Bad Seed

 

April 2026

 

PICKAWAY TO GARDEN

Bad Seed

By Paul J. Hang

 

Few people remember the 1956 movie by that name. Nor do they recall the remake in 2018. The remake was not as terrifying as the first. I am no movie critic but a gardener. For a gardener, a bad seed can be a seed that does not germinate, not a child with serial killer tendencies. A bad seed could also be one that will result in an undesirable plant, like the invasive garlic mustard.

 

Seeds are amazing. I can’t begin to adequately cover them in these short paragraphs. (If I cover them they may sprout.) I always tread a fine line between scientist and poet without being either. Seeds come in many forms: kernels, acorns, nuts, samaras and catkins. Seeds are contained in several forms: pods, cones, husks, scales and fleshy coatings e.g. apples, cherries and paw paws. In fact, seeds are the fruit of plants. What we often call fruit are merely the carriers of seeds, their capsules.

 

Animals don’t produce the next generation by seeds but by sperm and egg. They produce embryos and eggs. Plants use something similar, pollen and ovules to produce seeds. Plants use the male anthers and female stigma. We are all familiar with what animals use. Both are methods to carry on the next generation of the species. Animals carry the method with them, with the individual. The method for plants is separate from the individual. The seed by itself carries the next generation on its own, waiting for the right conditions before germinating. As Thoreau said, “Every plant can be born again in every seed.”

 

Seeds come in all sizes, from a coconut which weighs 60 lbs. and nearly 20 inches in diameter and orchids whose seeds are barely visible and would take thousands to equal a grain of sand. Perhaps the most familiar, and amazing, are the seed balls, which hold three to four hundred small seeds, of the sycamore tree. From that small seed grows the largest tree in our latitude. There are some seeds that are 2,000 years old and have germinated. There are several seed banks which safeguard the future of our planet. Such a seemingly lifeless speck is a marvelous and complex thing full of wonder. As Thoreau in his book “Faith of a Seed, says, “The very earth itself is a granary.””

 

April 24^th is Arbor Day, time to plant trees. On April 25^th join the City Tree Commission, and city workers for an Arbor Day celebration at Barthelmas Park at 9 am to noon. Along with Arbor Day we will be celebrating the 1,000th tree planted in the city since the beginning of the City Tree Commission. Watch how to plant trees successfully. There will be information for adults and activities for kids. Free tree seedlings will be given away as long as supplies last. It should be Treemendous!

 

Things to do in the garden:

Tomato, eggplant and pepper seeds should be started indoors. The seedlings should be moved from the cells after 4 weeks into larger pots. Move them into the garden only after hardening them off and the danger of frost is past. As usual make sure you water-in the transplants. When you water, water deeply (top six inches wet) and water the base of the plant not the foliage. Water when the plants need it, not every day. Most plants require 1 to 1 and a half inches of water per week.

 

Vegetables that can be planted by seed directly into the garden are: beets, carrots, peas, onions, spinach, leaf lettuce, radishes. These should be watered enough to keep the soil moist to begin germination. Don’t let them dry out. Beets and carrots should be thinned at the seedling stage. Cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli plants can be planted as soil and weather conditions allow. The soil temperature for cool weather plants should be 50 degrees, warm weather plants at least 60 and some even higher. Put an inch of compost on the beds.

 

Use row covers (Google it) on your vegetables right after planting to keep the bad bugs off. For vegetables that produce fruit (beans, cucumber, pepper, squash, etc.) remove the covers after blooming to let the pollinators go to work. Tomatoes are self-pollinating and so you could leave the covers on. For those that don’t need pollinating (Cabbage, broccoli, onions, chard, kale, lettuce, beets and radishes, etc.) you can leave the covers on until harvest. Make sure you buy the right covers that let in enough light and rain. I have found this to be an effective method to protect plants without insecticides. Place collars around transplants that are susceptible to cut worms.

 

Most annual flowers can be seeded directly into the soil after the danger of frost has abated towards the end of the month. Some popular annuals that you should consider starting indoors are: snapdragon, wax begonia, sweet William, impatiens, sweet alyssum, petunia, gloriosa daisy, blue salvia, viola, pansy and zinnia, among others. This can save you a considerable amount of money that you can then spend on a perennial (native) plant.

Fertilize lawns lightly, if at all. The time to re-seed is when night time temps consistently reach 50 degrees and above. This is also the time to aerate lawns. Apply a pre-emergent herbicide now to prevent crabgrass, unless you plan to seed. When common lilac or Ohio buckeye begins to bloom it is too late for a pre-emergent herbicide to be effective and too early for a post-emergent. Leave clippings on the lawn. Their nitrogen content is high and will reduce the need to fertilize. Mowing height of at least three inches will retard the growth of crab grass and other weeds.

Unless you are prepared to cover plants in case of frost, don’t put out those tender plants such as tomatoes and peppers until mid-May or later when the soil warms up. The average last frost date is now April 23rd. There is a 50/50 chance of frost then and the chance decreases about 10% per week after that. Cool season transplants, after hardening them off, can be planted now (Lettuce, broccoli, kale, cabbage, and cauliflower).

Spring flowering bulbs should be fertilized after they bloom. Remember to leave the leaves of bulbs until they yellow, brown is better. If April brings its showers don’t work the soil if it is too wet.  Wait until it dries out a bit. If it seems wet enough to make a clay pot, wait. Squeeze a ball of earth about the size of golf ball and let it drop from waist high, if it breaks apart it’s ready to be worked. Don’t apply mulch until May. Allow the soil to warm.

Cut back your ornamental grasses to six inches or to the green stems. They can be divided now. Cut back your butterfly bushes, which have proved to be invasive, if you must. Prune spring blooming shrubs after they bloom. Bagworms on shrubs and trees hatch out shortly after the Snowmound Spirea blooms. This is when you can spray an insecticide (Bacillus thuringiensis, also called Bt, read the label) to kill the caterpillars. Now is the time to prune roses. Depending on the variety, you may prune back to a foot in height or to green growth. Fertilize monthly until Labor Day. You can plant new ones now. Large hostas can be divided as soon as they emerge.

Wait until several 50 plus degree days in a row before cleaning up debris of stems to save beneficial insects. If in doubt store them temporarily before putting them in the compost heap. Don’t prune your oak trees after the middle of the month or after they leaf out. Sap beetles are attracted to the open wounds and will bring oak wilt, a disease which will kill them and has been found in this part of the state. If pruning can’t be avoided after that, paint the cuts with a pruning sealant.

 

To identify the plants and trees around us, these two Plant ID apps can help; Pl@ntNet and iNaturalist. For information about planting and mulching trees see bygl.osu.edu. Gardening questions? Call the helpline at the Pickaway County Extension office at 740-474-7534.