Seed Swap and Chat #49 boxes enroute...

the blue tarps in my yard are bright . why do they use smuff blue for tarps. now i stand out very much so as my house is white. hehe im a smurf

I'll send you some morning glories but they are not the fancy ones.
Smurfette, now you know where you live. lol
I'm glad You and family are O.K.

I just have to share with my piggie friends because anyone else who's not a garden piggie just rolls eyes at me over my excitement. For those of you who know me - I had to move this summer - over 1000 miles. Had to leave my garden and all plants. It was a rather depressing summer without veggies and all the flowers I'm used to, plus moving with 3 little girls was rather hard to say the least. Well, after 6 months and finally feeling like we're settling in....plus the planning of seed starting and a prosperous upcoming growing year....I ventured out and found my local nursery! Was so happy, I strolled for over an hour, feeling like I was in paradise. It is even better than the one I left behind. As a treat I picked up a pineapple mint to take home and at checkout they said, honey, all our herbs are buy one get one free (making them $1.50/ea)..... to say the least, I think I came home with 10 new herbs to jumpstart the herb garden this year. I felt like a REALLY big piggie since I just got all these seeds. Nothing soothes my soul better than the smell of my fresh herbs. ^-^

All that to say - I found my local nursery and LOVE it!!! Jumping up and down!!!

yep i know where i live. if it wasnt raining would take a pic of the tarp so you can see the color.

its blue blue.

hubby gonna be home and talk to insurance people and contractors and everything as i know nothing about wires and such. i grow plants not buildings and stuff and codes and such. all i want to know is why did it catch fire. when it shouldnt have as its new,

im trying to stay in good spirits over this and everything but its hard.


i will say this if you want to send stuff right now i am not gonna be picky as everything but my piggy box is gone. i dont think i can save anything from my containers. brother cut one open as it melted and everything in it is gone or melted plastic on seeds or just crumbles to the touch.

brother is here to see if washer cord can be fixed so i can wash clothes and my one pair of jeans. know tommorow is church and will have plenty of clothes after tommorow no doubt. but need the washer to wash them.

and we just moved it into the place it was supposed to stay at.

if i didnt have bad luck lately wouldnt have none at all it seems.

ooh gotta go bro yelling at me.

me box landed safely on me front stoop! wow! no mud! Thank you, ella, you did a marvelous job!!! and everyone else, many many thanks! I dont think me ever seen so many seeds in one spot! cant wait to separate, organize. and get started planting.

ya know i always enjoy yer stories...and ya had some doozies this time. Thank you! looking fer me in the next couple of weeks...i beez playing in the dirt

Edible flower question......anyone ever eat hollyhock blooms? I always grow edible flowers and saw hollyhocks listed as edible in the new Johnny's Select Seeds catalog. Also listed, new to me, is purple hyacinth bean flower. Just curious if anyone here has eaten them. Thanks!!

Hollyhock- alcea rosea are edible, but I have never tried them myself. As I try lots of plants for eating and teas it seems like a good one for this summer.
You can use them for tea as well. Medicinally they are supposed to be used like Marshmallow. I have not tried them for that, but as I have so many seeds now, I will be!

I

I got a slip in my box today. It seems they wouldn't leave it because it was raining. So I guess I will have to wait until Tuesday.

To those of you who I gave petunia seeds to, I had lost the seeds for the piggy swap so I had to divy up the ones I had saved for myself so you didn't get many. I just found the others so will go about sending you some more. Won't be a whole lot, but some.

Have a wonderful day.

Jeanette

Everyone please check your postage and D-mail Ella and let her know if she owes , she worries about this and had ask earlier on so please let her know , I am marking off seeds recieved on pages I copied that tcs was kind enough to put up earlier , Just trying to help her out here. till she better. Thanks!!
Carolyn

Carolyn we already told her to keep the extra postage. If she doesn't want to spend it on herself tell her to put it in a savings account and use it in the next swap if she needs it is my suggestion.

That's right!!! She may need it for someone
that really needs seeds and can't afford the postage.
Tell her to quit fretting and get better fast.

Imzadi I got morning glories seeds out the kazoo and you more than welcome to them. I have all kinds but they are mixed together since they all grew close together and twined around each other it was impossible to say which seeds went to what and who knows, you might just get some whole new colors next year with open pollinations. If ya don't mind reminding me in a couple weeks, I'll pull you out a bag full.

I guess we can't mail anything til Tues. Forgot the Holiday.
Durn.

Maybe it could go towards a trip to the er. I know it would not be enough but maybe even a drs appt.

Jeanette

..........happy little piggy, wallowing in so many seeds spread around me in me bed.....with me cuppa!

Thanks Yall,
I am just her back up person trying to keep up with who's got and make sure all's okay , Of course i miss a few also but figured 2 eyes better than one . She the perfectionist , I just get lost trying to keep up but only trying to help her out right now even though she is gonna say she is fine. That is something I am used to from my mom's side of the family no matter how bad thing's get everything is fine lol.
I just go hide in the corner and fret!!
But thanks for replying.
Carolyn

Carolyn, you tell Star we are praying for her and sure hope she feels better fast. You are a great friend to help her out and look after her, so bless you as well. Do keep us updated on how she is and if anyone can help her. I'm so sorry.

imzadi, I was really sorry to hear about your fire and glad you and your daughter are alright that's a scary thing to go threw thank God you woke up in time! Never would have thought the smoke would be where it was for the smoke detector not to pick up on it that's a scary one too think I'll get a couple and put them closer to the floor! Great idea :) Look at your board again that white mark from here looks like a dolphin or some kind of fish, I told you all my eyes were bad lol

Ella sorry to hear of your fall hope everything will be alright with you sounds like you may be sore for a few days! Ya don't have any relatives to help you when you really need it? I don't either but plan on using a room mate here for things I need done this summer Ha! I have a cousin that used to be in construction and won't hit a lick on my house! Go Figure! Not even just little jobs! Use some of that postage money you have left over to buy you some asprin for pain if you can get out.

Carolyn you lost your favorite aunt I'm so sorry {{{HUGS}}} to you darlin! Keep that head up and get some planting done if you can :)

Did I tell you all I have all kinds of lisanthus up! I'm a proud mommy now if I can keep them all going Ha! Too many try and sneak out on me and I always just end up with just a couple of plants by the time they are ready to be transplanted! I'm watching those suckers more this year I may keep them on the dry side a little too much.

GardenQuilts I had some SI iris seeds about four years ago now and WS them 1/4" deep and they all germinated right at spring. Last summer was their third summer and they still didn't bloom for me yet I don't know what color they are going to be!

I am sorry there is so much bad stuff going on. Seems it is happening everywhere. My aunt found out she has cancer & my husbands aunt had a heart attack & her husband has alzheimers & still was able to call for help. Poor guy was left alone for a few days while everyone figured out what was going on. My SIL has been being picked on at work & someone said the wrong thing & I guess a big fight ensued & my SIL has now been charged with aggravated assult. She says they are lying about what happened & she is too afraid to do anything. I mean, she went to her mothers house & will not leave the house for anything. She just sits & cries. She is the one who had breast cancer & pulled through it. It was really rough on her. Her husband is a real jerk & an alcholic & was not there for her through any of it. She is one of the sweetest people I know & now has to go through this.

Star, please don't worry about my postage either. Just concentrate on getting better.

I have like a gazillion questions. I think it is time to start my eggplants. Is that right? I am trying really hard to get the timing right, but at the rate I am going I will be too old to plant when or if I finally figure it out. I just poked holes in the bottoms of about 25 styrofoam cups & have my soil ready to put in them. Just have to decide what it is time to plant.

They put my DH on night shift, so MY days & nights are all mixed up now. Have no idea when I am supposed to cook dinner or anything. Hate the night shift :(

Anyone know where I can go to find out how far apart different veggies need to be planted in order not to cross pollinate?

Oh wanted to warn everyone who has kitties. Please watch that they don't get in your dryer & especially if it is a gas dryer. My Dads favorite kitty climbed into the dryer (wasn't even warm in the dryer, so had to be like a gas leak in the dryer). Well, my Dad & Mom went looking outside for her, for like 3 hours & they finally came back in & checked the dryer & she was laying there lifeless. I have one kitty that loves to try to get in the dryer so I have always made sure, but it was my parents first time having kitties as my Mom has always been alergic until now for some reason.

Sorry to be so long. What have you all planted so far? And what should I be planting now? :)

ants

Imzadi sorry to hear about your fire. I had a fire a few years back and the insurance guy gave me a few cans of stuff to set around to absorb the smoke odor and it really did help alot. The cans were like gallon size but I can't remember what they were called. You might ask your ins guy about it.

It's been a while since I've read all the post, just jumped on to tell Star I had received my box. I definitly have a few things to say.
Ok, here goes -

Imzadi - I'm so sorry to hear of the fire. I think I saw somewhere in the posts that you were looking for some vine seeds. Well, I took part in the SummerHill co-op and got 2 different types of vines. I would be glad to share a few seeds of them with you. Let me know ifyou are interested by d-mailing me and I will get them out to you. You can look them up at the Summer Hill vine site.

Billardiera longiflora

Eccremocarpus mix 'Chilean Glory Vine' = I got the mix so won't be able to say what color the flower would be.

Star - (going way back here) I loved the ride to the P.O. ( smile)
I did give you a note with my money telling you to keep any extra for any purpose you needed, but thought I better repeat it here. You get better now! Stay off the ladder for a while please. And since I neglected to state this earlier THANK YOU for all the work you have put into this tremendous swap! I wish I could say in words all the gratitude I have in my heart for someone as giving as you ... Love ya!

Theresa, Happy Belated Belated Birthday!

Carolyn, Hugs to you for your loss, and for helping Star. Thanks for keeping us posted.

cheles_garden - thanks for sharing your New Nursery story. What a bargin on those herbs. Jumping and Down with you. haha

LeBug - Someone sent me some Lisanthus (she knows who she is!!!) and now I have to try my hand at those babies. I've been reading up on them .... yikes, it seems like I can't let the seeds get cold at night. I have my light setup in the basement and it gets down to 50 degrees at night. I have all my lights and heat mat plugged into timers to save on $$. Sigh, I guess I will be leaving my heat mat on for 24 hours to keep the temp at around 70 ... or DO I REALLY HAVE TO???????

I've managed to get 3 jugs WS'ed so far, only 3 more to go. LOL Hubby hates them and we've agreed I will only do a couple each year. A couple doesn't mean 2 right? It means at least 6 this year. (one more than last year). :o)

I don't know if any of you remember, but just before Christmas I said I was painting my kitchen grout a nutmeg color. Well, I've finally finished, except for pulling out the stove and refrigerator. I thought I could get it done in a day, or a weekend at most, but with 'stuff' happening and me just finding it a lot more work than I thought and not finding it fun at all, well, it took a month instead. Let's just say if I had known what it entailed I wouldn't have done it. I will post a picture when hubby gets up and shows me how to post pic's again with the new camera.

Morning all!!!! Thanks Carolyn for keepign folks updated.

I here, a bit bruised and battere d , but I here and wil be on and off. Leg swells if I stay up on it too long still.

Friday the weatehr so nice for a change deicde d to get out and try and recover the palsic on the gh that got all destroyed. I usally just grab milk crate s and stake them up for ladder and had the plastic almost all across the top when a section stuck and I had to try and hoist myself up on the top to trya nd get it loos e fromt he wire s on top and when I was sliding back off the top foot didn't land in middle of milk crate s and so next then I knew I was laying flat on the ground . Fall was bad enough, but what got em was had some 6 foot heavy board s holdign the plastic while I trie d to get plastic on and they fell down on top of my feet and legs.

I cna wiggle my toes, so nothign broke, but sore and bruised as all get out. I been puttign pastic on and off for years by myself , gues s it w as just oen of them freaky thigns this time. If it quits raining friend s from church gonna come today and try and finish the job for me. Got seed s to plant, ain't got time to be down. I just thankful didn't crash through the old wood pallets adn pots. Din't land in a mud puddle either : )


Ants... I doing my tomatoes, peppers , and eggplant now indoors.

I transplant my tomatoe seedlinsg twice befor e they hit a 4" pot and go outside and peppers and egg plant take a logn time it seems ot get up and going, so I always start them early. The peppers and eggplant need alot of light horus and hot temps, but whiel the tops maybe slow growign they wil work on roots in th epots.

Yep............ grrrrrrrrrrrr I just realize d tommorrow a holiday too. I am really really sorry for thos e havign to wait so logn for boxes. I have shipped thousand of boxe s and this is the first time , unless, it been a box goign the senic route that they have ever taken so long.

Good Morning All!

Ella, I hope you're feeling better soon! Stay off the silly leg so it can have a chance to heal. You can always sit around and brew up more trouble while you're resting, so it's time well spent ;)

Big Hugs to everyone.

HI Ella sounds to me like that extra postage money would be best used to buy you a decent ladder so we don't worry about this happening again to our favorite Mama Piggie.

Get you a nice strong one . Much better and stronger than milk crates.
Hang in there, we are all here for you.

good morning all

ella.. im sorry to hear of your fall..i hope you get back on your feet soon

imzadi..im glad that you and your family was not hurt in the fire. i hope you will be able to rebuild soon and i do have some jmg seeds if you plan to plant some.

hugs to carolyn

ants..i have only started daylily seeds. i am planning to start some every day because i am so slow and i can only do so much so ill post here what i started.
i usually do my tomatoes, eggplant, peppers in the month of march..eight weeks before last frost date. then i do melons, cukes, beans in april or may. then i transplant those in the garden when it is safe to do so. im usually behind but i get there eventually.

lea i hope your computer is fixed..i missed your postings :))

to everyone else have fun sowing and wintersowing :)

pam sue

I've got about 14 different kinds of MG or JMG in a baggie that I'm sending to Imzadi. Some of them are only a few seeds in them, but by next year between us all, hopefully she'll have a nice collection again :-)

For those of you who wanted to make bat houses, here is a site I found to make them. Maybe you could, or know someone who could make them for you

. http://free.woodworking-plans.org/bat-house-plans.html

Ella I wish I lived in your zone I would love to start all of my seeds now! Soo glad you didn’t get hurt seriously! You know those crates get dried out from the sun and snap when you step on them eventually so be careful when you go to climbing on them in the future you do need a good step ladder :) A 6’ one maybe? Glad the church people are going to give you a hand :) I know I've been tempted a few times to use those crates to step up on and broke one one time just sitting on it LOL Mine are really old though.

Toofew, did I just cause you trouble with the lisanthus? lol I’m sorry :) NOT! You’ll love the flowers :) Is there a warm place where you could bring them upstairs and set them and just put some saran wrap around the top for the night, you do need to keep them warm at night, maybe on top of the fridge or tv, cable box is good. How many plants do you have started, I’ve only got rex begonias, lantana some other type of begonia that I grew last year that gave me a lot of trouble oh Nonstop Fire begonia, dusty miller and the lisanthus. I can’t start a lot of them now they get too tall for the lights if I start them too early by the time to get them outside I hate fighting the lights lol I won’t start the rest of mine until around sometime around the last Feb. probably. Don’t keep your lisanthus on the heat mat once they germinate I’m sure you know that one they will get too leggy :)

I managed to get two jugs planted last night then got company lol That’s the way it always goes, hope to get the other 12 I have ready done today after I get off here.

Ants, I would get with someone like Ansonfan, klstuart, mekos, jsxtiger, cheles_garden, or LynnWeidman that is in your zone to see what you should start now you don’t want to be fighting the lights with your plants getting too tall before you can get them outside :) You need to do some research and see how many weeks before you plant outside then go from there I’m in 6b and know if I started my tomatoes right now they would have tomatoes going on them before I got them outside lol Not sure how long some of these people have been starting seeds :)

All right who can help Ants out here :)

It's Beck5711's Birthday today! Happy Birthday Becky hope you didn't get lost in all of your seeds!

Hello, everyone. We've been out of town over the weekend and I finally caught back up with you.

Sorry to hear of all the misfortune befalling some of our members here. Sheesh, I leave for a couple of days and y'all go to pot! LOL Seriously, I'm wishing healing and new chances for happiness for you, one and all, here. God's blessings on you. My opinion of Carolyn's husband is that she didn't lose much when he left.

I'm planning to go through and organize my seed package this afternoon so I can get moving on some WSing this weekend and holiday tomorrow. Hope all of you are as deliriously happy as I am with my seeds! Boy, did I pig out ^_^

Happy Birthday Becky!!!!!!!!!! Hope it agreat one!!!!!!!!! : )

Just checking in while lurking wishing Star a speedy recovery. Star please get a ladder. I have 2 that I use in the house used to just climb on chairs but that is not safe either. I am a faller by nature so I have finally found rather to be safe than sorry. You may have some muscle damage from the fall, that is what happened to me Nov 1 and I am still dealing with it. So be safe.....
Veronica

Happy Birthday Becky hope you have a wonderful day and a wonderful new year of life.

Ella I better hear you bought that ladder or I'll order one for you.

Happy Birthday Becky!!

Happy Birthday Becky, and many more.

ella I sent extra money and told you to keep to use for whatever you wanted. If you haven't used it yet, I would be all for you putting it towards a ladder so you'll be safe!

Ella.. I also sent a lil extra, and said it was for your Pringles.. I know all about addictions, and when we can't get more..lol

Thank you ...all of you for the sweet Birthday wishes!! I don't post much, but I lurk on every word..LOL.. Thanks again!!

Ants.....I am not an expert grower for our zone as this will be my first season here. However, based on our listed frost dates....I have started one pepper (tobasco) that needs an extra extra long growing season. I will be starting other peppers and eggplants over the next 2-3 weeks and plan on starting my tomatoes mid feb. With that being said....I do use lights every year. Anyone else in our zone have any advice?