Hi Highlander, "So, if they aren't coming up this year, how long will they last in or on the soil or mulch? Will the seeds dropped last year come up next year or in future years?" A very small percentage of zinnia seeds survive as "volunteers" the next Spring, but I wouldn't expect any of those seeds to make it to a second year. "That brings up question 1: How to prevent powdery mildew on zinnias?" A non-toxic way is frequent sprays of a product called GreenCure. It is basically potassium bicarbonate with a proprietary wetting agent. You have to spray it fairly frequently because it is water soluble and rains or even heavy dews can wash it off into the soil, where it acts as a source of potassium nutrition. I suspect it also foliar feeds some potassium. It is safe to use. It is better than using sodium bicarbonate. I breed zinnias as a hobby (see the "It can be fun to breed your own zinnias" message thread), and three years ago I found a tubular petaled mutant that I wanted to preserve as long as possible, providing pollen for crossing with other zinnias and developing seeds of its own. To prolong the life of that zinnia plant right up to our killing freeze, I applied Bayer All-in-One Rose and Flower Care as a drench applied about every two weeks, and it prevented Powdery Mildew and other foliage diseases on that zinnia specimen right up until it was killed by a hard freeze in late Fall. It is fairly expensive, so I don't use it routinely on my zinnias. But since it is systemic, it isn't washed off by rain and it spreads its protection to new growth, unlike surface sprays. It is not for organic gardeners, because it does contain "chemicals". I foliar feed my zinnias with Miracle-Gro products, and I am experimenting with adding some Physan 20 as a wetting agent and, since it is a bactericide and fungicide, among other things (some hospitals use it in their mop water), it may tend to prevent Powdery Mildew. This isn't the "season" for PM yet, so I won't know until this Fall if it can play a role in preventing PM and other diseases on my zinnias. But so far, so good. ZM (not associated with any product or vendor mentioned or linked)

I didn't start much from seed this year cause I was on vacation and didn't want to burden my daughter with taking care of the "babies" When I do start from seed I'm very lucky to have a seed bank that meets 1x per month and I can get what I need. There are only 2 of us, so I don't need more than 5-6 tomato plants, but I don't want to buy a package for each type of tomato and I like to try a couple of new ones each year, so I go to the seed bank and get local GMO free seed! Some, that I'm planting quite often, I buy from the big box store (I don't want to hog all of the seeds at the bank!) This year I'm doing starts from a non-profit/organic sale that has fantastic, healthy plants for dirt cheap! You have to get there really early in the morning to get what you want! Nancy

Often a cookie tin will work well to seal seed to shifts in moisture and temperature. Basement temperatures work well for me. I never liked a refrigerator because you can have condensation and seed spoilage as a result of the moisture. A freezer is a better alternative and you can even keep onion, leek, herb seeds for many years in a frozen state. To avoid condensation I transfer only approx amount of seed I need to plant while keeping storage seed bulk within my chest freezer. Some say to remove the packets and allow to reach room temp before opening but that never made sense to thaw and refreeze. The best keeping seeds seem to be the tomato & peppers. Lettuce seeds are more variable. I always do a germination test on peas, beans and corn and if germination rates are down by a percentage it is easy to bump up planting density accordingly.

4 fatalii 4 carribean red habs 12 thai dragons 2 tabascos 10 purple jals 1 red mushroom pepper So 33, but I gotta get rid of 10 of the thais, I only wanted 2. Also I'm limited to my 2 balconies and they're all in clay pots. So jealous of smokemaster! I'm trying to get the homeowners association to let me grow peppers on my roof. Pepper plants are easier on the eyes than satellite dishes and you can put those up there. I could quadruple my garden! It's big and flat and gets full sun all day. -HabBob