Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness...a gypsy song

I'm not good at ID-ing things. I'll be back later.

bye Julie

Morning Gypsies!! Just hopped in to wish everone a good day. Rains are slacking here a bit so thinking about venturing out to check out a little flea market down the road. Catch ya later and if I don't, Have a terrific weekend!

Good Morning,

Just a quick dance thru...
I am so jelous, Tinkerbell has a nice wardrope than me!!
Oh but hey love her little leather, she can ride with us anytime!

Your dream house looks like quite the fun project!! Incredible flowers.

Oh JJ, you are so sweet, thanks for the invite. If my Brother wasn't coming I might have taken the drive...
Looked you and Trina up, you two are pretty close to eachother? Nice 3+ hours ride Southand east? for me.

OMG, What a great idea with the Tree Papered costume...Hmmm, will have to tell my kids about that one.

Oh gotta clean u0p camp here, so will check in later...
One more cup of coffee, and crank up some tunes...
Got some Native American Drum music, it's great to clean to the beat!!
see you in a bit.

let us know what you find, Flowers!

Morning all,

I love flea markets!!

Lynnie I'm ready show em what I can do!!!! :) I'll have the jacuzzi ready for you!!

Smiley don't work to hard it's Friday.

Moon, Venice enjoy the day hope the sun is shining for you. If not I'm sure Dave can give us a rainbow!

Seedtosser I have to join you in the cleaning inside today. I have enough dog hair to make Trina's pup a fur coat..

Later everyone the vacuum is calling

Trina, I have a couple a few pieces of that 2nd photo on the right side. I thought I wrote down the name but I can't find it now. Sorry. Have a nice walk. Is it raining there now? Everything has been dry for so long that the flowers are enjoying it.

Just imagine walking out your door and seeing all that beauty!

Trina, is that how you want the inside of your house to look? LOL

Moon, I have another compost question for you. Can I put compost in a closed container with the bottom still in it and no holes in it? Maybe if I throw in some worm also.

Hi All. Just finished vacuuming JJs....3 dogs and 3 cats can shed a new carpet everyday....grin. So by the time I get around to vacuuming I get enough to make winter coats for your dog too....grin DHJim always says to check the cannister and make sure I don't have a live cat trapped in all that hair.

Weatherman still saying 40-50% chance of rain everyday this weekend. I had to dig up all my bearded irises...lost three to rot from all the rain....rats. Pushing the limit trying to grow them here anyway, but I am stubborn....ya think? grin

Seed, we took first prize for inventiveness with our TP costume....grin....almost as bad as my oldest son making an "embarrassed woman" costume....put on a wig, skirt and blouse and glued a long strand of TP to the bottom of his shoe and brought it up and tucked the TP and the skirt hem into his bright pink granny panties (over boxers).....lol...he had a blast with people saying, "excuse me Ma'am, but you have...." and he would turn around and grin at them....they all had a good laugh.
Smiley, I put on a pot of gumbo to eat on over the weekend....Chicken and andouille sausage. Yummy.

Trina, two of the first pic are dragon blood sedum and the rest look like various sedums also....unless the ones in the second pic have fragrance....then maybe rosemary....hard to tell from the picture.

Karen, have fun at the flea market...hope ya find something dirt cheap and too pretty to pass up...grin

Have a wizard day today...lots of good magic in the air....catch ya later.... Moon

You can use a closed container for compost, Venice, just can't let it get too wet if ya have worms in it...they will drown in standing liquid. Otherwise, that would be fine.

I would need some worms in it though, right?

Moon, your family is sure creative with costumes. That is so funny they lady with TP stuck to her shoe!!! LOL Your gumbo sound really yummy! Especially on these rainy days. We are finally getting our share up here. It sounds like your air down there does have a lot of majic in it!!! May we all have a happy day!!

Worms enrich the compost with their castings (poop) but are not absolutely necessary.

here are a couple links on worm bin composting...good helpful info

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/homegarden/2003818753_wormbin04.html

http://www.examiner.com/x-5231-Portland-Green-Living-Examiner~y2009m6d15-Build-a-worm-bin-and-grow-your-own-garden-heroes

http://www.cityfarmer.org/wormcomp61.html

http://www.balconycompost.com/compost/methods/simple-worm-bin-composter

With humidity at 97% and the sun shining it sorta reminds you of a wet magic forest out there...temps gonna be in high 80's so need to go play in the "Natural sauna" before it gets too oppressive....

Oh, Carol...I stuck some seeds in the mail to ya today. Think you will like them...all should do well in your area. More stuff coming as I get it together....hope you can use them.

Moon

my robot vacuum went off & just about scared the daylights outta me lol boy I wish they would make robot counter cleaners...I could wipe counters all day they'd still be covered with pb & j & ice cream & who knows what. Isn't he cute?

I have a couple of purple irises blooming out there, very pretty. I don't know what they're called, they were a bonus gift with an order I placed. Very dark purple. I guess they're fall bloomers.
Moon I think you got our share of rain in Sept..it's been dry for weeks here. That gumbo sounds yummy. I got apples for apple dumplings for the kids to make. It isn't quite soup weather here yet.
Off to run an errand before school gets out....chocolate break is over! *grin*
Oh JJ you should be feeling the burn now! Took no prisoners at the gym.

Lynnie, I think we got everybody but Georgia's share of rain this month. When the rain moves through, it dumps 1-3 inches at a time....sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. No wonder the bearded irises are rotting.

Moon, whatever you send, I certainly can use. And I will take very good care of them!

do those robot vac's really work Lynnie?

Do I have this right?

Moon = Jean
Venice = Carol
JJs = Pam
Lynnie is Lynnie
Trina is Trina
Metro = Dave
Smiley = Julie

I don't know who Flowers and Seeds are though. (( sorry! ))

And there was a Cat, and Jim, and Ican, but I think we lost them.

Moon, I am already thinking about how to start seeds. Many DG people talk about sealing up the soil with seeds and put them in a baggies. I guess that keeps the moisture in. One person said they used short lengths of paper towel tubes, heavier than TP tubes to keep the seeds separate. And put soil even between the tubes.

I thought I would cut 3"lengths of PT tubes and put them in a plastic storage containers with a lids. The containers I have are only 5"-6" tall. I have a 3-4 cheap desk lamps that clip and ones with arms that take 60 watt bulbs. I may have a couple of limited space that gets a little direct and mostly indirect light. But if I use the lights at a different location, will that be enough light or will I cook the seed/plants? Also, I do have some long planters that are 8" deep.

What do you think would be best out of the things I already have?

Flowers = Karen
Seed = Judy
Cat = Cathy

Jim has been really busy lately with church obligations and trying to get his garden settled. Cat pops in as time allows and Icanfindroom, Ican for short has been busy with work and getting ready for another Alaska winter.

Babeegirl (pebbles) and Dixiegril are not subscribers, so can only catch them on the open forums.

Smiley, my son and daughter-in-law have had one of those robot vacs for years. I am not even sure if they have a regular sweeper! They can clean one room while the robot is sweeping in another room.

Flowers = Karen
Imzadi = Rie

Good morning everybody! Aloha kakahiaka!

Try starting the seeds normally without any gimmicks. Starting them in planters sounds good. To raise the humidity try making a plastic tent and put them inside. Do not lock up anything so it can't breath, the air needs to circulate, without circulation, you increase the occurrence of mold.

Here's a rainbow for you JJ!

I just want to make sure that the roots from the growing seeds aren't all tangled up together. Also, I really don't have enought light for them and afraid they will grow all tall and skinny.

Lynnie nice floor. Is that hot water heat and yellow pine woodwork?

Been wanting one of those robots for awhile. Only person I knew who had one also had a housekeeper, no pets and no kids at home. Not a good comparison for the work it would have to do here.

Does it hold a lot of dirt? How does it take off on it own, timer?
How about the one that mops?

Off to friends house, time for his eyedrops.
The sun is shining must be Moons magic!!!!

Back later

JJ, don't know about all those things you are asking!

Carol, I am with Dave here. Use your planters. You can use cardboard to divide the planter into sections to separate the different types of seed. I use a wire coat hanger, opened out and bent into a curve, put the ends of the hanger into the ends of the planter and then use a piece of plastic (dry cleaner bags work) to drape over the wire. It stays open on both ends to allow for air flow, but protects from drafts and holds some humidity. You can use your desk lamps, but just make sure to keep it away from the plastic (at least 6 to 8 inches) so the plastic doesn't melt. Set the planter in a tray so you can water from the bottom, or set the planters in the bathtub to water. bottom watering is the best way to keep from dislodging or damaging the seeds/seedlings. I included links for all the seeds so you could get complete instructions and see what the plants look like.

Thanks for adding Rie to the list....kept thinking I was missing someone and while I was outside I remembered Imzadi....sorry Rie.

Ok, sounds good! How deep does my soil need to be for the seeds?

Hiya JJs....glad you have sunshine and a rainbow....grin

Aloha ahiahi, Dave....nice to see you and the rainbow....grin

Did that help any Venice?

Thanks anyway Venice. Maybe Lynnie will be back later and know.

Broke the wheels on my vac so due for a new one. But I don't know if I can bring myself to spend that much on a vacuum. Maybe DH will get one for Xmas. :)

I have to go do eyedrops.
Think I'll tell him that is medical housecall maybe I can get $2.00. lol

Later everyone

You will need about 4 inches of soil, and set your seeds 1 inch apart. that should give you plenty of room for roots. I use an old tablespoon as a trowel to lift out seedlings for transplanting...just remember, the roots usually don't spread any further than the height of the plant, and if ya get two at once, no problem, just gently divide the clump into two and plant.

whew! I don't think I'd have the patience for seeds. So you take these little seedlings out in the spring an plant right in the garden? I'd kill them for sure. I did take a baby step and cut some annuals to try to overwinter. Sure would save on the potted plant look that DH likes so much.

( I asked about the alias's because I wasn't sure who Carol was. Sorry Venice ^_^ )

Ya almost need a playbill and cast of characters, SmileyJ....grin. Seeds are a little daunting at first, but then ya figure if they can do it on their own outside with no help, it can't be too hard to do inside. For that potted plant look, I start seeds directly in the pots. Right after the last frost I take the pots outside, set them in the required light (sun or shade) and sprinkle a few seeds on top and just follow the package directions....it works for me, so figure it will work for you too.

Moon, back to the composting. The bin I have is a good size and I can drill those holes ok I hope with my wobbly old hand drill..

Cardboard goes on the bottom, then food, bedding (shredded cardboard and paper), food, soil, bedding, spray water to soak upper bedding, and after 1-2 weeks add red wigglers.

I already have that compost started. Should I just mix it up with plenty of bedding? They recommend 1 pound food for 2 pounds of worms. Some just recommended 1 pound of worms but that is starting everything from scratch.

Also, I don't want to use a whole another bin that size for dripping. Maybe use some smaller container under it???

I know Moon, you think I am just making it too complicated! Ok, I will just do it as I think it should be done. I mean, what is the worst thing that can happen. No big deal! I just need to look what the worms are doing about once a week. I know what to do if they are dying or if they aren't eating enough. OK!

So Venice is Carol; JJ is Pam; and Smiley is Julie.

Very hard to keep all that organized, when a lot of posts are coming in.

So then Carol (Venice), are you starting annuals now for Spring. Might be a bit early; the plants would get etiolated by being starved for sunlight.
January is a good time to start annuals for a jump-start for Spring in temperate areas.

Carol, If you are going to do a worm bin, follow the directions in the links. If you are making a compost only bin, follow the directions we talked about before. An open top bin needs really good drainage, a closed top bin you control the amount of moisture, so it doesn't need holes. I think worm bins are the best for small gardens. You can have both if you desire to, using the compost bin to feed the worm bin....it is what works best for you and is the easiest for you to maintain. Just have fun with it....grin

hello everybody...sorry I miss3ed all the fun....the lack of sleep all week just caught up with me

ummm coffee and cupcake break. Didn't make it to the flea market Julie and Pam stepped out of the computer room and tripped over the vacume, too it as a "sign" lol. Moon we must have been on same wave. Carol I have used egg cartons to plant seeds but only did it before last winter frost.