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Growing GIANT Zins!
  
Recently, I received an email with "NEED HELP!" as the Subject line. The
customer had purchased a large quantity of zinnia seed to hide or beautify her backyard
privacy fence! I sent her the following information about how to successfully transplant
zinnias and how to cultivate the really BIG ONES! You should also make a mental note
to pay attention to the soil preparation first and foremost, as excellent preparation OVER
TIME (minimum is 3 growing seasons in our gardens) and the proper ph (Zins like it a bit
alkaline) are the greatest factors for getting those football mum-like super zinnias! For
more detail on soil preparation, see the article
Tips
'n Tricks for
Growing Beautiful Zinnias. And now those transplanting instructions....
"
I am currently (early June) thinning all sizes and transferring them into flats to sell at
the Farmers' Market in Howell. People don't often see BIG ZINNIAS in flats since they're
TRICKY! -- must be transplanted verrrrry carefully per my instructions below AND this
should be done before they bloom! Most greenhouse operations find it harder to sell plants
which have not flowered yet; ssooooooo! You see the situation and why most don't sell
flats of zins! Now to the instructions for transplanting.
1. Prepare your container/receptacle/hole in the ground as follows: (you might want to put
some zins in pretty ceramic pots for your patio/deck or to line your drive or walkway -- wherever you want a splash of zinnia
color!) Fill the pot/hole almost full with half top soil and half peat (NOT potting soil,
as it's too dry). Soak it well 3-5 minutes before you dig any zinnia babies up. Soak it
with a mixture of Epsom salts and cool water, 1 tbsp. salts to 1 gal. water. This is important! Don't leave out this step!
2. Prepare your bed that you'll take the transplants from as follows: water it thoroughly
and let it sit 15 minutes before you dig up any plants. This will insure the babies will
fill up with water (through plant wall turga pressure) before they are unceremoniously uprooted!) This improves their chances of survival immensely. Water's KEY.
3. Eyeball your bed full of baby zins. Imagine a plant or small clump of plants every 6
inches. Dig up or gently pull a clump out and either separate each seedling or the whole clump into the WET, MUDDY pot, flat, or new
hole in the ground. Anyone you know have a birthday coming up? What about a community service organization or other
local spot in need of bright, cheerful zinnia color? A colorful, live gift of a flat of
BIG ZINS might be wonderful and much appreciated! If so, print off these
instructions and give them with
the gift.
4. When you lift the baby zins into their new location, gently use your fingers to press
them FIRMLY into the mud, taking care not to damage any root hairs. Place them back into the dirt at about the same height they
were in before you uplifted them. For really BIG ZINS, plant
them 10-12 inches apart and NO closer!
5. Soak again with epsom salts solution and leave alone for a day. I did this on a 90
degree day without ANY ill effects to my zinnias! If you recall how most plants look after transplant, wilted and about dead, you
will be pleasantly surprised when your zinnia babies are as perky a couple hours later as they were before you took them out of
the ground!"
And don't forget to sprinkle with Zinnia
Fairy Dust.... I want pictures!
-
End Note: At VDZ's, we actually broadcast sow the seeds into the
beds each spring. The germination rate is nearly 98% so we have to thin by
transplanting. However, in some of the beds, we let all the seeds grow into
flowering zins, then pull select ones up root and all to thin them, waiting until we see
what colors appear before discarding those we have too many of (pinks!) and preserving for
Farm seed stock those flowers whose colors are the most brilliant and spectacular!
This serves 2 purposes: (1) it lets the remaining plants spread out and not have to
compete for vital resources and (2) the procedure allows us to use select "pulled
flowers" in our cut flower business, selling them at the local Farmers' Markets!
ORDER ZINNIAS NOW!
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News Beams
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the Farm!
From time to time, we will offer web-only specials and publish
short stories about the Farm Dogs or the grandkids, and inspirations from life on the Farm in mid-Michigan, the
American heartland. Seasonally, we will write to help Gardeners grow beautiful Zinnias,
learn how to make a stunning
bouquet, or how to collect precious seed when harvest is here. Let us know
if you would like to receive them.
We have moved our web to a new server and resized all photos for faster load
times. As we approach another winter, I hope
you visit us often to see our pretty pictures and read about the simple things
we love most here. Thanks for being a
customer! -Sharon Baller, President
"To see life's
passages through the eyes of your heart is to know that all is happening exactly
as it was meant to." -- Flavia Weedn
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