ITS ALIVE! February Plants, Garden Shots, and Blooms

I spent yesterday afternoon under a warm gloomy sky doing a brief check of my beds. Got involved with pulling the tons of stinging nettle, the mystery plant that is apparently very toxic to my animals, and the major task of digging out the old Esperanza that I wanted gone.
Found evidence of poppy seedlings, mystery wildflower seedlings, several amaryllis poking into the leaf litter. My hoop daffodils are strong and green, although I am not sure I will get blooms this year. My native daffodils (I can't remember their name) have made an appearance, and my irises are very healthy.
Half of my lettuce is going to seed, I have cabbages out the wazoo. I harvested my first brussel sprouts ever yesterday, whoop. My heirloom multiplying onions are big and dividing. I was worried about harvesting any because they are so hare to find but now I have plenty to share.
How are your beds doing?

I have almost nothing blooming. Pansies and Candytuft annuals that I purchased and a few Zexmenia. (It really never stops blooming). My paper whites finished long ago. I see snow bells leaves about 5" high showing, my irises are looking ready and my Mexican Hats (Ratibida) are about 4" high. I see that one of my three Lenten Roses survived and is putting out foliage, same with coreopsis. My cherry sage has flower buds. I dont like the way my garden looks now so got paper and pen and trying to plan for some change.

Oh my, I think we are too far up north to have much to report.

Wish I knew! Well, I will see by end of Feb I guess! Sigh...

Pic #1 - RB #1 growing Cauliflowers, broccoli, turnips, spinach, beets
Pic #2 - Cauliflower curd declaring under the leaves
Pic #3 - Cabbages, spinach and beets

Pic #4 - NoID Tomato seedlings in a community flat. Ready for potting up, then outside for hardening off for 10 days

Pic #5 - Sweet Ozark Orange tomato seedlings in individual drinking water bottles. Will top off soil, and then they're going outside tomorrow for 11 days of hardening off. I'm trialing these F5 plants hybridized by Ozark. Checking for growth habit and stability.

Tomato plant out date is February 15th.

I don't do flowers --- yet...

Pic #1 - Mustard Green seedlings
Pic #2 - Collard seedlings under lights
Pic #3 - Dixondale Short Day Sampler Onions in Earthboxes
Pic #4 - Turnip Seedlings under lights
Pic #5 - For after the harvests, LOL!

Awesome garden, Linda! glad you showed up. Have been missing you. I see you have been busy. Thanks for the great photos.

Thanks, Marti!
I'm not sure which thread to hang out on anymore! The conversations are fragmented all over the place. Some threads are pretty quiet. I've been trying to follow the traffic flow.

I feel like a pingpong ball, lately!

Linda, before you bounce away, I want to make sure you are involved with planning our spring RU. It is already February, which means spring is just around the corner. It gives us around a month to plan if we have it in March.

Ok. Just send me a dmail if I'm not answering timely. I'll set a "watch" here.

Well, while my narcissus havent bloomed, i apparently have a deer that is trimming my onions, greens and garlic chives. At least the plants probably needed the attention...

Frostweed are you getting any snow down there watching the weather channel and looks like north Texas is getting hit pretty good

We had snow flurries near Hobby Airport this morning, but, not enough for a snow day...shoot!

I've gotta get my drip irrigation system put in, and soon!!! I was out in 34° windy weather this morning watering my raised beds. My fingers were burning so bad I could hardly stand it. But, the job had to be done... I've come too far to neglect the garden now...

And, I will totally NOT hand water in our Texas hellfires this summer.

I wouldn't wish frost bite on anyone!

Yes we are getting snow 1 to 1.5 inches, it is very cold 23 degrees right now, and not expected to warm up.
We had to cancel the native plant society meeting, the roads are too dangerous.
I am organizing my seed boxes today which needed to be done, but I hate not being able to go outside, no cold weather for me.

Take care everyone and stay safe, things will be better soon.

Snow here too.
In the past five years I normally start to put out my tomato plants to harden off = average daily temperature of 60 degrees F.
Not this year and it will not happen in the next 10 days either ... still very cold = I might have a very short tomato season this year ... sight

Equinox is late -April. This is a good year to go by the old zones for planting, unless you have lots of ability to protect from the weather swings. I expect March winds to be awful this year as well. More extreme weather fits to weaken the trees and plants suffering fand weakened by this drought.

I hear yah. But, I'm gonna put my tomatoes out to harden off starting tomorrow morning. I have some portable mini greenhouses I can sit on the patio and cover with the perforated plastic. The tomato seedlings will be protected from the wind, which is my main concern. They're robust enough to handle the daytime temps after tomorrow, and for the next 9 days.

Here's what the portable mini greenhouses look like. I made them quite by accident, by incorporating designs for two different things, LOL! Really easy to make. They stand only 18" high, and are perfect for sitting on a tabletop, inside or out.

They've done a WONDERFUL job of keeping moths (and some late Stinkbugs) from landing on some other seedlings I had outside hardening off. I just cover the greenhouses with tulle (bridal veil fabric), and viola! No moths landing on the babies to lay eggs!

I have a small portable table I can sit the seedlings on in the shade, then move it closer and closer into the sun over the next 9 days.

This message was edited Feb 6, 2014 1:02 PM

Those are awesome. I think your stuff will make it under those.

Thanks, Kitt!

Hmm I typed another message but it just evaporated into cyber world anyway there be some collards under there that have survived temps below zero

ummmmmm.....are those......plastic barrels?........cut in half?

INGENIOUS!!!!!!

I AM SO LOVING DAVE'S AND HIS GARDENERS!

As we gardeners know, we HAVE to grow something, anything, regardless of the weather. Here is what Ive grown since Sept. 1st three photos, Im keeping hope, I mean, coleus alive. My stair landing has a 6 foot window and two crescent windows in my bathrooms, they are at capacity. My kitchen sink is always rooting something, starting something, encouraging something, nursing something. Things are rotating in and out of this area as they get roots or they sprout to make room for the next group. There are also seeds in the fridge but no photo. It works! Gives me my gardening fix.

Girl, you are one prolific winter gardener!!! Good for you!!

My red camellia is in full bloom!

Wow! that is really pretty.

Very pretty, Jokenna!

I have a camelia just like that one today it is covered with snow and yes those are just plastic barrels cut in half and I just went out and checked the collards are doing fine

love your barn photo, Grits and your little OU shrine, chuckle.

This is the only plant blooming in my yard (in the cactus bed).
Titanopsis calcarea

Thats a cool looking plant!

The OU thing started life as a homemade wishing well ,that corner there is a place where nothing did very well ,I moved the wishing well ther quite a long time ago and put some Periwinkle there that I moved from California and it has found a home ..Today we have cloudy skies and a warm day in the forecast so likely if the sunshines much I will need to move the barrel halves and uncover the Collards...

Grits? Do you still have any of the trombone zucc seeds left? And if so may i talk you out of a few? I will send a dmail with address. Am in NJ and what is blooming today is sunshine. Feels awesome.

Cheryl, Does that cactus have thorns? I cant see any but it could be my eyes.

No thorns but it's not a cactus. It's a south African mesemb.

Oh, OK. I like it a lot. Thanks for sharing.

Something blooming in my yard!

That's amazing Jokenna. My narcissus bloomed 1st week of January!

It's that time of year again. Please weigh in on our spring RU for central TX.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1350427/

Another...Rabbiea diformis, hiding under an agave.
T. calcarea in full bloom and enjoying the warmth.

Cheryl, are those green things at about 4 oclock in the third pix flower buds?