Green Thumb Tuesday: Gathering Seeds and Plants

It’s the time of year to take the planning of your garden's annual beds to the next level, ordering seeds and plants. Once you have established the design for your garden, you need to decide how you’re going to obtain the plants.

There are a number of ways you can do this. You may start from seeds, plugs or an established plant in a pot. If your starting from seed there are some factors you should take into consideration. First make sure you’re ordering the variety best suited for the location you plan to plant them. For the best results, buy only seeds that are packed for the current year, unless you know the seed was stored under proper conditions, always buy fresh.

In addition, when ordering seeds through the mail note the seed count, some seeds are more expensive and are fewer to a package. This step will ensure that your are not surprised with a shortage of seeds when it comes time to plant. If you don’t have the space to start your garden from seed then you can choose to use plugs and potted plants.

Call your nursery so you can be sure they will have the plants you want and reserve your flats for the spring. When you pick them up in the spring inspect the plants for insects and signs of neglect to ensure your garden starts out healthy. At the garden located at Canal Street and Cedar Avenues in Pittsburgh (featured in today's photo),WPC Community Conservation staff ordered 1,200 mixed Petunia plugs, including the following varieties (Dreams Midnight, Dreams Pink, Celebrity Ice Blue, Neon Rose) and 600 mixed Marigold plugs including the following varieties (Bonanza Bolero and Yellow Boy). All WPC annual flowers are ordered during the winter prior to our planting season.

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