Propagation: Plant Propagation part XXIX based on my own experience, 1 by evelyn_inthegarden

evelyn_inthegarden wrote:
Well, y'all ~ I see everyone is in good fighting spirits! We finally got our power back on and so the catchup has begun. I was hoping to get some seeds started today, but maybe later on this evening. For some reason I am feeling tired, oh yes! I read all of your posts as I was trying to get caught up. Last night it was 24° and today was a high of 42°. At least the winds have died down, though it is still breezy. Quite a bit of storm damage...trees, branches...but at least no major damage. One large branch the size of a medium-size tree hit the side of the roof off the back porch and it will have to be repaired. At least there was nothing going through our roof!

Dave ~ Wow, your greenhouse looks really nice. Is that new, or one you already had? I was going to tell you to be patient with the columbines, but you probably knew that their germination took a while, so good! I will report back once I have started my seeds. I have all the supplies and before the storm started I got those heavy bags up onto the back porch so I would not have to go out in the snow to make a potting mix. I have peat, vermiculte, perlite and bone meal and some orchid mix for the peppers. (I read that online at a pepper forum and I will try it out.) I did get good germination last year but I think they dried out a bit so I lost a lot of seedlings that way. Now I have proper heat mats and a thermostat. I did not want to get all that my first year of seed-sowing. Now I am ready, well at least the equipment is ready anyway! I still have a few other things to do so it might be tomorrow that I actually get started. It would be good to start in the morning instead of just doing a little bit now, but I can get some things ready and mix some soil. I would rather do that now instead of going out in the cold morning.

Are you referring to fresh DL seeds or slightly older ones when you use that germinating booster? I have some old ones that I would like to try that I took from some that I have growing.

Linda ~ I am sorry that you are in such pain. I will send you prayers. Glad you are feeling well enough to join in. I understand as sometimes I can read the posts and then just shut off the computer. Things happen so fast around here that I will get lost if I don't read the posts every few days, but what good does it? I don't remember half of what was discussed or who is growing what? (Oh, well!)

JB aka Innocent and Sweet Old Lady ~ Isn't there a TV show called Jersey Shores? I don't have subscription TV, but I have heard of it. Do you live near the shore? Sorry, I don't have a US map or a map of NJ. Have you lived there all of your life? Too much snow for me....you say you love it there, well, OK...I have had too much while everyone else is in their heatwave. I know, what a whiner! It just happened so suddenly going from 60° to the 30's and 40's during the day....I am sure the plants are whining even louder, only we can't hear them. They can't go inside and build a fire and crawl under the covers, but at least there is some snow cover. My chinese cabbage and broccoli are protected, so far, and the peas and lettuce have not yet come up from being sown about 2 weeks ago. My neighbor had a pine tree snap off at the top, as well many oaks have been severely damaged. Oh, BTW, those arrangements are really lovely!

Katie ~ Are you feeling better yet? You are right about the scarlet runner bean. My grandmother was from Georgia and she used to talk about them a lot. I suppose they grow well there and are beautiful as well. I just read about them that the soldiers used to grow them (during the 2nd WW) as they were good to eat and beautiful too. We all need plants to cheer us up, right? I will have to try the split pea soup your way as the canned stuff is not as good as freshly made. And yours sounds even better!

Dawn ~ Are you better too? It is no fun being sick, ever. So please get well, OK? It took me long enough...LOL!! I was on antibiotics for 10 days and I hope that will be enough. Did your area get any rain out of this storm?

Lee ~ Yes, JB is right. Better to have a dog that loves the cold weather. Our old black lab (when he was alive) loved the snow. He thought he was taking dust baths when he was really making snow angels. He was an angel too, except when he dug up this one hosta over and over. Poor thing did not have a chance against him. Hopefully yours won't want to dig up your plants. Still since he is young, you could train him to dig holes for your planting on command. Have you heard of the Digging Dog Nursery? Maybe they have a stategy.

Sharon ~ I guess that your area escaped the storm, huh? That is good. Do you get snow there during the winter or is it warm all year and then hot in the summer?

Dee ~ Sorry my answer was so short but my power was out and the battery was low. We live about 20 mountain miles southeast of Placerville which is between Lake Tahoe and Sacramento.

Randy ~ Yes, welcome to our weird and wonderful little corner of DG who each in their own way grows something different from one another, but a few things we do share in common. We have a tendency to ramble on a bit from time to time, and with more people coming on board you may have to get a second computer to keep up, LOL! What kinds of plants do you like to grow and what is your growing climate? We have all sorts here, I suppose you have gathered already. And what has your weather been like lately?

Well, I must go now. Take care everyone. Here is a picture of the branch that damaged the roof....