Blogs

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!

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!!

------------------------------
------------------------------
--------------

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:

~Clutter Mommy~

The entry will be under today's post titled "Re-Post From Garden Guides.com Blog Entry....". 

It is titled:  "Busy, Busy, Day Outside...."

----------
----------------

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!

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~

Today I was able to hand turn some more of the garden and mix in Oma-Gro® compost while I was at it. The soil seem nice and loose, well as loose as clay can get. Garden size is 10 x 20 and I turned 20 x 3 along the back edge and two 6 x 3 patches on either end. Also added some compost to the Asparagus that I planted last year. I under estimated the number of bags of compost it would take to cover my garden. Good thing the garden center is only 4 blocks away. I will try and turn some more tomorrow if the weather holds out, if not it may be a couple of weeks when it is dry enough again. They are calling for severe weather over the next four days.

Today I planted a few things:

 • Early Scarlet Globe Radishes
 • Sparkler Radishes
 • 1st Edition Yellow Onion sets
 • Sugar Snap Peas

Tomorrow I plan to plant the lettuces, and transplant the herbs and tomatoes into bigger pots. I bought some general miracle grow fertilizer for the house plants and will use a weak solution on the seedlings. I also want to start the cucumbers and squash inside. I need to dig through all of my seeds to see what else needs to be started.

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!

My husband and I are planting our first vegetable garden this year.  I bought cucumber, basil, radishes, carrots, cilantro, peas, sage, turnips, and lettuce seeds today at the grocery store.  They were 30% off, too!

At church, I asked one of our friends if he knows someone with a rototiller so we can make our garden bed.  It turns out he does, but it's been broken for five years.  Lucky for us, my husband worked at a small engine repair shop after school in college, so we're going to fix it as our "rent."  It needs a carbourator rebuild and a muffler, and I guess that costs $30 for the parts.  This is a great bargain for both of us!  Things are coming together.

Today I planted some herbs and tomatoes for this year's garden. In a couple of weeks I will start my cucumbers. Below is a list of the goods.

• Lavender Lady
• Oregano
• Rosemary


• Basil
• Sweet Marjoram
• Chives, Garlic
• Dill
• Yellow Pear (Heirloom) Tomato
• Patio (Hybrid) Tomato
• Celebrity (Hybrid) Tomato
  

1. The zucchini plants both died, this is the second year they have gone south. 
2. The radishes were all tops and no bottoms again. I know that there is too much nitrogen in the soil.
3. Cucumbers were low on the productive scale only a handful of them.
4. Green beans need to be moved because of the sap from the Austrian Pine. It got all over them.
5. Carrots were a lost cause. Not enough water to make it worth it again.
   
6. I don't think I know enough about potatoes to really do them justice.

I also had some really great things happen:

1. Peas were prolific producers.
2. Walla walla onions did great as well.
3. Lettuce seemed to last almost to July.
4. Tomatoes lasted up until the heavy frost. I covered them a few times and then picked all the green ones to bring inside. 
5. Asperagus came up for the first season. Hopefully it comes back.

Is there anyone with experience with saving seeds?  This year I decided my big project would be to gather several species and plant next spring alongside "new" seeds and see what happens. 

This county has many, many farmers and gardeners, (and overpriced farmers' markets) but no local seed exchanges.  I've heard of a handful of successful annual events for exchanging seeds, but nothing here. 

That is funny since this area is full of nonprofit groups interested in "sustenance" and "food webs", "eating local" and such.  These people sure spend alot of grant money doing alot of nothing to promote genuine grassroot activities such as this.

Is there anyone out there involved in these exchanges?  How successful are they?  Is the general public interested in this?  Do county extension offices, or even farmers' markets, sponsoring the majority of these things?

Help!  I know that if I could find some guidance, our county would fall head over heels in love with a seed exchange program.  People around here love to share.

Thanks for any info!

P.S.: Is anyone interested in a pair of goats--for sale--cheap!             (just kidding--though some days I wish they would run away)

Oregoner :)

Good morning to all! I don't usually get on the computer this early as i use it at work when i get there, so i thought i'd check in and say GOOD MORNING and tell everyone to have a very AWESOME day!  Also if you get a minute and you have extra seed(s), please write to dizzy45vines (Carol) and inquire about where to send extra seeds you may have for the community gardens her daughter helps with! What a wonderful project! 

 Be Blessed!  debbie

I was out checking out the garden this morning and making a mental list of this to try to get done this weekend, when I spotted a zucchini.  I have posted a picture in my Greenhouse & Garden album. This is the biggest round zucchini I have yet to see, my cell is next to it to give a hint of the size! And then the end of it had seeds coming out! I am not sure if the peacocks had eaten a little of it and the hole was near the seeds, or what... I am not sure but really strange looking,, there is a picture of that also!

Was taking a spin around the yard and putting water in the bird bath. So humid and there had been a little sprinkle of rain while I was not looking.

Found the white cleome begining to put out some seed. Collection time is near.

The hummers have been just wild these last few hot humid days and tonight they were buzzing right around me. I had a thought that I might be in for a 'piercing' if I didn't get out of the way. Funny how they choose a mate, build a nest, lay eggs, tend them, nuture the young, kick them out of the nest and before you know it they are running them off from every necter producing plant or feeder they can find. Such territorial little creatures. Just fascinating and beautiful to observe.

More To Come Later