to germinate and what kid doesn’t like to play with a spray bottle.
Sprouting in a Jar: I have a complete post on this topic, but the process is pretty simple. Get a mason jar and add some seeds. Rinse, drain and repeat. In just a few weeks you will have tasty and healthy sprouts you can add to your salads, sandwiches, stir-frys, etc.
Growing plants in water: Now this can be as complicated as setting up a hydroponic environment or as simple as taking a spider plant start and placing it in some water and letting your young one watch as the roots develop and transplant and care for it as a new plant.
Tags: cheap, garden seeds, outdoor plants, vegetables
