How to Choose Your Garden Seeds

[@sensenisok]

You're the best. I really watch your videos for relaxation and to reduce worldly anxiety

[@Nicnackity]

Love these videos. You should have tons of viewers. Your the “Mr Rogers” of gardening. Lol.

[@GardenerScott]

Thank you.

[@Malibu_Man]

Scott, you have made another lifelong fan. Don’t let the number of viewers discourage you. You are absolutely great. I am a tech guy who is just now beginning to get into gardening. I figured it would be something great to embark upon as I get older. I have always loved being outdoors, and just this past week I decided to try my hand at gardening for the first time. I want to begin with flowers, along with leafy foods that I really enjoy, like lettuce and spinach. I don’t want to get crazy right from the start. I want to create just a couple of small beds, maybe some low shallow containers for herbs like basil, parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage and thyme, since I am also a relatively decent cook. Hopefully you get to where I am going with this. But here is the problem. I live in California. Zone 9b. I live in the desert. Inland Empire. The summers are primarily extremely hot, about 100-105 degrees. Winters are maybe 32 degrees. Now, I know that there are plants that work well with specific temperatures, and that’s fine. What I want to do is have SOMETHING growing all year. That’s my plan. That’s something I would really like to do. A small bed or two. Just a hobby to start. Okay, now that maybe you know what I have in mind, here is the biggest problem I having problem with. My land is absolutely terrible. It’s so dry and sterile. Hard and compact. And since I know nothing about gardening, if I can’t just plant it into the ground, I will be lost. I need to know what type of soil and more specifically how to make that soil to grow the types of plants I will enjoy. I went to Home Depot and I was told to just use gardening soil from Miracle-Gro, Vermiculite, and my native soil. I was told to use 50% native soil, 50% Miracle-Go, and Vermiculte on top. I want to grow from seed outside, because my house is an old one, over 200 years old, and frankly there is no real window that gets a lot of light. Growing inside just isn’t an option. Is this recipe given to me okay for what I am doing? Ideally, I want to have various flowers like marigolds in beds and pots, and I want to grow spinach, lettuce and herbs in containers along the side of the house, like an aisle in a grocery store. I just really love the idea of being able to go outside and make a salad from ingredients I grew myself. I would really appreciate a recipe for soil for the kind of gardening I am going for. In all ways I want to start from seed. I want it to become something I can do year round in my area. Another question I have is, if the top of one of my beds is dry, how do I know that soil underneath is okay? And how dry is too dry for the seeds? This is a dry area so it’s important that I learn what my seeds and plants can tolerate. And finally, how do I keep the seeds from the plants that I grow so that I can use them later? How do I prepare them? Thanks so much. I absolutely think you are wonderful.

[@GardenerScott]

Thanks, Dennis. I've encountered similar soil problems, which is one reason I make my videos to help others avoid the problems I've had. It will be a long process. One of the magic ingredients is compost. Make it, use it, and make more. The store "recipe" is one option, but can be expensive. I talk about it in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4eXdZ14j9aHjrM One of the best tools a gardener has is the finger. Don't hesitate to stick it in soil and check for moisture levels. You'll find many answers to your questions in other videos I have. And I'll be making more.

[@Malibu_Man]

@@GardenerScott i am sorry that i asked about a half dozen questions in my first comment, and my explanation was a little long so you probably just skimmed over what I had written. but can you please confront these questions for me? Thank you so much. You really only answered two questions, and being that I am a newbie, they werent very in-depth...lol...I have to learn somehow right?...lol

[@GardenerScott]

@@Malibu_Man That's a lot to answer. I have a video on making raised beds, a video on filling the beds and making soil, videos on starting seeds, a video on making potting soil, videos on saving seeds, and many more. I suggest you go to my Gardener Scott channel home page and look at the 100 videos I've made to help you. The best way to know how dry the soil is is to stick your finger in it and dig a little hole; that's what I do. Seeds should always be moist and never dry at all. Thanks.

[@brian1185]

"And there's really no rush..." That's definitely a pre-pandemic comment. It was difficult to source all my seeds this year. I have to say that your videos are very helpful and I'm taking lots of notes. Learning about your processes and thoughts help me create or improve my own.

[@brandyp92]

This is the best explanation for beginner gardeners. It’s definitely a must see for anyone thinking about starting a garden. Thank you!

[@ohno248]

Excellent video! …and very funny. Your sense of humor (are you trying to be funny?) is so subtle and dry, it is stealthy. I also love supporting Seed Savers Exchange and their non-profit endeavors. They are in the same state as me, so it feels right to shop locally with them. I think I will try Baker Creek next year, though. I have heard great things about them.

[@kmiller6002]

I can "get lost" looking through my seed catalogs. After I watched the video on your favorite catalogs I ordered every one of them, except Baker's Creek I already had that one 😉. BTW I've finished watching every video in this series gardening for beginners... Next play list coming up 😉🙂😉

[@donphillips6797]

I sure would like to get my hands on those seed catalog s

[@donnajacques3888]

This is great. Enjoyed it thank you . I have many seeds that I have saved. so i will be starting them soon

[@GardenerScott]

Thanks, Donna. Have fun with your new seeds.

[@iowanne]

Thank you for making these videos! Perfect explanation about ordering seeds, what to get and what you might already have. I'm a seed rat and always seem to order more seeds than I could ever use. Those beautiful pictures and discriptions in the seed catalogs bring so much pleasure through the cold winter months and it's difficult not to get carried away. Thanks again!

[@GardenerScott]

You're welcome, Anne. It is definitely a guilty pleasure.

[@jean-pierreposman7282]

i love youre videos and youre entousiasm , i can not see the q and a videos on monday because of my timeframe because i live in belgium , so i have to see them later , and ask my questions in the comments , hope to see many more of you even in the kitchen because i vook too greetings from antwerpen belgium : jp

[@lisamiller7143]

Love it

[@adampetherick7836]

Last year I fall in to growing all different vegetables. And cabbage and broccoli..but I got hit hard with the. Cabbage caterpillar.thankyou for bring me . Down to reality I'm making a cup of coffee take a note thank you..

[@GardenerScott]

You're welcome. I hope the insects miss your garden this year.

[@adampetherick7836]

@@GardenerScott now I no from. Watching your Channel to make a list of what I can grow an what I can like to. Have more knowledge on growing turmeric this summer an ginger an house radish. Frist time growing. I know I know how long are grown season this so now watching your Channel I can determine what plants fit into through growing season to get the best Harvest this year thankyou

[@ingekaivola4685]

Great video! I already ordered my seeds!! I will have to keep these tips in mind for next year! I like to try new varieties, even though I still have tomato seeds from last year AND the year before, I ordered a couple more packets to try. I have saved some seeds from last year ... especially flowers.

[@GardenerScott]

Thnaks, Inge. Isn't choosing and ordering seeds fun? Have fun with your gardening.

[@alendalon12]

Great channel Scott. Love listening to your videos at work. Does anyone know which companies offer free seed catalogues up in Canada? Wish I could get the rareseeds paper catalogue up here - the online version is beautiful.

[@doreenflannery8270]

Thank you so much about your wonderful gardening. I have a question. How do you keep the birds out of the sunflower?

[@GardenerScott]

I don't worry about it. I grow sunflowers specifically to feed the birds. By staggering sowing times, there should always be sunflowers in bloom while others are going to seed.

[@catofthecastle1681]

Why do you want to keep birds out? They eat so many bugs!!!

[@deborahj.cruthers1940]

This was so helpful. I had jus t been going through a catalogue and had no idea where to start. Question- should I be concerned about my planting zone when choosing seeds?

[@GardenerScott]

It depends on the seeds you're choosing. Zone matters for perennial plants, but it doesn't matter for vegetable garden plants.

[@LarsJAas]

At 22:53, you point into the air, and I guess you forgot to add a link to go to another video at that point. I guess such omissions/oversights can happen to the best of us... :)

[@GardenerScott]

Thanks for the feedback. I checked on the video and the link is still there. It should have displayed my seed catalog video. I don't know why it didn't show for you.

[@LarsJAas]

@@GardenerScott Ah, one of those kinds of problems. I don't see it in Firefox on MacOS and in the KZbin app on my iPad, but I do see it when I use Chrome and Safari on my Mac. Then it's not the video, but certain browsers.

[@judaskidd2155]

Have you ever thought about selling some of the seeds that you collect from your gardening. Those dragon carrots sound awesome would the work in a usda zone 5

[@GardenerScott]

I'm not planning on selling seed. They're available from many sources.

[@donphillips6797]

I need some seed catalogs

[@hollyssimplelife1634]

Very nice are you going to show how you grow your plants from seed as well?

[@GardenerScott]

Of course, Holly. Over the next few weeks I'll be covering all of the steps as I start my seeds inside. Thanks for asking.