Blogs

       The Seedlings are Growing

          Acer palmatum

One can grow bonsai from seeds a process known as 'misho'

Seedlings can be potted together to form a "forest" or "Clump"

Japanese Maples are spectacular in the fall

Grow in Moist, well-drained  soil and give Part Shade

 If there are Japanese Maple trees growing near you, the seed are ripening; now is the time to gather the seeds yourself

Saturday outside under my little shed working with paint!  I acquired three little gnomes from a DIL that needed some color. They look like jolly old men now.

The window frame I am going to hang got a final clean up then I painted a little bit of a cat face looking out and glued a hummingbird sun catcher in the other corner. Can't wait to get it up.

There has been a broken plastic butterfly in my possession for the last few years that used to be on a metal sitck for the garden. Decided to spray paint it black and hang it on my shed. Looks really cute. When I downloaded this pix I saw that the original colors are coming through.

My son, wife and her mom came by on a Sunday afternoon. I always enjoy their visit.  We went to Stephanos italian resturant to eat. Such good food. 

My Cherokee tomato plants have been putting out blooms, but they soon dry and drop off. Any suggestions from any of you? I consulted some of my MG books and one thing they said was not enough water. So I have sunk white jugs into the ground so I can get water to the roots and mulched them good. Now I wait, sure do want these plants to make good maters.

Just found this info on the web -

"Blossom-Drop" is a condition suffered by tomatoes, peppers, snap beans, and some other fruiting vegetables where the plant blooms but fails to set fruit, the blooms die and fall off. It may be caused by the use of excess nitrogen fertilizers or dry windy conditions, but the most common cause is temperature extremes. Tomatoes, peppers and beans are especially picky about the air temps when it comes time to set fruit. If the night temps fall below 55 or rise above 75 or if the day temps are above 90, the pollen becomes tacky and non-viable. Pollination cannot occur. If the bloom isn't pollinated, the bloom dies and falls off.

Control: Water the plants deeply once a week, mulch heavily to maintain constant soil moisture levels, establish windbreaks as needed, avoid using excessive amounts of nitrogen fertilizers, and wait for temperatures to moderate and stabilize. Earlier timed planting can help attain fruit set prior to the on-set of high temps, and the use of protection can compensate for cool nights. Some recommend attempting hand-pollination with an artist brush or a gentle shaking of the plant/cage/support prior to the hottest part of the day will also help. Fruit set will resume when temperatures moderate. Hormone sprays, such as "Blossom Set", may prevent some blossom drop due to LOW temperatures. However, the resulting fruit are often misshapen. But studies prove that hormone sprays do not prevent blossom drop due to HIGH temperatures.

And boy howdy haven't we all had weird weather. Temp up and down, hot then cold? I will give them a good shaking tomorrow then wait some more. Here are my little vegetable plants.

Have picked one tomato from the Whopper, one cuke and 2 squash since these pix were taken. And the Cherokee Purple has baby tomatos now. YEA!

This is a Collage of Wild White, Domesticated Pink and my neighbors Yellow Yarrow. We are going to trady some white for yellow.  On the bottom are phases of the Lady In Red Hydrangea. Now the blossoms are gettting a deeper pink shade. Sure hope they go on to the red color the pictures show on line.

The metal headboard that I painted red has another place to rest. It will be glad when I finally get it put into place behind my little back yard patio.

And last but surely not the least is a photo of what I now believe to be seedlings from the purple Cuphea named Cha Cha. She did a dance and look what happened! :-) Be careful girls what you shake :-)

Here is this naughty little girl from last year. Thank you sweet plant. I understand that a grower can breed plants in such a way that they do not reseed. I am glad this one escaped or was not deemed 'good enough' to be a reseeder. Sure wish I could get a red type that escaped that trait.

More To Come Later

Above:  My bean sprouts FINALLY sprouting.  It seemed to take forever in comparison to my Mother-In-Laws.  Her's sprouted in 5-6 days I think and mine have been closer to 10-14 days!  I do know that she used a special (I think Miracle Grow brand) seed starting soil and I used plain jane potting soil.  I wonder if it made that difference, thoughts?!

 Above:  My beautiful super tall Zucchini plants!  They're almost 6-7 inches tall, which I am not sure if that's too good since they're probably "reaching" for the sunlight.  Any thoughts, good or bad?

Abov
e:  Another view of my super tall Zucchini.  Any thoughts, is this good or bad, or just okay?

Above:
  My good little cucumbers growing in their milk jug home.  They are doing pretty darn good, and I am pretty proud of 'em!  Hope it stays that way!  (Fingers crossed!)

 Above:  Now there's some big rocks!  This is a sample of some found on my husbands parents property (we rent on this property too, so basically it surrounds were Hannah and I go walking a lot.)

Above:  One view of the canyon we live by.  My husbands parents own the property that follows along the canyon (and we rent on this property).  Pretty dangerous for kiddos, but the actual canyon is far enough away that we don't deal with it on a daily basis.  We have to walk a bit to get to it and my young Brother-In-Laws (ages 12 and 8 years old) know better and have been raised to know its very dangerous!

Above:  One of those dang "Gravel" Brothers and Sisters!!  If you happen to hit this too hard with the shovel, they break into many pieces gravel size and are a PAIN to try and get out!!

Well, that's the lot of them.  I love taking pictures and especially like being able to share them.  I was so excited that I was able to get out and do some digging in the dirt today!  Hannah is feeling better a little bit at a time and she came out and joined me for a bit, and then I was also able to get out when she took a nap (thank goodness for baby monitors!!).   It was another gorgeous day outside!  I got quite a bit done today in that area that I am making for Hannah.  She will love it once I am done!  I won a battle with the "Boulder" brother, but may need the hubby to move it from where I ended up rolling it since it flipped to a side that doesn't easily roll from.  I hope it's not stuck since I would like to use it in the landscape of the new area I am making for Hannah.  I may use it as a rock step, or even as a retaining rock.  I have conquered the "Boulder" beast!  Hahaha! 

I also transferred two wheel barrow loads of composted horse manure over to a pile near my rock garden.  I still have to make up my mind as to what is going to go where and what I want to expand before I put the manure into the soil.  I think that I want to expand an area and potentially get rid the area that I attempted to plant my veggies in last year (Zucchini, Cucumber and Tomatoes).  I will have to take a good long look at things tomorrow.  At least I was able to get the manure closer to where it will eventually end up.  I can't move the manure when Hannah is around because she walks so slow (basically I couldn't fill up the the wheel barrow and have her walk next to me, it would take upwards of half an hour!).  So, I was very pleased to have been able to get the two wheel barrow loads today.  I will be sure to do more when I get the chance since I need TONS!

Well, more tomorrow.  I hope that everyone is well!  Happy Gardening!

~M~

We are done moving, but there are still boxes everywhere. This past week of having a sprained ankle really set me back. However, I can walk now so long as I have a brace on *its amazing how just having that little bit of extra support helps* and I even got out into the garden for about an hour this morning. I would have been out longer, but my ankle starting hurting again so I moved back inside. I cleared away all the trash and leaf material from where the flower bed is going to be and I cut back some more of the brambles that have been growing wild for who knows how long along the fenceline. No pictures this week; the cord to the camera is still in a box somewhere. One of my morning glory seedlings just died; I think it had root rot from the soil not being able to dry out any between waterings. Luckily it is still early enough that I think I can plant another batch and watch them grow. I have all my potted plants out on the porch right now, soaking up some much needed sunlight, but I won't be able to leave them out overnight for another week; I don't want to leave them out until the night lows stay at or above 55 degrees. I think next year I am going to wait a bit before planting my seeds, or at least plant them in larger pots than the small 3" ones I saved from last year. My good ivy plant is doing wonderfully, and the other one has died all together. The leaves are dried and crumbly. I think the roots just didn't make it through the winter. At least I still have one.

Today feels good. Things are coming along nicely; not exactly the way we had planned, but I am pleased and content with the progression of everything. The birds are singing outside my window, and the sun is peeking through the clouds. I can hear my kitty meowing to her jingly toy downstairs, and my homework and housework are both patiently waiting for me to stop ignoring them. What more could I ask for? I wish every day were this peaceful, but then I don't think I would appreciate it as much.

 Happy gardening, everyone!

It's another cold, snowy, gloomy day out.  I'm beginning to sound like a broken record!

The problem with my being bored is the fact that I keep planting seeds.  Every few days when it's too cold to get outside except in the greenhouse, I go and plant "another round".  It's like a drunk in a bar paying for "another round" having no idea how he/she will pay for it!  As a result I have more seedlings than I'll be able to use, and probably too many to give away. 

Craig and I have been doing some planning and plotting regarding ways to make more garden space anyway.  Of course, I don't think HE was planning on adding so much this year.  Tee hee. 

We currently have 5 raised beds and the greenhouse.  We also have 5 whiskey barrels that we got last year and in which we grew wildflowers.  This year I'm thinking those will be used for more veggies and/or herbs.  We have lots of other flowers I really need the space for all my tomatoes, peppers, etc.  Having a greenhouse has changed the whole dynamic of my gardening experience!

Thinking, thinking, thinking.  Planning & plotting and planting.  Sigh.

GL

I am so tired right now.  It's 1:02 and my daughter is still awake.  Hannah ended up falling asleep in my arms really late and slept for over 2 hours.   We're now so out of wack, plus I couldn't sleep last night and didn't fall asleep until sometime after 4:45 a.m. (that was the last time I looked up at the clock).  Yuck!  I hate when this happens!!

In gardening news, I did a bunch of digging out in the flower garden today to continue my battle with the evil "ClaySoil" and encountered it's evil siblings "Rock", "Boulder" and "Gravel".  I have some picture of the progression of my fight and removal of the evil "Boulder". 

The above picture is my first encounter with "Boulder".  Shovel in place and ready for action......

Ta-Dah!  I was successful in the "Battle of the Tomato Bed".  He was a brute, but I persevered!

My seeds inside.  They are Zucchini, Cucumbers, and Broccoli (top to bottom).  I have to transplant the Zucchini already due to the fact that the roots have already grown through the bottom.  I hope to do that soon since I don't want them to die off due to cramped quarters.

Ah, the above picture is my "dead" Alyssum.  It just fell over.  This picture really doesn't show what it looked like the first day it happened.  This was a day or two after they all "fell down".  I have NO idea why they did that.  It didn't seem to be "dampening off" .  Anyway, I will just plant them outside from now on too. 

Well, I gotta head to bed.  Hope all is well with everyone! 

~M~

Well, all of my seeds are started.  I've moved them into an indoor mini greenhouse that sits in front of my patio doors and begun to feed them a dilute mixture of fish emulsion.

Last week I raked a ton of sand off my lawn.  We had so many heavy snowstorms that Town Works had to put down a lot of sand.  As they ploughed, the wretched stuff got thrown up on everyone's lawn.  There's still a lot more to rake off, but every little bit of effort pays off.

I have snowdrops in bloom at the moment.  How appropriate!  We got a light dusting of snow overnight.

Thanks to those of you who helped with my seedling crisis!  I'm happy to say, the transplanted seedlings looked very happy this morning, so I transplanted the rest.  I think they are going to be okay.  Next time I'll know they need to go out in the greenhouse much sooner! 

I ended up with 62 plants.  I'll be giving them away, because even with expanding the garden area, there won't  be room for all of them. 

Some of the seedlings inside are poking through the soil.  In a few days I'll be putting those out in the gh. 

GL

I found some eight-year-old bell pepper and tomato seeds lying around that I thought I'd try to start.  I went through an egg carton for supper tonight, so I filled it with dirt from outside and put five seeds in each compartment (hey, they're really old seeds, I'm lucky if one comes up). 

If they come up, great.  If they don't, it's off to Earl May for seedlings.  Wish me luck!

Some of my seedlings have sprouted on the kitchen table.  I have brussel sprouts and lettus coming up.  They are tiny, but give me hope.

The greenhouse got up to 106 today.  Craig opened the vent and the door a crack, but I lost two of my little tomato plants.  How quickly I forgot that keeping the greenhouse cool is often more difficult than warming it!  It was 58 degrees here today (which was wonderful!) but I didn't realize it would get that hot inside.  From now on we'll keep a closer watch.  We'll have to go out in the morning and open it up, and in the evenings we'll close it down again.  When it gets so warm that ventilation doesn't cool it, I'll put the shade back on (30%) and maybe add a couple of fans. 

I injured my ankle in November.  Ironically, I was just trying to toss some table scraps in the compost-  there was about 2 feet of snow - - and my body turned, but my foot didn't.  Anyway, I keep reinjuring it.  I may have overdone it a bit getting ready for the party, as well as all the dancing.  :(  So I couldn't get out in the yard much today on this gorgeous day.  Had the foot propped up. 

I'll be posting pictures soon.  I promise!

Gay Lynn

My seedlings made it through the night, and so did I! 

The greenhouse stayed at 51, and the guests stayed until 2 am.  The plants were much perkier than I  was this morning. 

My son Dan, who lives in Hawaii, surprised me and showed up on my doorstep for the party.  I was so happy I cried and cried.  So three out of my four children were here.  Kyle, my third son, toasted me and also made me cry.  A couple of weeks ago I told my daughter Makenzi that we should make the party a St. Patty's Day them, but forgot to tell her I'd nixed that idea.  She showed up in a ridiculous big green bow tie, green pigtails, and green suspenders.  It was quite funny when she walke in and realized she was the only one "dressed" for the occasion.  There were over 50 people here, and I feel so blessed to have such an amazing group of friends.  All in all a great evening. 

I took a lot of pictures of the plants and the party.  I'll be posting them as soon as I find the cord for my camera. 

The temperature got up to 52 outside today!  Spring really is going to come. 

Gay Lynn

I moved all the seedlings to the greenhouse this morning.  The temp overnight was 45 inside, 19 outside.  I would rather it was at least 50, but I couldn't wait any longer because there was no room in the house for serving food and drinks this evening!  Since this is my first year to plant seeds indoors, I'll worry like a mother hen until I get out there tomorrow morning and check on them.  Oh, who am I kidding? I'll worry about my little seedlings every year from now on. 

The yard looks a mess!  About half of it is visible, the other half still covered in snow.  I tore a lot of stuff out of the greenhouse to clean it, and it's strewn about between the raised garden beds until I have time to reorganize.  Probably tomorrow while I'm cleaning up after the party.

And speaking of the party - Wow, am I behind the 8-ball here.  My hubby works part-time at Deer Valley (we ski free!) and typically works 2-3 10-hour shifts per week.  He traded several days off so he can have all next week off.  We're supposed to be going to Southern Utah to camp, but I'm not sure we'll make it.  Anyway, that's why he's not helping as much as usual.  Normally he's a doll about helping around the house.  And, while we often have people over, we've not had this big a crowd for a LONG time!  As much as I look forward to the party, I'm bummed that I can't be working in the greenhouse today! 

This better be fun!!!

XOXO

I was so excited to get to my computer this morning-  it's like faux gardening!  I already have a gazillion friends here (okay, just six, but that's after only three days!) and they all love gardening!  Who needs a therapist?

The last couple of weeks have been very stressfull for my husband and me.  His mother has had to start dialysis, a very difficult process for someone 83 years old.  Also, my oldest son, Josh, had a grand mal seizure two weeks ago.  All of his tests have come back negative.  Good, right?  The only problem is there is still no explanation as to why this happened - or worse - if it will happen again.  He and his wife live in Monterey, California with my only grandchild, Evie.  The cutest 4-month-old child on the planet. 

Anyway, it's nice to have a place to come and pretend to garden.  Gardening has always allowed my mind to escape to a peaceful, happy place, no matter what stress was in my life. 

Thanks to all of you for welcoming me here! 

The temperatures are still so low at night that the greenhouse isn't staying warm enough.  It was 14 outside, and the low in the greenhouse was 43.  I won't put plants out until I can keep it at 50.  We are supposed to be in a warming trend, so any day now.  I love having the plants in the house, but they are taking over my kitchen and bar!  I suppose I'll have to wait another day or two.  Maybe I'll get some bubble-wrap hung to help insulate. 

Lots to do!

Today in our garden my husband and I had our first successful transplant of seedlings to their new homes. Despite the overcast skies, high wind, and scattered rain, I filled the containers with compost and moisture control potting soil and drilled some additional drainage holes along the sides of the pots.  The cucumber sprouts were very strong and bright in color.  I used bamboo skewers as delicate instruments to carefully untangle the web of roots and separated the little guys one by one.  I placed 3-4 organic cucumber sprouts in each 1/2 gallon container and topped with a peat moss.  We now have three of those growing in our veggie patch.  I also planted green-bean sprouts in a window box. 

In addition to the intricate transplant, we planted English Ivy and several bedding annuals (who's names I can't remember)along with with some beautiful jasmine.  Finally they were all sprayed with a delicious, freshly brewed compost tea! (My hubby's perfect secret recipe) 

I hope to upload some photos to share tomorrow.  It was too rainy and overcast for photos outside today.

So far there have been no fatalities or amputations in our new garden.  This is quite a shock for us, we have never been able to keep plants alive more than a few weeks. Hey, I think my thumb is turning green :> 

Good news, some of the seeds have finally started to sprout.  In light of this event, I have decided to come out of the closet...literally.  The seedlings have come out of the cabinet and taken over the laundry room.

Surprisingly, my wife was cool with it...for now that is. Maybe she just couldn't resist these cute little babies...

I think it may have ticked off our Guienie (sp??) Pig, "Belle".  She got bumped to the dryer in order to make room for the light setup!

Don't worry though, she won't be there long.  My wife is a teacher and Belle will be going back to 3rd grade on Monday :)

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~

     This morning is cloudy and the weatherman is calling for rain-but how often is he right anyway?  This evening I have a few hours at home alone and am torn between playing in the dirt and sewing, the weather will decide or maybe I will play a bit if it is only drizzling and them sew-indecisios!
     Since I had divided the outside tasks in my mind yesterday, there was a great sense of accomplishment not only for what I had done, but for managing to keep it managable.  In the past I have been known to spend hours outside after hibernating all winter and then find it difficult to walk~or at least stand up straight at first try...........but it is all worth it. Pacing is the plan this year, pace myself.......do a little here, do a little there.......and vary the tasks so that all the muscles ache not just one or two  :)!
     I can't help but look out the window each time I come to the kitchen, looking out at what is and what will be-it makes me smile.  All winter I stood in these windows looking out dreaming and planning about the colors and the smells and the sounds of spring.  Where I am going to move this and wouldn't that look nice if combined with that over there and oh-maybe I should do this...............  Now it is here, I simply love being in the garden.
     There was a stop to the garden center yesterday for green bean seeds, it seems I didn't order those through the mail and while I was there a little rosemary plant took a ride in my buggy-I love rosemary.  This afternnoon she will take her place in her special square in the garden.
     If it decideds to rain there are a few tasks that can be done to continue my gardening quest.  Last year I grew birdhouse gourds and during the winter I dried them in the utility room.  Perhaps I will drill the holes so they can be hung up.  This year I am not going to varnish them.  Everything I have read says they will last a year or two unvarnished.  As I am unsure that a bird will come back and nest in the same gourd over and over I have decided not to varnish this year and see how it goes.  Now that I understand more about the growth and ways to encourage more gourds, less vines, perhaps this years harvest will be more substantially sized fruits.  We have been saving the dryer lint in a net bag so I think we are ready to assist our feathered freinds with their nesting.
     Maybe this would be a good day for the rain, less chance of physically overdoing it in the yard and now that the debris is cleared from the gardens a good soaking may be in order.
     On my way to the car this morning I am going to pop into the greenhouse and see if anything is happening.  Most of the seeds have somewhat lengthy germinatiion........except maybe the chamomile [ I love chamomile], anyway that will be the first gardening task for today.  At work I have some houseplants that I am going to repot -at lunch of course-and bring home a few clippings for a garden friend.
  

While mother nature has provided many challenges over the last month, garding is finally in full swing. The greenhouse was set back up and is filled iwth trays of cells full of seedling mix and seedlings waiting to spring to life.  I love to play in the dirt!!

In the greenhouse I have started a variety of flowers, herbs and veggies.  Some old favorites and some I am trying for hte first time.  They are: Birdhouse gourds, luffa gourds, acorn squash, spagetti squash, two cucumber varieties, yellow squash, zucchini, garden salsa pepper, basil, dill, cilaantro, parsley, giant lavendar zinnias, candy cane zinnias, dwarf zinnias, blanket flowers, red impatients, swee peas, scarlet morning glory, eggplant, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, califlower, marigolds, and purple salvia. 

The strawberries have been planted and three beds have been sectioned off and labeled.  The cool weather crops have been planted in the bed-spinach, red sails lettuce, buttercruch lettuce, green leaf lettuce, scallions and two variety of peas.  By applying the square foot gardening method I am hoping to increase the bounty.

Photos at this point could not express the  sense of satisfaciton, the joy and contentment that was gained by spending this time gardening.  The birds were singing and while it was cool, I enjoyed every moment spent outside this weekend.

After strolling around the yard, I made a list of things that I can work on after work each day that will allow me time outside and work towrd my gardening goals for the year.  I think the biggest challenge will be the digging, ammending and replanting of a garden that is near the pool  This is a challenge because I have yet to get this garden to look like it does in my mind. That picture has chnaged several times over the years but the common denominator is to have scented things that attract butterflies and hummingbirds.  The hard part seems to be planting a variety of items whose bloomtimes are staggered with variying leaf shapes-and NOT overplanting.  I tend to overplant.

gardening is something I do because it feeds my soul, and tonight when I go to sleep I go there happy and filled with a sense of contentment and satisfaction of my accomplishments.  I am also reassured that there will be a garden and months to play in it.  It was a long winter and welcome spring with open arms~ I have embraced it.

OK, so I didn't pay close enough attention in Latin class back in High School...

Here is what the final product of almost an hour's worth of work with a tweezers ends up looking like.  Aren't they cute?  I know, we're the proud parents of......drum roll please.........three flats of dirt!  :)

 And so the waiting part begins, always the hardest.  Here's what the rest of the seed flats look like, we started a lot of peppers this year, not so many tomatoes as there were so many volunteers last year, I had to weed them out!  Now watch, not a single one will reappear, wouldn't that just fit?

Every day when one of us gets home, whomever is first gets to take a cautious peek under the domes for results.  Don't know when the cactus will come up, their germination window is the size of Alaska, 7-57 days, for pete's sake...

As of tonight, the garlic seeds have won the race, there's a tiny sprout up in their section that looks to be true to garlic form...not sure if they're garlic seeds, or maybe just garlic chive seeds, as the person who gave them to me got them from her next door neighbor last fall.  This spring, she's gone, moved away sometime over the winter...At least we got the seeds!  :)

Biggest problem is the moisture in one of the larger flats, I've noticed there's the start of mold fuzz on the top of the soil, so I slid the cover off ever so slightly, hope that takes care of it.  I also think the dryer being on all day Sunday was a bit too much of a good thing!

OK, updates as events warrant!