lilmac442's Blog

A new (for me) way of seed starting-Winter sowing!
Feb 13, 2008 | 5:56 PM PST

I have stumbled upon my new gardening project. Winter sowing! The concept is nothing new. Gardeners have been doing it for a long time. Heck, Mother Nature invented it. And now I am going to give it a try.

I have read and researched and by all accounts, nothing could be easier. You gather your containers-gallon milk jugs seem to top the preferred list, but the possibilities are endless. And putting all those plastic containers to use instead of into a landfill is a plus! Also less labor and cost of running heat and lighting is another plus.

You plant your seeds. (There are several lists and databases of seeds that can be WS) And put the containers outside. I was a bit skeptical about that-it seems so cruel. My seeds have always been started on heat mats,under timed lighting and lovingly looked after. Tossing them out to be snowed and rained on and frozen....the horror!

I have been assured that not only will they be fine, they will be hardier, sturdier plants than their pampered counterparts. And no damping off! The success rate is high and most folks who do this have an overload of plants.

So....can I take this leap of faith? YES!  Will I still start a few inside "just in case?  You better believe it. The worse case scenario is that I will have so many plants that I will have to share. (Just kidding-I love that part!)  And maybe have a few to put into my yearly yard sale. (More money means more future plants.)

I was planning to start this adventure this weekend. But my DH will be coming home for a few days, so it will have to wait one more week. But I will try to keep a running update as the season progresses.

3-6-08

Well, I have been slowly adding to my collection of jugs and pans. As of today I have : Hens and Chicks,Moss Rose,Iceplant,Alyssum Apricot,Columbine Nora Barlow,Snow on the mountain, Cosmos Seashells, Cosmos Hinomaru, 4'O Clocks, MG Grandpa Ott, Datura Blackberry Swirl, Petunia Cascade Mix, MG Knoles Black, Oriental and Asiatic Lillies, Lupine Tutti Frutti,Hibiscus, Blanket Flower, Coleus Rainbow Mix,Painted Daisy, African Daisy and Siberian Iris.

Whew that sounds like a lot. And I have more to do yet,lol. This is really fun and if you have the time and space, give it a try... 

Autumn Leaves
Nov 2, 2007 | 9:32 AM PST

This will be my very first blog ever, I am hoping that some will recognize and/or feel my pain. ; )

I have just moved back to Michigan from Upstate NY. I was born and raised here, but was married and moved to NY in Feb. of this year. Due to forces beyond our control, I had to move back here, and DH will follow in the spring. (*sigh*)

So here I am in the new (old) home with my son of 16. The yard is huge more than an acre that is mowed, and woods beyond that. There is no flowerbeds or plantings to speak of. I will be changing that as time goes by. I am already up to my eyeballs in fall bulbs that I have been purchaseing....curse you nurseries and your Fall Clearance specials!

But I digress. On this nice parcel of Gods own green are trees. what we lack in formal plantings, we make up for in trees. Lots of trees. Mostly Maple, a few box elders. Box elders, while not a beauty to behold in any season are not so bad...the leaves fall,dry and crumble to be mowed into a respectfully easy pile to be composted.

But the Maples. They give us their glorious show of autumn color. A fantasy palette of yellows,golds and reds in every beautiful hue. One cannot drive through the Michigan countryside without oooohing and aaaahing. Then you wake up one morning and discover their true wicked nature. All that beauty is now all over your yard. the colors now fading and curling. You sigh, get the rake and begin the job of trying to find your yard again. This is when you discover the true sadistic nature of the Maple. You rake and lug and haul the leaves, only to discover that while you were dumping them, a whole new batch has covered your yard. Now I know what you are thinking...wait until they all fall, fool. I am telling you its easier to rake leaves six inches deep than twenty...and that bottom three inches will be a wet slimy goo that has no colorful glory whatsoever. So you spend the next few weeks raking and learning the basic Maple phosphide:

Leaves will fall, but only when the lawn once again becomes visible.

Your trees will drop a ton of leaves that will stay completely within the boundaries of your yard.

Your neighbors trees will not....they will however  stay in your yard.

The last 1/3 of the leaves will remain on the tree waiting for the first snow.

And now I am off to rake. And hopefully get most of the aforementioned bulbs in before the Maples find out....