SHOW US YOUR "BRINGING INS"

This is one of the larger containers of Succulents that Rick potted up earlier in the summer.

And the other one...

And with the large Euphorbia in between the two, there wasn't any room left for the other pots!

This "loner" found a spot on the corner of the desk.

The front entry has always been filled with Orchids but not this year! Most of them are being transported to a friend's house today to spend the winter. The Pothos in the center has been there for years and was a healthy specimen climbing the walls until this summer :( When we had the ceramic tile installed this summer in the entry, we had to cut it back and keep our fingers crossed that the flooring crew could work around it. Definitely doesn't look as good as it used to but at least it's alive! The pot on the left has a Plectranthus in it that I love. It had been spilling over the edges but had to be cut back severely to bring it in for the winter :(

This one took up major space in the living room last year when it was over 3' tall! We cut it back to about 1' in the spring and now I can squeeze it into this spot by the front door :) For some reason I can never get a good picture of this plant. It's a gorgeous plant with almost black foliage but the foliage is so glossy it always looks washed out in my photo attempts. Leea coccinea 'Rubra' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/60374/

When we had the floors done this summer, we removed the aquarium that used to sit on this table in the front entry. Sorry to see the aquarium go but we had real problems with algae and we could never keep it clean. Now I have all this extra space for plants! I was even able to use the floor space under the table. It was actually too dark under there for the plants so I made a quick trip to Walmart and bought an under the cabinet fixture to give them more light :) The poor Fuchsia on the right was one of my last attempts to save a few plants from the garden on Sunday. Unfortunately it isn't too happy right now - I did get it inside before the freeze but I forgot to water it the first day :(

And my final attempt to save a few things from the gardens and containers I had to leave outside - cuttings! Not sure how well they will do but I bought another under the cabinet fixture which I'll be hooking up soon. Hopefully it will give them the bright light they need to prevent them from stretching!

So.....doc, do you think I qualify for "too muchitis"? LOL

under cabinet fixtures, great idea
We may have to have a contest for official Queen of Too Muchitis- Mid Atlantic Region. There are several highly qualified gardeners here!

I have no new ideas to contribute since this will be the first year that I am overwintering anything, but I am reading and learning and very excited about using all the information that everyone is sharing here (Starting with rooting brug cuttings above the "Y" now and getting the under cabinet lights and etc!!)

I have been ill with the flu (felt worse with this one than I ever have), so I hope that I will recover in time to get it all done.

Sally, I don't know how much of a contest would be needed. So far I'd say that RCN wins it hands down.

RCN, I love Rick's succulent arrangements. Very nice. You did an amazing job in getting that all inside. It also looks very neat and orderly. No spill over to the kitchen, bath or other rooms?

Oh gosh, your indoor arrangements of plants look much more "decorator magazine" than my current hodge podge, mostly confined to the morning room but definitely spilling over this year.

I just trimmed all the dead or tatty leaves off the bananas... they didn't make it into the ground this year, just spent the summer on the deck, so they didn't get so huge. They'll go back into their corner of the dining room this winter, and hopefully next spring I'll get them planted out in the deck bed with some "tropical" (or tropical-looking) companions.

Roses, I hope you're feeling better soon! You just do what you can... and if you can't, you can't, and you just have to shrug and say "ah, well, there's always next year!"

Roses, that flu that's going around is a nasty one. Hope you will fully recover quickly. There are way too many garden chores to be done, than to waste time being sick!!

The winter is going to grow some nice bringing-ins. Keep those pix of your work showing up here. Everyone likes to see your stuff.

All Hail RCN, Queen of the Bring-ins !!!

Roses R R take care of yourself, get well soon and don't worry about getting everything in, we will resupply you at our next swap.

LOL, hold your votes until you see what actually lives through the winter!

Sally, the under cabinet lighting is a great idea as long as you're smart enough to measure the space! I set up the one I bought for the cuttings yesterday and realized the 23" size was too long :( I managed to "tie" it to the shelf but 18" would have worked much better plus it would have been cheaper! I was happy to find them at Walmart for less than $9.00. They had some which were a couple of dollars more that were neat. They have the ability to connect more than one together. Not sure if they'd put out enough light but might be a possibility if I actually get shelves up for seed sowing next spring!

Stormy, not sure how "amazing" it is - I didn't spray or treat anything for bugs before I brought them inside :( Sent the pictures to my daughter, her response? "All I can imagine is how many little spiders or critters you dragged in with all of that stuff!!!!!!" LOL No spillover - there's just not enough light in the other rooms. This is a photo of what it looked like three years ago, taken from the loft. I tried something different that year and placed some along the edge of the loft thinking they would receive enough light - NOT! Of course I think the lack of water probably had more to do with it than the light :(

Roses, take care of yourself :)

RCN, That's a really nice configuration of space. You have used it so well.

Roses- take care-Rest! Fluids! Gardening! ok that last one doesn't appear on the official tip list but its on mine. Laugh! That should be on the official tips list. LOL "the Office" we are really laughing at and you can watch it in syndication probably eight times a day.

I did have a tiny baby jumping spider on my water glass at dinner the other day, same day I brought three big plants into the dining room. What? My FAULT? naah

Lucky wtih yesterdays weather I did do some neem spraying, dragged some things back out for that and a few more nice days. Isn't it beautiful this week?

I am back to gardening Sally, and it does make me feel better. Last week I stumbled around dragging pots from outside and a few days later we were loaded with bugs. Today I am doing the same thing with the neem.

Had one mishap so far. I bought a pair of cheap slippers that looked like the ones that I wear from Lands End. I had a constant problem keeping them from flopping off my feet no matter how careful I was. I had these slippers on when I went to bring in my huge precious pot with the jasmine in it. Needless to say, the slipper started to come off when I stepped up a tiny step into my dining room from the sun room. Everything went flying all over the place (huge pot broke making a mess and scratching my arms up as I fell on top of it).

Tragedy: I FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THIS BRING IN!!

RRR now that sounds like something I would do. At least it was the pot and not your wrist. Be careful !

RRR--

I also hate slippers that flop around on my feet....They are VERY dangerous!

Bought apair (hurriedly) at J.C. Penny's last year--as they were on a super sale. Waste of money!
I cannot even wear them--it is so hard--as I have to, somehow, crimp my toes to even keep them on.

Mostly--I prefer the moccasin-type slippers that have a sole on them. Then i can run outside--as well as wear them inside. I have even worn them to work and NOT (really) broken the dress code! Teeee-Heee----

Roses, you can post that on Sally's garden rules thread. Cheap Slippers and gardening do not go together. So Sorry about your pot and so happy it's not you that broke.

I was up at Penn State today and there was snow on the ground even though it was 68 degrees. They had 9 inches over the weekend for their Homecoming.

Thanks, I think I've finally got the "configuration" I want :) In ten years this is the 4th time we've rearranged everything, and mainly just to accommodate all the plants! It always looks so naked when all the plants are moved out in the spring but this most recent arrangement looks a little more inviting even without the plants :)

Roses, I worry every year that I'm going to have broken pot, some of these plants are getting heavy! I used to be able to just drag them across the floor because we had carpeting but now with the new floors I have to be a little more careful :(

Speaking of being "careful", I wanted to post this helpful tip :) For years we struggled with watering everything over the winter. We had stacks of those clear saucers stored every year to place under every pot and it took forever to get everything watered! We had also tried the foil trays like those you can see in doc's pictures but even though they avoided spills, they just wouldn't hold enough water and I was always underestimating how much they could hold :( Then Rick's solution was using the foil turkey roasters because they were deeper BUT boy were they ugly :( So, about 3 years ago I finally got smart and purchased clear humidity domes http://www.growerssupply.com/farm/supplies/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10001&langId=-1&division=GrowersSupply&productId=404377. They're fairly cheap, last forever and they work great! I can usually get about four medium size clay pots in them, more if they're smaller pots. Sometimes if the plants are really dry I might have to water them from above but most of the time I just fill the trays about halfway and the pots take up the water slowly. The only thing you have to be careful about is making sure you have plants grouped together which have the same watering requirements - some like it more dry than others :) They're the perfect size for most shelving units although I'd love to be able to find some which are narrower for tighter spaces. You can order them online but sometimes you can find them at local hardware stores, although they may be a little more expensive.

Those trays I use are good for several years. We found them in one of our big box grocery stores two for about three dollars. True they would be hard to carry out bottom watering. I do not however follow that advise because I am around professional greenhouse folks that never bottom water. I have learned by weight when I pick up a pot how much water it has and how much more it needs. If I overwater to the run through point those trays serve to keep it off the floor. An overfill goes to the tray where it evaporates. It keeps my mess on the floor under controll. My bride likes it better because the floor does not need to be mopped up after my watering. I have a few of those clear ones for the few big pots. They serve the same purpose. I figure if the pros top water all the time my relatively carefull top watering will do no harm.....even on the violets. I pick up the pot, look for critters, pinch a leaf here and there and then top water to my weight measure. Most of the time I do not have run through. To cover my occasional pot that dries up I set that pot in the kitchen sink to bottom soak back to proper dampness.

My indoor plant medium has evolved into aproximately 40/40% coir and pro-mix with 10% water crystals and 10% compost and vermiculite for the live biology and better drainage.
The jury is still out as to if I really see a need for the water crystals. I have Saturday or Sunday set in my mind to service all the pots and maybe trim the vine type plants a bit.

Most of the time I still use Neem Oil for it's insecticide, fungicide and miteacide labeled qualities. If neccessary which is very seldom I have and will use stronger chemicals. Since moving all my over winter plants inside I have seen a grand sum total of one spider and and nothing else except an occasional worm moving in the pots. No fungus knats yet ..... knock on wood. I am absolutely sure the mess I dealt with last year came from a bag or bags of commercial potting medium. All of those pots have been properly ceaned and zapped in our radar oven. The medium has all been changed. I then used two treatments of Merit and sprayed all plant head to toe with Neem Oil. Hopefully I will not be the master manager of an insect zoo this winter. Last winter was the worst mess I ever had in all my years of keeping plants over the winter.

There was a lot of negative chat on the internet cites about defouled organic potting mediums. The company in question was a big one and in my case they gave me a settlement in the form of credit cupons for any of their products. I frankly feel they backed their product as well as they could. Those bags are punctured to permit air to get in. Those miserable knats could enter at any point along the way to the consumers purchase.

I'm afraid I'll barely be done settling my bringin ins and it'll be time to start seeds! My friend wants Yellow and Purple Datura next year, I think I should start them on New Years Day , they were so slow last year and I think I planted late Feb.

I agree, Sally!

I will, definitely, start mine much earlier next year--AND---Use a different Seed Starting Mix.....
Maybe not new Years day--but beginning of March for sure.

Don't want another disaster as I had this Spring with all my seedlings!!!!

Did you use Jiffy Mix last year? I just use whatever decent potting soil I have. Jiffy Mix seemed way too fine and dusty, and when wet, too soggy.
Dtauras are the only thing I have in mind for starting way early--so far. They took four weeks just to start sprouting, and so long to mature outside.

Yes--I used Jiffy-Mix this Spring.
The year before--I used MG Seed Starting mix--we sell that at HD. Had NO problems! Everything did well....

Will do that again!

Did you ever buy any of the amazing potting Mix from Good Stuff Cheap??? PLEASE do!
I will use nothing BUT--when transplanting plants next Summer.....

Remember?

doc, I'm not a fan of bottom watering either but the soilless Pro Mix we use dries out so fast in the house I was losing more plants to drought than overwatering. The deep trays aren't the best solution but they're a much better alternative for protecting the furniture and new floors because these plants are sucking up the water fast! Plus the clear plastic looks so much better than all the turkey roasting pans Rick used - it used to look like a space station in here! LOL

Gita- my Ollies didn't have any of that, at least when I got there. But I like StayGreen mix from Lowes, huge-mongous bag is ? ten bucks, and at this time of year I am recycling used mix from discard plants.

I'm also a fan of using a decent mix and top watering with a good drip tray for slight overflow. I have amassed a wonderful assortment of saucers, food trays, cake lids--actually an ugly mess--! , trying to make sure I'll have just right tray for any pot.

Does everyone use only store bought soil for their "Bring ins" pots?

sally---

I did not say "Ollies"! This soil is at "Good Stuff Cheap".....:o) Do you have one near you?.....somewhere?

I recycle used soil as well. I have one of those heavy-duty tubs with the rope handles.
I just dump everything in there and use it up in containers and such the following year--with a few goodies added....

I'll vote for top-watering too. Just easier.

G.

Chill pill! I don't have a store named "Good Stuff Cheap", but thought that was the motto Ollie's Bargain Outlet uses in all their ads.
If the soil looks decent and I see no bugs, I recycle it, mixing with fresh. In theory I would use fresh to come in the house but I am lazy and rushed.
edit--Sorry if I'm testy but I've had all the "exclamation points" I can handle this week!!! Here!! Have some back!!!!!!!!

This message was edited Oct 23, 2009 7:49 PM

I didn't think everyone was using all new soil. That could get to be very expensive. I don't usually buy more than a bag or two of soil a year. Just enough to get me started on the first plants in the spring. Even that gets a lot of amendments.

Well, I like to recycle, so my "bring-ins" get a mixture of leaf compost from last fall pile and whatever commercial soil mix I used to start my annuals ( some never came up and I reuse that soil). So I get good bugs and bad bugs and that seem to work in the long run. I like to keep it simple.

Yes, Villiers, That's the basis for mine also, usually with some Peat added. My indoor pots also have some worms brought inside. Maybe they'll stay there until next spring, or perhaps I'll find them on the carpet one morning.

The 'puter is still in the shop, we just stopped by the library to get a fix. LOL Ric

My "bringin ins" which were sitting outside drying from the bug bath are now sitting outside getting soaked.

I never use all new soil or medium.....In the fall I first get a wheelbarrow load ready some new some old causing the winter potting to look and feel just about the same as my spring fixings.

My fall pot soils from the years growing then get mixed back into the working part of my compost to which I add a bit of manure, some fertilizer, some Ironite for the trace minerals and all my leaves plus even more when I can get them. By spring any usable potting soil has been biologically re-charged. I do not put my worn out finished plants in this part of the pile. They go back in but where they can take longer to break down. My basic mix for patio pots in the spring is more or less very similar to my winter potting soil. Over the years I just know what good stuff looks like, feels like and smells like. In theory one third of my compost pile is a dukes mixture used over and over again after being recharged over the winter. The rest of the compost pile might be called the long term getting ready areas. By the time the next third goes through a summer it is working back into the first third. The final third gets all the new summer and fall stuff. There is no magic here just a continued working three station area in one long pile. I have said and think my assessment is reasonably close to having a fifteen foot long working pile with each third roughly being on the way to be ready for the next major use period. My helpers know the areas as one, two and three. I do not turn more than neccessary to move each third after a whole summer or winter working period. I just give directions to my helpers....like it is time to move half of #2 pile into # 1 station and mix it with our patio used soil. They don't get to confused keeping it this simple. I do very little shovel work any more. I can't!
My usable medium or soil is ready to use anytime and generally I do just that.

Maybe this will help someone get a handle on the lazy man's working pile. Sometimes I sound like a soil doctor. I never mean it to read that way ...... yet I would challenge anyone to show me an easier way to carry out the process. Any beefing up I think I need goes in by eye and by gollies just befor being used. Good stuff like this is rarely spoken in such simple terms. I don't photograph this pile because it is not the kind of working pile that makes sense in magazine print or on the computer screen.

I do like to see some of the three station physical compost arrangements some gardeners build and show. It might make sense depending on line of site in close living quarters. They are nice to both talk about and show. I just complimented someone on this site for having created a dandy three station wooden framed compost pile or station. She should show it here for all of our compliments.