CarolineC's Blog
CarolineC's January 2008 Entries
Last Post 1 day, 10 hours Ago
Jan 22, 2008 | 8:43 PM PST
Tags: seedlings , seeds
As promised, here are some pics of my seedlings and makeshift light stands.
This is some grass that I grew indoors for my cat. I got the idea when I saw seeds in a catalog for "cat grass". It said that cats need a certain amout of vegetation to aid digestion. And after my cat ate 3 small Malva Zebrina plants to death, I decided to grow some grass for him. He isn't much interested in the grass, but my dog ate some from one of the pots when she had an upset tummy, so it wasn't a total waste. 
Leek seeds on the windowsill... haven't yet germinated. 
An assortment of pots and seeds. Some have seeds or seedlings in them, some are still waiting.
From left to right... Balloon Flower seedlings, Blue Flax seedlings, and two 3 month old Coleus plants. 
From left to right... Larkspur seedlings, a 6-pack of Hollyhock seedlings, a 4 week old daylily in the white pot, you can't really see it in the picture, but it's there, I promise, and two 1 1/2 month old Hollyhocks.
Some of you may be wondering why I'm starting seeds so early here in chilly zone 6b. Well... I have my reasons, no, really, I do. For one thing, I'm hoping that some of my perennials will flower this year. I'm even secretly dreaming that my foxgloves will bloom this summer, though being biennials, that is very unlikely. Another reason, some--not all--of the seeds that I'm starting are said to take anywhere from a few weeks to months to germinate. So, if they do take that long, then I may only have one or two sets of true leaves on them by the time Spring rolls around, even though starting them so early. With the annuals, I'm hoping to get a full summer's worth of flowers out of them, so I guess I'm erring on the side of having too many big plants to deal with indoors rather than having them bloom only to be killed by a frost a little while later. So... that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it. ;)
Jan 21, 2008 | 1:46 PM PST
Tags: seedlings , coleus , hollyhocks , daylily , leeks
My coleus, just 3 months old, are growing at a snail's pace, but are delightful, nonetheless. They have a few sets of leaves and are beginning to develop color. The hollyhocks are 1 1/2 months old and about 4 inches tall with several-- 5-6 --true leaves. The daylily, about 4 weeks old, has three grass-like leaves, the tallest being about 3 inches. The balloon flowers, larkspur, malva zebrina, and blue flax have just begun sprouting and signs of their first true leaves are beginning to emerge. Still waiting on the begonias and foxgloves and a pot of blue fescue seeds, as well as some additional daylilies and coleus. And I just sowed some leek seeds as they take 150 days (that's 5 months!!) to reach maturity. I plan on planting them in succession so that there will be leeks throughout the summer into fall.
Jan 8, 2008 | 8:47 AM PST
Tags: daylilies , daylily
I can't believe it! After having read how impossible it is to start daylilies from seed, I'm quite surprised to see that one of the two that I potted up has begun to sprout. I followed these instructions http://www.dianedaylilies.com
/seeds.html and it worked. I'm really glad about it too, as I had planned to plant a row of about 20 or so daylilies along the blueberry hedge that I'm planting, and to buy that many plants from a nursery would be cost-prohibitive. I have many more seeds in the fridge just waiting to be potted up. The daylilies probably won't flower until the 2nd year, but the foliage at least should be attractive for the first year.
Jan 2, 2008 | 8:56 PM PST
Tags: Winter Gardening , indoor light , blueberries
That may sound odd coming from a gardener, but I feel I have so many things to do in preparation for the Spring garden feast. Among them, ordering seeds and starting seeds. I got a 20" "under the cabinet" florescent light at HD for $12.49 to grow plants indoors. I will probably get more as my collection expands. I'm hoping to have full bushy plants ready for Spring. I have thus far started coleus, hollyhocks, and am trying in earnest to start some day lilies. They're doing remarkably well under this little light -- far more effective than the windowsill.
Thanks to the encouragemnet and advice I received here, I am moving full steam ahead with my blueberry bush hedge plan. I have amended the soil with perlite, peat, sulfer, sand from the Christmas lumanaries, and anything else I could get my hands on ;) . The soil had tested at a pH of 6.5, so I may have to do some more amending in the Spring too. I'm glad to have it started, though, as the ground is probably going to be freezing up and snow covered fairly soon. Will post pictures as things get planted and the gardens start to come to life. :)
