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Table of Contents
1) Editor's Comments:Many of you may have noticed that we have been varying our publication date a bit. Our goal is to publish on Wednesday. Because of some things beyond our control, we've been forced to send anywhere from Wednesday to Friday. It is our hope to meet a Wednesday deadline, but as you can see this week, we didn't make it until Friday. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. No other big news this week, so I guess we'll just share our usual varied set of articles. Hope you find something of value. As always, if you do have questions, suggestions or ideas, do not hesitate to drop us a note. Tom Krueger Rex Gregor "Exotic & Unusual Seeds from Around the World" 2) All American Selections (Flowers and Vegetables Winners)
In 1984 the Board of Directors decided to upgrade the award system into two brackets. The AAS Gold Medal Award is given for a major breakthrough in development of a new or rare improvement in garden seeds. This award is rare -- it has only been awarded a few times since its inception. The other category is the AAS Awards Winner which recognizes the flower or vegetable that has proven to be superior to all others on the market. Insistingly, the AAS does not advertise their Award Winners. Instead, they rely upon the publicity generated by growers who inform gardeners. You'll also see the winners mentioned in magazines, newspapers, garden club bulletins, and by cooperative extension agents. During their 70 years, there have been 341 AAS flower winners and 270 vegetable winners, and 26 bedding plant winners. You can view the winners at almost 200 display gardens throughout the United States and Canada. These gardens are open to the public and are generally free, though some may charge a small fee to cover their expenses. Many are located in garden centers, shopping malls, universities, colleges, resorts, and state fairgrounds. If you wish to visit one in your local area, please send us an email and we will locate the one nearest you. If you wish to purchase any of the AAS Winner seeds, we will have the seeds available for shipment by December 1, 2003. If our growers do not have sufficient quantity to meet our needs, we will be glad to refer you to other sources. In future issues we'll take a look at some of the Winners. *** 10% savings until October 15, 2003 *** Enter the Store and Click on the Sale Link The discount will not show up in your shopping cart -- we will take care of it for you before finalization of your order. (No other discounts apply.) 3) Humor for Today:A minister parked his car in a no-parking zone in a large city because he was short of time and couldn't find a space with a meter. So he put a note under the windshield wiper that read: "I've circle the block 10 times. If I don't park here, I will miss my appointment. Forgive us our trespasses." When he returned, he found a citation from a police officer along with this note: "I've circled this block for 10 years. If I don't give you a ticket, I'll lose my job. Lead us not into temptation." 4) Tips for Selecting House Plants at the Garden Center:Like most people, we know you want to find the best and healthiest candidate for a house plant when you're out visiting the local nursery, garden center, or even the plant aisle at the local discounter. Here are a couple things to keep in mind:
With these tips in mind, you'll likely be much happier with your next plant purchase. 5) Propagate With Offsets:Did you know that many succulents can be propagated from offsets? Offsets are little plantlets that often have their own root systems. They are connected to the parent by underground lateral stems. To separate an offset, expose the lateral stem and cut it with a sharp knife. You'll want to remove the offset and place it in the shade until the cut portion dries out and forms a callous. Then simply replant the offset. Be sure to let the cut stem from the parent also callous over before covering it again with soil. If you want to do many offsets at once, simply dig up the parent plant, remove the offsets and let all the wounds callous over before you replant them all. With this method, you have cheaply created a number of brand new succulents to enjoy. Cold Climate Gardeners are passing
up an excellent resource if they don't take a look into the Minnesota
State Horticultural Society. Visit them today. We recommend them
highly. 6) Quote for Today:"Success is living up to your potential. That's all. Wake up
with a smile and go after life … Live it, enjoy it, taste it,
smell it, feel it." 7) Reader Mailbag: Dwarf LemonsI need some advice. I'd like to grow a dwarf lemon tree. My neighbor has one. Can I just take the seed from one of his lemons? Can you help? It is possible to collect seeds from a lemon fruit and grow them into new lemon
trees. However, it is important that you plant them immediately after you take
them from the lemon. The seeds will not tolerate drying like common garden seeds.
This same principle is also true with many other tropical fruit seeds. If the
seeds have dried, even if only a short time, they may not germinate. The longer
you let them dry, the more likely they will not germinate.
Once the seeds are collected, you need to wash them well to remove any sugars that may cling to them. If left, these sugars may encourage a fungal attack which may kill the young seedlings. A good suggestion is to plant the seed while it is still moist in a pot filled with a pasteurized soil. Place them about 1/2” deep in slightly moist soil. As the soil begins the dry, you should moisten it to keep it slightly moist – but be sure not to let the soil get soggy. Be sure the pot has drainage holes so the surplus moisture will not collect in the bottom of the container. You need to keep the pot in a warm dark location until the seeds germinate. The baby plants do not need to have direct sunlight, but they will need bright light.
It is important you know that it can take about 15 years to produce tasty lemons from seed. If you don't want to wait that long, there are dwarf house plant lemons grown by grafting that will produce fruit in about five years. Unless you are willing to wait 15 years, your best bet is to purchase a dwarf lemon house plant tree from a professional grower or nursery. Some nurseries who specialize in growing tropical fruit trees will offer five-year-old trees, including dwarf trees, for a reasonable price. 8) What It Means To Be Poor:One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people can be. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son: "How was the trip?” "It was great, Dad”. "Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked. "Oh Yeah”, said the son. "So what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father. The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden, and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden, and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on, and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them. With this the boy's father was speechless. Then the son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.” Too many times we forget what we have and concentrate on what we don't have. What is one person's worthless object is another's prize possession. It is all based on one's perspective. Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for all the bounty we have, instead of worrying about wanting more. Take joy in all you have, especially your friends. 9) Subscribe/UnsubscribeThis newsletter, the Green Thumb Times, is sent out only to those who have requested a FREE subscription by signing up at http://rexseedco.com or specifically asked to be added, or are a valued customer of Rex's Seedco. PRIVACY: Your email address is held in the strictest of privacy. It is never traded or sold to anyone else. To subscribe to The Green Thumb Times Click Here or send email to subscribegtt@goalsmint.com To unsubscribe Click Here or send email to unsubscribegtt@goalsmint.com Tom Krueger, Editor and Publisher Rex Gregor, Contributing Editor Please feel free to forward The Green Thumb Times to a friend. Rex’s Seedco has searched the world for quality
growers of garden seeds. Many of these farmers bring together ancient
wisdom and modern science so people everywhere may have good health
and enjoyment in life. We are dedicated to providing the best wherever
they are found.
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Are you familiar with the All America Selections (AAS) awards for
flowers and vegetables? Well, back in 1932, the AAS was founded for
the purpose of assisting home gardeners in selecting the ‘best
of the best'. The AAS has since grown into a network of trial gardens
for the purpose of growing and testing of new unsold varieties for
the home gardener.
Just so you know, some citrus seeds may result in several seedlings from one
seed. These multiples are formed within the seed embryo during the pollination
process in the orchard. You may even be surprised what you may get from the
parent.