As June comes to a close, the summer seeds you may have planted last month—as part of our summer sowalong or on your own— are, hopefully, putting on some exciting growth.

Aside from regular watering, there are three common practices in seedling care that are worth discussing: thinning, potting up and pinching.

You can read about them below or check out this video!

1. Thinning

Thinning means removing crowded seedlings to create more space for remaining seedlings to grow strong root systems, and have access to more nutrients.

This is almost always done when starting seeds indoors—but it’s relevant for outdoor seeds too.

If you have a pot or small garden space with way too many seedlings coming up, they’ll have to compete for resources and may not be able to grow as big or bloom as prolifically than they would with some space.

To thin, just take some scissors and snip out a few seedlings.

2. Potting up

When we take a seedling from a small container (like a seed tray) and move it into a larger one, we’re potting up the plant.

If you sowed seeds in a small container, you can move them to their final home—like a larger pot or a space in the garden—once the seeds have at least two sets of true leaves.

3. Pinching

Pinching refers to the practice of removing the top few leaves of the seedling (called the “leader”), to encourage growth from new growth points.

It isn’t necessary, but it helps cultivate stronger, sturdier plants.

Flowers and herbs that especially benefit from pinching include:

• Basil

• Cosmos

• Dahlias

• Marigolds

• Snapdragons

• Sweet peas

• Zinnias

You can pinch seedlings once they have at least three sets of true leaves. To do so, use your thumb and forefinger to “pinch” off the top seedling.

Keep me posted!

Remember to share photos of your sowalong flowers (or, honestly, any flowers at all 😇) on social and tag #gpsowalong and/or @gardenpeople_ .

🛍️ Product I’m loving

I am over the moon about bee cups.

These handmade cups are drinking fountains for pollinators. They have a “bee vision” ceramic glaze that is UV reactive—mimicking the colors and patterns that attract bees to flowers.

Pollinators need water just like we do, and these porcelain petals make dreamy chalices fit for thirsty bumbles.

🌸 Flower I’m admiring

With the upcoming holiday, I’m noticing all the flowers in reds and whites and blues, often where I didn’t expect it. Here are a few combos that you can recreate!

• Wildflowers: Cornflowers, red poppies, daisies

• Annuals: red geranium, purple-blue petunia, white alyssum

• Perennials: Red bee balm, blue delphinium, white roses

• Shade: white impatiens, blue lobelia, red coleus

🍰 Snack I’m craving

I have, by pure happenstance, stumbled across two pavlova recipes in the past two days.

It’s a delicious meringue treat—one that is tinged with sweet memories of my friend’s mother making it for me when I visited Christchurch, New Zealand for the first time. It was a staple at their family’s table (fun fact: NZ claims credit for creating Pavlova, but so does Australia!).

Its lightweight, ethereal quality makes it ideal for a summer picnic.

A simple pavlova recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 large egg whites (room temperature)

• Pinch of salt

• 1 cup sugar

• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

• 1 teaspoons white wine vinegar

• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

• Toppings of your choosing

To make:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until white peaks form. Slowly add the sugar and beat until the meringue is thick and glossy.

3. Sprinkle in the cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla. Fold in with a rubber spatula.

4. Pile the meringue into a circle on the baking sheet. Use a knife to smooth the base into an oval. I like to leave peaks at the top, but you could smooth the top down as well.

5. Place the baking sheet in the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 300F. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

6. Turn off the oven and let the meringue cool in the oven, about one hour. The outside will crisp up a bit and brown at the edges.

7. Before serving, top with any seasonal fruit. Berries and whipped cream or cherries and sliced almonds with coconut cream are two lovely combos.

Are you growing zinnias as part of the summer sowalong? How’s it going? Any buds yet? Reply and tell me all about it!

xx,

Courtney