Garden Evaluation: Herbs & Veggies

 

This year my garden was actually all built from the beginning of the season.

It was amazing!

 

Overall, it was a decent year for the garden.

Like usual, some things were winners and some...not so much.

We'll talk about that as we go.

 

youngest son's plot, mid-June

 

The biggest change was allowing my kiddos to have space for gardens of their own.

Although it cut into some of my prime real estate (especially since I gave them the spots on the bottom terrace), it was great fun to see their little plots prospering through the summer.

They seemed to enjoy picking their own veggies and flowers, too.

 

I also tried pea sticks! And pole beans on bamboo supports.

 

So, for a little recap:

 

I got the spring veggies put in late April (4-23), and planted potatoes (including a random sweet potato that was growing leaves in my potato bin), peas, swiss chard, beets, and spinach.

 Onions went in about a month later.

 

Summer veggies were planted earlier than usual, by May 24.

We put in tomatoes, thyme, basil, marigolds, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, mini pumpkins, and three colors of beans. Also, some zinnias.

 

Challenges and Successes:

Bring on the Heat

 

Cukes and zucchini loved the hot weather!

 

We had hot weather come early this year. Where usually it's stays fairly cool until July (temps in the 60's and 70's), it was already blazing hot by mid-June.

All of the spring veggies, with the exception of the potatoes, really suffered from the heat.

Peas did the worst: they were spindly, and didn't even start producing until mid-July. When they did, it was a few pitiful (but delicious) handfuls. They simply wilted!

Beets did better than last year, but still not great. We had some grow bigger this year than before, and had enough for some meals inside, as well as some for making canned pickled beets.

The kids got some spinach and swiss chard from their plots. Mine were only about 3 inches high when they bolted, so I yanked them out and replanted with beans.

 

Also due to the heat, the basil went to seed way early, before I could get out there to harvest it for drying. Surprisingly, the sweet potato didn't do as well as I thought it would, even with the high temps.

 

 

On the plus side: With the heat we had a great year for cucumbers and zucchini, as the picture above can attest. Also, every time I pulled out struggling spring vegetables, I replanted with beans. The beans did great! We harvested enough to eat at meals, and even were able to freeze several quart bags worth.

 

 

The marigolds apparently couldn't get enough of the heat either, as they were vibrantly bushy and gorgeous all summer long, as well.

 

The Great Cosmos Takeover

 

Yup, this is about right.

Be afraid, little pumpkin vine, be very afraid.

 

So, I had all of these volunteer cosmos come up, bless their feathery little hearts.

They pretty much took over the middle terrace. They crowded and shaded the poor pumpkin vines, so that our production was very low: 2 small pumpkins, and about 3 minis.

 

On the plus side: they were so darn beautiful, that I just sighed happily every time I saw them. What pumpkins?  Perhaps next year they could be transplanted to the cutting garden early on...

 

Poor Soil in the Top Bed

 

tomatoes, basil, marigolds

 

I'm blaming it on the newer soil in the top bed, where we planted the tomatoes, basil, and marigolds. When I rototilled in the spring, the layer of clay soil was much closer to the surface than in the other beds. The tomatoes didn't grow very tall, and the fruit was quite small, as well.

Extra compost and rototilling probably need to go onto the top bed next spring.

On the plus side: we did have enough tomatoes to eat fresh, once they started producing

Not enough for salsa or other kinds of processing, though.

 

Trellises and Staking

Okay,  let's talk about trellises and staking for a moment. I had all kinds of variety going on with that this year, some much more successful than others.

I loved the pea sticks. Far easier than stakes and string, and bonus! the aspens shoots I used really were dead, so I did not end up with an aspen grove in my vegetable patch. Also, they just looked pretty darn cool.

 

The stakes and netting for the cucumbers worked okay. There were so many vines, that many of them still ended up running along the ground, but I guess at least some were growing vertically.

 

The bamboo poles for the pole beans were a bust. The beans had absolutely zero interest in climbing them, even when I tried to wrap them [gently] around. I should have just used twine and tied them to it a couple of times, perhaps. Anyway, unsupported, the beans proceeded to take over the tomato cages nearby and make a big tangled mess on the ground. Not awesome.

 

Speaking of tomato cages, they worked fine this year, though it was due to all the plants being so small, rather than any innate goodness.

 

The smaller tomato cages were also helpful around the pepper plants we grew.

Win some, lose some.

 

Best and Worst

 

Best:

 

Onions!

 My reluctance was overcome by this success! Having planted them further apart (more like 6 inches), they grew into big beautiful slicing onions with little to no effort on my part. Even the cosmo jungle didn't seem to effect them. Win!

 

Beans--they sprang up happily wherever I plunked them in, which this year was in any open space I could find.

 

Cucumbers also did quite well this year, with consistent production for a couple of months.

 

Honorable mention: bell peppers

I have never had success with peppers turned red before frost, except for this year. The kids' plants did the best, and we harvested some sweet red peppers to eat fresh.

 

Middle of the road:

Carrots. We got enough to process some for winter, but I kept feeling like for as much seed as we put out there, we should have had a whole lot more carrots to show for it. We did the 'Rainbow Blend' again this year, and mostly got yellows and oranges.

 

Oregano. About what it has been the past several years--we dried about a quart and a half from the trimmings.

 

Potatoes. Seemed healthy, didn't harvest as much as I expected. Hardly any Yukon Golds, which are my favorite kind. Again, maybe the hot summer to blame?

 

Worst:

Peas (as mentioned above). Hardly any harvest.

Spinach. Bolted way early.

Pumpkins (blame it on the cosmos, as discussed)

Sweet potato--we ended up with fingers, not potatoes, though they sure tasted good roasted in the oven.

 

What I want to change for next year: 

 

1. Get the spring vegetables in end of March, beginning of April. It's usually super wet around that time, but find a dry spell somewhere in there, rototill, and get to work! I think my spring stuff would have done fine, had they been already producing in June, rather than still getting going.

 

2. Perhaps not let the volunteer cosmos (if there are some again) take over the whole world. Transplant most down to the cutting garden.

 

3. Heavily amend top bed. [I wonder how onions would do up there?...]

 

4. Perhaps try for corn or lettuce. No pole beans or swiss chard. More onions and tomatoes. Perhaps more cucumbers for pickling.



August in the Kids' Gardens

As they had mostly spring vegetables in their gardens, it's not too surprising that they haven't had as much to harvest these days.

 

My daughter's garden:

 

She's still got a few peppers coming, and a few carrots, but mostly it is flowers.

She loves the flowers, so that's okay too.

(A girl after my own heart.)

 

My oldest son's garden:

His potatoes have about died off completely in the far back.

He also has a couple of peppers starting to turn red.

He been picking beans off his bean plant (not pictured), and has a few carrots here and there, along with those beautiful snapdragons right in front.

 

 

Littlest guy's garden is still going, but about to be all harvested.

Carrots and beets are hanging on, but will be picked within the week.

The Kids' Gardens, Late July

These have been fun for the kids.

When friends come over, they're so proud of their little gardens, and have to show the friends everything they're growing. Warms my heart!

 

My daughter's garden:

The flowers have pretty much taken over here.

Not that she minds.

She does have a few peppers growing in that cage, and a carrot or two in amongst the rest.

 

My oldest son's garden:

Lovely snapdragons, plus potatoes taking over the world, and a few peppers.

He also has a few beans here and there, along with a carrot or two.

 

Youngest son's garden:

Peas gone now, but still some carrots and beets to pull up and snack on.

 

Now that the main garden is producing things there's aren't (especially the beans, tomatoes, and cucumbers), their interest in their own little plots has waned a bit. But they still enjoy going out and seeing what they have growing--and picking things if they can.

A Garden of Their Own

For the first time this year, I gave each of my kids a small piece of the garden to make their own and plant whatever they wanted (with some suggestions.)

We've talked a lot about what size things are supposed to get, and such. We also did some spring vegetables and talked about leaving room for summer stuff.

My two older kids each got roughly a square, around 4'x4', on the bottom terrace. My youngest got a little strip next to the path about 18"x4', up in the middle terrace.

 

It has been really interesting seeing the differences.

My oldest son wanted all edibles. 

 

About a week after he planted it.

One lonely potato shoot coming up and a few miniscule seedlings.

 

Here it is now. A bit more going on.

For spring, he planted 1 row of carrots, 1 row of swiss chard, 1 row of beets, and 1 hill of potatoes.

So far some carrots are up (upper left), his potato is doing awesome, and a few beets and spinach are scattered around. 

 

He left some room for summer stuff, so he recently added the basil, and the 3 sweet peppers surrounded by cages. 

In addition, at a school event he received a few herb seeds, a few cosmos, and 4 garbanzo bean seeds. I didn't show that, but those went in all next to each other right in the front.

He didn't ask for help or advice on that one and I didn't say anything once it was done. I figure he'll be able to see pretty quickly as they come up what the optimal spacing would be next time.

 

There's nothing like just getting your hands in it and trying it for yourself to learn!

 

1 week after planting seeds, flowers just put in

 

My daughter's garden now.

 

My daughter wanted a border of flowers all around hers, so we marked off where that would be with a plank and a trowel. Along the left side, for her flower border, she planted some 'Little Sweetheart' sweet peas, which are only supposed to grow 25-30 inches high. In the top left corner she planted an ornamental grass called Bunny Tails (Lagarus ovatus). I hope this one grows, as she is really looking forward to it!  We took a little trip to the garden center for flowers to fill in around the rest of borders.

She chose petunias, marigolds, portulaca, lobelia, and verbena.

There may or may not be room for vegetables! 

 

A closeup of her carrots and flowers.

 

In the middle of her square she planted 1 row each of carrots (shown above), beets, spinach, and swiss chard. She found some of my bean seed from last year and planted a few of those amongst her flower border, as well.

 

With what little room she had left, she put in 1 basil plant and 1 pepper.

 

I wasn't originally going to do a separate garden for my littlest guy, but after he saw what his older siblings were doing he insisted! I couldn't resist that.

So he got a long skinny patch, all right next to our little walkway in the middle terrace, for easy access.

 

Youngest son's garden (bottom of the picture)

We kept it simple for his.

He wanted all things to eat, like his big brother.

So we planted one section peas, one of carrots, and one of beets.

 

Here's a closeup of his peas, which are doing great!

He's very excited about his little garden and wants to water it all by himself.

I think he'll be even more thrilled when it produces food that he can actually pick and eat!

 

I think they're all planning to put in beans once some of their summer stuff is finished.

Maybe we'll actually get enough beans in the house to eat as a meal this year!

 

I'll admit it was a little bit hard to give up some of  my garden space, at first.

This has been great, though!

There have been so many teaching moments as we've talked about what to plant, when, where, how far apart, and all of that.  There will be many more learning experiences as everything continues to grow, including the weeds.

 

I've been doing what I can to help keep things watered, and if not weed-free, at least getting the big stuff. I really want this to be a successful venture for them.

It is heart-warming to hear them talk about their gardens, and show their friends who come over.

Garden Evaluation: Herbs & Vegetables

Overall, I was late getting just about everything in this year.

Spring veggies didn't go in until May 1, and with the garden expansion still going on, the summer veggies didn't get in the ground until the end of June.

Even so, we had some success.

Let's talk about it.

 

Oregano: Even with having divided this last fall, we still harvested quite a bit. I cut them back in June again, then we dried them. This time we dried the whole stems in the dehydrator, then stripped and crumbled the leaves afterword. It was much faster that way! We ended up with a pint, which I gave to a friend, since we still have a lot from 2 years ago.

 

 

Other herbs: I planted some basil and pineapple sage in a pot. They started out strong, but were done about mid summer. Surprisingly, I couldn't find any rosemary starts to buy this year. So we were a bit sparse on herbs.

 

Peas: I did 2 packets, one each of 'Little Marvel' and 'Oregon Sugar Pod II'.
We really enjoyed these this year. The kids got many big handfuls to snack on. Every year I think--we need more peas! I wasn't super thrilled with my trellising. I need to figure out a better way to do that this year. The peas had just about pulled it down by mid-season.

Potatoes: 5 hills 'Yukon Gold', 4 hills 'Viking.' Smaller harvest than anticipated this year. Once again we had some hills that just rotted without growing at all. However, I'm going to try Monty's (yes, first name basis with my friend Monty from Gardener's World,)  potato planting method next spring and see if it makes a difference. Namely, chit the potatoes first, plant the whole potato, and space them a little further apart.

 

Spinach: 2 varieties: 'Tyee' and 'Olympia Hybrid.' We were loving the spinach this year! I need to plant it further apart so we don't have to thin as much. Or start it from seed earlier in February and plant out when it's a little bigger.  

 

Beets: 2 varieties: 'Chioggia' (red/white striped) and 'Cylindra.' We got some this year! None were very big, and I'm not sure if we just picked them too early or what. We like the Cylindra best. Chioggia looked better raw, but by the time you cooked them, it was just kind of a dirty white color. I learned how to roast them and that was my favorite way to eat them. I want to try them again next spring.

 

Carrots: Our carrots struggled! First we did a Rainbow Mix and Scarlet Nantes, which I just scattered, but hardly any germinated. So next I did a couple furrows of Danvers Half Longs. We got some here and there, but didn't ever harvest enough at one time to process or freeze.
The multi-colored ones were very sweet and good-tasting. I want to try those again. 
Next spring I'm going to do rows. I just haven't decided if they're going to be all along the front, or several short ones going front to back in one section.

 Beans: I found a tri-color bean mix, with purple, green, and yellow beans. I had two separate bean patches going, which both produced a steady yield. Enough for snacking.

 

Tomatoes: Mostly 'Oregon Spring' with some 'New Girl,' and 2 'Sungold'. We had good yields this year. I made some salsa to can, and I also had enough to do several batches of homemade tomato sauce, roasting them in the oven with onions and garlic.
Marked difference from last year--I'm crediting the compost and manure we added before planting.

Peppers: We harvested several small ones, all green. Once again I am underwhelmed by the peppers here. I didn't do any kind of plastic cover on the ground, though.

Zucchini: Our one plant up top produced for us this year. It was nice! We had enough to make some zucchini bread and some to eat, too.

 

 

Pumpkins: The kids especially enjoyed these this year. We had enough for each one to carve one for Halloween. We harvested probably 8 or 9 minis, which were brought in as decorations. Eventually, we ate the minis.  There was one variety that was particularly yummy and one that was really stringy and not very good. I don't remember which was which. Darn!  The perils of waiting to evaluate things. I think next year I will plan a meal to eat the minis soon after Halloween.

Squash: We harvested 2 butternut squash. One we just ate a few weeks ago and it was quite tasty. The other got rotten in storage before we got to it.

Cucumbers: These were a no-show this year. Died right off within a couple weeks of planting.

Watermelon: We actually harvested a few baseball size watermelons this year! They were good, but I think next year if we do melons I want to try cantaloupes instead.



Veggies & Berries Update

Bottom terrace:

 

spinach & beets

As mentioned in the previous post, we have already been harvesting spinach.

I thinned the beets once; I may need to do it again.

 

Potatoes growing full and bushy.

I love growing potatoes.

I guess its my latent Idahoan genes coming out.

(We didn't move up north until I was 8.)

They are certainly big and impressive for this early in the gardening season; it's very satisfying. Plus, with this rain we've had today, they must have grown another 4 or 5 inches.

 

tomatoes & peppers

Haven't seen much change since I planted them.

 

Cucumbers

 

Middle Terrace:

carrots

So, all my carrot seeds must have washed over into this corner the first time around.

I replanted a bunch (in furrows this time) of Danvers Half-Longs.

I may end up with more carrots than I know what to do with.

 

 The peas are gaining height; no flowers yet.

 

Oh, several of my squash and pumpkin seeds are up as well.

No pictures of those.

 

  

Berries

 

Our raspberry patch is still going strong!

The berries have started forming.

Maybe 2-3 more weeks?

strawberry patch

 

These plants are just loaded with berries, as well.

Nearly all green, and mostly smaller. 

My daughter picked this ripe one and we all shared it.

It was divine.

Long view of the patch.

Bring on the berries!

That's what I say.

Bottom Garden Terrace Planted

My husband was able to finish the bottom garden terrace and get it all filled up with dirt.

I had purchased tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers a few days ago, so I would be ready as soon as the space was available.

I was originally going to plant the whole space with corn (since I have the room and all), but then I realized that the corn would grow tall and shade the next terrace up.

Plus, my neighbor just planted an entire packet of corn (100 seeds!) in her garden and said they would be more than happy to share this summer.

She's the best!

So...I may have to return my corn seed to the store.

Or maybe just add it to my birdfeeder and save myself the trip.

 

In front:

3 'Gypsy' sweet bell peppers

Yes, I'm trying peppers again.

Maybe 3rd time will be the charm?

I put them right in front by the wall, in hopes that they will soak up extra warmth from the blocks and be first in line for all the sunshine.

 

Behind them: 2 'New Girl' slicing tomatoes

 

In front: 2 'Sungold' cherry tomatoes

In back: a 3rd 'New Girl' & 1 'Oregon Spring' tomato

These are all 'Oregon Spring' tomatoes as well, so there's 5 in all.

Yes, that's a lot of tomatoes, but this is a salsa year, so I expect to use all I can get!

Plus, I want to try canning diced tomatoes and/or tomato sauce as well.

One hill of 'Bush Pickle' cucumbers and one of 'Diva.'

Not sure which is which at this point.

Since I knew it would probably be another couple of weeks before the middle and top terraces would be finished, I went ahead and planted all my squash and pumpkin seeds in 4-inch pots.

That way I can plant out seedlings rather than start from scratch.

I even labeled them.

I have enough for 2 hills of Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins, 1 hill each of zucchini, butternut squash and mini pumpkins, a few plantings of "Pumpkin on a Stick," and one random pot that I think has one of each type of seed planted in it (little boy-planted.)

The 3 on the end already growing are the 'Sugar Baby' watermelon seedlings that I started in the house a few weeks ago. I may have to move them to bigger pot before there's room for them to be planted.

Oh yeah, I also planted a few 'Teddy Bear' sunflowers in the empty space behind the garlic, and nasturtiums all along the front of the wall.

If everything grows it's going to be so pretty!

Garden Evaluation: corn, beans, sunflowers, nasturtiums, and peppers

Top Terrace

Corn: top left

Planted: May 28 (1st try), June 27 (2nd try)

Variety: Sweet corn, Early Choice Hybrid, 66 days to maturity

Yield: 1 ear was going to be full-sized, but a little helper picked it before it was ready. All the other ears were picked right before frost, and were very small and not developed.

Pests, Problems, Diseases: I made the mistake of planting some old seed I had left from Missouri. Only one plant came up. So I replanted, but by then, we were a month into the growing season already, which is short as is. So, not surprisingly, my corn was late to tassel out. I saw tassles on corn all over town a good 2-3 weeks before mine got there.

Finished: end of September (frost)

Comments: If I try corn again next year, I will be sure to plant new seed from the beginning. Looking back, I'm sure the month-late start was why we didn't get a harvest this year. Takes a toll, especially with first frost a good 3 weeks earlier than last year. 

I planted them much closer together than the package suggested (more like 6-8 inches apart instead of 1 foot), but that didn't seem to cause any problems that I could tell. I watered 2-3x/week for an hour each time during the hot days of August and September. 

Not sure I will try again. Even if we had harvested one ear from every plant we would still only have around 12 ears. Once again I'm reminded that to get a decent corn harvest, you need a lot of space. Although, there are plans afoot to extend the garden, so maybe I would have the space after all. Still undecided. 

Purple Beans: top middle

Planted: May 28

Variety: Royal Burgundy

Yield: enough to keep the kids happy eating fresh, plus enough for a few meals.

Pests, Problems, Diseases: None noticed.

Finished: end of September (frost)

Comments: Kiddos loved these! This picture of Jacob says it all. They ate them fresh like crazy, and also liked them cooked. I'm sure part of the reason for that was due to their color change once cooked. I want to put in more next year, just to give them something to pick and eat that is so good for them! And perhaps, with a few more planted, we would get enough for meals, with enough to freeze as well.

Green Beans: top right

Planted: June 27, to replace peppers

Variety: Tenderpick

Yield: with the purple beans, enough to keep the kids happy eating fresh, plus enough for a few meals.

Pests, Problems, Diseases: None noticed.

Finished: end of September (frost)

Comments: Not as popular for kid-picking as the purple beans, but still routinely nibbled on by little helpers. Good flavor picked small, tough and stringy picked large. Wouldn't mind planting more of these next year as well.

I STILL want to try planting some beans for drying. Maybe I will order some this winter. I'm sure I will need to separate them from the fresh bean patch, otherwise my little ones probably won't let any reach the dry stage.

Sunflowers: top left, behind corn along the wall

Planted: May 28

Variety: Waooh

Yield: One big pretty bunch per plant, with some 1-2 bigger flowers, and several smaller.

Pests, Problems, Diseases: None noticed.

Finished: end of September (frost)

Comments: Don't put them behind the corn next time. Most of the time, they were completely hidden and only peeked through when in full bloom.

Instead of planting them in a line, I think next time I want to devote a section to sunflowers of a few different varieties. I'll bet they would have more impact that way and look awesome!

Didn't last very long in the vase--maybe 5 or 6 days.

 

Nasturtiums: top terrace, all along the front

Planted: May 28

Variety: Fordhooks Favorite (fragrant, climbing)

Yield: Very beautiful, cheerful little flowers in shades of orange and red and yellow. Continued bloom all summer to frost.

Pests, Problems, Diseases: None noticed.

Finished: beginning of October

Comments: We rubbed the seeds with a nail file before planting and they all came up! Really liked the scent, although mostly could only smell it when picking beans.

Oh yeah, peppers: top terrace, right side

Planted: May 28

Variety: Italian Yellow Bell

Yield: Nothing.

Pests, Problems, Diseases: Something chomped these right down within the first couple of weeks, and I chose not to replace them.

Finished: mid-June

Comments: Next year I may try peppers again, some hot and some sweet. I still want to see if the warming groundcloth works, before I give up on them completely. Perhaps I need a garlic clove cut in half and buried next to them as well, especially now that Diamond is out of the picture for bunny patrol.

Garden all planted

Took advantage of warm weather on Memorial Day and got the rest of the garden in!

I watered it, then in the evening it rained. Perfect timing!

Whole garden

Bottom terrace
I only did 5 tomato plants this year. None of them are Cougar Red, because I missed the plant sale at the University. Better luck next year, I guess.

Here's what I did put in:
Far corner: 'Brandywine' Heirloom tomato, matures in 75-100 days, indeterminate.

Along back wall: 'Early Girl', indeterminate

In front of EG: 'Oregon Spring', matures in 58-65 days, determinate.

2 small plants furthest right: 'Sungold', matures in 57 days (our favorite cherry tomato)

Instead of putting marigolds all in one spot, this year I interspersed them with the tomato plants more. Since I have these nice cages ($6 each!), I'm hoping there will be room around the bottoms of the stems for the marigolds to shine through.

Closeup of bottom terrace, far left corner.

This picture was mainly to show the Rosemary I planted in the very corner:

Rosmarinus 'Roman Beauty'

I'm hoping that the corner there will be a somewhat protected location, that will allow the rosemary to survive the winter. Ht 12", sp. 18", hardy to 10 degrees F.

Also, top right of this picture (above the oregano) you can see the 2 little basil plants I put in: Basil 'superbo,' Classic Italian Basil.

Not much to see here, just the 2 hills of cucumbers, both 'Bush Pickle' variety. Matures in 48 days, fruit size 4". As you can see, 3 plants per hill. We may be overflowing with cucumbers if they all produce well.

I have one hill of zucchini (planted 3 seeds) next to these cucumbers, and a full 1/3 of the bed given over to it. I'm sure it will suck up all the space I give it and then some.

Finally got the twine up for the peas to climb.

I have a few actually reaching for the second string already.

I decided not to replant the back row. Instead I put some flower seeds in--climbers with orange flowers and green centers...thunbergia? something like that. If they come up (seeds take 15-25 days to germinate!) I'll go get the seed packet so I have the real name listed.

Top terrace

2 peppers, both 'Italian Yellow Bell', which I tried last year and wasn't super impressed with. I may put some sort of warmth-holding ground cloth around them, though. 65 days (supposedly).

Yep, a bunch of dirt.

So the rest of the top terrace I planted with sunflowers ('Waaooh') in a row along the wall, and 3 corn plants in front of each, for a total of 12 corn.

Then a section of the purple green beans from last year: 'Royal Burgundy' I believe is the exact type. I was going to plant other bush beans, but my only other bean seeds left were pole beans, and I just didn't have it in me this year to rig up a trellis for pole beans. Maybe next year.

I bought some new nasturtium seed that I plan to plant all along the very front as well. The 'Fordhook Favorites Mix', which are supposed to be fragrant climbers. Hooray!

I just need to rub a nail file on the seeds, then I'll get them planted. (Advice from the back of the seed packet--maybe my other seed didn't germinate very well because I didn't score the seed...?)