Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Bonus: Celebrating The Pre-Launch of “Sweet Pea School” with Sweet Pea Seed Saving Tips from Marryn at The Farmhouse Flower Farm
1.7k Plays5 months ago
Today, we're excited to welcome back Marryn Mathis from The Farmhouse Flower Farm in Stanwood, WA to celebrate the pre-launch of her new book, 'Sweet Pea School,' which is set to be released on February 25, 2025. This book is a treasure trove of insights into growing, nurturing, and saving seeds from one of the garden’s most beloved flowers, the sweet pea.
Marryn is here today to give us a sneak peek into her book and share some expert tips on saving sweet pea seeds, a timely topic for gardeners preparing for the next growing season. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just starting out with sweet peas, you’re in for a treat with this bonus episode.
In This Episode You’ll Hear About:
- Celebrating the Pre-Launch of "Sweet Pea School": 00:00:55-00:01:37
- Tips on Saving Sweet Pea Seeds: 00:01:37-00:05:00
- Storing Sweet Pea Seeds: 00:05:00-00:05:47
- Harvesting Sweet Pea Seeds: 00:05:47-00:08:55
- Trialing New Sweet Pea Varieties: 00:10:01-00:11:21
- Self-Sowing Sweet Pea Seeds: 00:12:16-00:13:40
- Writing "Sweet Pea School": 00:15:38-00:18:41
- Where To Pre-Order "Sweet Pea School": 00:19:16-00:20:54
- Closing Remarks and Farewell: 00:21:08-00:21:50
Show Notes: https://thefloweringfarmhouse.com/2024/08/22/bonus-sweet-pea-school-with-marryn-mathis-the-farmhouse-flower-farm/
Learn More About The Farmhouse Flower Farm
- Website: https://thefarmhouseflowerfarm.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefarmhouseflowerfarm
Pre-Order Book:
- Order Direct From The Farmhouse Flower Farm: https://thefarmhouseflowerfarm.com/pages/sweet-pea-school-book
- Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Xbcjxs
Sign up for our newsletter: https://bit.ly/thefloweringfarmhousenewsletter
***Rate, Review, & Follow The Backyard Bouquet***
If you enjoyed this episode, will you please consider leaving the podcast a review? Your review helps make the podcast more discoverable to others and allows me to continue creating more episodes. I'd love to know what you enjoyed most about the episode.
New episodes every week to help keep your garden blooming!
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Backyard Bouquet
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Backyard Bouquet podcast, where stories bloom from local flower fields and home gardens. I'm your host, Jennifer Galitzia of the Flowering Farmhouse. I'm a backyard gardener turned flower farmer located in Hood River, Oregon. Join us for heartfelt journeys shared by flower farmers and backyard gardeners. Each episode is like a vibrant garden, cultivating wisdom and joy through flowers. From growing your own backyard garden to supporting your local flower farmer,
00:00:32
Speaker
The backyard bouquet is your fertile ground for heartwarming tales and expert cut flower growing advice. All right flower friends, grab your gardening gloves, garden snips, or your favorite vase because it's time to let your backyard bloom.
Marin Mathis' New Book: 'Sweet Peace School'
00:00:54
Speaker
Welcome to a special bonus episode of the Backyard Bouquet podcast. Today we're excited to welcome back Marin Mathis from the Farmhouse Flower Farm in Stanwood, Washington to celebrate a very special occasion. Marin has just launched the pre-order for her new book, Sweet Peace School, which is set to be released on February 25th, 2025. This book is a treasure trove of insights into growing, nurturing, and saving seeds from one of the garden's most beloved flowers, the sweet pea. Marin is here today to give us a sneak peek into her book and share some tips on saving sweet pea seeds, a timely topic for gardeners preparing for the next growing season. So whether you're a seasoned gardener or just starting out with sweet peas, you're in for a treat. Marin, thank you for joining us again. Congratulations on the pre-launch of your new book.
00:01:48
Speaker
Thank you so much for having me. This is so exciting. I can't believe it's out there in the world. Oh my goodness, I'm so proud of you. I know you put so much time and energy and you've truly poured your heart and soul into this book. It's truly, truly been a labor of love. um So much so. I looked back at the the last year and um This year I have such a connection and there's just been so much emotion in the Sweet Pea Patch this year. And I feel like um my book is, it's a love letter of sorts to my favorite flower.
00:02:25
Speaker
and um yeah I can't wait for everyone to read it. Well, I have pre-ordered my copy. Thank you. I am so excited to get my copy in February. I know that's a ways out from now, but the reason we brought you on here today is because this is pretty timely. people Sweet Pea season is coming to an end throughout ah at least the Pacific Northwest.
How to Save and Store Sweet Pea Seeds
00:02:50
Speaker
Right. Right. Yeah. Now is the perfect time. If you want to invest in next year's garden, start with sweet pea seeds. They're really easy ah to save your own seed and they come back true. So sweet pea seeds are what we call in the seed world selfers. So they don't cross pollinate. So you can, you don't have to worry about your varieties mixing or crossing. If you have, you know, blue shift, the seeds that you save off a blue shift will you know, be blue shift next year. So they're a really good investment in next year's garden. And also they really, they make great gifts for, you know, friends and family um to share, you know, your garden with other people as well, not just the flowers, but the seeds. Is it hard to save sweet pea seeds?
00:03:34
Speaker
It's actually quite, quite easy. um I call it the sandpaper test. ah So when you're, when you're, you can let your sweet peas go to seed by just stop, you just stop cutting them. It's that, that easy. And those flower, the petals will fall off and then they will form pods.
00:03:51
Speaker
and the seeds form within those pods, just like they would with sugar snap peas or any other pea that you're collecting in your garden. um You obviously don't want to eat sweet pea seeds. So they go from being green to brown. And when those seeds are mature on the inside, the the outside of the pod will dry. And if you scratch the surface of it, it will start to sound like sandpaper. And so if you pop that seed pod open, you'll see those little dark chocolate you know brown seeds, just like they would be you know the same as when you planted them. And um then they're ready for harvest and you just store them in a cool dry location. ah You can freeze them um and sweet peas will store for you know up to 15 years if they're stored correctly. So don't feel like you have to use all those all those seeds in one season, um but they are a really good investment um in next year's garden just to save even if it's just a few pods.
00:04:46
Speaker
That is a really great tip. I did not know you can save them for up to 15 years. yeah yeah Yeah. So you just stick them in a Ziploc baggie and put them in your freezer and they'll stay good for a really long time. Wow. That is amazing. ah So if I have some that I harvested last year that are sitting in a brown baggie right now that I didn't plant this year, do you think they're still good or should I be getting them in the freezer now for next year? What would you suggest?
00:05:14
Speaker
I would put them, you could put them in the freezer ah because the the longer that they're left outside, the germination rate will go down. So like I said, if they're stored correctly, they will last up to 15 years. um But if you've got them in a cool dry location, you should be just fine if they're you know only a year old. Now, if they're like five, six, seven years old and they've never been in a freezer, ah then you know I would probably do a germ test on those just to see you know what their viability is, but I say get them in the freezer sooner sooner than later. Perfect. I'm going to give that a
Harvesting Sweet Pea Seeds Effectively
00:05:48
Speaker
try. yeah When it comes to saving the seeds, you said that if you just leave them on the branch, they will start instead of harvesting them, if you just let them go to seed, they'll start to dry out. Do you keep watering the plants during that time or do you stop try it or turn off the water so they start to dry out? What is recommended?
00:06:08
Speaker
I would keep watering them until they get really, really brown and then you can shut off the water. I mean, it's it's totally up to you. I have vines that I've still been collecting seed off of and haven't watered for two months, um believe it or not. So you know they'll still keep you know doing their thing and the seed pods will still keep maturing.
00:06:29
Speaker
um But the you know right as when you make that decision to go from cutting your flowers to collecting your seeds, I would still keep watering them for a while after that. But then you know once they kind of you know tend to you're seeing a ton of pods and then you know you're really starting to harvest harvest a lot of seed and you're not seeing any flowers and really most of the green is gone, you don't have to water them any longer. Perfect. What about if it rains outside? Do you have to worry about rain damaging the seed pods?
00:06:58
Speaker
If they're open, you do have to worry about rain damaging this the actual seeds inside. They're pretty protected on the outside. Those pods are pretty thick. um But if they are cracked, if you've had like lately, we've had a lot of heat here, which you know is cracking the pods quite, you know, they're just popping like crazy.
00:07:16
Speaker
um But we're harvesting on the daily here, so we don't really have to worry about that too much. So I would you know really harvest on a regular basis so that you can avoid that. But um yeah, just if they're cracked open and they get damp inside, that can really affect them. But on the regular, they're pretty protected. Perfect.
00:07:36
Speaker
What about as you're harvesting them, are you cutting off the entire pod? Are you popping them open out in the field? What do you recommend for harvesting? I'm literally just picking the pod and putting it in my brown paper bag or my Rubbermaid container, whatever you know whatever I'm using. So when you're storing your sweete your sweet pea seeds, you want to make sure that you're putting them in a bag of some sort that's breathable or a container of some sort that's breathable. I like to use those big, um paper bags that you get at the grocery store so that I'm just harvesting my pods right into that and then you make sure that you fold over the top. So you just want to make sure that they're not going to sweat and you're not putting them in a container where it's going to retain moisture.
00:08:20
Speaker
because mold will set in and then you're going to lose all of your seeds, which you know is a huge bummer. So I just pick them the pods write off right off the vine, put them right into that brown paper sack, and then I fold over the top because as pods dry out, they will crack and the seed tends to fling. Quite far actually. um So you want to make sure that anything that you're harvesting, it doesn't have a chance to escape the container so that it's not crossing into a different variety. But um yeah, a breathable container is a huge, huge part of collecting sweet pea seeds. Perfect. That's good to know. I know I once lost an entire variety because I didn't let them breathe and they got moldy when I went back to them like a month later.
00:09:05
Speaker
Nice white mold growing all over them. You can keep those pods, if they're dry, you can keep them in that paper bag until it's wintertime and you're ready to shuck those seeds or whatever. Don't feel like you have to get them out of those pods right away, especially here on the farm when we have 32,000 sweet pea plants, we're harvesting a lot of seed and there's no way that we can shuck it right away. So sometimes we'll be sitting in front of the TV at night, popping the seeds out of the pots. But yeah, as long as they're dry, that's the key. So they don't mold. Okay. You just said you have 32,000 plants. Yeah. Oh my gosh. That went a little crazy. Yeah. 32,000 sweet pea plants this year. This is the most we've ever grown, the most we've ever grown. And I can't wait to do even more next year.
Growing and Testing Sweet Pea Varieties
00:10:03
Speaker
ah you know They say that dahlias are an addiction and for me, I feel like sweet peas are just as much. oh wow But yeah, I can't wait. There's so many good good varieties. How do you cut anybody you know out? i just I can't say no to any of them. so there's We're growing 137 varieties here this year. and Then I've also got my trial varieties as well. so ah Those have been really really fun to see some some new varieties and some new colors. so When you say trial varieties, what do you mean? So those are just really, really small quantities, ones that I've been able to get 10 seeds of ah that I've never seen before. Those are you know trials. And then I see you know what how they do, um you know what their colors are, what the stem length, the flower, the bloom, the fragrance, all of those kinds of things. And then I'll collect the seed off of those and hopefully grow out even more. Because some of those cherished varieties, you can you can't get very many seeds of.
00:10:59
Speaker
So it's not like I can grow 100 foot row of you know something that is notive has never been grown in the US before or you've never even heard of before. So um so that that's been really fun.
00:11:13
Speaker
Gotcha. Thank you for clarifying that so yeah that. Some of those trialing ones you'll have even more of next year, so maybe in two years we might see those for sale. Yes. Yes, absolutely. There's there's one. um Elizabeth Shorthouse ah grew this year. I absolutely love her. I feel like she's going to be a new blush that is really going to catch on like wildfire once people really you know start seeing a lot of her and she gets you know more introduced into um into the mainstream. Gosh, all the other ones. ah You're making me pick faze favorites. Essany Rowena was another one that I grew for the first time this year. She was a really light um like purple, kind of has an opalescence.
00:11:59
Speaker
to her and I absolutely loved her. So those two were my top my top faves in the in the trial garden this year. So we should be taking notes to make sure that we're ready for those in about two years from now. Yeah. Elizabeth Shorthouse and Esme Rowena. Yes. Awesome. Thank you for those tips. Oh yeah. So people that are saving their seeds this year from their sweet peas.
00:12:22
Speaker
You mentioned that sometimes if they go too far, the seeds will start to pop out of the pods. And so they'll kind of self-sew at that point, right? Mm-hmm. They can. They can. And um just because there's so much force behind a sweet pea pod that's cracking open, in it'll look like little pigtails, right? They kind of like spiral. Sometimes the seed is actually stuck within that pod. So I never, even if it looks like there's, you know, there isn't any seed left, I always pick those pods just to make sure that you know I'm catching every available seed. But yes, they if they fly, they could you know sprout up somewhere else in your garden. um you know The birds might eat them, that kind of thing. So you just never know.
00:13:05
Speaker
So it's probably not a very reliable way to sow your garden for the following season. No, no, no, I wouldn't rely on re rely on them. um Especially, I mean, they're gonna, they can fly a long ways, you'd be surprised at how how far they can be launched out of those pods. um So, you know, your sweet pea seeds could be, you know, in your veggie patch next year, you just you just don't even know.
00:13:29
Speaker
Okay, so that's okay. I wont won't let them go to seed where they just sow themselves. That doesn't sound very reliable. So harvesting them when they're turning brown and they're starting to pop open, putting them in a breathable bag or a container, and then holding them throughout the winter in a dry location.
00:13:50
Speaker
Correct. If you're going to use them that next season. Yeah. Yeah. If you're going to use them that next season, um, even, even if you're going to use them that next season, I would recommend a freezer more so then, you know, just keeping them in a cool dry location. Um, just because, you know, you want to make sure that that germination rate is staying high and that they're, you know, they're happy and they're dormant.
00:14:13
Speaker
Um, but yeah, sweet pea seeds are really easy to harvest. Um, and you just want to make sure the key with sweet pea seeds, you want to make sure there isn't any green on the seeds. So I always tell, you know, my sweet pea school students, you know, when we're talking about seed harvesting is that you want them to be, um, any green on them is what's going to happen is that seed isn't going to mature properly. And it's actually going to, if you've ever seen sweet pea seeds where they're shriveled a little bit,
00:14:40
Speaker
that's the reason is because they were harvested a little bit too soon. So don't be afraid to pop those seed pods open and actually see what's happening on the inside because different varieties mature at different rates. So you can have a you know a seed pod that looks like it's got maybe a little bit of green on the outside, but it feels dry to the touch and then you open it up and the seed is brown and ripe and ready ready to harvest. So you know it always experiment with maybe a couple pods just to see you know what that variety is doing.
00:15:10
Speaker
And there's there's some varieties that just take forever to mature and you're going to be harvesting all the way into October. That scene off of those plants. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you so much for those tips. I am sure that so many people listening will find those so helpful. I know I only have a few more minutes with you before you have to run back out in the field and keep harvesting sweet peas. Can you tell us what was your favorite part about writing your book?
Emotional Journey of Writing & Inspiration
00:15:38
Speaker
Oh man.
00:15:39
Speaker
um there were What surprised me with my book was just all of the emotion that really poured out of me and in writing it. um My favorite part, to be honest with you, is that it pushed me out of my comfort zone. I think it's really easy to just be in ah you know a comfortable place where you know you kind of um you're not challenged and um I was definitely challenged with this.
00:16:06
Speaker
with this project um and writing. And there were days where I was just like, i you know I don't know if I can do this. And once I got to the finish line, um just to sit back and just look at it and just be like, wow, I actually did it.
00:16:25
Speaker
Um, so I just kept thinking about, there were many things I kept thinking about where sweet peace school started and how it started as in-person workshops just a few short years ago. And now it's turning into a book. Um, I was thinking about my grandma and, you know, she was the first person that I told, uh, about the book, um, when she was in the hospital and, um, her heart was failing and her last words to me was that she was proud of me. And I feel like, you know, she was.
00:16:55
Speaker
in some ways sitting right next to right next to me as I was writing. um So yeah, there's many different emotions, but also one of the most important things with this book is that I wanted it to, I said earlier, I wanted it to be a love letter to my favorite flower. And my goal with this book is just to simply inspire people to grow sweet peas and to get more sweet peas out into the world. And um I hope I check all those boxes and I hope that, you know, whether you've never grown sweet peas before and you're like, yes, these are, these are beautiful. I want to give it a try or whether you've grown sweet peas before and you've struggled. Uh, I hope that you find, you know, more information inside to you know possibly change, um, how you've done things or improve how you've done things in the past or just for so sweet pea lovers that, you know, they,
00:17:49
Speaker
have had sweet peas in their gardens for years and they just simply love the flowers. um So we go through every step of the way. We go from my journey with sweet peas, the history of sweet peas, the different types of sweet peas, i step by step, how to grow sweet peas. And then we move into arranging with sweet peas and how just adding a few stems can you know elevate your arrangements and bouquets.
00:18:13
Speaker
and um And then I go into my favorite varieties. So it's you know it's a really wide range of everything you need to know about sweet peas. And um yeah, I just want people to, when they read it, know that, um yeah, it's so much more to me than a book or a class. It's more of about the flowers. It's about the flowers and getting them back you know um into people's gardens and just really showcasing the sweet pea in a beautiful way.
00:18:43
Speaker
um yeah and I hope we've done that. I'm really excited. I'm so excited for you and I seriously can't wait to see the book in person. um It's going to be magical and it just hearing you describe it, it sounds like your love letter has truly flourished with the book. so Congratulations, Marin.
00:19:07
Speaker
I think it's coming out at the perfect time too, because it's coming out in February. So that means that people will be just getting started with Sweet Peace for 2025. Right. Yeah. A lot of people will be sowing their seeds in February. So yeah, the timing is, timing is really good.
Pre-ordering the Book and Tour Plans
00:19:24
Speaker
And, um, yeah, so hopefully that'll be just, just in time to be able to walk people through, you know, sowing their seeds and getting started, um, so that they can, um, you know, be really successful with Sweet Peace.
00:19:37
Speaker
Well, yes, you are so many people be successful. I can't wait to um hear all the success stories that come out of your book. For those that have listened today and would like to go pre-order your book, can you tell them where they should buy your book? Oh, sure. So Sweet Pea School is available wherever books are sold. So your independent bookstores, um Amazon, Barnes and Noble bookstore, we have it available on our website as well. So wherever,
00:20:07
Speaker
You usually buy your books. It should be available for pre-order. And um yeah, it'll be here before we know it. And we were talking offline. There might be a tour also. We're working on some details, yeah. So people should stay tuned. They could bring their pre-ordered copy and get an autograph maybe from you. Yeah, stay tuned. So if you want Sweet Pea School to come to a city near you, let me know. Well,
00:20:33
Speaker
You know, I've been pushing for Hood River, so I hope to see you on your tour. I can't wait. Or i'll otherwise, I'll make a trip up to Seattle. Oregon is on the list, definitely. Awesome. Well, Marin, I'm so happy and excited for you. I know you've just truly poured your heart and soul, and it's been a family affair um bringing this together. So congratulations.
00:20:55
Speaker
Thanks, Jen. I really appreciate it. Really appreciate it. Well, I will let you get back to harvesting your seed today. And we'll talk again soon. Awesome. Thank you. Thank you. Bye bye. Bye.
Supporting the Local Flower Movement
00:21:08
Speaker
Thank you Flower Friends for joining us on another episode of the Backyard Bouquet. I hope you've enjoyed the inspiring stories and valuable gardening insights we've shared today. Whether you're cultivating your own backyard blooms or supporting your local flower farmer, you're contributing to the local flower movement, and we're so happy to have you growing with us.
00:21:29
Speaker
If you'd like to stay connected and continue this blossoming journey with local flowers, don't forget to subscribe to the Backyard Bouquet podcast. I'd be so grateful if you would take a moment to leave us a review of this episode. And finally, please share this episode with your garden friends. Until next time, keep growing, keep blooming, and remember that every bouquet starts right here in the backyard.