First seeds to plant in the New Year

Seed Starting

by Sandy Swegwel

Winter Solstice has come and gone, so it’s safe to start planting outdoors.

And the first seeds to plant outside in cold climates are POPPIES!

My farmer friend gave me the best advice on how to seed poppies: the night before a big snow go outside and strew the seeds on top of old snow or dry earth. Let Mother Nature do the rest.

Under the blanket of snow that’s about to fall, the poppy seeds will be insulated and get a nice cold spell. As the snow melts the seeds will be nicely hydrated. Warm spells will stimulate germination at exactly the right time. The first flowers show up for me in May. Plant a mix of different poppies like the “Parade of Poppies” and you’ll have poppies of some sort till frost.

Photo credits
https://www.99roots.com/en/plants/iceland-poppy-p40063
http://www.magazinzahrada.cz/galerie/krasne-zahrady-plne-barev/10.html#contentw
http://www.hgtv.com/design/outdoor-design/landscaping-and-hardscaping/how-to-plant-a-poppy-container-garden