Not only do I have to clean up the mess from dropping an entire tray of baby streps just potted up, I don't know their names anymore.
I will have to play the guessing game as I am NOT going to throw them away.......just pot them up again without names..........trying to smile about this (LOL)
Hmmmm....I see 13 pots on the floor--bad number! LOL! Been there--done that---extremely frustrating! At least you have the name tags so you can narrow down the possibilities. You are alright I hope!
Thanks, Phoebes!!!
YOu can't see the rest of them on the floor.........I had a permanest size tray but it was one of those flimsy black ones..........I just put all the tags into a zip lock......so that when and if they do make it and bloom, I have some kind of a list to choose from. Now I have to let the 'dirt' dry so I can vacuum up.......what a mess!!!!
Some of the little babies broke when they fell.............I will not repot them.........
I told Gail she should pot up the ones she can, and after a few days (she'd know by then if they'll make it), she should list them as a "mystery lot" on the Marketplace. She could include some of the names from her baggie, but not guarantee which is what . . . with the plants that she grows, I doubt anyone would be disappointed with what they get.
Gail,
I did that once with some av leaves that I had paid too much for anyway. I just had to laugh. AVs went one way and the labels the other. Goodness. It's fun to guess when they bloom though and then you can ID.
Laura
Oh, sorry. Too bad, I hate accidents. I have not dropped that many things at once, but I DO drop plants!
After being at Ken's once, Fred was packing up everything from our B&B and dropped it all! Thank goodness they were all just fine.
I don't think I am going to put any more plants on DG.........couldn't even sell nice starter plants (about 5 times bigger than these) for 3.00 each..........so I will have to be creative in what to do with all my streps..............
I did sell lots of strep leaves......but the people were from ebay and DG both...............that is good.........
Think we all are feeling the pinch of this lousy economy........I certainly am.............and several people on the forum have mentioned it also.....
I forgot to tell you all that I have to come up with time saving ways to pot up babies of both streps and avs.......
So...........I am going to try and use little bitty plastic pots with slits cut on the bottom and not use any string at all. Will put them on a mat and dome them. Let you know what happens, but this is too time consuming for each plant..........
Does anyone else not put a string in the pot on the mats????
I do not put a string anymore . . . I don't think any more than 5 or 6 plants are wicked now . . . And those only because I haven't repotted them yet . . .
Good............now my big avs I have all of them wicked........
But I just can't keep putting in strings to start everything...............
I just told avPat in dmail that I had forgotten how much I really love these african violets!!! So happy I am growing them again......
oh what a bummer.i have done that also...... who has'ent lol hopefully they will recover & you too.
bonnie
Gail, I know you were looking for quicker ways to pot up your leaves and babies. For what it's worth I can tell you what I did to make it easier. I use a large plastic container (like the huge containers of pretzels I buy for my classroom). They kind of look like barrels. I measure out my potting mix ingredients into it and screw on the lid. You can roll it or shake it to mix the contents well. My granddaughters like doing this for me. Then add enough water to it so it's just moist enough for the leaves or plants. It keeps like this for quite a while. I use l.25 ounce Solo cups that I buy from the party store, I put a hole in the bottom of the cups with a hot glue gun (be sure to take out the glue). I cut lengths of string and tie a knot in one end (keep these in another container). I do this at night while I'm watching TV so there is no pressure to get it all done at once. When these things are ready, I assemble the cups and strings, stacking them as I go. Right now I have about 100 plastic cups ready to go when my next leaf order comes in. Now just scoop the soil, tap the cup to settle the soil, stick the leaf or plant in and you're done. The whole potting process goes really quickly. Hope this is helpful.
Pat
wow pat;
talk about organized.lol thats great. I think i will give it a try.thanks
Also where do i find feed back?
bonnie
you just click on the person's name where ever they post something........it will take you to their homepage.......and you can read what feedback others have said and/or add your own.............
Pat, I am so grateful for this advice............will save me tons of time.........I can actually get the 11/2 and 2 ounce plastic condiment pots here in Taft......hip hip hooray!! It is very time consuming to cut slits in the smaller containers. Never thought about a glue gun......will get one!!! Tying a string can be done in front of the TV.........and the glue gun making a hole, also.
That means I better get with it in a hurry.....(LOL)
Oh no, Gail! Doesn't it make you mad to do something like that? Well, with all the trays of Strep babies you've ever worked with, though, you've got an excellent track record for NOT dropping them. They'll bloom in no time and you'll be able to figure out who they are. :o) I'm sorry it happened, though.
Be sure y'all don't breathe in the fumes when you burn holes in the plastic cups. Can be very harmful. Sometimes I use a soldering iron to burn holes in the cups. Stinks so bad that the family fusses, so I usually just snip three little holes with scissors.
Well if you need me to id them I will,just gettum packed up and send them here,lol,seriouly though,done that so many times,that why i write the names on the solo cups,or the pot now as a rule,i use a drill to make my holes
works good
I have an electric drill.............didn't even think about that...........will get it out and see how it works since my brother gave it to me (an extra one) but he only gave me one size bit (LOL). Fortunately it is a nice size bit.....
You're right, there are fumes from the hot plastic. That's the one part I try to do at the kitchen counter with the exhaust fan on.
I'm organized out of necessity, not because I'm perfect. I don't have a lot of extra time, so I keep it simple. If I didn't, I would never have the time to actually enjoy these beautiful plants. When it gets to be too much work it's hard to enjoy it. The only other thing I do to make it easier on myself is the watering. My plants are not close to a sink. To keep from having to constantly lug jugs of water to the plants, I bought 2 1/2 gallon refridgerator containers. It's the kind they sell for water with a spigot at the bottom for dispensing the water. I simply keep these next to the plants and filled with water and fertilizer. This gives me easy access to water every time I need it. If you also find yourself frequently lugging water, this might work for you too.
Anyone else have suggestions to make life with plants easier for the rest of us?
You guys are over thinking this! Just take a pointed object and poke! I use an old pair of cuticle scissors. I poke -push-turn-pull back out. Voila--a perfect drainage hole in a sec!
I bet you are not poking as many holes as we are, Phoebe (LOL)............I just used the drill on 1 ounce cups and it works.........easily.
I lug one gallon at a time from the kitchen all day long.........one at a time.............think I might even look into a standing water 'thingy' in each room that would dispense water for me. When I go to town, I have to fill 15 gallons of reverse osmosis water each week and then mix it half and half with tap water.
Thanks for all the tips.......will start doing some serious thinking on how to make this watering thing easier, too...............
I am too old to carry more than one gallon at a time ...........so if each room had a place to store water life would be so much easier and my knee and back wouldn't hurt as much.............
prolly not, but it's fun ^_^
I use manicure scizzors too Phoebe, takes about 3 seconds to poke 4 or 5 holes in the bottom of the condiment cups I use. If I know I need alot, I just do them all at once, usually while watching tv or whatever. Tweezers and other beauty implements make great plant tools!! The main problem is that whenever I need my manicure scissors for like, a manicure, or the tweezers to do my brows, they are usually too beat up from me using them for other things.
The glue gun is a good idea, though...
Gessiegail, I feel for you, I thought I was the only klutz that could do something like that.
I use a wood burning tool from the craft store with the fine tip. I run an extention cord out to the picnic table and I can do 100 cups in no time. I use 20oz cups to start my daylily seed so I use a lot of them, and it really saves a lot of time.
This message was edited Aug 12, 2009 8:37 AM
A wood burning tool sounds like that would be very fast!!!
Thanks
Here is another tip, put the holes around the bottom not in it. Not only does it drain better, but if you are bottom watering it works better. I just put some wicks in some AV leaf pots, I went in through the side, and they sit much better that way too.
I have been cutting slits on edge of the bottom and I agree..........it works beautifully but I am trying some now without string..........just the two slits ............
Now Gail.....that looks like something I would do!! LOL!! Good luck in getting their names straight.
Hmmmm...where have I seen a mess like that before? Hmmmm...Oh Yeah! In my floor!...LOL
I've done that more times than I can count.
Peggy
I didn't even attempt to put the names with the plants (LOL)
Oh No! I hope they made it alright.
So glad I checked this thread as it does make sense to put the holes around the bottom of the cup vs in the center. I will definitely do this. Thanks for the tips.
I burn, poke, or snip the holes right at the "corner" where the side and bottom of the cup come together. Makes them drain better, too, if you overwater and need to get some of the extra water out.
I saved about 3/4 of them...........not bad.....considering I fell on top of them when they went to the floor (LOL)............but they will have to bloom to know what they are.....
That's the least of the problem Gail.Thank God you weren't injured!!
I think I have good bones because I fall all the time.......and have never broken a bone. The only reason I fall is because I am always in a hurry and don't watch where I am going.
I fall too, dumb knee keeps going out. I guess I would too if I had to support all of my weight.
UH OH, meag......It doesn't get any better with age. My right knee is out and am waiting to have it fixed. Go on the 28th to find out when to 'fix it'. I am positive my right knee can't hold me up at times (LOL)
I've already had surgery on it one time. The next step is knee-replacement. I'm just not ready for that yet.
Oh my gosh. You shouldn't have told me that. It is taking all my courage I have just to think about day surgery which is easy.........there is nothing easy about knee -replacement.
No it's not easy, that's one reason I keep putting it off. My excuse right now it it's to hot to have all of that done!! LOL!!
It's not easy.....but I know several people who have had it done with no problems.......so please don't be too worried to take care of it before it worsens ^_^.
Lynn
