How-To and Tips! RSS

Growing plants need nitrogen. But this is not the case for blossoming and fruit development. So if you want a few 'early' tomatoes, make sure you discontinue any nitrogen fertilizer. You may still want to fertilize with soft rock phosphate or green sand. Early fruit ripening can be forced by stress. Thus you may want to deprive a limited number of your plants from water. You may even consider digging them up and replanting them in another location. All this stress will cause the plant to attempt to produce seed ASAP, which will result in an earlier harvest.  We recommend...

I often hear people speak of putting seeds in a sunny window. Or providing artificial light. Or any other bad idea . . . Most seeds need dark, not light. That is one reason that we cover seeds that we direct-plant in the garden. That covering of soil excludes light. It also retains moisture, which is one of the keys to germinating seeds in the greenhouse. The other key ingredient is warmth. Typically we would have to wait until the soil reaches the proper temperature before direct-sowing in the fields. But we cheat this process by using germination mats. These allow...

So, great. We have these luscious looking pumpkins, but now what? Please feel free to comment below, but this is what we have found works best for us at NorthEastSeed. After the first light frost, gather up all your pumpkin. There are a few options for getting the pumpkins into manageable pieces. Hand saw, reciprocating saw, or axe. While my weapon of choice is a single-bit axe, only use this method if you are comfortable with an axe. And of course, no animals or people in the vicinity! After your pumpkin is in pieces, scrape out the seeds and pulp....