| Anthers are the male reproductive organs of a plant.7 |
| Annual plants live for one growing season.8 |
| Biennial plants are short-lived perennials that usually take two growing seasons to complete their life cycle.8 |
| Bolting describes an edible, frost-tolerant plant like lettuce, cilantro, or other greens quickly going to seed, before we would like. Signs that your plant might be bolting are when it gets taller than its maturity height and flower heads appear. In many cases, these changes make the vegetable flavor bitter, stems or roots woody, and, in general, unpalatable.10 |
| BPA stands for bisphenol A, an industrial chemical that has been used to make certain plastics and resins since the 1950s. Look for products labeled as BPA-free.9 |
| Cover crops add organic matter to the soil, and add nitrogen in a slow-release way that plants can handle, leading to less nitrogen volatilization. Cover crops can also act as mulches if managed correctly, improve soil physical properties in just one growing season, and attract beneficial insects and pollinators to your garden.11 |
| Determinate tomato plants grow into a bush. This type of tomato plant is best for small gardens that are limited on space. |
| A dioecious tree means that male and female flowers occur on different trees. |
| F1, F2, and F3 seeds correspond to the generation of the seed where F1=kids, F2=grandkids, and F3=great-grandkids. The more generations, the more luck you will have with seed saving and getting a similar plant in the next generation.12 |
| GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) is “a plant, animal, microorganism or other organism whose genetic makeup has been modified in a laboratory using genetic engineering.13 |
| GMO Free (Genetically Modified Organism Free) means that a product "contains ingredients that may have been derived from genetically modified ingredients".14 |
| Grafting is a techinque where tissues of a plant are joined together so they will continue to grow together. |
| Green Beans can be started in a seed starter tray because they transplant fine. They should be transplanted early though because they start to yellow for the first week or so after transplanting because they pull a lot of nitrogen out of the soil until the root establishes itself in the soil -- then they will be fine especially if the soil has a decent amount of nitrogen. If you are not concerned with succession planting, the seed can be sewn directly into the location where it will be grown. When you create the hole for the transplant, add a spoon of mycos in the bottom of the hole.15 |
| Grow Lights can be used to start seedlings indoors. |
| HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) food-grade plastics are of a higher purity than HDPE non-food grade plastics. FDA-certified food-grade HDPE products are appropriate for food storage.16 |
| Heirloom seeds are not necessarily organic; it's possible that they were raised with synthetic fertilizers or pestides. Heirloom seeds can be traced back to their ancestors 100, 200 or even 300 years. Seeds can be collected from a plant at the end of the season and when you plant them, they will grow the exact same plant as the "parent" plant.12 |
| Hybrid seeds are the offspring of two parent plants. For example, a bee might travel from one type of plant to another and the seeds from that plant will be considered a hybrid of the two parent plants. If grown following organic standards a hybrid seed can be certified as organic.12 |
| Indeterminate tomato plants grow into beautiful vines. You will need space with a tomato cage for this plant. |
| Insectary plants will attract good bugs. |
Kelvin (K) scale
refers to the color of a light. It is a frequency of light.
For our purposes, a grow light.
|
| Large Language Model (LLM) processes language tasks such as language generation. |
Lumen
refers to the amount of light that a light bulb puts out.
Lumens are responsible for starting the photosynthesis in the plant.
|
| Mycorrhizae play important roles in plant nutrition, soil biology, and soil chemistry.17 |
| Non-GMO (Non-Genetically Modified Organism) means that a product "is not derived from any GMO sources. Thus, the product is not manufactured or produced using any bioengineering, genetic engineering and/or modern biotechnology."14 |
| N-P-K or NPK represents the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in fertilizers. |
| Open-pollination is when pollination occurs by insect, bird, wind, humans, or other natural mechanisms.18 |
| Organic seeds have not been exposed to synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and are not genetically modified (GMO).12 |
| Parthenocarpy is the natural or artificially induced production of fruit without fertilization of ovules, which makes the fruit seedless.17 |
| Pelleted seeds are encased in a thin layer of clay which is easier to see when handling and planting. It also speeds up germination because once watered, it keeps the seed consistently moist until it sprouts.12 |
| Perennial is a plant that lives more than two years.17 |
| Permaculture integrates land, resources, people and the environment through mutually beneficial synergies imitating the no waste, closed loop systems seen in diverse natural systems.20 |
| Pistils have three parts; the pod, the style, and the stigma. The stigma is the little piece at the top which catches the pollen from the anthers. The style is the stem, and the pod is the big part below which holds the seeds. |
| Primed seeds are taken through some pre-sprouting steps to increase germination rate and reduce the time they take to sprout. This process is not necessary for all seeds, but it is helpful for slow sprouters.12 |
| PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) contains softening chemicals called phthalates that interfere with hormonal development. For organic gardening, look for PVC-free products.21 |
| Self-pollinating plants do not require pollination from another plant in order to produce fruit.7 |
| Stamens have three parts; filament, anther, and pollen. The filament is the stem, the anther is its cap, and the pollen is the dust that falls on the pistil and helps to make the seed. |
| Stigma is the female reproductive organ of a plant.7 |
| Stratification is a procedure in which a seed is placed in cold temperatures that will wake it up before it can germinate. |
| Succession planting is the practice of planting or sowing seeds at staggered intervals, making the most of your garden space and extending your harvest window.21 |
| Tomatoes are self-pollinating with flowers that contain both male and female parts. One tomato plant is capable of producing a crop of fruit on its own, without the need of planting another one. Nonetheless, nature doesn’t always cooperate. While wind normally moves the pollen around for these plants, when there is none or when other factors, such as high temperatures and excessive moisture or humidity occur, poor pollination may result.22 |
| Waxing and waning moon, in the context of gardening, assist gardeners in planning the best time to plant certain vegetation.23 |
| Zero Point Energy (ZPE) is the lowest possible energy that a quantum mechanical system may have.24 |