USING ANHEIRLOOM

PLANT GUIDEFOR GARDENING

Although planting heirloom seeds is simple, it’s still advisable to follow an heirloom plant guide so you can do it well. After all, growing plants is a delicate process and you want to do it right to get the best results.

Home and Garden America’s free heirloom plant guide for customers

An heirloom plant guide contains all the information you need to grow the finest crops in your garden. Here are some of the things that are should be found in an ideal heirloom plant guide:

First of all, the names of all the seed types should be listed in your heirloom plant guide so you can easily find the specific info you need.

The seed count for every variety must also be stated to give you an idea of your heirloom seed pack quantity.

NAME AND QUANTITY OFTHE HEIRLOOM SEED VARIETY

Plants have very particular soil temperature needs. You can’t just plant them in your backyard anytime and expect good crops. The soil must first be conditioned in the right temperature before you start planting.

SOIL TEMPERATURE

Plants also have different recommended depths for sowing. Some varieties do well in shallow depths while others need to be buried deeper.

For instance, the Tall Utah Celery only has a 1/16” planting depth while the Small Sugar Pumpkin needs to be sowed around 1 to 1 ½” deep.

SEED PLANTING DEPTH

It’s not a good idea to have your plants grow too close to each other because diseases could easily spread in your garden.

Besides, plants need more room especially when they’re starting to grow. This is why spacing between plants and rows is essential so you can properly keep them apart.

PLANT & ROW SPACING

Some heirloom varieties are only fit to be grown inside your home, some have to be directly sowed in the garden, while others have to be first grown indoors and then transplanted outdoors after a couple of weeks.It all depends on the variety and growing needs of the plant.

WHEN TO SOW INDOORS & OUTDOORS

Sunlight and water are the top two things that plant needs to grow properly. But how much daylight and liquid supply do they need to survive?

Your heirloom plant guide can tell you the right amount so you won’t end up drying or overwatering your plants.

SUN EXPOSURE & WATER REQUIREMENT

Heirloom plants also grow well in specific conditions. Watermelons love warm, hot and long days while cabbage prospers in cold, cool and short days.

If you can plant them in the ideal conditions detailed in your heirloom plant guide, they will easily produce the best-tasting crops.

GROWING CONDITION

Hardiness is a way to measure a plant’s ability to endure hostile growing conditions. This means a plant can be labeled the following:

HARDINESS

Very Tender – highly intolerant of freezing temperatures

Tender – intolerant of freezing temperatures Half Hardy – needs to be sown indoors during winter

then transplanted outdoors when frost is gone Hardy – tolerant of freezing temperatures to a

certain degree Super Hardy – highly tolerant of freezing

temperatures

Another important data you can find in your planting guide is the average days to maturity, a.k.a. the number of days to harvest. This often takes around one to four months depending on the variety.

ESTIMATED DAYS TO MATURITY

Lastly, your guide will also label plants either as annual or biennial.

Annuals are those that only last for one growing season while biennials are those that complete their lifecycle in two years.

LIFECYCLE

Remember though that the data provided in an heirloom plant guide are only estimates. Successfully growing your plants will largely depend on the weather and soil conditions in your area, so the best you can do is follow the guide and then adjust accordingly if you’re not getting the right results.

But one thing that helps is keeping a logbook of every seed you plant. Use the instructions in the heirloom plant guide and closely monitor the growth of your plants. Write down the results as well as the little adjustments you’ve made so you’ll know how a particular plant works the next time you do it.

To wrap up, an heirloom plant guide can show you the ideal conditions to plant your seeds but sometimes you may have to make small adjustments depending on where you live.

But still, a guide can make things quicker and easier since you no longer have to research about every plant you have. So start growing your plants properly by using your heirloom plant guide to your advantage!