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Pictures, pictures, pictures and a major busy week +
My
last post was titled "Feels like it's been forever", well it has now
been quite a while since I last posted a blog entry here. I miss my GG
friends! Wish I could catch up on all your blog entries, but who knows
when things will settle down enough (probably sometime after the 20th)
Things have been so crazy around here! My husband came home over a week ago which is WONDERFUL, then my daughter had quite a few appointments regarding her eye surgery coming up.
The weather has been just wonderful. We need the rain, but we are enjoying the sun and warmth! Hannah, Kyle and I spend a ton of time outdoors. Since Kyle's been home, we've gone bear hunting (basically a nice drive out in the woods enjoying nature and wildlife - we saw lots of deer and 3 moose), quad riding in the orchard down the road to see the deer eating the cherry tree leaves, and of course playing in the garden!
Things are really coming along in my garden and veggie patch! I am so happy! I have quite a few pictures to post, so maybe I will just post the links to them on my Facebook page so you can see them all there instead of having to upload one at a time on here. I will have to figure that out in a few minutes.
My Zucchini seeds have come in great, my zucchini starts from the nursery are doing well and the cucumber seed I had planted is coming in nice too! I have a great start of radishes, carrots, peas, beans and broccoli as well as lettuce seed that should be coming up soon. I can't wait! Things seem to be going well in my veggie patch! Thank goodness since I worked so hard on amending the soil there! I do need to put some more liquid fertilizer or more manure on the zucchini areas soon.
I have one concern though. Some of my flowers that were started outside from seeds seem to be turning yellowish. Could that be lack of nutrients or more likely over watering? I am trying to only water once a day or every other day there and things don't seem to be changing.
Speaking of watering. I have two questions I've been meaning to ask on that matter:
HOW DO YOU WATER YOUR FLOWER GARDEN?
HOW DO YOU WATER YOUR VEGETABLE GARDEN?
My
main preponderance here is to figure out what is the most efficient way
of watering plants. Also w/out wasting water and minimizing the weeds
around the plants/garden area. There is no need to water around the
garden really is there? I water my garden by hand with a hose nozzle
sprayer that can be adjusted to lower/higher levels of water. I feel
it's pretty efficient, but I am so curious what other methods gardeners use.
Okay,
so I decided I will add links to a Facebook photo album so you can see
all the pictures there instead of one at a time on here. I have so
many, it will be easiest to just upload them there and then post the
link here. Sorry if this bothers anyone, but I don't have a ton of time
to upload them the slow way.
Gardening June 2009 and beyond....
I hope everyone is doing well! More as time permits!
I want to thank everyone who has been commenting on my posts lately. I have been slacking in my regular chit-chat responses I normally do and don't quite know why. I think I have just been so busy trying to keep up with the housework and get my share of "playing" out in the garden. My husband will be home in a few weeks and I want to be done with my "spring" cleaning and organizing by the time he gets home. There is still a ton to do, then we'll have my daughter's eye surgery on the 17th to add. So, I will be busy, but I will be sure to keep writing!
I felt better later on in the day after having that terrible headache. Thank you all for the "feel betters"!!
Now, on to gardening....
So
many of my seeds are coming up! I am so excited! I planted so many
seeds I can't remember where I planted them all. I marked most of the
seed with sprinkles of peat moss over the areas and that has helped.
Some of them I didn't think to do that with so I have to be careful
when digging.
Most of the seed that is coming up is the
smaller seed like Alyssum, Brachycome (Swan River Daisy), Matthiola
(Night Scented Stocks), and Baby's Breath.
I planted a ton of Morning Glory seeds that I soaked for the recommended 24 hours, but they haven't come through the soil yet and I am wondering if somehow they dried up. It's strange that they haven't, but I will have to be patient.
My "stump planters" have quite a bit of seed coming.
My sweet peas are coming in nice as well as what I believe to be
sunflower seeds (the ones I sprinkled in from last years seed head this
spring). I can't wait to see how nice turn out.
I made a new
flower bed (well, sort of) to spread my cut flower mixes, Shasta Daisy,
Delphinium, Baby's Breath, Bachelor Buttons, the rest of my Black-Eyed
Susan's, extra Phlox, and mixed Poppy seeds. I raked out an area,
pulled out the loose rocks, used all those rocks I pulled out to line
the perimeter. After pulling out the bits of grass and natural bushes I
spread the seed mixed with sand around the area. Covered it all with a
thin layer of dirt and watered it all in. I hope the seed grows in
since it will look really cute with the "Gnome Home" and the two little
Gnomes admiring the flower area (see below). I will post some pictures
later if/when the seeds start to come in. (Click on any of the images to enlarge and see closer up!)
I planted the two Zucchini plants from the nursery today but decided to place a clear plastic tub over them for the night to keep the cold off of them. They were kept under a greenhouse style roof/area that protected them, so I figured it wouldn't hurt (I just have to make sure they don't overheat in the morning). I spotted the Zucchini seeds sprouting that I planted and I am so excited. I do hope they grow! I love fried Zucchini and seasoning salt as well as Zucchini bread! Any suggestions on how to eat Zucchini?
I also planted some Broccoli seeds, but don't know if it will make it before it get's too cold. We'll just have to see.
My peas and radishes have come through the soil which is good too.
I
also decided to plant some Cosmos and Zinnias for the first time and
they are coming in nicely too. I chose to plant them in my wild rose
area since the wild roses I transplanted are not doing to well yet (if
at all). My daughter helped me plant them and it was so cute. She would
squat down and tip her hand attempting to spread the seed around, but
really just dropping them on top of each other so I had to spread them
out afterwards.
I love letting her help me, it makes me so happy to see her learning and enjoying nature. I show her any bug I come across, frogs and toads and especially birds. We listen to cricketts and frogs at night. She knows what Woodpeckers do and can explain it (she's only 2.5 years old). She says "they peck, peck, peck....", "The trees", "Looking for bugs and going slurp, slurp, slurp!" and "using their beeks". It's so cute! She's so bright and retains so much. I want her to be able to look at the little things around her, to be able to step back and see things in a simple way, enjoy it and value it. Kids these days are so wrapped up in materialistic things, video games, t.v and computers. None of those things nurtures the soul, none of those things can do what mother nature does for a person. I believe those things can enjoyed in a healthy amount but that other things need to be taught and learned. Simple things. How many kids go through school having the only experiance with nature be the "plant unit" taught to them by their teacher? Sad.
Anyway......
Above: The tags from my new Clematis. I really like them, but now am not sure where I want to put them. When I bought them I figured I could find a place, but now I am getting pickier and re-thinking where they should go. When I really like a certain flower I take forever finding a place for it to go since I am scared of killing it...lol.
Above: My Mother-In-Laws Gazinia (? I am guessing the name because I can't think of it off the top of my head right now...) Really pretty.
Above: A really pretty purple/blue flower in my Mother-In-Law's garden with her Columbine. Really pretty, I will have to ask her what it is. Do you know what it is?
Above:
A GIANT moth my little Brother-In-Law caught today to show my daughter
and I. It was huge! He said that it looked like Nike swooshes on it's
wings and feathers for antennas.
Above:
"No Name" Cow Manure....cracked me up! I never would have thought there
was "No Name" brand cow manure....had to share....lol!
Above: A few of the Pansies....
Above: My blue/purple Bell Flower blooming! I just LOVE IT!
Above:
One of my favorite flowers in my garden. It's a succulent (I believe),
supposidly flowers but has wonderful green/red colors and grows in so
nicely in my garden. I don't know what it is though. It's easy to
transplant and spread, you just have to clip pieces off and stick them
into the soil. It's great!Well, I did absolutely nothing outside today. The extend of our outdoor
activity was our walk to the Mother-In-Laws, out to feed the horses for
her and then back inside. It rained and was cloudy on and off all day making for a
not-so warm day. We stayed inside and I put our newer DVDs and VHS
that we've bought in the last year into my database of movies. We have
412 DVDs and VHS!! That is nuts!
Anyway, back to gardening stuff. My Zucchini,
Cucumbers, Thunbergia Vine, Malva Zebrina, Morning Glories, and
Broccoli have all been outside overnight and no problem. I will
hopefully get them into the ground by next week after I put them out in
the garden overnight for a few nights (they're on my covered porch so
they are protected somewhat).
I took a peak into my stump
planters while we went for our little walk to see if any of my seeds
are coming in and I am thrilled to say - YES! I am pretty happy since I
had doubted that they were going to come up this soon. The weather
hasn't been the greatest, but it has kept the soil damp therefore
keeping the seeds moist (probably better than I would have done by just
watering them since my schedule is so crazy depending on my daughter).
As things grow in some more I will take some pictures. I just hope that
the Alyssum does all right in this cooler weather since I think that is
what is coming in the most. None of the "big" seeds are coming in yet,
but I think they take longer to germinate. I can't wait for them to
come in though! The excitement of seeds, waiting for them to come up
and seeing what seeds actually germinate well. Oh-the excitement!!
Tomorrow
I am going grocery shopping so I will see if I pick up any little
gardening extras. I need to find trellis materials, metal trellises,
natural/jute twine, more Nasturtium, Zucchini, Thunbergia Vine, and
Sweet Pea Seeds, an extra hose sprayer (just in case the new one I
bought breaks, I really like this one and I want a replacement for later) and any other garden goodies I can incorporate into my garden.
Anyway, I should get to bed, it's so late and I need to get up early. I hope everyone is having the weather they desire!
Have a wonderful day!
~M~
P.S. Hannah finally got to the top of the waiting list for the eye surgery she needs to correct her "lazy" eye (man, I hate that term). She has been waiting since August 2008 and now I am stressing out. My protective mother instincts are kicking into overdrive. I was almost in tears this morning from the overwhelming feeling that the surgery is now booked and is officially going to happen. I am so scared. I really wish my Hubby was home on days like these. He'll be home in time for the surgery, but probably not for the pre-surgery appointments etc. So, I will be on my own until he comes home. Talking on the phone just doesn't seem the same as if he were here home with me talking about my fears and concerns. I will keep you all updated, her eye related appointments start at the beginning of June, so if I am MIA that is why.
Well, today was a truly beautiful day! It was so warm out, and just a really enjoyable day.
My daughter and I played out in the garden in the late afternoon after
the storm clouds rolled in. It didn't storm - only a bit of wind, and
was still pretty warm, but the clouds were definitely the kind that
some with storms.
I decided to try and get some of my seeds into the back flower garden
since I was thinking it was going to rain tonight (not happening
yet...). I have a few interesting things popping up in the back
garden. I think I have spotted 2 morning glories (from last years
seed) and some sort of other flower from seed. It is a big leafed
sprout (like the size of a bean, cucumber, zucchini, etc.) and is
possibly a sunflower but I am not sure and have no idea how it got
there, unless I planted some out there and I don't remember (which is
possible).
I planted:
Sweet Pea - Royal Family Mixed
Four O'Clocks - Marvel of Peru
Nasturtium - Jewel Mixed
Stocks - Giant Imperial Mixed
Cosmos - Sensation
Zinnia - Giant Dahlia
Sunflower - Lemon Queen
Sunflower - Velvet Queen
Sunflower - Helianthus Mixed Varieties
I still have a TON to get into the ground and am starting to feel way
behind the eight ball now. Before I felt I was way ahead of the game
so much so that I had planted some seeds inside way too early, but now
it's getting down to the wire and I HAVE to get them in for their
fullest potential! Especially the vegetables!
Vegetables I have to plan out and get in include:
Carrots
Bush beans (Green Pod Stringless)
Broccoli
Zucchini (oh how I want these to grow this year, I LOVE fried zucchini!)
Peas (Lincoln Homesteader)
Lettuce
Radish
Pumpkin (NO idea where I will be putting these, probably closer to my daughters "play area")
Tomato (4 different kinds, I don't know if any of them will
successfully grow since I am planting them directly outdoors and not
planting indoor starts because I am so behind, but it's a learning
experience isn't it? If they don't work out I will buy some extra
tomato plants to fill the void...lol)
Dill (will probably plant it in with my mint, lavender, and lemon balm
area, but not positive since it tends to look "messy" compared to
flowers.)
The good news is that the vegetable patch is pretty much finished with
soil amendments. I think I want to mix in another load of horse manure
(yeah, that is what I am trying this year, I will have to see how bad
the weeds are and learn accordingly).
When I "draw" out my basic layout in the vegetable patch (tomorrow
hopefully), I will post a picture up of it. I hope to start planting
seed tomorrow though, so I should have a layout planned by then.
Fingers crossed for me, I have to get this done!!
Anyway, more tomorrow I am sure. It is supposed to be warmer than today even! Oh-what fun! I love spring/summer! Sorry, no pictures today....
Have a wonderful week!!
~M~
P.S. Thank you to everyone how commented on my last post about Wildflowers! I just love sharing my pictures and love hearing back from you all! Thank you! I will look up the "Solomon's Seal" to see if it looks like it. Also I will post another picture once it flowers (I think it flowers...).
WARNING - WARNING - WARNING - WARNING - WARNING - WARNING - WARNING
Yesterday I was reading through a blog entry by a member of GardenGuides.com. It was about a toxic plant his/her friend had planted in her yard that caused her to go blind now for two weeks. Below is the blog entry titled "Donkey Tail Spurge" by member "jmcandrew":
"DO NOT PLANT. I had a friend that planted this and touched her eyes, she is blind for two weeks. STAY AWAY. " --- Click her to view the members comments to this entry.
After reading the warning, out of curiosity I decided to look it up to make sure we didn't have it in our yard.
Well, as a matter of fact we do have it here in our yard! It is a plant that I had wrote about as a mystery plant in one of my GardenGuides.com blog entries a while back. I had no idea what it was and I had hoped to get it growing in my garden.
I searched online and found a website with lots of worrying information. I can't link it here, but if you do want to check out the link, you can always go to my other blog where I have it linked.
It warns of many adverse reactions including "contact dermatitis", facial swelling and burning, MAJOR eye pain and damages, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea if ingested. Please check out the website to read the user comments on it below the information. It has 6 positives reviews, 3 neutral reviews, and 10 negative reviews. Two of neutral reviews are also on the side of major caution as well as the 10 negative reviews. There are also other comments on this site regarding it's noxious weed status in Colorado as well as potentially other states. It can be invasive. Please take note.
Thank goodness Hannah never came in contact with it!! I don't know what I would have done if I planted something in my garden that caused harm to her!! Even if I came in contact with the "sap" or milky part (like dandelion milk, when you break it it leaks out) I could have transferred the burning sap to her.
I am very thankful for the person (member "jmcandrew") who put effort into warning others about this toxic plant. Thank goodness too that I decided to look it up after reading their warning!
Like I said, I can only imagine..... very scary.
Below you can see some pictures of the one we have growing in our yard:
Above
is the dried up Donkey Tail Spurge that I had attempted to get to grow
in my garden (it was a piece that had been broken off when I found it
and I thought it was in the Sedum family and that it would grow if I
covered it with dirt). 
Above
is the Donkey Tail Spurge growing near the horse round pen where we
live. It really is a nice flower when it is healthy and in it's optimum
form, but I don't think it's worth having with it's terrible toxic
properties.
Above is the dried up Donkey Tail Spurge that I had attempted to get to grow in my garden (it was a piece that had been broken off when I found it and I thought it was in the Sedum family and that it would grow if I covered it with dirt).
Above is the Donkey Tail Spurge growing near the horse round pen where we live. It really is a nice flower when it is healthy and in it's optimum form, but I don't think it's worth having with it's terrible toxic properties.
I looked it up in my garden book too and found that it is in the same family as Christmas Poinsettia. It is a huge family and not all plants in the family are poisonous but quite a few of them are. My Mom who had worked in a nursery for quite a number of years knew of the family, loves the plant and knew nothing of the severity of reactions from this plant. I am most afraid of my parents accidentally tearing this plant when they are raking leaves, then possibly touching their faces, or eyes not knowing they had come in contact with the "sap" or milky part of the plant. I hope my Mom is careful (and my Dad too!).
I also wonder if/why nurseries don't warn of it's problems? I mean some may, but my Mother-In-Law wouldn't have bought the plant knowing it's problems since she has young kids of her own. The only thing I can figure out is maybe it was marketed as a "deer resistent" perennial since we are always looking for those types of plants. Who knows, but it's pretty icky!
If you choose to keep this plant in your yard, please do handle with care and educate anyone who may possibly come in contact with this plant (ESPECIALLY CHILDREN!!!)! I will not have this in my yard and will not let Hannah near that area. If you have children, please, please, please be careful and consider removing this plant from your garden!!
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I planted the Lamium that I got for Mother's Day today after digging out two awkward rocks in a 6"X10" v-shaped area in the shadier part of my garden. I hope it does well, I really like it.
I remembered to bring the tag inside of the perennial I planted, but couldn't remember the name (I mentioned it in yesterday and a few days ago blog entries). The name of the plant is "Silene Uniflora" or "Compacta" (not sure what the Compacta part means). It is a perennial for mostly sunny area to light shade and is a lower growing spreading plant that looks nice in borders and rock gardens. It has little "white flowers with pink tint and bloom above a mat of green leaves". I really like the color of foliage (white green) and the way it looks spread out.
I will take some pictures soon and label what plants are where so that you can see all of these perennials that I have been talking about planting these last few blog entries.
My Morning Glory seeds are sprouting away in their damp paper towel home, so tomorrow they will have to be planted in some soil (probably into milk jug bottoms because I can get tons of seeds and they fit fairly well in my windowsill.
I will write some more tomorrow. Please, do think about not having Donkey Tail Spurge around unless you are fully educated on it's issues and have educated others that may come contact with it as well!
Happy Gardening....Wonderful days wished your way!
~M~
I wrote a blog entry late last night (May 8th - Midnight-1 a.m), but didn't want to post it too early so it wouldn't get bumped off too soon. If anyone is interested in that blog entry from yesterday I have it posted on my "other" blog at:
The entry will be under today's post titled "Re-Post From Garden Guides.com Blog Entry....".
It is titled: "Busy, Busy, Day Outside...."
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May 9th, 2009
Today I bought more seeds.....hence the name of this blog entry - "SEED CRAZY"!!! The seeds were only 47 cents, so I couldn't pass that bargain up!
FLOWERS:
Stocks - Giant Imperial Mixed - Annual - They are only supposed to grow to 12-18" but that doesn't exactly scream "Giant" like the name suggests.
Marigold - Sparky Mixed Colors - Annual - I really am not a fan, but my Mother-In-Law bought some Marigold flowers and I actually like the look from far away, so I thought I would try them. Plus they're supposed to keep rodents away from veggies (supposedly, I have not first hand knowledge of this though).
Morning Glory - Heavenly Blue - Annual - I LOVE Morning Glories! I have never tried the blue ones, and I figured they would go wonderfully with my pink variety! I CAN'T wait!
Four O'Clock - Marvel of Peru - Already had some of these, but I wanted to buy some more since they state "Tolerant of poor soil and heat". This will be my first year with these.
Wild Flower Mix - All Purpose Mixture - Annuals, Biennials, and Perennials - Doesn't say how tall, or what kind of flowers are in it. I would be interested to see if I can identify any of them from the seed.
VEGGIES:
Dill - Herb - Annual - Never grew Dill, but my Mom has and I remember when you'd brush up against it sometimes you could smell it. This is more of a try it and see how I like it thing.
Pumpkin - Jack O'Lantern - Pumpkins get to be 10" diameter (so not too big). I will have to find the perfect place for these guys to go. Fingers crossed they work, Halloween is my FAVORITE holiday!
Pepper - Early California Wonder - Never tried Peppers before, but it does say to start "10-12 weeks before plants are required for garden" and I would be putting them out here in about 3-5 weeks, so I am a bit behind. But who knows it may work. If not I will save some of these seeds for next year and try then.
Tomato - Cherry - I wish I had started these already, but we'll just have to see how these go as well. It "says", 65-90 day for maturity if planted outdoors, but I think I will try some indoors tomorrow. The days to maturity if planted in doors is 45-55 days.
Tomato - Rutgers - Same as above, I wish they were already started like 3 weeks ago.
Tomato - Starfire Improved - Packet "says" it's a good early variety and does well in short season areas. This packet "says" to have started these seeds 8-10 weeks before wanting them outside. I think I am behind and would likely put them out in 3-5 weeks too.
Tomato - Bush Beefsteak - Same situation as above, should have them in already, but we'll just have to see.
Carrot - Scarlet Nantes - Can always use lots of carrot seeds, I will try to plant some in two - four week batches.
Radish - Cherry Belle - My Husband and Father-In-Law like radishes, so these will be for them. They are a Veggie that I can plant fairly close together (rows 6" apart) so I should be able to get quite a bit out of a small area.
.....and that is all!
Long list, but I am looking forward to my bounty as well as my trial and errors.
I worked out in the garden for about 45 minutes, but Hannah wasn't in the mood to stay out there long. I was able to get my rock wall re-built in it's new lay-out. Then Hannah wanted to go and find Grandma. I was able to sidetrack her by asking her to find Grandma the perfect rock. Unfortunately it didn't last long, every rock she picked up was perfect according to Hannah (rocks are everywhere now, since I am stacking them in piles as I pull them out of the soil).
I hope tomorrow she will stay out there longer because I have SO MUCH work to do out there.
Garden Goals:
1.) Finish amending/digging the veggie patch.
2.) Finish planting the 5-6 perennials I still have to plant.
3.) Figure out where to plant all my seeds.
4.) Finish leveling out the area that I left with huge mounds of dirt on it.
5.) Build Natural Trellises - Using branches found on the property and maybe some natural twine (? not positive on that one yet). I need to build lots for all the Morning Glories!
6.) Fertilize my flowers (especially the bulbs).
7.) Put some mulch down on the areas I have messed up, and re-up the old mulch.
8.) More and more and more....but I love every minute of it!
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL THOSE MOTHER'S OUT THERE (AND A HAPPY GRANDMOTHER'S DAY TOO!!)
More tomorrow!
~M~
I am itchy all over and super paranoid that I have creepy crawly things on me.
What started this, you might ask?
TICKS! I am so paranoid of TICKS! I HATE TICKS! Ticks, ticks, ticks - YUCK!
Since 2005, I haven't had any tick incidents......until today.
Hannah and I had gone up to visit with Pam and we helped her re-locate
her stump flower pots. Hannah got to ride in the wheelbarrow and she
got to ride all the way down to where the swing is. I pushed her for
about half an our or so, then we decided to walk back home since her
little hands were getting so cold. We took a detour into the bushes to
check if we could find some wild rose starts that I could dig up, then
back onto the driveway and down to the horse shed. We fed the horses
and then walked up towards our house. I headed to grab the hummingbird
feeders and then on my way back towards Hannah I noticed that she had a
spider in her hair. I walked up closer to her and realized it was a
tick in her hair! I FREAKED! I was able to smack it out of her hair
and it landed on the concrete. I smashed it with a rock, there was not
a drop of blood in the tick thank goodness which means it had just
gotten on Hannah. I fix Hannah's hair up every day so I doubt I would
miss one, but I don't want to have to deal with getting one out that
has embedded itself into her. Oh, you think I'm freaked out now, boy,
it will get way, way worse if I have to do that!! We're going to give
her a good bath tonight to check her over and make sure she doesn't
have any on her elsewhere.
I will have to find out some ways to help protect Hannah and myself
from ticks this season. I sure hope it's not a "bad tick year"! We
didn't seem to have a problem last year, and it was 2005 when it was
the year that was so bad. Oooo-icky!
I spread out some bird seed last night since some new little birds have
arrived. They are called the "Red Breasted Nuthatch". I think it's
"Red Breasted Nuthatch" even though their breast color is actually more
of a yellow color with a blue back/body. What makes them so special is
that they hop down the tree, head down. Most birds can't do that.
They are very acrobatic! I just love seeing them and I think that they
are so sweet! I know I will see more as the summer comes.
Also, my Mother-In-Law filled her hummingbird feeders and today I
heard, then saw the first hummer of the year! It made me so happy! I
will be putting mine out soon.
What is the best ratio/recipe for
hummingbirds since I have never actually known the recipe?
I also found an area (the same area where Hannah may have picked up the
tick though) that has tons of wild rose spikes that I can transplant.
I am excited, so I have to get on that before it gets too far into the
spring.
I checked through my garden today and things are progressing well. The
crocus are still bloomed which is nice that they have lasted so long,
and my hyacinths are really coming along as well.
What happens to a plant (perennial - English Daisy) when you over water
it? Can you cause it to rot at the base of the plant? Somehow I
manged to do that I think. I set it out to dry up a bit and
accidentally left it outside on the porch all night. OOPS. I hope
that it will recuperate though, so we'll just have to see. Any suggestions???
I didn't get any pictures put up yet, but will try later this evening or tomorrow.
~M~
P.S. I forgot to write this part.....lol:
I plan on planting some seeds directly in the garden soon, possibly
tomorrow or I may I will wait until Thursday when it is suppose to be
quite a bit warmer than it has been lately. I plan on planting:
1.) Malva Zebrina
2.) Sweet Peas - Spencer Giant Mixture
3.) Black-Eyed Susan - Rudbeckia Hirta
4.) Bachelor Buttons - Double Mixed Colors
5.) Mixed Poppies - I have no idea which kind they are, I just had some mixed in a bachelor button seed packet. Who, knows...
6.) Carrots - Danvers
7.) Peas - Lincoln
Are the above flowers/vegetables alright to put in the ground now,
before the last frost date? Or should I be waiting. I think our last
frost date is still 4 weeks away still (not quite positive, I will have
to call one of our local nurseries to find out for sure).
Also how on earth do you find out exactly which zone your in? I have
tried, and tried to figure it out with the zone maps, but they never
show close enough on my area. We live in a sliver of color difference
compared to the next zone over. It's hard to explain, but it is just
overly difficult to figure it out.
Well, I was roaming the web and I came across a really interesting blogger. His blog title is and has really interesting topics in his blog. Things like a , and a wonderful . Just click any of those links to get to his page and browse around at the different topics he writes about. I found it to be very helpful and extreamly interesting because he is interested in "cheap" gardening or and using/recycling things found around the house. He also is very knowledgeable Very interesting stuff.
Also when I was browsing through his blog, I found a seed site that offers wonderful informational packaging on all it's seeds as well as a VERY helpful ". The seed company is . The only negative thing about this site is that they don't ship their seeds to Canada at all which I had hoped that they could. I am really enjoying the and still have quite a few more topics to read and look thorough.
Another seed company that I found on blog was . This seed company does ship to Canada which makes me super happy as well as offering VERY, VERY good information on it's seeds. The company has signed the "Safe Seeds Pledge", offers various "Organic" seeds as well as seeds for various purposes (ie. butterfly gardens, or hummingbird gardens). When you look at the specific seeds you can click on a link to see either a picture of the flower, or for more information on the seeds/flower. The seed packets are chocked full of information on the enclosed seeds. Needless to say, this is a super website and it blew me away with the quality of information offered by . Super seed company willing to go over and beyond expectations, and I will definitely buy from them if I decide to order some seeds over the internet. Also be sure to check out their The companies namesake too, which looks interesting althogh I haven't fully explored it at this point, but definitely plan on doing so tomorrow.
Anyway, I found all of the links above to be really good and I just had to share them with all my Garden Guides Friends! I hope you all will find them as interesting and helpful as I did. I will post more links soon if I end up finding more as I continue to browse through and others.
ENJOY!!
~M~
Hannah and I had a wonderful time outdoors today. I dug rock, after rock, after rock out of one spot in my garden and now I know why nothing would grow in that particular spot last year!! There were 3 really large rocks that I pulled out of there and countless softball-baseball-gravel sized rocks as well. I took the shovel to that area (shown below on the "Progress 2009" photo below, circled in green) and couldn't dig an inch into the soil in spots with out hitting a rock! Oh-My, how on earth did I ever think that something would grow there (not to mention the dense clay soil). It's an area approximately 3' X 4'.
My back is sore, but I am hooked! I can't wait to get back there and dig tomorrow! More rocks in store for me, oh-yipee! I think that I will be almost ready to add the horse manure to that spot I worked today (composted, but not stirred for about 3 years). I will have to make sure that most (hopefully all) the rocks are out and that the soil is loose. I also need to find out what other "coarse" things I can add to the clay soil to help it out this year. I was thinking that pine needles may help break up the clay soil, but I am not sure. I want to make sure it will help and not hinder my efforts.
My seeds I started indoors are doing okay. I did have a slight problem with the Allysum seeds I started (don't ask me why I decided to start them inside, I think my mommy brain was the culprit). They seemed to sprout just fine, but the day after they came out and were looking good, most of them fell down. They didn't seem to have dampening (I don't remember if this is even the right word, but it's when they rot at the base of the sprout and die due to too much moisture in the soil. I learned all about that last year, it's one of my trial and errors). They just look like they fell down. Nothing bumped them and the other "tiny" seeds are doing halfway okay. I will take a picture tomorrow to show and explain more then.
Well, got to go to bed now.
Hope everyone has a great week! Happy Gardening!
~M~
So, I decided to list all of the seeds I bought for this season. I wonder how successful I will be this year and I go to sleep with thoughts of a beautiful garden dancing in my head. So here is a list of my seeds:
List of seed packets that I had some-to-good success with last year that I wanted to try again this year:
Bachelor Buttons - Double Mixed Colors (Annual)
Nasturtium - Jewel Mixed (Annual)
Thunbergia Vine - Black-Eyed Susan Vine (Annual - but should re-seed if grown successfully) - I had minimal sucess with these last year so I am hoping things will go better this year and they will take and grow well.
Candytuft - Umbellata Mixed Colors (Annual) - I liked these quite abit and they bloomed from directly from seed planted outside directly into the soil.
Sunflower - Velvet Queen (Annual) - I planted these and only got one to grow, but it was pretty although it didn't get to be full size. It only grew to be about 3 feet tall.
Morning Glory - Imperialis (Annual) - These are the same type of seeds that I planted and then successfully harvested the seeds that stayed out all winter. I then put those seeds between damp paper towels and got them to sprout. I am so thrilled!
Cosmo
s - Sensation (Annual) - I planted these last year, but wasn't very sucessful, but it may have been due to poor soil (clay). I was able to get them to grown and a few flowered, but very small and weak flowers.
Alyssum - Carpet of Snow (Annual) - I planted last year but didn't get a very successful show of white flowers, hope for a better outcome this season.
Sweet Pea - Royal Family Mixed (Annual) - I planted these last year and was so happy with them and I can't wait for them to bloom this season!
New seeds to try this season:
Four O' Clock - Marvel of Peru (Annual)
Columbine - Pink Tower (Perennial)
Black-Eyed Susan (Perennial)
Sunflower - Lemon Queen (Annual)
Zinnia - Giant Dahlia (Annual)
Zinnia - California Giant Mix (Annual)
Alyssum - Rosie O' Day (Annual)
Brachycome - Swan River Daisy (Annual)
Gypsophila - Baby's Breath (Annual)
Matthiola - Night Scented Stocks (Annual) - Supposidly super fragrant, I can't wait to see how these develop!
Delphinium - Pacific Giants (Perennial) - I wonder though if these require their seeds to "re-seed" in order to come back the next year or if they just come back each year on their own?
Flowering Bean Vine - Scarlet Runner (Annual) - I am also excited to see how these grow! I am not quite sure where I am going to put them just yet, but ever so excited!!
Random Seed Packets:
Cut Flower Mixture (Annuals for full/semi-sun)
Annua
l Cut Flower - Sun Mix (Annual)
Vegetable
Seeds:
Zucchin
i - Black Beauty
Broccoli - Green Sprouting
Cucumber - National Pickling - I wonder if this can be eaten like a regular cucumber or if these have to be pickled to taste okay.
Peas - Lincoln Homesteader
Peas - Lincoln - I don't know if these are the same as the ones above.
Lettuce - Grand Rapids
Lettuce - Buttercrunch
Carrot - Danvers
Beans - Stringless Green Pod (bush) - Never tried growing beans, so this is definitely new to me!
I plan to buy some tomato plants from a nursery (well, so far that is my plan, but I may change my mind and try to grown my own from seeds). I would also like to try some pumpkin seeds, and maybe even a watermelon. There is a type of watermelon developed on the east coast of Canada called the Montreal Melon. It was thought to have been lost forever, but some researchers/historians found some seeds and have revived the melon. I "googled" the melon and found a place that sells the melon seeds. I may try to buy some but I can't justify putting less than a $5 charge on my credit card. If I find more on their site that I might want to buy I may order them then. Either way, the story of the Montreal Melon is a very interesting story and I will try to write more on it at a later date.
So, today I checked my seeds (the ones from outside) that I put in between the damp paper towels to see if they are sprouting. To my absolute surprise and excitement the morning glory seeds have sprouted! I took a picture of the sprouts and posted them below. I didn't think that between the sweet-pea seeds and the morning glory seeds that the morning glory's would be the first to sprout, but I am thrilled!!
I am in such awe with the fact that I have been able to plant something in seed form last spring, have them grow and produce flowers, develop into seed pods and then in the spring, harvest those seeds and have them successfully sprout! The only thing that will make this feeling better will be when/if these grow and produce flowers and continue this cycle! What an awesome feeling!
Mor
e to come later! I will write about a few questions that I have regarding my African Violet too!
~M~
Here are the pictures I promised. It seems to take a long time for me to upload pictures to my photo albums, so adding pictures to the blog in the future may be slow coming.
Above is a picture of me trying to start some African Violets from a leaf starts. I used tin foil to hold up the leaf and dangle the bottom of the leaf into water. I don't know how this will work out, but my mom had suggested that I try it this way (I don't know if she was successful with this method before or not). Hope it works though, because this African Violet is very hearty and I have been very happy with it.
Above are the two recycled seed starter ideas I talked about in my previous post.
The one on the right is the paper towel/toilet paper roll "rings" that may work in a similar way as peat pots or those soil biscuits (the ones that swell when water is added).
The cup on the left is a re-used fruit or jello cup that I plan to punch/drill holes into the bottom and use for starting seeds in.
Above is the "remains" of the grapefruit plant I was able to start from seed. I accidentally killed it somehow (I guess I forgot to water it during our busy summer) It grew to be about a foot and a half and had huge long leaves. I doubt it ever would have flowered or produce fruit in our climate and the amount of summer sun we get. I am trying to start another one and will of course update my progress!
Above two pictures are the standard commercially available seed starter kits, I purchased 4 total. I don't remember how many cells there are but I will write more on that once I start to use them in a few days.
~M~
I was so angry today. My Mother-in-Laws cat knocked the seed container off of my porch (luckily it didn't go all the way down on the far side). It landed on my porch. Most of the seeds were okay, however the ones that I was really happy about (the Rose Mallow, I believe also looks a lot like hollyhocks) got totally taken out. Smashed beyond repair. I will have to get some more started soon. Boy 'O boy I was so mad!!! The others are okay I think. (Fingers crossed.....XX)
*Above are the seedlings in the seedling container. The ones that were "murdered" are in the very back. Oh, it still gets me fire up just writing about it now!*
I also had a question if anyone knows much about the plant Thunbergia Vine or "Black-Eyed Susan Vine"? I planted some seeds indoors and outdoors and was wondering what people thought of the plant and how well it started from seed. I have never heard of this plant, but love the description and picture and am looking forward to seeing grow and climb in my garden.
Above is the cucumber and zucchini plants I started from seed. They are doing well!
The weather is getting better! We had about 72 degree weather today ( I love it, I love it, I love it!!) and I got lots of work done while the little one was napping.
Hannah is getting better, the fever is down, but she now has a slight rash on her chest and under her neck and is still fussy. She went for her first wheel-barrow ride today and loved it. She was so cute! The same cat mentioned above even rode with her in the wheel-barrow. I wish I could have got a picture of that, but didn't have the camera with me.
I also have new great pictures of a resident squirrel and more cute Chippie photos! You can check more out in my photo albums.
This is a little squirrel I saw 2 days ago and again today. It's so cute!
Below are pictures of one of the two Chipmunks that live in my backyard. I love to watch them running around and sun bathing. They're cute.....
Hope everyone is dong well. Have a great week!!
~M~
Well, here are a few pictures of some of the seedlings I was talking about in my last blog.
Above is an example of the peat pots I use to transplant my larger seedlings into once they outgrow the seed things I started them in.
Above are the seedlings that I thought I started only a short while ago and they sprouted very quickly!! I am happy that they sprouted fast, I just love seeing them!
Boy o' boy, I've made a mess!! I have a 17 month old little girl and she gets into everything, so I have to keep everything up off the floor. It gets kind of cluttered sometimes.
Above is my Malva Zebrina that is struggling to make it. I was so happy when I noticed the new little leaf started!
Above is one of a few hollyhock seedlings. I am so happy they are working! I wonder though if I will get any flowers out of them this year?? Any ideas?
~
The weather is quite strange this week. Tonight I think it may have froze again. I wonder when our proper last frost date is going to be this year!? I looked it up online and it said April 1-April 30th. That really wasn't much help, I think I could have guessed better than that. We had a major rain yesterday afternoon with thunder and lightning (strange for this early in the year though). It was so nice to get some moisture. We really have had mostly cold and gray weather, not much rain this year (still more spring to come however, so we shall see). Today was warm if you got moving around (i.e. digging and raking, walking my daughter in her stroller), but still too cold to wear anything less than a warm sweat shirt. I can't wait for it to warm up. Just a little is all I am asking for, tehe-hehe. I know that as soon as it gets scorching I will be complaining about how hot it is though....hummm...
Anyway, I hope everyone has a great rest of your week! More updates later!
~M~
~April 29th, 2008~
My seeds are doing well. I planted some more just 3 or 4 days ago and some of them have started to sprout already!! I couldn't believe it!! I had put it outside in the sun, they were in a plastic container with a clear lid on it slightly open for ventilation.
I am happy to say that the others are doing well too. I had transplanted a few of my others (cucumber and zucchini) and will probably be transplanting my sunflowers to larger pots (if I don't end up just planting them outside to minimize the root shock, depends on the weather.....hummm.....)
My hollyhock starts are doing okay I guess. They really haven't changed much in the last week, week and a half. I don' t know why not. They have the 2 main leaves, but nothing more. They aren't getting overly leggy or yellowed, they are just the same. Any suggestions/thoughts?? Maybe they are just slowing down now after the spirt of growth during the beginning of emerging from the seed (that doesn't sound right, but I can't write what I am trying to describe.....humm....)
The broccoli that I planted is kind of in the same boat as the hollyhocks (literally in the same "boat", well same plastic container/same window spot). They are in the same window as my zucchini and cucumber that are doing well. I just don't know, things happen so strangely when it comes to plants!
Good news on the Malva Zebrina!! If you look in my pictures you can see how they really had no leaves on them, just two stem things. Now they are growing a third leaf from the center!! I am so happy!! I was really bummed that they weren't doing well because I love hollyhocks and they are so close to them in appearance ( according to the books and my moms experience). I can't wait to see them grow!!
Anyway, I will keep updating. Thanks to everyone who has commented and added great suggestions! Hope the spring is treating you all well! Take care and have a great week!!
~M~
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