Ashwood Homestead Plants and Products

Our plants and products become available for you throughout the seasons. 

Here is an updated list of what is ready now. (pdf available for easy viewing and printing)

(edited for changes to plant availability 8/22/22)

Free Template for Printing Homemade Seed Packets

Yesterday's post showed how to use a sheet of printer paper to fold a 3" x 5" seed packet with no cutting or gluing! 

Today, I'm sharing a link to a free pdf template, so you can print your own seed packets to fill in with information from your favorite seed-saving adventures!

https://tinyurl.com/2s3wp4mv

This link will take you to my Google Drive where you can access the pdf template for printing.

There's space on the front for plant name(s), the place you collected the seed, the (approximate) number of seeds in your packet, and the "main" use of the plant. Tags like "herb," "vegetable," "perennial," "annual," or "native plant" might be helpful as you organize your collection.

You can note the growing zones, height and width of the plant, and some notes on special characteristics like bloom color, fragrance, and the plant's history. 

On the back, there's space for planting and growing instructions. You can list depth to plant, days to germination, and care of plants over the growing year here.

Hope you enjoy using your Free Foldable Homemade Seed Packets with no cutting and no gluing! 

I'd love to hear about the seeds you collect this year!

Homemade Seed Packets - No Cutting, No Gluing!

I've finally settled on my favorite homemade seed packet design. 

(A printable template is available. Folding instructions are in this post.)

Please note that I occasionally recommend a resource or product that I think you may like. If you buy something recommended on this blog, I may get an affiliate commission that can help to support our work, but will never influence our recommendations or affect prices for our products.

It's based on Robert Pavlis's very useful idea for folding any handy paper into a homemade seed packet.

His YouTube video,

"How to Make a Simple Paper Seed Envelope (packet)"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvGrIAkcv5k 

shows how to quickly fold a seed packet to any size you need, from any paper available, so that you always have a way to save seeds, no matter where you travel.

Pavlis's design allows you to collect anything from large seed-heads to tiny seeds, folded safely into a packet that is easily slipped into your pocket, purse, or pack. And you can write all the information you need to remember about the plant right on the packet with a pen or pencil!

Since I want my packets to accept printed information, my seed packets start with printer paper. The most common printer paper in the U.S., 8 1/2" x 11", can be neatly folded into a standard 3" x 5" seed packet like this:

• First, fold the 11" length at 5" and 10" (I also fold at 10 1/4" to make a top flap easier to close)
• Then, fold the 8 1/2" length at 2 3/4" and 5 3/4" (this gives a center panel 3" wide for printing)

I use a grooved scoring board to make the folding easy and to keep all my packets uniform.

A supply of my pre-folded blank packets is ready to carry in my gardening basket and to slip into my pocket when I go out.

Here's an example of a printed packet for Anise Hyssop seeds I collected this week: 

• scored

• folded in half, then in thirds

• printed front and back showing

I highly recommend Robert Pavlis's YouTube channel, Garden Fundamentals, with its many useful and informative videos, and his blogs are great reading and references on many topics!

https://www.gardenfundamentals.com/gardening-information/

https://www.gardenmyths.com/sample-page/

(updated link on 8/24/22)

First Seed Order of Winter

The first seed order for 2020 went out to J. L. Hudson, Seedsman last week. Such an interesting website - well worth a look for those interested in uncommon plants as well as old favorites that are hard to find.

I ordered old-fashioned snapdragon seeds, seeds for a begonia that is supposed to be hardy in Zone 8, and seeds for fragrant Maiden Pinks. I also ordered shrub and tree seeds: native Sweet Bess (Calycanthus floridus), Japanese Plum Yew (Cepalotaxus harringtonia), Pineapple Guava (Feijoa sellowiana), and a special Butterfly Bush (Buddleja tucumanensis). Some other unusual seeds were for native Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium) and a mix of hybrid Pitcher Plants (Sarracenia).

For citrus root stocks to use for grafting, I ordered Hardy Orange (Poncirus trifoliata) seeds, and for our upcoming hypertufa projects, I ordered hardy Sedum ground cover seeds.

Bare-Root Babies

This week brought two groups of bare-root seedlings. The first, a group of Loquat seedlings, came as a gift from our friends, Alma and Agnes. The second, a group of Cherry Laurel seedlings, came in a delivery from Sharon's Florida.

The Loquats, or Japanese Plums, grew from seeds Alma planted and grew out. Her family and friends say that she can grow anything from a seed or cutting. I planted ten pots with the seedlings she brought.

Loquats, Eriobotrya japonica are 

also known as Japanese Plums

Loquats, or Japanese Plums, are originally from China and produce fruit similar to apricots. Seedling loquats take seven or eight years to produce fruit. Green Dean's Loquat article on Eat the Weeds tells the history of the Loquat and offers interesting recipes.

The University of Florida IFAS Extension article, "Loquat Growing in the Florida Home Landscape," gives information about Loquat care and some of the best named varieties. These Loquat seedlings may someday be rootstocks for named-variety scion wood.

Cherry Laurels, Prunus caroliniana, are native shrubs

The Cherry Laurels (Prunus caroliniana) were ordered on eBay from Sharon's Florida, a nursery in Brooksville, specializing in Florida native plants. A Cherry Laurel hedge is evergreen and will grow 25 feet tall in shade, providing privacy for the Homestead and food and shelter for the birds.

These fifteen pots of Cherry Laurels from the bare-root seedlings are doing well.

Winter-sowing Begins Soon

The winter-sowing season is upon us.

The shortest day of 2019 and the dawn of 2020 will soon be here. I'm already looking at seeds saved in my organization system (more on this later) and seeds to order from my favorite nurseries!

Here are links to some of my favorites:

• Fedco Seeds: My all-around go-to favorite for vegetables, flowers, herbs, and native plants. Fedco, a cooperative of seed savers, provides excellent seed and service. 
• Strictly Medicinal Seeds: Highly-respected site. Richo Cech, an authority on herbal medicine plants from around the world, is generous with his knowledge. Browsing his plant descriptions and reading his shared articles is time well spent.
• Mary's Heirloom Seeds: Informative site with great prices on small orders. Service is exceptional. I order from Mary's when I want seeds fast!
• Renee's Garden: Very fine seed in varieties well-adapted to home gardens.
• Select Seeds: Heirloom flowers, many saved from being lost to time.
• American Meadows: Annual and perennial seeds plus information to match plants to growing conditions.
• Prairie Moon Nursery: Informative website helps to match native plants with specific growing conditions. Wide selection of quality seed.
• Southern Exposure Seed Exchange: A new favorite for me. Now that I'm gardening in Florida's Big Bend, I find that I need plants that are well-adapted to my region.

I also like these nurseries:

• Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds: A stand-by for non-GMO and organic seed.
• Park Seed: South Carolina nursery. Seeds for unusual plants offer an economical choice for building a garden.
• Burpee Seeds and Plants: My first seed orders were with Burpee and I still order from them every year. My Lemon Grass seeds from Burpee were very successful.
• Johnny's Selected Seeds: High quality seeds for serious market gardeners.
• Victory Seeds: A fun site to browse, focused on home "Victory Gardens."

Some nurseries I've wanted to order from for some time include:

• Swallowtail Gardens: The available variety is inspiring.
• Seedsavers Exchange: I hope to order from, and eventually contribute to, this group. A future post will review Seed to Seed, the authoritative source on seed saving by Susan Ashworth and the Seed Savers Exchange.
• J. L. Hudson, Seedsman: I have a growing list of seeds to order from J. L. Hudson. So many exciting possibilities!

As I begin my orders for 2020, I'll be sure to update this list with any sources I've missed!

Tiny Miracles

Who would have thought that Echeveria were so easy to start? These "babies" are growing from leaves placed in cactus mix in a 3" clay pot (in January? - wish I had recorded the date!). The "mother" plants came from a little dish garden we bought for just a few dollars from a roadside stand.

In the center are some Jade Plant leaves, started at the same time, that haven't rooted yet.

You can just barely see the tiny leaves of a Dragon's Blood Sedum stem at the far right. We got this little cutting from the Canopy Road Cafe, on the Apalachee Parkway, when we met our friends for brunch on February 10.  I forgot about the little cuttings for a week before I planted them, but just look! Miracles.