Drought, seeds & keeping sowings moist

The Seeds shop is closed now for website maintenance, seeds inventory and most important seeds collections. Re-opening in late August, I hope. But no worry, you will be kept up to date on flowering, fruiting & seeds happenings.

The first fleshy fruits are here! Yes, Actaea rubra (wild) and Triosteum pinnatifidum (garden) were just collected. From the dry side: Viola pubescens var. scabriuscula and Viola labradorica (wild), Erinus alpinus and Aconitum moldavicum (garden), to mention just a few. Quite a few other species are under a ‘seeds-ready’ watch at this time.

Sadly, the effect of drought is seen everywhere in SW Ontario; in some locations the mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), Trillium grandiflorum and few other species going into an early dormancy and it is uncertain if there will be any seeds.
In the garden we can compensate somewhat by carefully watering especially the moisture loving species but even so, the seeds set is lower than in ‘normal’ years.

The hot/dry weather will continue throughout the summer and I would like to emphasize again that it is very important to keep your early sowings moist; otherwise the warm/moist stratification cycle will not count as such.
Besides keeping the trays in a shaded place and checking the moisture constantly, there is another solution; a friend reminded me about this way of keeping the summer sowings and so I will pass it forward to all others.

Nothing complicated: just place the pots inside a plastic box with a lid (still to be kept in a well shaded or in a cool place!). Do not close the lid tightly and check the pots regularly. Mine are in a cool garage right now.

Enjoy the summer and don’t forget to collect some seeds along the way; it is always good to have a reserve of seeds, plus there are seed exchanges in the fall and trades with friends.