Has anybody started any seeds indoors yet?

All birds love moving water....even though DH's family has a cottage right on the lake, when they run the sprinkler, that's when the birds show up!

I even had a chippee go in my container with the micro sprinkler in it every morning.. cracked me up

Chippies are too cute, but I'm sure they ate my crocus....and when I raked out one garden, I found a little stash of corn!

Moving into the GH tomorrow. Got everything I need so, Wheee

Who cooks while you are in the greenhouse? Best of luck with it.

I still cook. Get them all into individule pots and then once they start to shoot up make sure they are watered. I am the water.

Make sure the shade cover is put on and the fan around 10-11 am or once it hits 80-85 degrees. If not I will be another cooker.

Crock pots are good for working days.

My GH is not huge or really big. Once they are potted I can come and go, come and go.

They are all like little kids and have their needs but not constant :-) Mom gets free!!

This is my 5th year I belive. Remember when I cooked trays and trays of seedlings when I first started here?

I clearly remember that adventure!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh boy - memories - irrate ones.

But you learned Sherrie, & now you do very well!

I guess but we will see how this year come out. You never know.

I am getting upset with the windows 7. It wont let me upload my pictures from my camera now. I have gone to Kodak and it dont have any program upgrades compatible with windows 7, it let me at first - arghh.

Learning through trial and error. That seems to be my case, too. Can't seem to learn too much by others examples. I'll try and remember the fan if I ever get the GH I dream of getting someday.

Do you plug your camera into the computer or do you use a memory card reader?

Karen

Dock to the comp. It used to be simple. Just hit the dock transfer button and go.

Now its sync and transfer grrrr

wow that is a lot of babies!!!!

I have a memory card reader that just plugs into the USB plug. Super easy.

Nice seedlings. It's been about 9 days since I started my seeds of spaghetti squash, ornamental gourds, bell peppers and eggplant. Still waiting for signs of life.

Karen

Took my peppers forever, but they finally popped up.....planting peas today.....

My eggplants finally popped up. Everything else I planted the 1st of the month is up. (under lights and on heat pads).

My MG's are going strong and the Chinese Houses are sprouted as well as Mask flower.

Some interesting plants!

Yes, very interesting, Jo.

Karen

WOW on all super successes of starting seeds in house. I am kinda jealous of all stories w/ such good luck. All dreams I have had, can't afford heat lamps/heat bottom mats as I am space limited along with $$ limited.

However, with plain ole' under-cover cupboard lights (in 5 inch cow-pots filled w/ Burlington Gardeners Supply soiless "best-mixed vita whatevers") I have 5 Laitris bulbs poking thru (for butterflies & hummingbirds) to replace 10 yr. old plant that kinda' lost it's happy bundle a yr. ago. Don't have a green house, or indoor gardening room or want my long kitchen counter of "not really productive plant growing" filled with too many seeds-starts that initially failed a yr. ago.

Did for the second winter, something I started very small 2 years ago and this past cold fall & winter BIG TIME, that in a family of us over 70's couple, is that we cannot healthily use up a small bag of potatoes, smallest bag of carrots, a whole cabbage, etc. etc. due to veggie drawers left-over "stuff" looking "limp" ~ etc. Small "electric chopper" takes a little time of veggie & egg shell stuff when tossed into rather small plastic containers & frozen throughout the winter/including all kinds of veggies/coffee grounds just tossed on top, etc. etc.

W/my monster wheelbarrow w/2 bags left of Moo-Doo Top soil (Middlebury VT) and same composted Manure, I'm going to unthaw about 3 or 4 of those frozen delights to mix into same for refreshing soil of elder perennials & into large holes for new perrs., and borders for annual other stuff. That after mixing 2 bags of chopped Maple Leaves left over after I heavily mulched all at camp (where we live mid June to mid Sept.) and all at home. (Old Troy-bilt chopper is about to bite the dust for another fall season chewing up from our 5 Maples, plus freebees from two neighboring Maple families. Unfortunately, age and recent flu/double pnuemonia & stress of all plus STOP SMOKING has made life gardening on the same large scale of the past, pretty scary as to doing what I used to, t/just a "tad" of slowing down these last couple of yrs. w/so may big gardens at home and at camp, plus all our home-grown organic veggies at camp. ARRRGH & Crochity going into my favorite time of yr. In short "a confused gardening pioneer" w/no $$$ for my favorite "fluffy annuals" when Med bills are way exceeding out med. care.

Arrrrrgh! Guess what; these Golden "Rust" Years ain't for SISSIES!!

CeeKay from still freezing upstate VT.






1

I am noticing the same old problem of "damping off" of the Chinese houses and other annuals except the MG's
I have never been successful in the past and it looks like my efforts will be wasted again. Good thing I have seeds left to sow later in May. I had wanted blooming plants earlier than mid Jully.

ever since I started using chamomile tea to water.. and not every time.. it does seem to help Jo

CeeKay you definitely have a way with words. Hang in there.

I've been using peroxide in water- 1/2 cup to a gallon- for all my watering, including wetting the potting mix before planting, and sprinkle cinnamon on all starts. Last year I had terrible damping off, this year zero. I bought camomile to make tea but haven't needed it so far. The cinnamon is also good against those little gnats.

I use capillary matting for continuous watering, so my seedlings are not as dry as some people grow them. I had planned to set up a fan for better air circulation but never got around to it. I think the peroxide has done the trick, will never work without it again!

I started petunias and bacopas in Jan, snapdragons and tomatoes in Feb, lupines, MGs, sweet peas, dianthus, penstemon, impatiens, beets...

Pam

Thanks, Pam & Allison, for the tips! My seedlings are so-so....some look great, others not so good, but I will try what you suggested about the watering.....

Robindog I see you were smart and did your peas yesterday. I took the lovely weather for granted, silly me, so today or tomorrow I have to go out in the raw if I want to get them in before we leave Monday.

But my raised beds are built. The tomato bed is full of grass clods and soil, covered in black plastic. When the time comes to plant, I'll dig a hole for each tomato, amend it as necessary, and cover the rest of the soil with plastic again. Marigolds and basil around the edges will get the same treatment. My version of lasagna...

Pam

I will have to try that peroxide with water mix for watering my seedlings.

Karen

Sounds easy care & effective, Pam! Glad I planted the peas as it is raining now......

I too like peroxide Pam.. I bought some of the food grade stuff in case I start and of my tomatoes in the medium .. and I bought cheap watering mats from .. ugh brain freeze.. what is the nice tool website Victor is always mentioning .. but I should have bought more of those.. they came with a plastic stand and mat that is small enough to fit in a standard flat.. they are very nice and affordable

Oooooooh....I'd love to know about that site....I just bought more from Gardener's Supply a couple of weeks ago. But I'm still using the Burpees set-up here and there and their platforms are so flimsy. Some are really mishapen just from cell packs last year. They don't sell the platforms separately, you have to buy the whole thing- cell flats I don't like, they're round and smallish and come in one piece so you have to cut them apart to separate different needs; seed starting soil pellets I don't like, they turn sideways when you wet them and get horribly compacted; and 1020 trays that sprung leaks the first season. So I dug my heels in and refuse to buy any more. But if someone else makes parts that fit the standard trays, I'd be happy to fill in.

Soooo....I'm hoping you have a eureka moment!

Thanks, either way...

Pam

lee valley!!!

they don't have the ones that I bought now.. I will look though my emails to see if I got them somewhere else

http://www.leevalley.com/US/garden/page.aspx?cat=2,44713&p=53836

figures no item number to google... just says SW self watering mat on it

Oh, right, of course! I looked them up recently, probably after a post from Victor. Theirs look nice and sturdy, and the size is right for a typical windowsill. I might have been very happy with them, but at the moment I already have 2 sizes. I've made a mental note, though, to keep them in mind for the future. By the way, they are not cheap!

Thanks! Pam

I think these were $4.00 or $5.00 each... I know some can be pricy ... I don't like paying too much for things I neglect

:)

We crossed posted...yours looks great, too bad they don't have that size any more. But I'm covered for the time being. Good thing, too, because I've been very ambitious this year. Now that we've opened the house and I still have lots going on in the city, I'm always leaving one place or the other for a few days. This winter I tried doing without the matting, left standing water in the trays...ugh! Never again if I can help it.

Pam

Always keep an available empty tray so after your tray has soaked enough you can just move the cells to the dry tray. It's one of those live and learn lessons.

Oooooohhhhh, Lee Valley has some nice seed starters, but you're right, not cheap. Maybe I can get some next year. I know I don't have money this year, not with all that I owe on taxes.

Karen

The ones from Gardener's Supply are only $16 or so, and they'll last forever. They're a little bigger than the standard 1020, but I don't mind that. The Lee Valley are half the size and twice the price.