Planting seeds for the New Year: resolutions from a local gardener

Gardeners have their own brand of New Year’s optimism — equal parts hope and compost, with plenty of denial thrown in. Somewhere along the way, I realized I don’t need more resolutions. I need to keep the ones I’ve already set and broken repeatedly. 

— I will not buy too many tomato seeds. Yet seed catalogs tempt me with their bright photos and clever marketing. I especially like the companies that treat seed packets as art palettes. Vintage-style prints! Watercolor illustrations! Take my money. I won’t keep this vow. Instead, I promise to go to more seed swaps or donate to seed libraries. 

— I will label my seeds like a responsible adult. I’ve traded and brought home seeds in envelopes (or my pockets), so I must keep this resolution. Once, I accidentally labeled a bunch of yellow cherry tomatoes that had popped up in our garden as “Aunt Cora’s Sunburst,” a lovely North Georgia heirloom that looked as if a mountain sunset lived inside it. My grandchildren ended up loving the little yellow cherries, which grew to Volkswagen size when I brought them to Macon. But the last year I had an Aunt Cora was 2015, all because of my labeling error. 

— I will not start tomato seeds too early. Repeat after me: January is too early. Tomatoes will be weak and “leggy” by the time the ground heats up. However, after mid-February I usually give into the craving to plant and put a few seeds on heat mats, then under intense lights once they’ve sprouted. By March, I’ve started so many it feels like I live in a green house. 

— I will not start too many tomato seeds. Do I want to be in the tomato-selling business? No. Do I have enough friends who will take these babies? No. Will I end up with too many seedlings? Yes. I’ve discovered that if I put my seedlings in red plastic cups by the road, they will be gone by sundown. 

— I will not plant those tomatoes too early. I’ll keep this resolution too.The soil and the nights need to be warm. I am easily seduced by that one sunny weekend in late winter. But tomatoes are warm-season divas, and planting too early invites disease, wind damage and heartbreak. I use UGA’s Georgia Weather Network (Georgia Weather – Automated Environmental Monitoring Network Page) for temperature information, or I go sit in my garden. If my jeans are muddy and I’m cold after 15 minutes, I need to wait. I’ve been known to turn a pottery studio into a makeshift greenhouse or build a hoop house. Those are big undertakings, though, and I hope I’ve learned the value of patience. Maybe. 

What gardening resolutions will you break this year?

Extension Master Gardeners will teach a seed-starting class Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 6 p.m. at the Washington Memorial Library. To register, call 478-310-5350.

Rosann Kent is a Master Gardener Extension Volunteer for Bibb County Extension.