Hugh Partridge III
@hughpartridge.bsky.social
I grow vegetables, culinary and medicinal herbs, and Indiana native plants. I make gardens.
I'm back from the rabbit hole. It occurred to me that I knew the origin of only a handful of the vegetable varieties I grow, and that all these varieties come from somewhere. Surprising how often one can trace these back to a single name. My new passion may be the provenance of vegetables. 🌱
March 28, 2025 at 1:11 PM
I'm back from the rabbit hole. It occurred to me that I knew the origin of only a handful of the vegetable varieties I grow, and that all these varieties come from somewhere. Surprising how often one can trace these back to a single name. My new passion may be the provenance of vegetables. 🌱
1/3 I'm making a new post about the USDA Plant Database - the last one got a little crowded! It does appear to be back in its entirety. I wasn't going to jump to any conclusions about why it was down, but I understand why people did, with our leaders dealing in uncertainty. 🌱
March 12, 2025 at 6:43 PM
1/3 I'm making a new post about the USDA Plant Database - the last one got a little crowded! It does appear to be back in its entirety. I wasn't going to jump to any conclusions about why it was down, but I understand why people did, with our leaders dealing in uncertainty. 🌱
I use the USDA Plant Database quite frequently. Apparently the database no longer exists and the website is now just a shell. I hope I'm wrong or that it is a temporary error. This data set, at least with this level of detail, exists nowhere else that I know of. Does anyone know what's going on?
March 11, 2025 at 11:41 PM
I use the USDA Plant Database quite frequently. Apparently the database no longer exists and the website is now just a shell. I hope I'm wrong or that it is a temporary error. This data set, at least with this level of detail, exists nowhere else that I know of. Does anyone know what's going on?
I try not to make too many mistakes, but I left a tray of radish and turnip seedlings in my unheated greenhouse when the temperature fell to 16 f (-9 c). They might survive, but I started some more just in case. Also pictured: healthy onions and lettuce, and peas waiting to germinate. 🌱
March 6, 2025 at 12:19 AM
I try not to make too many mistakes, but I left a tray of radish and turnip seedlings in my unheated greenhouse when the temperature fell to 16 f (-9 c). They might survive, but I started some more just in case. Also pictured: healthy onions and lettuce, and peas waiting to germinate. 🌱
When I say I lost my edge as a gardener when I was sick, I mean that as a pun. Yeah, I've got jokes. I spent the afternoon "getting my edge back". The zoysia grass had invaded about a foot in. 🌱 🤣
March 1, 2025 at 1:49 AM
When I say I lost my edge as a gardener when I was sick, I mean that as a pun. Yeah, I've got jokes. I spent the afternoon "getting my edge back". The zoysia grass had invaded about a foot in. 🌱 🤣
This was probably March 2009, but was mislabeled in my photos, so a close guess. This was Mazie, my beagle lab mix and my best friend, among some daffodils I planted when I was a kid. I was thinking about this moment today on my walk with Hazel, with spring in the air and daffodils just waking up. 🌱
February 26, 2025 at 8:49 PM
This was probably March 2009, but was mislabeled in my photos, so a close guess. This was Mazie, my beagle lab mix and my best friend, among some daffodils I planted when I was a kid. I was thinking about this moment today on my walk with Hazel, with spring in the air and daffodils just waking up. 🌱
This is my main vegetable garden, 7 m (23 ft) x 9 m (29.5 ft), 5 beds with narrow pathways between. There is a little garlic growing but not much else. I didn't get my fall crops in on account of kidney stones. I spent this warm, sunny afternoon preparing for my first spring plantings on March 15. 🌱
February 25, 2025 at 10:59 PM
This is my main vegetable garden, 7 m (23 ft) x 9 m (29.5 ft), 5 beds with narrow pathways between. There is a little garlic growing but not much else. I didn't get my fall crops in on account of kidney stones. I spent this warm, sunny afternoon preparing for my first spring plantings on March 15. 🌱
🌱 I mentioned in an earlier post that I believe some garden failures are not gardener error, but a failure of a seed or variety. An example of radishes and turnips I've sown in a seed tray: one of the radish and turnip varieties have each vastly outperformed the others under the same conditions.
February 23, 2025 at 9:17 PM
🌱 I mentioned in an earlier post that I believe some garden failures are not gardener error, but a failure of a seed or variety. An example of radishes and turnips I've sown in a seed tray: one of the radish and turnip varieties have each vastly outperformed the others under the same conditions.
I sowed a bunch of vegetables today, so here's a picture of a cactus I started from seed about 20 years ago. I love seeing everyone's seed starting pictures ❤️, but I was in the mood to photograph this little cactus today. 🌱
February 21, 2025 at 1:32 AM
I sowed a bunch of vegetables today, so here's a picture of a cactus I started from seed about 20 years ago. I love seeing everyone's seed starting pictures ❤️, but I was in the mood to photograph this little cactus today. 🌱
I have some varieties of vegetables I swear by - Golden Acre cabbage for instance - and others where I'm still looking for varieties that work for me. Here I'm trialing several varieties of onion. I think sometimes when a vegetable won't grow for you, it's the seed or the variety, not the gardener.
February 18, 2025 at 12:46 AM
I have some varieties of vegetables I swear by - Golden Acre cabbage for instance - and others where I'm still looking for varieties that work for me. Here I'm trialing several varieties of onion. I think sometimes when a vegetable won't grow for you, it's the seed or the variety, not the gardener.
I'm now on the Charles Dowding No Dig World Map! I'm the dot halfway between Bloomington, IN and Cincinnati, OH, USA. There are only two Hoosiers on the map so far, and the other is a commercial herb farm and native plant nursery near Terre Haute. I'm just a guy who likes to grow stuff.🌱
February 16, 2025 at 8:53 PM
I'm now on the Charles Dowding No Dig World Map! I'm the dot halfway between Bloomington, IN and Cincinnati, OH, USA. There are only two Hoosiers on the map so far, and the other is a commercial herb farm and native plant nursery near Terre Haute. I'm just a guy who likes to grow stuff.🌱
What an amazing day to be alive! The first of the spring seeds have been sown - onions for bulbs, radishes, and turnips. The seeds hold a promise, that time and rain will finally bring some better luck my way. May time and rain bless us all with bountiful harvests! 🌱
February 15, 2025 at 11:22 PM
What an amazing day to be alive! The first of the spring seeds have been sown - onions for bulbs, radishes, and turnips. The seeds hold a promise, that time and rain will finally bring some better luck my way. May time and rain bless us all with bountiful harvests! 🌱
Hey bluesky friends, meet my new garden helper, Hazel. She is a mix of many breeds, but beagle and cattle dog dominate. She doesn't quite understand No Dig yet and is standing next to a hole she dug in my tomato bed. She's a good girl and smart as a whip, so no worries. 🌱
February 14, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Hey bluesky friends, meet my new garden helper, Hazel. She is a mix of many breeds, but beagle and cattle dog dominate. She doesn't quite understand No Dig yet and is standing next to a hole she dug in my tomato bed. She's a good girl and smart as a whip, so no worries. 🌱
I prefer growing things I can eat (and vegetables are beautiful to me) but I've taken a real fancy to coleus. I can see it becoming an obsession. I got a packet of coleus seeds for Christmas, and these are some of the most attractive seedlings. I bought another packet at Walmart yesterday.🌱
February 13, 2025 at 1:00 PM
I prefer growing things I can eat (and vegetables are beautiful to me) but I've taken a real fancy to coleus. I can see it becoming an obsession. I got a packet of coleus seeds for Christmas, and these are some of the most attractive seedlings. I bought another packet at Walmart yesterday.🌱
🌱 Update: I've potted up 30 of the Spicebush seedlings that are furthest along. There are 22 more that have germinated but are not big enough to pot up. I started with 194 berries around 6 months ago. I am still seeing quite a few seeds germinate each week. Only 142 to go!
March 24, 2024 at 7:27 PM
🌱 Update: I've potted up 30 of the Spicebush seedlings that are furthest along. There are 22 more that have germinated but are not big enough to pot up. I started with 194 berries around 6 months ago. I am still seeing quite a few seeds germinate each week. Only 142 to go!
Yea! 🌱 I finally got to sow some of the seeds I ordered from Seed Treasures!
March 6, 2024 at 8:18 PM
Yea! 🌱 I finally got to sow some of the seeds I ordered from Seed Treasures!
2024 Strategy #5: Sacrifice. I don't mind sore muscles, bumps and scrapes, rain, or even regular Southern Indiana heat. Last year air quality was the major thing that kept me out of the garden. There were some unbearably hot days. Also ticks and poison ivy. Read my comments for my solutions. 🌱
March 6, 2024 at 1:44 AM
2024 Strategy #5: Sacrifice. I don't mind sore muscles, bumps and scrapes, rain, or even regular Southern Indiana heat. Last year air quality was the major thing that kept me out of the garden. There were some unbearably hot days. Also ticks and poison ivy. Read my comments for my solutions. 🌱
🌱 2024 Strategy #4: Education. "Great Garden Companions" by Sally Jean Cunningham started me on my current path. I have taken every online course Charles Dowding offers. I will read Ruth Stout's books this year (long overdue) and "The Living Soil Handbook" by Jesse Frost. And the YouTube, of course.
March 5, 2024 at 12:51 AM
🌱 2024 Strategy #4: Education. "Great Garden Companions" by Sally Jean Cunningham started me on my current path. I have taken every online course Charles Dowding offers. I will read Ruth Stout's books this year (long overdue) and "The Living Soil Handbook" by Jesse Frost. And the YouTube, of course.
2024 Strategy #3: Biology. I add plenty of compost and leaf mold, but I'm pretty new to biochar. I built a new retort, so we'll see how that goes. The potting mix I always use has mycorrhizae. I'm trying Elm Dirt for bacteria. My seedlings seem healthier! We'll find out if any of this helps. 🌱
March 4, 2024 at 1:20 AM
2024 Strategy #3: Biology. I add plenty of compost and leaf mold, but I'm pretty new to biochar. I built a new retort, so we'll see how that goes. The potting mix I always use has mycorrhizae. I'm trying Elm Dirt for bacteria. My seedlings seem healthier! We'll find out if any of this helps. 🌱
🌱 My coworker was found slacking off in my basement. I will need her to keep the rodents to a minimum outside in the garden, especially during sweet potato season. I released her in the backyard rock pile.
February 29, 2024 at 10:22 PM
🌱 My coworker was found slacking off in my basement. I will need her to keep the rodents to a minimum outside in the garden, especially during sweet potato season. I released her in the backyard rock pile.
🌱 2024 Strategy #1: Timing. I'm worrying less about extending the season and focusing more on getting plants out when they want to be growing. Lots of cabbage family seedlings are growing now. Waiting on tomatoes and peppers until much later than I usually would. I'll have to eat more seasonly too.
February 29, 2024 at 7:53 PM
🌱 2024 Strategy #1: Timing. I'm worrying less about extending the season and focusing more on getting plants out when they want to be growing. Lots of cabbage family seedlings are growing now. Waiting on tomatoes and peppers until much later than I usually would. I'll have to eat more seasonly too.
🌱 I've been waiting to see this tiny seedling for over 5 months. It's Lindera benzoin, the Northern spicebush, host plant for numerous moths and butterflies. Seeds were cold moist stratified for 4 months. Germination can take 45 days or longer. It will take years to reach full size. 🦋
February 22, 2024 at 9:35 PM
🌱 I've been waiting to see this tiny seedling for over 5 months. It's Lindera benzoin, the Northern spicebush, host plant for numerous moths and butterflies. Seeds were cold moist stratified for 4 months. Germination can take 45 days or longer. It will take years to reach full size. 🦋
🌱 Tuesday, September 5, 2023. Parsley, basil, chives, sage, tarragon, and garlic. From my garden. Throwback picture because I'm waiting for the snow to melt so I can get back outside and do bed prep. And herbs make me think of summer. 🌞
February 19, 2024 at 3:47 AM
🌱 Tuesday, September 5, 2023. Parsley, basil, chives, sage, tarragon, and garlic. From my garden. Throwback picture because I'm waiting for the snow to melt so I can get back outside and do bed prep. And herbs make me think of summer. 🌞
We ended up with about 6 cm or 2.5 in. of snow tonight. Also, I keep forgetting to add the 🌱 to my posts, so if you're interested in cauliflower seedlings, seeds I sowed today, or earlier pictures of the snowstorm, I posted that today but I'm too lazy to repost with 🌱. Anyway, an inside work day.
February 17, 2024 at 3:29 AM
We ended up with about 6 cm or 2.5 in. of snow tonight. Also, I keep forgetting to add the 🌱 to my posts, so if you're interested in cauliflower seedlings, seeds I sowed today, or earlier pictures of the snowstorm, I posted that today but I'm too lazy to repost with 🌱. Anyway, an inside work day.
It's snowing today in Southern Indiana, and I'm inside sowing Golden Acre cabbage, three kinds of onions - Australian Brown, Red of Florence, and Ishikura, and Calendula in seed trays. My first round of cauliflower, sown two weeks ago, is coming along nicely, as is my garlic outside.
February 16, 2024 at 9:41 PM
It's snowing today in Southern Indiana, and I'm inside sowing Golden Acre cabbage, three kinds of onions - Australian Brown, Red of Florence, and Ishikura, and Calendula in seed trays. My first round of cauliflower, sown two weeks ago, is coming along nicely, as is my garlic outside.