We are so happy to welcome Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds back to Gill’s! Baker Creek offers one of the largest selections of 19th century heirloom seeds from Europe and Asia, and their 2021 catalog contains about 1,000 varieties.
Founder Jere Gettle started Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. in 1998 as a hobby in Mansfield, Missouri. Today, Baker Creek includes trial gardens, greenhouses, a pioneer village, and a seed store. Their seed packets feature amazing photos of crops grown at their facility! We brought in a cool assortment of varieties that we think will work well in our area, like these Bosque Blue Bumblebee tomatoes and Pippin’s Golden Honey sweet peppers.
Tips for Starting Seeds:
I tried Wyatt’s kickstart method for starting seeds this week and it worked great:
- Fold seeds in a damp paper towel.
- Seal the damp paper towel inside a zip-loc bag overnight.
- Remove the seeds from the bag/towel and plant in peat pots using seed and cutting soil.
- Once the plants are ready, transplant the peat pots directly into the ground or other container.
Of course, you could start the seeds directly in soil, but this extra step speeds up germination. I actually left my seeds in the bags for 2 days (because I forgot, oops). By the time I got around to opening the bags, most of the seeds had already sprouted. One day later, they’re already pushing up out of the soil.
Right now is the time to start lots of veggies like squashes, cabbage, and beans from seed – here’s our schedule for Fall veggies.
One more tip – seed and cutting soil is blended to allow tiny young roots and sprouts to break through. It’s very light and fluffy, so the soil and seeds tend to float up out of the container when you add water. So, water the soil first, let it settle, then push your seeds into the saturated soil. The back end of a pair of tweezers works well.
–Jesse
Beverly Page says
Great tips as usual!
Anne Parr says
Looking forward to trying some of theses out..Thank for the great info…