Starting Annuals From Seed...

And why I don't do it anymore.

I love seed catalogs. I start to get them in the week after Christmas. They pile up on my nightstand and within a month they are dog eared and marked up with a page of notes attached. I used to love ordering packs of seeds, figuring out when to get them started and watching those cute little cotyledon leaves emerging ( just tossed out a horticulture term there, weird the random things you remember from college). Most of the time my seedlings would look like this;

What I was picturing after all that love, money and care was something more like this;

Minus the fancy label but you get the idea. I simply do not get enough direct sun to really get healthy plants so unless I want to buy grow lights and maybe heating lamps I will not get strong sturdy plants ready for spring. After years of trying this I finally gave up and just let the pro's grow my annuals. Besides each pack of seed would have like 100 seeds in it when I only really needed 6-10 plants so off to the nursery I go.

That said I am pretty picky when it comes to picking out my annuals. For those who live in the area I have three main sources that I recommend.

First, and my favorite is Ragged Robin Farm in Lee. She doesn't have a website but here is her basic information. http://www.localharvest.org/ragged-robin-herb-farm-M15830 . Terry grows everything from seed using a lot of great Johny Seed varieties. She has a small stand she puts out with her bedding plants in the spring, most of the time it is self serve with a small cash box- and she takes checks! Most of her flower varieties work well as cut flowers because she sells cut flowers later in the summer. She also has herbs and vegetables as well.

Second is http://www.studleyflowergardens.com/ in Rochester NH. They also grow their own annuals which is pretty rare for a nursery these days. They  have a lot of herbs and cut flowers and the owner has the dreamiest blue eyes- really it is worth the trip just to see him.

Third is http://www.rollinggreennursery.com/ in Greenland NH. I worked at a lot of nurseries both in NE and out west and this has to be the cleanest and most well staffed nursery I have ever been to. I go there when I am stressed just to walk down the perfectly maintained grass isles and look at the perfect pots of flowers in their perfect little rows. They bring order to the universe.

If you don't live in the area, here is what I look for when picking out my annuals. Make sure there are not missing plants in the pack or worse a plant that is wilted or moldy. Don't buy plants that are very tall and narrow like they have been reaching for the sun. Also I prefer if they don't have flowers yet ( the picture above was just a good example) this gives the plant time to focus on leaf and root growth which will give you a larger happier plant later on.

Plants should be hardened off if the are in a northern climate which means for a period of time they have been exposed to the cooler air outside the greenhouse for longer periods each day so the plant doesn't go into shock when you plant it. And last of all, bring a few friends- Some plants I may only want 2-3 three (think tomato varieties) so if you have a few friends you can mix and match your six-packs.

Happy shopping!