Seed sowing: Late winter indoors
As I write, the temperature reads -11F, which is the coldest morning I can remember here. I have lived in this area much of my life, and I remember snowier winters as a child, but not this kind of cold for so many days running. The radio says that the cold snap comes from a temperature spike that occurred over the North Pole a couple of weeks ago, disrupting the polar vortex and pushing the cold down into North America and Europe. It has been cold for 10 days, and last night was the coldest.
This morning the sun is out, and the propane truck has just arrived to fill our tank. I wanted to go for a walk, but when I took the freshly filled bird feeders out at 7:15, I could feel danger in the cold. We’ll see how it is at midday.
Downstairs, the tiny eucalyptus seedlings are doing well in their flats under lights. Even though they germinated and got growing a week ago, I’ve left the heat mats on (normally they go off once plants germinate) to keep the growing area warm enough—they like it 65-70F—through the day and night.
Regardless of the cold, I am following a rough schedule for sowing and have a few seeds to put into soil blocks. Just these:
Alchemilla (Lady’s mantle)—This perennial should go into a permanent planting where the effect of the afternoon sun can be moderated, though it has done fine here in sun before. I have some seed of the ‘Thriller’ variety, which sends up stems about 18 inches tall, from GeoSeed (a wholesale seed house well-known to growers) and will go ahead and sow it. The chartreuse flowerheads and spring green leaves are very nice in low arrangements.
Wild marjoram—This has become a favorite of mine, particularly useful mid-June to mid-July, blooming during the post-peony lull and before the zinnias really take off (if you plant as I do, growing everything in the field). This is a perennial, good for at least a couple of years. It is similar to oregano but has tall, strong stems with light lavender flower heads that are wonderfully fragrant and work well in bouquets. The foliage gets darker as cool weather comes on in the fall. My seed is from Johnny’s Seeds.
Scabiosa—Scabiosa purpurea, the species of the most familiar varieties on the cut flower market, is a perennial but not so productive in its second year. I grow out black-red ‘Black Knight’ and soft apricot ‘Fata Morgana’ in late summer and plant them in the field in September with my hardy annuals, giving them some extra row cover. Usually they do fine, but a really harsh winter can kill the plants, and we’ve just come through the worst cold I’ve seen here in decades. So I sow this February succession crop to make sure I’ll have some. I like to get a new crop into the ground around the beginning of April, as this is a cool-weather lover, and I cover it with frost cloth at first. I love scabiosa but have found it works best for me as an accent flower, so I don’t grow large quantities of it. I have seed from Johnny’s and GeoSeed.
*
Another round of sowing will come up just after this: Plants that should be sown six to eight weeks before last frost for planting outdoors when the soil is warm (early May)—celosia, gomphrena and others. It’s afternoon now. The sun is bright; the goldfinches and house finches are at the feeder.