Join Fred as he chats through the Second Spring collection β It's germination testing time
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As we near towards August, the festival of Lammas is almost upon us. Lammas celebrates the abundance of the harvest. As our harvest trugs begin to feel heavy and our heads are dizzy with ideas on how to preserve the gluts and glory of summer, it's a wonderful reminder of the resiliency and richness that the natural world has to offer. The field here at Vital Seeds is looking full and abundant with blooms bursting into colour in every direction and seed heads forming and ripening. We've begun to harvest the first of our seed crops including cornflowers, peas, cauliflower, cima de rapa, wild rocket, wasabi rocket and coriander. We also processed our first batch of tomatoes last week. Wondering what to sow in July?There's still plenty of seeds that can be sown now. Keep sowing your lettuce, parsley, coriander and asian greens for sucessional harvests. Remember to keep lettuce seed trays somewhere cool and out of intense sunlight while they're germinating. βTurnips, daikon and radish can still be sown this month and it's your last chance for direct sowings of carrots. βCalendula, cosmos and nasturtiums can still be sown now for late autumn blooms. βBaby choi, salad rocket, mizuna, purple frills and spring cabbages are ideal to sow at the end of this month. For a full list of seeds that can be sown in July, please follow the link below.
Fred chats through our 'Second Spring' seed collectionWondered how we choose which goes into our seed collections each year? We got Fred in front of the camera to chat through the 10 varieties in this year's 'Second Spring' seed collection and why they are our favourites. Germination testingAs our seed harvests ramp up, our annual germination-testing marathon gets underway. We use vigorous techniques to germ test, counting how many seeds successfully germinate either on top of paper, between corrugated paper or in soil in seed trays. Each species has different requirements (e.g. temperature) and specific germination rates that we're looking to surpass, making it quite the undertaking. Our internal standards are set far higher than the minimum legal requirements, ensuring our seeds are of the highest possible quality when they land on your doorstep. Thinking about saving your own seed this summer? Check out our easy guide for DIY germination testing at home or enrol on our seed saving course. Happy sowing, growing and seed saving! Chloe and the rest of the team P.S. There's still time to grab one of our 'Second Spring' seed collections - get your winter veg sown now! |
Vital Seeds Ltd
We've entered August, and the land celebrated with us this week as we welcomed a short burst of rain here in Devon. It lasted about five minutes, but more than one person on the farm managed a gleeful dance at the feeling of rain drops on skin. It's been long awaited, and it was certainly not enough, but it was something! Whilst we've been busily harvesting an abundance of seed crops, we've also been watching the skies for shifting weather - our soils need rain, but we can't harvest seeds...
This morning, whilst the sun is baking the earth outside, I am sheltering indoors to sit down and ponder our fortnightly newsletter. I've got a big bucket of 'Gardeners Delight' tomatoes beside me, which I'm stirring every fifteen minutes or so, having removed the skins to separate all the juicy, seedy, gloop. The time of year has come for us to begin harvesting our ripest, reddest tomatoes and save their seeds. July is a glorious month, and it feels especially so with the continuation of...
Peak summer has arrived, and our crops are showing it. The seed crops are rolling in, and we've begun turning over a few beds - lifting crops for processing and planting in new ones to stay throughout the winter. We've now sown all of our 'second spring' crops, including many different chicory varieties. The first Sonja sunflowers are popping up, and we're beginning to see aubergines, cucumbers and peppers hanging heavy in the tunnels. The caterpillar tunnel in the field is full to the brim...