"Early Call Mix" is the easiest Morning Glory to Grow from Seeds

by Arlene Wright-Correll
Home Farm Herbery

Morning Glory Seeds - "Early Call Mix" Ipomea purpurea



At Home Farm Herbery we enjoy a very colorful mixture of early, large blooming morning glories. This variety does not spread and become a pest like wild varieties. Flowers open in the morning and fade by afternoon. This variety blooms from midsummer to fall and it is ideal for arbors, trellises and fences or trailing down banks or from containers.

I do not think there is anything more beautiful than seeing the sun shining on these beauties on the trellis along side my carport as I go about my business each morning. They thrill me throughout their whole growing season.

As with many of our seeds we harvest what we can in the fall in order to preserve these heirloom seeds not only for our next season but to share with other gardeners who want to preserve the heirloom variety of these seeds. It allows us to send the proceeds to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Often we only have a limited supply so we package them with approx. 25 heirloom seeds per pkt $5.99 with free shipping and each order comes with a free complimentary herb or herb blend of our choice so buy yours today. Plus all our seeds come with special planting instruction sheets and other free goodies we can think of.



How to Grow from the Ipomea Family - Morning Glory Seeds - Moonflower Seeds

The Morning Glory family includes Moonflowers that only bloom at night.
Vines grow 10 to 20 feet in a season. Morning Glories have dark, heart-shaped leaves and produce breath-taking trumpet flowers up to 3 inches in diameter. Morning Glories don’t like to be well fed. If they are, they will grow huge and lush vines, but won’t flower. Is it past the Summer Solstice date of June 21st? Morning Glories are “short day” plants, meaning that they will only set flowers when the days are shorter than 12 hours. As summer continues past the Solstice (the longest day of the year), the days shorten and nights lengthen, eventually triggering blooms. Depending on your geographical location, some gardeners will not see blooms until late July, August, or even early September in temperate areas.

The big, fragrant flowers unfurl to greet the morning sun, then close up in the afternoon. Colors include white, red, pink, purple, blue, and bicolor. Give your Morning Glory plant something to climb up. They will entwine themselves around obstacles. They are perfect grown on a fence, lamppost or trellis.

Morning Glory is grown from seeds. The seed coat is very thick. Nick Morning Glory seeds, or soak it in warm water overnight to soften it ,and this will increase germination rates.

Sow Morning Glory seeds early in the season and cover lightly with 1/4" of soil. Water thoroughly once. Thin or space plants to a final distance of 6" apart. They will tolerate a little crowding if there is ample supports for their vines to spread up and out.

Morning Glory plants like full sun. Add a general purpose fertilizer when planting them, then once a month after that.

Once your Morning Glories are established, they should grow well, even if left unattended. Soil should be moist, but not wet. Water them during dry periods, once or twice per week.

Morning Glory is half hardy annuals. They will often survive the first frost, especially if grown along the house or other buildings. Morning glories have very few problems with insects and disease. If insect or disease problems occur, treat early with organic or chemical insect repellents and fungicide. They will not survive a hard frost or freeze.

Morning Glory plants like full sun. They will grow in average to poor soils. Add compost prior to planting, if your soil is poor.

Tread the Earth Lightly



Arlene Wright-Correll

http://www.localharvest.org/morning-glory-heirloom-seeds-early-call-mix-C25416

Everything you Wanted to Know about Growing Moonflowers

by Arlene Wright-Correll
Home Farm Herbery

Moonflower Heirloom Seeds - Ipomea alba



Moonflowers are nocturnal bloomers, perfect for night owls and late night strollers. After sunset, these huge white flowers bloom and glow all night in the moonlight. Then, as the sun rises, they close their fragrant blooms. At Home Farm Herbery we enjoy it's evening performance as well as heavy fragrance. The flowers unfold very quickly and that in itself is an event worth waiting for! Annual, Blooms Summer to Fall. 10' - 20' vine, prefers Full Sun. Sow outside in spring after last frost or early summer. Sow inside: 6 to 8 weeks before planting outside. Sow ½ inch deep and 1 inch apart and germinations in 10 to 20 days.

We love these fragrant night bloomers especially when we sit out on our screened in patio in the evening sipping a glass of wine with good friends.

In the fall we harvest what we can to keep these heirloom seeds in the systems, save some for ourselves and then package and share some with others who want to try them. We then send any proceeds from these sales to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Sometimes we only are able to create a few packages of approx. 50 heirloom seeds per pkt $5.99 with free shipping and each order comes with a free complimentary herb or herb blend of our choice so buy yours today.



Years ago I planted the first heirloom seeds without realizing that Moonflowers are a vining plant, and can grow as much as 12-18 feet in a single year. So they were all over the ground. I now know better and put them where they can climb. They are perennial in their native tropical homes and used as annuals in more northerly areas and this vine great near and entrance or under a window.

Moonflower plants are prolific climbers with attractive leaves. When growing moonflowers, make sure to plant them where they can climb quickly towards the moon. Plant them along patios and sidewalks, where people are likely to be in early evening hours.

Moonflower(Ipomoea alba), This vining plant is a fast-growing vine great near and entrance or under a window. You are sure to enjoy it's evening performance as well as heavy fragrance. The flowers unfold very quickly and that in itself is an event worth waiting for! Annual, Blooms Summer to Fall. 10' - 20' vine, prefers Full Sun. Sow outside in spring after last frost or early summer. Sow inside: 6 to 8 weeks before planting outside.1/2 " deep 1" apart. 10 - 20 days . Average Count: 30 seeds,

Propagation:

Moonflowers are grown from seeds. Sow Moonflower seeds directly into your flower garden.

Sow Moonflower seeds early in the season after all danger of frost. Cover seeds with 1/4" soil. They can also be started indoors 3-4 weeks before the last frost to get a jump start on the season. Water thoroughly once. They germinate easily and will grow quickly.

Thin or space your plants to at least 6" apart.

How to Grow Moonflower Plants:

Moonflower plants like full to partial sun during the daylight hours. You will like the fact that Moonflower thrive in poor, dry soils. That makes them useful in areas where many other popular plants just won't grow. It also makes them easy to grow with little care or attention. Just plant them, and away they grow!

Add mulch around the plants for appearance and to keep weeds down. Fertilizer can be applied, but is usually not needed.

Moonflowers are susceptible to frost. They may survive the first light frost with only a little damage. Moonflowers are most often planted near a house or building. So, a light frost may kill the plants away from the house, yet spare your Moonflowers for another day. They will not survive a hard frost or freeze.

Tread the Earth Lightly



Arlene Wright-Correll

http://www.localharvest.org/moonflower-heirloom-seeds-C25415

The Beauty and Benefits of Planting Cleome Spider Plant Heirloom Seeds

by Arlene Wright-Correll
Home Farm Herbery

Cleome Spider Plant Heirloom Seeds For Sale Cleome hassleriana



Cleomes, also known as spider flowers, are beautiful in almost any setting. At Home Farm Herbery these hardy annuals can grow to 6 feet in height with huge blossoms that are often 8 inches in diameter. Hummingbirds are attracted to their white, pink or red blossoms and flood our gardens. These flowers can be costly if purchased from a nursery. Save money by planting cleome seeds indoors to transplant later, or sow them directly in your flower beds. It's easy to grow cleome plants from seed, and the seeds from the mature plants can be saved for planting next year. Each year we harvest just enough to replant ourselves and share a few with our gardening friends. So buy today as we have a limited supply. These beauties will make you glad you did!

At Home Farm Herbery, each fall, we harvest as many as we are able to and them package them up to resell to raise money for ST. Jude Children's Research Hospital. We usually only have a few packages extra than what we save for ourselves to replant for the next spring and this year we have a couple of packages of approx. 50 Seed Pkt. $7.99 with free shipping and each order comes with a free complimentary herb or herb blend of our choice so buy yours today. Plus all our seeds come with special planting instruction sheets and other free goodies we can think of.



Planting Cleome Spider Plant Seeds Instructions

1. 1 Decide if you will plant your cleome seeds indoors, to transplant after the danger of frost has passed, or outside. If starting seeds indoors, plant the seeds approximately four to six weeks before transplanting them outside. If you are planting the seeds outdoors, wait until the danger of frost has passed.
2. 2 Prepare the soil for planting. If planting the seeds outdoors, remove any weeds or debris from the soil. If planting cleome seeds indoors, add soil to your pots. Cleomes thrive in almost any type of soil; no extra preparation is needed.
3. Sow seeds approximately 1 to 3 inches apart outside, or 1 inch apart indoors in prepared pots. Make indentations in the soil about ¼ inch deep with your finger; use a spade if the soil is hard. Place a seed in the indentation and cover lightly with soil.
4. Water the sowed seeds. Keep the planted seeds moist, but avoid flooding the soil. If planting indoors, make sure the containers have access to light every day. Cleome plants germinate in approximately 10 days.
5. Wait until the sprouted cleome plants are 1 to 2 inches tall, and then thin them so there is around 1 to 1 1/2 inch of space between the plants.
6. Transplant any cleome plants you have started indoors to an outdoor location once the danger of frost has passed. Continue to water plants, as needed.

http://www.localharvest.org/cleome-spider-plant-heirloom-seeds-C25419

Tread the Earth Lightly



Arlene Wright-Correll

How to Grow and the Benefits of growing Chicory from Wild Chicory Heirloom Seeds

by Arlene Wright-Correll
Home Farm Herbery



At Home Farm Herbery we harvest these seeds at the end of each season and resell them to raise money to send to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and we offer a limited number of packets that containe Approx. 100 Seed Pkt. $7.99 with free shipping and each order comes with a free complimentary herb or herb blend of our choice so buy yours today. Plus all our seeds come with special planting instruction sheets and other free goodies we can think of.

http://www.localharvest.org/wild-chicory-heirloom-seeds-C25418


Each packet comes with the following instructions on planting and growing wild chicory.

How to Grow Chicory and Step by Step Guides to Chicory growing

1.Arrange the soil. Chicory can live or grow within well drained land where is fertile with nutrients. However, the Chicory plant will grow inside other soils when they are improved with organic fertilizers and a lot of compost manure.

2.Spread the plant/seeds for 9 inches to 1.5 foot apart with 1.5 inches deep. Try to grow this plant/seed in early spring until summer for the period of one month following the final frost.

3.Expect the plant/seeds to sprout and separate seedlings to have them grown up over 8 inches apart. The sprouting time for Chicory growth is from 2 to 4 weeks.

4.Remove the wild weeds from your sprouts and spray water onto them well. If you would love to harvest either plants or roots, you can do after three months and a half. The foliage can be picked out of the garden or used within a new salad.

5.This phase is the time when seed Chicory starts to shoot or germinate. Therefore, arrange pots to plant the Chicory roots. This time, the soil should be fine for them like sand kept in a shed with the cool temperature.

6.Trim their roots on a straight line, one to three inches above its crown.

7.Grow the cut roots to stimulate the crown to be one or three inches on top of the ground.

8.Store other upturned pots above the root tops. Block pot holes to prevent daylight from impacting the plants/seeds.

9.The tender and small leaves are harvested after around 7 weeks. The shoots are valuable in favor of their soft texture and mild flavor.

Nutrition / Benefit
The Chicory or Cichorium intybus is invented as food such as Crispy chicken breast plus fennel salad and braised chicory, potato salad with Finger licking ribs, Stuffed saddle, Roast pheasant plus wild mushrooms and caramelized walnuts, Braised chicory with beans and so on. Moreover, within Chicory there are several vitamins such as Vitamin B-12, Vitamin B-Complex, vitamin C, and vitamin D. Additionally, Chicory is produced as Chicory Syrup also known as Inulin. The Inulin always supports the ability of people’s bodies to absorb or attract calcium which assists in building and maintaining strong bones and teeth.

Furthermore, Chicory can be added to a lot of coffee in order to mellow the coffee quality in favor of young generations. Currently, in the America and other European countries there is a lot of consumption with popularity as well.

Chicory, also known as Cichorium intybus, is a perennial herbaceous, somewhat woody and erect plant with brilliant blue flowers. Different varieties are developed for roots, chicons, or salad leaves which are ground, baked or used for additive or coffee substitute. It is planted as a forage plant in favor of livestock. The Chicory plant lives as a wildlife plant beyond roadsides within native Europe such as Australia and North America where this plant has turned naturalized. Anyway, “Chicory” is the popular name as well in the U.S.A for a curly-leave plant – Cichorium endivia.Chicory is a very versatile plant that is equally cherished as a flower and as an herb. Chicory seeds can be planted in the most challenging of conditions, and actually tend to thrive in less-than-ideal soil. Though chicory is most famously used in teas, it has also traditionally been used to flavor coffees as well.

No one needs a green thumb to grow this plant.

May the Creative Force be with you.



Arlene Wright-Correll

1. Choose a spot to grow bee balm that is in full sun to part shade. The soil should be moist and rich, and if possible, in the lower neutral range of the pH scale, approximately 6.5.
2. Prepare the planting site. Spread a one-inch layer of compost on the surface of the soil. Turn over the soil using a garden spade and dig to the depth of the spade. Rake the surface of the soil smooth when finished digging.
3. Sow seeds by scattering or broadcasting them on the surface of the soil. Cover the seeds with a 1/8- to 1/4-inch layer of vermiculite. Firm the surface of the soil gently with your hand.
4. Water the seedbed with a fine mist using a hose-end sprayer. Monitor the seedbed daily and mist as needed to keep the seedbed moist until the bee balm seeds germinate in about seven to 14 days. Thereafter, water with the equivalent of one inch of rainfall per week.
5. Thin the seedlings when they are two to three inches high so that they stand eight to 12 inches apart.
6. Mulch the seedbed with a two-inch layer of buckwheat hulls or shredded bark.
7. Fertilize the bee balm by putting down a ½- to one-inch layer of compost in the Pull back the mulch and spread compost around the base of the plant. Replace the mulch.
8. Cut the dried foliage down in late fall after it is killed by frost and apply a protective winter mulch of hay or straw eight to 12 inches deep.