Dear friends and followers
In this uncertain time of international health crisis we have made the decision to close to the general public and reduce the risk of spreading the virus in all ways possible. After many years of developing our edible food gardens, sharing our knowledge and living the Permaculture principles as best we can we would like to find simple ways to reach out to our community and help others towards self reliance.
Seeds are always a great place to start and yesterday we went through our seed box and selected the seeds that are great for planting now.
Please note that the seeds are not all at their ideal use by date so I have given a rough guide of the viability of each seed below.
If you want to find out more about seed viability and seed saving check out the seed savers network and/or find this great book
that will give you all the information you could possibly need.
The seeds we have packaged are;
Broad beans……………………viable up to 5 years
Carrots…………………………..viable up to 3 years
Celery…………………………….viable up to 5 years
Coriander……………………….viable up to 3 years
Lettuce…………………………. viable up to 5 years
Mustard Greens………………viable up to 5 years
Parsley …………………………..viable up to 3 years
Rocket……………………………viable up to 3 years
Peas……………………………….viable up to 3 years
They have all been saved here at our farm in Margaret River and we have put the date saved on each package so you will have an idea of what to expect. The germination rate will decrease each year after saving. It is better to have seeds in the ground than sitting at home in paper bags though!
Some seeds are best planted directly in the ground ( broad beans, coriander, carrots , peas) while the rest can go either in the trays or directly in the ground
We also plant by the moon which means that some seeds are best planted on the waxing moon while others are best planted on the waning moon so as we plant each different type of seed we will let you know. As a general rule leafy greens are planted in the first quarter, flowers and fruits in the second quarter and root veggies in the third quarter. The last quarter of the moon phase is best kept for compost making and other garden jobs.
Plant your seeds in succession (not all at once ) so that you will have an ongoing supply instead of a glut.
Most of the seed will be ready to plant over the next months though the broad beans will be best planted once the rains really start.
Preparing to plant your seeds
Wether you are planting in the ground or in trays you will need to prepare a good potting mix for your seeds.
We use well broken down compost, mixed with worm castings, trace elements and sandy soil (to help with drainage)if you haven’t got your own compost you can buy a ready made one from Landsave Organics that can be bought at Lazarus Horticulture . Alternatively buy a good organic potting mix.
Make sure your seeds are protected from pests (particularly rats and mice)by protecting your seed trays where possible. We put our trays inside boxes that have a small gauge wire covering them.
Once the seedlings come up they will need protecting from slugs, snails and other insects.
Seedlings should be watered little but regularly so that they neither dry out or are too damp. A nice moist environment is ideal. Water morning and evening not in full sun.
Make sure you label your seedling trays, we do this very simply by cutting pieces of plastic from milk/yogurt containers and writing with a permanent marker.
Picking up your seeds
We will leave a box of seeds outside the front gate by the letter box today (Sunday 22nd) and again tomorrow from 9 -5, please just take one packet of each so that theirs plenty to go around. Please try not to handle packets unnecessarily. First in first served we won’t be saving them for individuals sorry.
Seeds to plant with the upcoming new moon will be celery, coriander, lettuce, mustard greens, parsley, rocket and silverbeet.
Happy planting and keep following as we will plant at the same time.
Wonderful, thank you so very much, is there anything you gals need??