Coleus - First Color

.
The coleus I sowed on February 1 are starting to show their first colors:



This one is from a packet that I bought. I usually harvest and save my own in the fall, but for some reason I didn't do it last fall. I'm not sure if it was because it got too cold too quickly or I simply forgot. Both reasons are equally likely.

I'll probably end up with a dozen or so plants to spread around the shade garden and containers. With the trees having to be removed every few years, the amount of shade in my yard is shrinking quickly. The last, a large maple that got hit by lightning last summer and a tornado a few years ago, may have to come down this summer.

I'm glad I whined about not seeing much of the flock of robins that stayed around all winter - maybe they heard me since they've been showing themselves a lot more lately. Ok, so it has nothing to do with me, they're more interested in searching the mulch pile for bugs. That pile is apparently heating up pretty well as it's the only thing for miles that's almost bare of snow.



And some sad news - I think there's a hole in the liner of the bottom pond. Argh! I'm so mad!
That'll be something to deal with come June.

Happy (coleus) Growing!
.

When to Start Seeds

.
I get a lot of search hits about 'when to start seeds', but new gardeners inevitably end up at a post I did two years ago, Don't Make Seed Starting So Complicated. That post might help on the how, but doesn't give them a darn thing about when.

I guess it's time to help out with the 'when' to start those seeds.

First, the one thing you must know is when the last and first frost dates are for your area. This post should help out with that.

Mother Nature doesn't always work around those dates. Recently, it has been a very rare year when she does. But, the least you can do is give it a try and maybe she'll decide to look at a calendar this year.

Instead of giving a long list of what to start, since everyone is in different areas of the country, and even different countries altogether, I'm going to show you something that is so simple it's ridiculous. (yeah, it's one of those 'why didn't I think of that!' things). And the best part is that it will work no matter what part of the country, or world, you live in!

It's called The Grow Guide* and it looks like this when you first get there:



It's ridiculously easy to use.
First, pick your growing season. At this time of the year it's going to be spring. It also works great for planning that fall garden come summer time - just change the season to 'fall' and switch the planning date. But, right now, we're only going to deal with the spring garden.
Select a planning date. If you leave it as is, it will automatically pick today's date.
Next, simply pick your first and last frost dates and click 'process my grow guide data'.

Since there is nothing planned for me right now and I wouldn't have had anything to show you but a blank chart, I moved the 'planning date' forward and this is what comes up for the week of March 8th based on my own first and last frost dates:



One of the best things about this program is that you can keep moving the dates forward so you know in advance what you'll be sowing weeks ahead of time. I click through from week to week and transfer the sowing dates to paper. This way I have the entire sowing season at my fingertips.

One of the great things about this planner is that it not only shows you when to start what seeds inside, but also outside, when to start hardening and when to transplant. This is my result for moving the planning date to my last frost date of May 31:




The rest of the Weekend Gardener website is equally awesome. You can find seed starting info where "One page is devoted to each vegetable, flower, or herb seed."

• Vegetables
• Flowers
• Herbs

This is just some of the info you'll get if you click 'broccoli':

About This Plant...

Family: Brassicaceae

Genus and species: Brassica oleracea (Botrytis group)

Growing Season: spring and fall

Indoor Sowing...

Time needed to reach transplant size: 6-8 weeks

When to transplant to garden: 4 weeks before to 2 weeks after last spring frost

Outdoor Sowing...

When to sow outdoors: 4 weeks before last spring frost

Other Sowing Guidelines...

Approx. germination time: 4-20 days

Germination temp.: 45-85 degrees F.

Sowing depth: 1/4 inch

Days to maturity: 50-80 days from transplant

So, if you have questions about when you should be starting vegetable seeds, I hope you'll give the Grow Guide a try. It's easy and fun and isn't that what gardening is suppose to be?
And, of course, if you don't want to bother with all that starting seeds inside thing, there's always my biggest obsession: WinterSowing! (seeds started in recycled containers outside in the snow)

Happy (when to start seeds) Growing!

*I am, in now way, affiliated with the Grow Guide or Weekend Gardener. I just think it's an awesome program and equally awesome website for both new and experienced growers.
.

Taking Stock of Seeds

.
I finally completely sorted through my seed inventory.
I've been putting it off for a while.
See, the problem is that once I start rummaging through the stash, I want to start sowing everything. And now.
Yeah, I know it's not time way up here in the great white snow belt, but there's just something about the irresistible draw of those packets. Knowing there are beautiful green plants inside those itty-bitty packages called seeds, pulls something ancestral from deep inside. It's simply a miracle.
There be beauty and food in them-thar packets!
Best of all, starting from seed is so easy!



I'm not out of control yet. Besides, who can resist those end-of-year sales when they're marked down to 2 cents a pack? They always germinate exceptionally well, especially if you store them properly, and I never buy anything we won't eat, because really, what's the sense of that?
Thank goodness I have room to plant . . . most of them.

And how do I know when to start what?
Right here: Grow Guide.
Now, how easy is that thing?

Most of the flowers will be Winter Sown soon (I only have 16 jugs out there!), annuals much closer to spring, though.

I'll also be dragging out and assembling our homemade light stand pretty quick to start the onions.

I can't believe I'm so organized this year. Now, if Ma Nature will just cooperate with the weather this coming summer. She's slacked really badly the last few years and left us with ridiculously difficult growing conditions.

Your Seed - Bounty or Bare Bones

(yeah, I know 'hoarder' is spelled wrong, but I'm not going through all that again)
:)
2010 growing season - here we come!

Happy (seed sowing) growing!

Sowing Coleus Seed

.
It's time to start the coleus again.
It's ridiculous how easy they are to grow from seed and you can get some pretty spectacular plants.
Just grab any container, any potting mix and, as you can see, you can find some really cheap seed.



Remember to remove whatever you use for a cover as soon as they sprout. They aren't too finicky to grow.



You never know, you might end up with something so pretty you'd like to keep it as a houseplant through the winter, or take a snip and stick it in water.

This year, one of the plants I'd brought into the house gave me a very interesting sport. I think I'll call it 'Golden Sparkle'!
Apparently, Mr. Deville, she isn't ready for her closeup because this is the best I could get, and it's too bad because she really is pretty . . .



If you've never started coleus from seed, maybe this is the year to give it a try.

Happy (coleus) growing!
.

Schlumbergera Seed Pictorial

Since people seem to be really interested in how to grow Schlumbergera from seed, I thought I'd put together a quick pictorial.

This project started over a year ago when I hand pollinated a few flowers. Since I couldn't bare to pull a flower off any of the plants and destroy it, I moved two of the plants close together and gently 'smooshed' the pollen from the pistols onto the center stamen of each when the flowers were at their very freshest (one or two days after opening).



It didn't take long for the base of the flower to begin to swell and form a bright pink, hard seed pod.
This was left on the plant for one year to mature. You definitely need patience for this step. Even though it still looked very firm and hard after a whole year, when squeezed it was soft and pliable. A bit like a slightly over-ripe blueberry.



The pod was gently pulled from the plant. If it doesn't come off easily with a gentle tug, it may not be ready.



I sliced the pod open with an exacto knife. As you can see, these make many seed.



The seed are very small and a little hard to separate from all the 'goo' that holds them. Just remove all the goo possible and wash them off as best you can with plain tap water.



I didn't bother to dry them off since I was immediately spreading them onto damp medium. I used a very tiny pot, then popped the pot into a zip lock bag and sealed it. They sat in a warm room under a plant light that was on for 16 hours a day.



They germinated in seven days and these are one week old:


Here they are at 3 weeks, still under the plant light:


As you can see, they are very slow growers. I slowly opened the baggie to let a little more air in each day and finally took it off completely.
Now the challenge becomes keeping them alive and happy.

Happy growing!!

A 2010 Seed Shortage?

.
According to an article in The Baltimore Sun, by Susan Reimer, it's quite possible.

Seed shortage in 2010?

Personally, I'm not buying it.
I think there will be plenty to go around to anyone who wants them. Granted, some varieties might be harder to get your hands on, but that happens almost every year anyway.
I wonder if it will end up being one of those 'the sky is falling' panic episodes? You know, like when the scarcity of rice rumor started flying and the price suddenly hit the ceiling and the shelves were bare? Yeah, like that.

This is exactly why I save 95 percent of my own seed. Wanna bet if rumor starts spreading fast enough the prices start going up? I guess it's as good a reason as any for the seed companies to use to their profit benefit.

Happy Growing!

Cacti Seedlings Update

These cacti seedlings are now one year old - ain't they cute?




Happy growing!

Thanksgiving Cactus Seedling Progress

So far so good on the breeding try!
The progress so far:
The pod had been on the plant for exactly one year.



The seeds after removing from the pod with a quarter for size. Sorry, I know it's blurry :(



The Thanksgiving cactus seedlings on 1-5-10. Too cute! They germinated in 7 days and these seedlings are one week old.


The poinsettia seed experiment didn't turn out so great last year, but since the plants are sporting pods again this year, maybe I'll give it another try come spring.

I hope everyone is getting geared up for spring. Yeah, I know it's only January, but it's never too early to think spring! Especially with the current ridiculous cold snap we've been stuck in.
I've been puttering and 'over loving' all the houseplants. I also sorted through all our seeds and since we saved most of our own, there are only a few things I'll have to buy. Good thing since D still hasn't found a job. I'm wondering if this year is really going to be any better than last year or not.

Oh! I got 10 packs of 'extra' seed from someone for just a couple of stamps. (Thanks, Tom!!) He sent me Yvonne's Salvia, which is something I've been wanting to grow for years. I'm so excited!

Almost time to start Winter Sowing in my recycled milk jugs again, which is also exciting - but it is every year, even though I've been doing it for 6 now.

Happy growing!

Free Tomato Seeds From Campbells

.
.
Campbells is giving away free tomato seeds until June 21, 2009 or while supplies last, as a part of its Help Grow Your Soup campaign .

Campbell's will also make a contribution of 100 tomato seeds to National FFA Organization when you request yours. You have to enter a code from the label, but I'm sure there are many already scattered across the net if you don't have any in your cupboard.

Have patience as it's a flash program and mine took forever to load. Then again, I have a dinosaur of a comp, so your load time may vary.

This came at an awesome time for me as my stash of seed isn't so much a stash any more. This year's garden will probably clean me out of saved seed.
Now I'll be able to grow some toms next year, at least. Yay for preserving spaghetti sauce! (and anything else I can get my hands on. lol)

A Review Of Home Grown Popcorn

.
Last year the hubs and I happened to spot a packet of popcorn seed at a local Ace Hardware.
We hemmed and hawed about wasting space/money on something that might not produce well, but since we try to grow something a little bit different every year (this year it's the Peter Peppers - someone is sending me seed! Yay!) and since my Aunt has experience growing it, we weren't totally in the dark. So, we decided to go ahead and waste a sweet corn row/seed money on the popcorn instead.

Wow, am I ever glad we did!

Even though it wasn't the best growing season for corn (see previous post), it still turned out very well. The ears ended up small, again, because of the weather, but it still did well even in adverse conditions. We harvested the ears after the stalks died, stored them in the open in a mesh bag inside the house for two months and my youngest and I sat at the table and shelled them all within 30 minutes.

And holy cow - the flavor! What a difference from store bought kernels! Seriously, we were blown away by how fresh it tasted. No comparison to the stale store bought. Of course, until you taste the difference you'd never know. And it did take a bit longer to start popping. But, those hard kernel skins that always get stuck in your teeth? Not so with those we grew. Those skins were so soft you could actually chew them!

This year, we're growing three rows!

Handmade Seed Paper Cards

.
Pictures removed because they're being stolen by Polyvore!


I got such wonderful responses to last years Seed Paper - Pressed Flower - Rubber Stamped - Christmas Cards , I thought I'd go ahead and do them again this year.

Somewhere along the line I seem to have gotten stuck on a star pattern with the ferns.

Last year, I left the edges ragged/torn and this year I straightened them up. I really like them both ways.

Of course, there would be a bigger variety if I had remembered to collect and press more flowers. Oops!

The youngest daughter thought she'd make a few for her teachers and friends this year. Yay! I'll happily involve her in anything crafty. :)

Here are a few finished examples (yes, they got rubber stamped inside, but you don't get to see that. lol):

At least I had something to occupy my mind for a while. DH is getting laid off next week (which also means we won't have any insurance. Please, please, nobody get sick!). The whole second shift will be gone. Two weeks to Christmas - could the company have timed it any worse? UGH!

Things were as tight as they could already get around here. I don't know what we're going to do now. How do you pinch pennies that no longer exist? ~sigh~

Christmas sure isn't going to be all that happy. There is no way I will be able to buy gifts as the little I had saved will have to go towards food instead.

This totally sucks . . .

If I keep saying it, it might eventually come true: "Next year has GOT to be better!"

Anybody want to buy some four-leaf clovers? Cause they sure as hell don't work for me.

Roadside Shopping

:)
People are chucking their spent mums . . . again.
Yay!
I picked up three big mums and a pumpkin large enough for about four loaves of pumpkin bread. I love it when people have money to throw away.
Clearance sales are still on at Lowe's - huge Boston fern and two 'Double Take' Spaths (left outside to get frosted - ugh!) for a buck.
Go me!

The weather looks like I'll be able to get the mums in the ground on Friday.
I got the Iris cut back for winter and did a lot of weed pulling. Most of the flowerbeds are cleaned up. I'm still doing that nit-picky thing I do, though. I can't help it!

Planted the garlic a month ago and they're growing very well. Transplanted the rhubarb into the garden at the same time - I don't know how they'll end up taking it. We'll see.

Collected some more seed - aster and Zebrina Malva. I'm hoping those don't become a thug.
The large pond pump and flow-through pumps have been turned off and the smaller winter pumps turned on. The koi are sulking, but it can't be helped. They'll be fine, as always.

Now comes the real limbo. Too much love for the houseplants while I twiddle my thumbs waiting to start the wintersowing. It won't be as much as previous years as I can't afford the potting soil. Oh, well. I'll just have to pick and choose a little more wisely about what I want most in the flowerbeds next year and use the peat I already have - whether appropriate or not. On a side note: I was a little miffed when someone mentioned that they bought eight bags of potting soil for 8 something a bag and thought that it was no big deal and pretty much petty change. Huh? When your figuring out which bill to pay and which to leave . . . ummmm, 60 something dollars is a lot of money! What the hell is wrong with people saying it's no big deal to just go blow 60 bucks on soil? I could almost see her shrugging her shoulders with the 'what's the big deal' attitude. Grrrr.

I need to sort through my seeds again and get them in order. Maybe I'll wait on that until after Christmas when I'll be ridiculously sick of having nothing gardenish to play in.

Still so far, so good on the rosemary.

I still need to tent my lavender with some burlap.

I found out that my Polka Dots are more of a pain in the ass than I thought they would be.

I can't get the stem rot stopped on those stupid begonias, so have about a thousand cuttings piled everywhere now. If I end up with not one begonia come spring, I'm gonna be hot!

The Majesty Palm is still puttering along and throwing up new spears.

Oh, and the weirdness for the month - a Foxglove and Lupine are flowering! What the frig is up with that? The snaps that are still in full bloom aren't a surprise, but the Lupine certainly is. Also had a Delph just get a very late bloom frozen off. Hmmm . . .

Plans are in the works to widen the garden next spring and plant potatoes again. Yay! We haven't had the room for them in years.

I may do some more roadside shopping this weekend. Hehehe.

Seeds Saved Today

Since they are predicting the first lake-effect (can't believe it!!) storm of the year for tomorrow, I decided to stop procrastinating and go collect the rest of the seeds...

Nigella (more - I'm smitten)
Straw flower
Double Zins
Reg Zins
Cosmos (white)
Cosmos (purple)
Cinnamon Sun/Vanilla Ice mix Sunflowers (they were so cool looking!)
Mammoth Sunflower (roasted a gallon containers worth - kids ate them all already!)
Hosta
Bush Marigold (those suckers were almost 3 foot tall!)
Asarina
Crystal Palace Lobelia
Cleome (purple - bush!)
Some cool tangerine Snaps
Stella
Celosia (they were over 3 foot this year!)
Imps
Delphs
Double Rust Gloriosa Daisy
Lily
Balsam Imps
Broccoli
Black Seeded Simpson
Cali Wonder Pepper

Can Peas Swim?

Well,
if they can't, I'm never going to get them planted.

Snow - rain - hail - rain - snow, and yes, it's raining again at a pretty decent clip but will turn back to snow tonight. There are a few school delays from icing. A quick glance at the forecasted temps for the week tells me things aren't going to warm up any time soon.

Carol is already sowing seed in the ground and we're in the same damn zone. That pretty much shows how zone really doesn't mean a darn thing except the average low temp - she's seeing spring everywhere and we're still staring at Old Man Winter. Planting times can be eons apart. No wonder so many new gardeners are confused!

One Down

We caught a mouse in the live trap Friday night.
Yeah, as he went out the door with the hubs, I told him exactly what I thought of his shenanigans!
I'm sure I heard him mumble something about 'friends and family' and that 'we'd be sorry'.
I don't doubt it. The trap will sit on the stand taking up valuable space for a while, because where there's one...

Hehehe, he did miss at least one moon flower seed, though. It started peeking through the soil last night.
:)
Yay!
I suppose I should cross my fingers and knock on wood.

Mouse In The House

Again. I've had to deal with them before, but that was in the fall when they were scouting for winter homes.
Yup, mouse (or mice? Ugh!) in the house.
~sigh~
Though I do adore living in the middle of nowhere, I don't enjoy living with much of the wildlife. We sort of draw the lines and tolerate each other. Although they seem to just smirk at my lines as they waddle/slither/bounce across them.

I woke up to trashed seedlings on the bottom level of the plant stand. Grrr!
The little b*****d chewed the top leaves off. And of course, he had to be picky about which seedlings he chewed.

Only stems left on 1/2 the pansies and impatiens.
A third of the peppers Hungarian Wax and Jalapeno M) are chewed right to the soil. He left the poor severed, wilted leaves just laying there.
:(
And (of course) he dug the moonflower seeds right out of the soil. Yes, the chewed and discarded remains of seeds were left in an obvious position on the tray of coleus seedlings right next door. I had a slight disaster last year with the moonflower and only ended up with one flowering survivor last summer. I'm hoping the little SOB overlooked a few of those seeds.
Lilies - about half left.

Thank goodness I put the cole crop sprouts on the top level of the plant stand where they can't be reached.

This is war - now I just have to decide on my weapon of choice. It would be my bare hands...if I could catch the little f-er!

Sown Over The Weekend

Sown for 'seed starting weekend'. Since no one wanted to play, fine, I'll play by myself ;)~

On the plant stand

Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Brussel Sprouts
Head Lettuce
Bell Peppers
Sensitive Plant (I have one seed left - I think the lady picked the pods before they were mature and the rest just sat in the soil and eventually rotted)
Moonflower
Coleus (more-can you ever have enough?)
Asarina (in hanging basket)
Thunbergia alata (in hanging basket)



Wintersown in milk jugs

Balloon Flower
Canterbury Bells
Cosmos (sea shell)
Larkspur
Butterfly Weed
Petunia
Sweet William
Forget-Me-Not
Helichrysum
Gloriosa Daisy
Datura (The package says lavender, but I think it ended up being just plain old Jimson weed. But did I mark the package? Nooooo)
Coreopsis
Portulaca

I think I'm forgetting a few...

This brings my wintersown jug count to 42. Not many this year, but I tend to forget what a race it is in the spring to get thousands and thousands of seedlings into the ground.

I accosted some poor guy in the seed area in Waldeath yesterday.
:)
Well he started it! He was browsing through the expensive seeds (those display areas I won't even go near) and noticed me thumbing through the 10 and 30 cent packages. He kept picking up packages, raising his glasses to his forehead to read them, them sticking them right back. I'm not sure if he was reading the price, the flower descriptions or the sowing instructions.

Anyway, after scouring about the tenth pack, he popped over and pointed at the cheapies. "Do those grow OK?"

Oh boy! The perfect opportunity was plopped right in my lap! Of course they do and I told him so. (I really wish people would stop buying expensive seed when they can get the same for cheap, because YES, they grow just as well. And in most cases, better!)

And obviously, as he seemed a bit clueless and lost about growing things, I had to pass on the wintersown and gardenweb websites. I hope he'll visit. He seemed honestly interested, and even wrote the info on the seed packages he was buying. Yeah, the cheap ones.

And where does my husband suddenly appear from? He'd been in another section of the garden area chatting about bulbs with the guys wife!

'Twas a good day.

Oh, and the hubs found a package of popcorn seed! I guess we're growing it this year after all. Yay!

I Hereby Proclaim This Weekend To Be...

Seed Starting Weekend!
March 1st and 2nd. (Planned that pretty good, eh?)

Ready, set....start those seeds!
Not sure what seeds you should start inside? (yeah, yeah - or outside for you 'special' people where spring has already hit)

Try this ---> Grow Guide
Yes, it's also prominently displayed in my sidebar. I love the stupid thing!

So, whip out those seed packets, start dreaming of a lush full flowerbed or garden and...GO!

Don't forget to post a list of what you started this weekend in your blogs next week and let me know you did so I can be nosey. lol.
Yes, winter sowing containers count but, before you even try it, no, things you've already sown or have seedlings of don't count. I guess you'll just have to start more!
Enabler? Who, me?

Why?

A friend visited last night. She walked in the door, took one look at my box full of seed and a plant stand full of sprouts, shook her head and said, "Why?"

Good question.

Why is my youngest daughter enamoured with the color pink? (she'd dye her hair pink if I let her).
Why is my youngest son so 'into' comp tech that it will eventually be his occupation?
Why is my husband so wrapped up by cars that he only has to listen to one run for a minute or two to tell you what's wrong with it?

Well, I can't answer their obsessions, but I know the answer to mine. Amazingly, it's easy.

I'm a nurturer.

It's what I've always been and I suspect it's something I'll always be.
In the very beginning of my life, on the farm, I nurtured all kinds of plants and animals (including insects).
In my teens, I nurtured friends.
As a newlywed, I nurtured my husband.
As a Mom, I've nurtured 4 children.

It's my calling, it's who I am. Add in an obsessive compulsive personality and - oh, boy.

Now that my kids are mostly grown, my nurturing has turned to plants. Well, seed.
Since my patience has grown thinner with age, plants were probably a good choice to return to.
Compared to the rest of the nurturing list, it's almost like instant gratification.

Think about it...husbands, kids and animals take years, and compared to that, plants can be nurtured from one seed to massive seed production in the blink of an eye.

I'm sure it's something I'll be until my dying day.
As they age, most people fear disease, pain, alzheimers.
Me, I fear not being able to nurture something. If my kids stick me in a nursing home, someone please bring me a houseplant! I swear, I'll remember to water it.
:)

Why The Sudden Interest In The Seed Vault?

Wow, I've seen tons of posts about the Svalbard International Seed Vault today. I posted some thoughts about it way back on January 17, 2007!!
Why the sudden interest? What finally got people talking?
All this interest isn't a bad thing, I'm just curious.