Toukokuussa kylvin tuoreita viimevuotisia väriresedan siemeniä maahan, juuri ennenkuin toukokuun helteet alkoivat. Resedan siemen on pientä ja se pitää kylvää melko pintaan, koska se tarvitsee valoa itääkseen. Kastelin kyllä kylvöksen, mutta ehkä helteet ja niiden aiheuttama kuivuus teki sen, että huomasin siementen itävän vasta reilu viikko sitten melkein 7 viikkoa kylvöstä. Jotkut kasvithan ovat sellaisia, että jos lämpötila on liian korkea, niin ne eivät idä, ehkä sama on resedallakin. Nytkin itäminen oli aika hajanaista, mutta sentään osa siemenistä on itänyt, siitä olen tosi tyytyväinen. Resedan väripitoisuus on suurin siinä vaiheessa kun kasvi kukkii ja jo osa siemenistä on alkanut muodostua, eli voi olla, etten saa näistä värisatoa tänä kesänä, mutta jospa ne talvehtisivat ja kukkisivat sitten ensi kesänä. Riippuu varmaan loppukesän ilmoista.
IN ENGLISH
In May I had sown fresh seeds of weld, just before the unusually hot weather hit Finland (almost 30C for several days). Weld seeds are small, and they have to be sown almost in the surface, because it benefits from light when germinating. I did water my sowing, but perhaps the heat and the drought were the reason that I noticed them germinating only a little over a week ago, seven weeks from sowing! Still better late than never, I'm very happy that some of the seeds germinated.
Some plants don't germinate well if the temperature is too high, perhaps weld is like that? Even now not all the seeds had germinated, but at least some did. Weld has the highest amount of dye in them when they are flowering and the first seeds ripening, so it may be that I don't get color from these plants this year, but if they survive over winter, then they will flower next year. It all depends on the weather in the end of the summer, I guess.
How strange they took so long to germinate! Weld is a weed now in my garden. I find the little plants everywhere! I wish I could send you my mature ones for your dyebaths because I don't need them myself this year at all. And I have bags of dried weld in storage already.
ReplyDeleteHi Louisa, I know it is strange when you think that weld can be a weed somewhere else. I have had trouble with weld also earlier, some years the weld I have bought has been old and never germinated, this time I know the seed was fresh from last year. Weld has never sown itself here (yet), I'm actually looking forward to it becoming a weed:)
ReplyDeleteI sowed weld last year and dyed with the fresh leaves. I got an IN YOUR FACE yellow from it. It survived the winter (which my madder and woad did not) and I have already dyed from the fresh leaves and got a very bright yellow. I'm hoping that it will flower and produce seeds.
ReplyDeleteHi Ambra, yes weld yellow is very bright, I think it gives good greens when overdyed on something blue. I so hope my small weld plants survive next winter too. Woad does not survive every year in my garden, but I have found a place for madder where is grows well and survives. I'm sorry that your madder died during the winter:(
ReplyDelete