Over winter, I hope to explore seed saving in my blog.  I feel quite guilty as I don’t make much of an effort to save seeds from my plants, despite being such an avid gardener.  The main reason is because autumn, the time of the year when most seeds are harvested, coincides with typically the busiest time in the garden.  The summer plants are often at their peak and it is a mission to stay on top of the harvest.  Much time is spent in the kitchen helping my mother prepare delicious meals with our produce.  I am also busy raising seedlings for the winter garden and slowly starting to prepare and plant the garden beds for the coming season.  There are simply not enough hours in the day to save seeds on top of this. Also seed saving requires keeping plants in the garden when they're past their prime, which of course takes up space. Sometimes I get a bit impatient and want to pull out finished plants to make room for new season's seedlings.  That has long been the way that it was, but I have decided that this is simply not good enough.  This year, I want to make a conscious effort to save seeds from some of my plants.  I don’t intend to try to save seeds from all of them because that’s too ambitious for someone who is just starting out saving their own seeds.  I do admit to liking certain hybrid varieties, especially for container tomatoes, which makes seed saving futile because seed saved from hybrids probably won’t come true to type.  Furthermore, I enjoy growing lots of different cucurbit varieties and they have a tendency to cross-pollinate, meaning that seed saved from these plants probably won’t be true to type.
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So what has brought about this change of position?  The following two reasons:

• The increased cost of purchasing seeds.  In large part, this is due to increasing costs associated with having seed tested by MAP, which have been passed on to consumers by seed companies.  Saving seeds from your own plants requires some effort, not money, enabling me to have a free supply of seeds for sowing for the following season.  I’ll probably have more than I need for the garden, so I can swap the excess with other gardeners to obtain different varieties they may have
• The difficulty of sourcing certain varieties.  Due to the increased cost of having seed tested by MAP, some seed suppliers have reduced their range of seeds.  An example of this is Italian Seeds Pronto, who stock a range of Franchi Italian heirloom Seeds.  Italian Seeds Pronto no longer offer chillies and capsicums as part of their range, which is a real shame.  The only way to preserve these lines is to continue to save seeds from your own plants every year.  This is particularly true for ethnic vegetables as it is practically impossible to source seeds commercially for certain varieties. 

Prakesh, a man that lives down our street, is a real inspiration to me.  He is from Fiji.  Wandering around his garden, you might mistakenly think you are actually in Fiji.  His garden is mainly an assortment of Indian veggies, herbs and fruit trees.  I spent some time over at his place on Sunday afternoon, walking around his garden as he talked me through what he is growing.  Prakesh is a diligent seed saver.  He needs to be because there is no way of sourcing what he has in his garden from seed suppliers.  He showed me his seed drawer, which contains an assortment of seeds which he has saved from his garden over the years, all carefully labelled and dated.  He kindly gave me some seeds from his garden, which you can see in the picture above.  I was so impressed with his efforts and it was the impetus I needed to change my old cycle of simply growing, producing and pulling out plants at the end of the season, only to purchase more seeds of the same varieties the following winter for the next season.  This just doesn’t make sense, financially or otherwise.  The saying start small, think big comes to mind when I think about my plans for seed saving this year.  I would like to start with saving seed from the extra hot chilli seeds I will be growing in our garden, thanks to seeds kindly given to me by my gardening friends Minette Tonoli, Robin Sharrock and Anthony Smith.  I will write more about these special varieties when I come to sow them in the coming months.  This will be a separate blog subject.
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To close, the other person who I really admire for her seed saving efforts is the lovely Stella from Running Brook seeds.  Over the years, Stella has amassed an enormous collection of seeds from her seed saving efforts and has an incredible catalogue, which you can view here.  I had a lovely conversation with Stella over the phone a few days ago, as I was looking for boda beans (or cowpeas) and wanted to check whether what she had listed in her catalogue corresponded with what I was looking for.  Again, to expect to be like Stella in my first season of seed saving is completely unrealistic.  But it is great to have good role models such as Prakesh and Stella to inspire and motivate me in my own efforts.

​Yesterday afternoon I spent some time with one of our neighbours.  Prakesh and his wife Anu are lovely.  They live just down the street from us and are also keen gardeners.  One day Prakesh came to talk to me while I was working in the garden and a friendship blossomed.  It has been a long time since I have seen them.  I had been meaning to catch up for a while now but then Covid intervened and social interaction became impossible.

As is common when visiting an avid gardener, you don’t leave empty handed.  Prakesh kindly gave me some boda bean seeds (cowpeas) to grow in the garden this summer.  He also gave me a curry leaf plant, much to my delight.  Prakesh had a lot of curry leaf seedlings growing in his greenhouse.  I get a lot of requests for curry leaf plants from customers in my nursery.  They are very hard to find and take a long time to mature.  It’s not a plant that I know much about, so I thought it would make a good topic for a blog post. 

Curry leaf is a sub-tropical shrub native to India and Sri Lanka. The botanical name is Murraya koenigii.  Its leaves are used extensively in cooking throughout Asia, including curries and soups.  It has white flowers throughout the year.  Curry leaf plants do best in rich, free-draining soil.

Plants can be propagated from seed.  Prakesh only had a couple of seeds spare as he sowed them all himself, so I’m going to have to wait for my plant to go to seed and collect some, which may take a few years.  Prakesh also has an enormous curry leaf tree growing outside in his garden and he gave me a cutting, so I’m also going to try and propagate a plant that way.

Curry leaf plants do well in full sun.  Especially when they are young, the curry leaf plant is very frost-sensitive, so it’s best to keep them inside a greenhouse over winter.  After several years, it is fine to leave them outside all year round, at least in Auckland.

From my understanding, curry leaf plants can be grown in containers, which is what I’m going to try doing because space is so scarce in our garden.

For on-going use, it’s best to have an established plant outside and pick the leaves fresh as you need them.  The leaves can be dried and stored for later use, but the taste is inferior.

Seeds must be ripe and fresh to germinate, so I’m going to germinate the seeds which Prakesh gave me on my heat pad today.  I’m also going to dip the cutting he gave me in a bit of rooting hormone and plant it in some potting mix to see if it takes.  I’ve already put the plant he gave me in our greenhouse, which I hope will over-winter.  I will post an update regarding the progress of the curry leaf plant in our garden in the future.

It’s the start of winter!  It’s amazing how fast time flies.  It wasn’t that long ago that we were in March, at the start of lockdown.  To help you, I have compiled a little list of things to do around the garden in June.  This is written with Auckland, New Zealand, where I live, in mind.  If you live overseas, this task list may not be suitable for your climate.

Veggies

• Plant garlic.  It is usually planted on the shortest day (21st June) but garlic can be planted anytime from April through to July
• Plant strawberries.
• You can still plant winter veggies such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spinach, silverbeet and lettuce.  It’s too late to start raising plants from seed unless you have winter propagation equipment and a glasshouse to keep seedlings nice and warm.  It’s better to purchase plants to put into the garden.  Awapuni have a great range of seedlings and deliver direct to your door.  At the moment, they have a special on veggie seedlings – 3 for $12, which is great value
• Plants need nourishment, even in cooler temperatures.  Liquid feed plants weekly with a water soluble plant food or seaweed tonic if you’re gardening organically
• Keep on top of weeds so they don’t get on top of you.  I like to spend a couple of hours every week for weeding.  Tidying up feels incredibly rewarding.  Try to do weeding after it’s been raining.  The ground will be moist and it will be easier to remove them
• Order seed potatoes and start chitting them indoors.  If you live in a region with mild winters, you may be able to plant them on the shortest day for harvesting in spring.  Otherwise, wait until spring when the risk of frosts has passed before getting them into the ground
• If you haven’t done so already, mulch your winter veggie garden.  I like pea straw.  It adds nitrogen to the soil and makes the garden look tidy
• Organise your seed collection and make a list of what you’ve got, so when it comes to ordering seeds from the new catalogues in July, you won’t purchase things you already have.  Now is a good time to swap seeds with other gardening friends
• Make a list of items in your storage shed so you can work out what products you need to buy before spring

Flowers

• Plant any spring bulbs which you haven’t already gotten into the ground.  Don’t leave it any longer!
• Order new season’s lily bulbs from mail order catalogues or keep an eye out for them in your local garden centre
• For some winter cheer, grab some potted colour to plant in containers and hanging baskets around your garden

Roses

• Prune roses mid-month
• Afterwards, spray your roses with Yates Conqueror Oil to help seal the cuts

​Fruit trees

• Now that the weather is cooler, start spraying your fruit trees to help prevent fungal diseases such as brown spot and leaf curl in the warmer months.  I use Liquid Copper and Lime Sulphur

This weekend, I’m going to be busy planting all my hyacinth bulbs.  I always leave these until last, because out of all the spring bulbs (including tulips), these are the ones that require the longest chilling period and to be planted at the latest possible time in May, to improve flowering.
I almost didn’t grow hyacinth this year after a not-so-successful season last year.  I think the main reason for poor flowering was because the bulbs weren’t chilled.  This year I purchased my bulbs in February, thinking I would receive them by early April at the latest and that I would be able to chill them for at least six weeks prior to planting.  Unfortunately, lockdown meant that I only received my bulbs half way through May, so they will only have a chilling period of around two weeks before I go to plant them.  This isn’t enough, but it’s the best I can do in the circumstances.  I don’t think anyone foresaw a global pandemic and if I did, I probably wouldn’t have ordered hyacinths given my lack of success last year.

It is possible to grow hyacinths well if you live in a region with warmer winters, but it can be a bit tricky.  It also depends on just how mild your winter is, as it varies from year to year. 
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I have put together some tips for planting hyacinth in warm climates.

• In order for hyacinth to flower well, I highly recommend chilling bulbs for 5-6 weeks prior to planting
• Don’t chill your bulbs too early or it may destroy the bud formation.  I would recommend starting the chilling process no earlier than mid-April
• Keep your fruit and veggies out of the fridge when chilling your bulbs, as the ethylene gas emitted by ripening fruits and vegetables can damage them. 
• If you can’t keep fruit and veggies out of the fridge and want to chill your bulbs, purchase some ethylene absorbing sachets to pop in the paper bag containing your bulbs.  Use one sachet for each bag.  Each sachet lasts for two months
• If you live in the northern part of New Zealand, plant hyacinth at the end of May, when it’s cooler.  If you plant your bulbs any earlier, they may not flower well as it can still be quite warm.  If you live in the South Island, you may be able to plant before the end of May as autumn and winter are much cooler than in the North.
• Hyacinth look stunning planted in containers.  For maximum impact, plant bulbs close together so there are no gaps. 
• You can also grow hyacinth in a glass, which you can get from a garden centre or through a mail order catalogue
• Hyacinth look best when planted in bold clumps of the same variety
• It may be a good idea to plant your bulbs a little deeper than gardeners who live in cool regions
• Sprinkle a little bulb fertiliser into the ground at the time of planting and mix well.  If you’re planting your hyacinth in pots, use a slow release bulb fertiliser, not a bagged granular one as it won’t break down
• After flowering, wait for the foliage on the plants to die completely.  Lift your bulbs and store in a cool, dry place using netted bags.  Next April, you can start chilling your bulbs to repeat the growing process.
• In saying that, in my personal experience hyacinth are best treated as an annual in warm climates, so I tend to start with fresh bulbs every autumn.  It may depend on what your winters are like.  If you live in a cooler region, you may find that your bulbs are fine for replanting and flower just as well in subsequent seasons

​Like anemones, ranunculus give you a great bang for your buck.  They’re relatively inexpensive to buy.  You can get as many as 25 ranunculus corms for only a few dollars.  One corm also yields a few flowers, unlike a lot of other spring bulbs.  Ranunculus grow on long stems and make great cut flowers, whether in a bouquet of their own or mixed with other flowers in arrangements.  This year I’m growing 100 ranunculus (mixed colours), which I purchased from the New Zealand mail order company Bulbs Direct.  I hope they give us a beautiful display in spring.
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As with tulips, hyacinth and anemones, ranunculus thrive in cooler climates.  If you live in a region with mild winters, it is still possible to grow ranunculus and for them to flower well.  All that is required is a bit of care.  I have written these growing tips with warmer conditions in mind, so if you live in an area with cold conditions, bear in mind that it might not be necessary to pre-chill your ranunculus corms.

• In order to flower well, I strongly recommend chilling ranunculus for 5-6 weeks prior to planting.  You can do this in your fridge or if you’re lucky like me, your mail order company will kindly do this for you (thanks Bulbs Direct, who chilled my bulbs during lockdown!)
• Keep fruit and veggies out of your fridge while chilling your ranunculus corms as they emit ethylene gas, which destroys bud formation
• If you must store fruit and veggies in your fridge, you can purchase some ethylene absorbing sachets which you can pop into the paper bags with your bulbs to keep them safe
• Don’t plant your ranunculus corms too early.  I wait until towards the end of May before planting mine, when conditions are cooler.  Ranunculus thrive in cooler weather
• You can stagger planting at fortnightly intervals to give a continuous display of flowers
• Soak corms for around 2 hours in tepid water prior to planting to “wake them up” and aid germination
• Ranunculus look stunning planted en masse in the ground
• Choose a sunny, well-draining site
• Prepare the ground well prior to planting.  Mix in lots of compost, sheep pellets and general garden fertiliser beforehand
• For best results, mix some granular bulb fertiliser into the ground as well, prior to planting
• Give ranunculus corms a wide berth, bearing in mind that several flowers will spring up from one corm.  I try to plant corms at least 10 cm apart
• Plant corms around 5 cm deep
• Plant ranunculus with the claws facing downwards
• Water well after planting
• As they grow, you may like to liquid feed your ranunculus with a water soluble plant food such as Thrive, or a seaweed tonic such as Seasol if you’re gardening organically
• After they have finished flowering, allow the foliage to die down before lifting corms.  You can either throw them away and start with new corms next season (see below) or store them over summer for re-planting in autumn.  Don’t forget to chill them again, otherwise they won’t flower well if you live in a warm climate
• In my experience as a gardener, ranunculus are best treated as an annual, so for the best and strongest flowers, start with fresh corms every season

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Have a great weekend!

Anita