Seeds and Scraps

06/10/2026

False sunflowers have a nice long blooming period from early June to late fall. They mostly grow in colonies but to spread by seed easily. Birds love to eat the seed so if you are planting for native wildlife, these are a great food source for SW Ohio. We love the color they give our gardens and they are fairly easy to move if they walk away from where they are planted.

If you would like to get some native plants or garden veggies, come see us. We are open Tuesday-Saturday 11a-7p and Sun 11a-4p. We are by appointment only on Mondays. We will go to by appointment only for the rest of the summer starting June 26 so hurry in if you need garden transplants!

Video description. A colony of 4 foot tall false sunflowers plants is shown. One yellow daisy about 3 fingers wide is shown. A light skinned index finger is shown for scale next to an all yellow daisy like flower.

06/07/2026

Cherry Street Local Farmers Market starts up next Saturday June 13. We will be returning this year but not until June 27 because we will still be offering plant sales out of our greenhouse until the 27th. Be sure to go check out opening week at the market next weekend and support our local vendors!

If you are still in need of garden starts or native plants, come see us at our greenhouse. We are open until June 27, Tuesdays-Saturdays 11a-7p and Sundays 11a-4p. We are by appointment only on Mondays.

Posters are showing up around town! Let us know if you need one at your business.

06/07/2026

If you don't mind the wait, purchasing asparagus seedlings over crowns can be the cheapest way to get a bed of asparagus started. Asparagus seedlings take a year to make a thick, fibrous root system called a crown. The crown is where all the energy is stored for the asparagus spears to form in the spring. You can buy crowns and start harvesting a year sooner but this is more expensive than the seedlings because you are paying for the time it took to grow the crowns up.

Asparagus has root systems 10-15 feet deep. This is deeper than some trees! This is why an established asparagus bed can last 30 or more years. Often times if an asparagus bed loses productivity, its because the crowns have become too crowded and need dividing to become productive again. Crowns should be divided every 5 years or so.

If you would like to buy some edible perennial plants like asparagus, come see us! We are open Tuesday-Saturday 11a-7p and Sun 11a-4p. We are by appointment only on Mondays. If you would like to attend an in-person class about gardening in the Dayton area, sign up for our email newsletter to be notified when those are available at seedsandscraps.com

Video description: a tray filled with coco coir is shown and small teeny asparagus ferns can be seen poking up through the coco coir. Blue painters tape has the start date 5/26 written on it.

06/07/2026

Garlic is planted in the fall because the cold of winter triggers the bulbs to divide. If you planted a clove now, you would just get a larger single clove of garlic instead of a segmented head of garlic. The garlic cloves you plant is often referred to as "seed garlic" similar to how potatoes with eyes that you plant are "seed potatoes". But both potatoes and garlic can also be grown from seed. This process can be less predictable because planting cloves/potato bits gives a clone of the original plant. Seeds can have different genetics than the parent plant. This can help preserve genetic diversity or even lead to newer, tastier varieties. It can also result in a less desirable food. You never know unless you try! But some people choose not to grow these types of food from seed because they want the predictability and reliability of a specific plant type. If you feel adventurous and have extra space, growing garlic or potatoes from seed can be a fun experience.

If you are interested in in person classes in the Dayton area to learn about growing food on your own property, then sign up for our email newsletter at seedsandscraps.com to be informed of future class opportunities.

Video description: a garden bed covered with strawberry plants is shown. Many small garlic plants with narrow alternating leaves are shown growing through the strawberry plants. The garlic scapes (unopened flowers) are held up at the end of the video.

06/06/2026

If you know what these are, then you have planted garlic before! If you have never grown garlic, then these are the flowers that garlic puts out to make seed. Garlic only sends out one scape a year and you harvest these in order to allow the garlic to redirect more energy into producing larger bulbs. Garlic is planted in the fall because the genes that trigger the cloves to divide into more bulbs are triggered by cold. Then in the spring they flower because they are biennial which means they flower in the second year (after a winter). These scapes are a seasonal spring treat and can be used just like you use garlic to flavor a dish.

Image description: a pile of round, skinny green stems with a pointy arrow shaped end sit on a grey speckled counter top.

06/06/2026

We are open today but due to gusty wind we are keeping our fancy flag inside for now. If you need some garden veggie starts, culinary or medicinal herbs and native plants, come see us! We are open Tuesday-Saturday 11a-7p and Sun 11a-4p. We are by appointment only on Mondays.

Image description: a white sign for Seeds and Scraps is pictured with an OPEN sign attached to the bottom of the sign. The skys behind the sign are grey due to an incoming storm.

06/06/2026

This is a seed isolation tip that I also use for seed saving small seeds that either blow away easily or drop to the ground when ripe. Its so quick and easy to do and gives me a good chance of actually collecting the seeds! If the flowers are not self pollinating, then you want to wait to bag the flowers until you see seed development but before the seeds are mature. If the plant produces self pollinating flowers, you can bag before the flowers bloom.

If you would like some vegetable seedlings, herbs, or native plants, come see us! We are open Tuesday-Saturday 11a-7p and Sun 11a-4p. We are by appointment only on Mondays.

Video description: the first clip shows a zoomed out view of a valarian plant. The small white flowers are clustered the end of a 3 foot tall stem. The second clip shows a closeup view of the white flower clusters. Some dandelion like seeds can be seen on the cluster. A large party favor organza bag is shown. The third clip shows the flower clusters after they have been bagged with the organza bags.

06/06/2026

If you want to get into edible flowers, we have a few to try! Come see us. We are open Tuesday-Saturday 11a-7p and Sun 11a-4p. We are by appointment only on Mondays

As Margaret Hoffman, Ph.D., writes in a Penn State Extension article, “[l]andscapes not only supply ecosystem services such as aesthetics, wildlife habitats, pollinator support, but with a little knowledge and creativity will also support a variety of edibles.”*

Of course, that includes herbs…but don’t forget about edible flowers!

For example, As Margaret writes, “[t]he peppery, attractive flowers of nasturtiums [pictured here] are cheery landscape additions as are calendula and dainty Johnny Jump Up blooms. The nasturtium petals add texture and color to salads while Johnny Jump Up blooms can be coated with egg white and sugar, candied, and added to desserts.”*

To learn more about gardening with herbs and edible flowers, check out Margaret’s article cited below!

Source:
* “Edible Landscapes: Herbs and Flowers,” Margaret Hoffman, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor), Penn State Extension (updated May 3, 2024) (https://extension.psu.edu/edible-landscapes-herbs-and-flowers).

06/04/2026

If you want a butterfly sanctuary in your yard, consider diversifying your native plant garden to attract more butterfly friends! Once we started adding more asters, milkweeds, grasses, and other natives. We still have lots of natives in stock so if you would like to add some diversity to your garden, come see us!

Monarchs rely on milkweed to feed their larvae, and they're not the only ones for which milkweed is a host plant (soldiers and queens also use it, for example). But what other species of plants play this vital role for North American butterflies?⁠
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This Pearl Crescent's host species are primarily asters (Symphiotrichum spp.), like the ones seen here. Great-spangled and Regal Fritillaries use violets as host plants, Painted Ladies use thistles (Cirsium spp.) and mallows (Malva spp.), and Eastern Tiger Swallowtails utilize plants in the magnolia (Magnoliaceae) and rose (Rosaceae) families.⁠
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Eastern Commas and Question Marks rely on elms (Ulmus spp.) among other potential host plants, while Viceroys use willows (Salix spp.) or aspens (Populus spp.) as host plants.⁠
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If you're looking to help butterflies near you, consider adding some of these species to your garden or yard. There are countless other butterflies out there that we haven't listed, so do some research on the butterflies you'd like to see more of near you, and get to planting!⁠
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Photo: Erin Huggins/Flickr CC BY 2.0
License and link to the photo in the comments

06/04/2026

Lots of mint family members are fast growing and need regular trimming in order to keep them in check. If you have some of these herbs and have forgot about them, check to make sure they don't need a haircut!!

If you would like to have some medical or culinary herbs, come see us! We still have any transplants you need to start a garden. We are open Tuesday-Saturday 11a-7p and Sun 11a-4p. We are by appointment only on Mondays.

Video description: the camera shows a 3 foot tall lemon balm plant that is starting to show signs of flowering. In front is a small lavender plant and there is an oregano plant to the right. The camera pans around to show the lawn next to the bed and then shows a large driveway and several garden beds on either side of the drive. The narrator points to several places in the driveway beds where lemonbalm has spread.