Branching Out's Seeds and Sprouts

[Moon888]

I garden in the Pacific Northwest where February is usually the last real month winter. The snow crocuses have just started to bloom, and other spring bulbs like tulips and daffodils are starting to push through the soil. Currently our temperatures are staying above freezing both day and night, but later this week there is going to be a blip with an Arctic outflow bringing overnight temperatures of -9C (16F). This is kind of messing me up, becasue I have trays of greens waiting to get planted out, and there is no way they would survive -9C. I have made a note on my planting chart to start these seeds 2-3 weeks later next year, and for now I will hold them in their trays so I can bring them indoors when the deep freeze hits.

The lilac grass-like flowers are beautiful!

 

[ducks4you]

When I lived in town with 1/4 acres all I could grow was tomatoes and cucumbers, back yard facing North. I had slugs, and I would buy the cheapest beer in a can, dig a hole and deposit it there. It would fill up with slugs.

 

[Branching Out]

How can we truly know whether seeds are GMO, do you know? thanks linda

I suspect that it would require scientific testing-- not my area of expertise though.

 

[flowerbug]

How can we truly know whether seeds are GMO, do you know? thanks linda

it depends upon the crop/seeds, but usually most GMO seeds are set up that way so that the growing plants can be sprayed with a herbicide and they want the plants that have the GMO traits to survive being sprayed so that all the rest of the plants (aka weeds) around those are killed.

so the easiest and cheapest way to do it is get some of the seeds, sprout them and let them grow a while and then spray them with the herbicide that you're worried about them being able to resist. there are now more than one herbicide and GMO technology (that's what they call it not me) like this so you may have to test several kinds.

personally, i consider them plagues and eventually the weeds find a way to mutate and become resistant themselves... like insecticides... *SMH*

 

[flowerbug]

I suspect that it would require scientific testing-- not my area of expertise though.

yes, that's likely to be a more sure fire way to do it but i don't know how much such a test would cost and what percentage concentration of seeds with the GMO trait you'd need to be sure to get a positive result on the tests.

 

[Branching Out]

I planted out tulip bulbs in November, and must have had the brilliant idea to cover the patch with a large pot to keep the bulbs drier in our wet Pacific Northwest climate. After planting them I promptly forgot about them, until yesterday (when they were kind of hard to miss!) Who knew that tulips were so strong??