Seed the Stars

08/26/2026

🌱 Kelli Seed the Stars has been working with Utopian Seed Project this season, which has given me a closer look at their work and the community around it. I got to experience their first Trial to Table event of the season Montgomery Sky Farm

🌈 Utopian’s Trial to Table events bring growers, chefs and the community together around locally grown crops and the trials happening across the region.

🥬 Their lettuce trial was a great example of how multiple growers across the region can trial the same varieties under different growing conditions, then bring them to the table for chefs and the community to taste and weigh in on. That shared feedback helps move the trial and seed saving work forward.

🍴 Beyond the lettuce trial, we got to taste bitter melon, amaranth, roselle, okra, cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes transformed into dishes by the chefs. It’s one thing to see these crops in the field and another to hear the community talk about how the chefs transformed these summer veggies.

💡 The event gave us a lot to think about at Seed the Stars, especially how we want to keep growing alongside the communities we grow for.

🐹 Big thanks to Taylor and Fran Montgomery for hosting, and congratulations to Chef Taylor Taylor Montgomery,CEC WCEC CCA on winning the 2026 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast. Their farm is also home to final run rescue, including the rescued capybara who inspired the Trial to Table mascot, along with many other rescue animals.

🥂 Shoutout to the chefs, growers and community that made this all possible: A-B Tech Culinary LuAnna Michelle Bailey Beth Kellerhals Chris Smith Brett Suess ButterPunk case(y) ruiz Terri Terrell Frances Montgomery Chef J Chong Laughing Springs Farm & Botanicals Nora & Jay Leeza Regensburger James W Swofford Old North Farm Old North Shrub Co. Seed the Stars Spicewalla Spices Utopian Seed Project Walnut Family Bakery

📍 If you're in the Asheville area, there are two more Trial to Table events this season: September 26 at Bellsong Farm, and November 7 at The Mule.

🔗 Visit utopianseed.org to learn more and get a limited ticket.

08/11/2026

Find seeds to plant NOW in August at seedthestars.etsy.com

🌱 HAPPY SEED MAIL! 🌱

One of my seed orders showed up the other day and this one is from one of my favorites. Okay, fine, I have a lot of favorite seed companies. 😂 But I really do love Seed the Stars!

They’re based in Central Florida and what makes their seeds so damn amazing is that they’ve been growing, selecting, and saving them year after year. Florida heat, humidity, pest pressure, disease pressure. Basically everything Florida throws at a plant while asking, “You sure you wanna live here?” 😂

Over time, those seed lines become increasingly adapted to growing here. Which is exactly why I love starting with locally adapted seed and then continuing to save my own. Grow it. See what thrives. Save seed from the winners. Grow it again. Repeat. That’s how we build plants better suited for our farm instead of expecting seeds to cooperate with whatever looked pretty in a seed catalog.

This was a small order of a few very specific things I wanted to add back into the lineup. Plus a couple things I may or may not have forgotten to save seed from last season. Farmer fail. It happens. 🤦‍♀️

If you grow in Florida or a similar climate, Seed the Stars is absolutely worth a follow. They also put out a monthly planting guide, which is a fantastic resource if you’re one that's constantly wondering, “Can I plant this s**t yet?” 🌱😂

Now excuse me while I get back to seeding these trays!

08/09/2026

🫘 Food security in local food systems starts with regionally grown seed. The more seed we grow, save, and share locally, the more we build seed sovereignty and food security right here at home.

🌴 Our seeds have already made it through the realities of growing in Florida: the extreme heat, humidity, pest pressure, and disease. As many local Florida gardeners know “heat tolerant” means something different in Florida.

💫 Anyone can buy bulk seed grown in another climate from unknown growers and resell it. At Seed the Stars, we do things differently. Every seed we sell is grown by us in Central Florida, from seed to seed, because we believe it matters where and how your seed is grown.

💚 Full seed source transparency. Farmer-grown and farmer-direct. From our part of Florida to your Florida garden, homestead, or food forest.

✨ Find our seeds at seedthestars.etsy.com Seed the Stars

08/06/2026

💫 Back from stomping around Appalachia!

⛰️ Headed to Asheville, NC to spend time with Kelli Varon and catch Utopian Seed Project's first "Trial-to-Table" event of the season.

🌲 Made it back out to Black Balsam K**b in Pisgah. Hard to beat spending time together breathing in that crisp mountain air.

💌 Back at sea level, now... shipping all of y'all's seeds... then, a full send in the garden! Seed the Stars Ryan Diggle

**b

08/01/2026

👀 Find seeds to plant NOW at seedthestars.etsy.com ⚡August is really about prioritizing what benefits most from an early start for fall and catching the end of the our summer growing season.

🍅 If you haven't already, make nightshades your top priority. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, tomatillos, and ground cherries should be started by seed in early August (if you missed July) so they'll be healthy, well-established transplants ready for September and October plantings.

🥶 This is also the month to start learning about your average first frost date. Before sowing crops with a long days-to-maturity, check whether they'll have enough time to produce a harvest before frost. For example, if a pumpkin variety takes 120 days to mature, count forward from your planting date and compare that with your average first frost. In some parts of Florida, a late planting could mean the crop never reaches harvest before cold weather arrives.

🌱 We include a few perennial legumes and tropical perennials in this month's guide because gardeners in the more frost-protected areas of Central Florida may be able to successfully establish them now. However, spring through early summer remains the ideal planting window for these types especially after the unusually early and hard frosts many parts of Florida experienced last winter.

🫘 Common beans are another crop to consider this month, but if you're still experiencing intense summer heat, waiting until September will give you better results. You can always focus on the other legumes that can take the heat and produce before frost.

🐛 Finally, remember that August is still a challenging month for pests and diseases. Choose varieties with proven resistance and a track record of success in Florida, and stay on top of scouting and pest management.

🍅 Again, don't feel like you need to plant your entire fall garden this month! Focus on the crops that benefit from an early start, and you'll have plenty of opportunities to sow additional cool-season crops as temperatures continue to cool in the months ahead.

07/28/2026

🌱 How tall will the Thai Soldier Bean grow? We're still finding that one out.. 👀 Find Thai Soldier Bean seeds at seedthestars.etsy.com

🇹🇭 These climbing cowpea vines don't seem to know when to quit, and neither do the harvests!

🏆 Crisp, tender pods and one of the most dependable long beans we've grown so far.

07/25/2026

🍉 Welcome to the 2026 Watermelon Grex Reveal by Seed the Stars 🤯 Every season, this population has something new to teach us.

🧬 Some traits showed up more often than expected. Others disappeared. Some melons seemed familiar, while others completely fooled us. That's why we keep selecting, growing, and paying attention to what thrives.

🫘 Which melons are y'all saving for the next generation?

👀 Find our Watermelon Grex seed packets at seedthestars.etsy.com

07/20/2026

🍉 The 2026 watermelon mug shots are in. Meet a handful of the usual suspects from this year's Seed the Stars watermelon grex before revealing their true colors.

💫 More than 200 watermelons came out of two harvests, with only the largest melons making it to the scale. The biggest tipped the scales at 29 pounds, and the top 10 melons averaged 20 pounds each.

👀 Just look at the diversity in this lineup. Different sizes, shapes, stripes, and rind colors. Some patterns were common across the patch, while others only showed up once or twice. No two are exactly alike.

🧬 That's the beauty of a grex. With enough diversity, some plants will thrive, cross-pollinate, and adapt wherever they're grown.

🔪 Stay tuned to see what they're hiding!

🌱 Find watermelon grex seed packets at seedthestars.etsy.com