it IS a huge plant, about as big as tobacco you smoke! I like scent, though I don't think I like wisteria scent but I digress. I grew it first because the seed came from ladygardener1, may she rest in peace, she was a sweetheart of Midatlantic who passed away in 2010? after years of cancer. I saved seed from only the Lonely in about 2011 last time I grew it., they make a zillion seeds as you know since you saved some pink. Seeds are so tiny I think I just pressed them in on the soil, I might be good there.
well you would think, or hope, that they'd know if the coating would stop that seed.
So why'd you grow the pink tobacco if you don't like scent?
I really would like to have moonflowers ( Ipomoea) again they smell wonderful, if you like scent that is. SO COOL for the kids to watch!!
Seed starting MAF 2014
Thanks! I am always curious why people choose certain plants. :)
Yeah I would have thought Pinetree would know that too, but that's the only answer I can come up with as to why nothing germinated. *shrug*
The little pink tobaccos don't smell. They are nothing but a pretty face. They only got about a foot tall last year.
LOL! Jill! In my case, it is dirt and all on the windowsill. I have ruined the windowsills in both the house and the apartment. Will have to pain the windowsill in the apartment before moving out :-).
As seedlings are potted up, more space is needed. I really need to get the light shelves up.
I want some moonflowers too, Sally. I will go get some seeds from the HD -- hope they are still available. Will let you know if I have seedlings to share.
I saw Moonflower seeds at my HD. Burpee---$1--something...
They take their sweet time to germinate---soak them well first.
Years ago--I had one at my patio post. I used to sit and watch it open...
sneeking a peek about every 5 minutes or so..
G.
Thank you for the info, Gita. I will go get the seeds today.
I have quite a few vines that I want to grow this year, but haven't started any yet. I am just worried that they will get too tall before they can be planted in the garden. I still remember the moonflower that you started inside last year :o). Did that monster stay inside all that time? LOL!
Karen--
I think I was growing that for Aina...I gave her the few seeds I has as well.
She planted them in the front of the house bed in full sun. They did grow--
eventually--butt here was not much blooming going on.
It may be a bit finicky to grow--not sure of its requirements. G.
Another good thing about growing Nicotiana is that it's an alternate host plant for the tomato "hornworms" -- better IMO than sacrificing a tomato plant to their appetite! Why not just squish them? Because they turn into such a wonderful moth! http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1270/
Good to know Jill, I may have to plant some Nicotiana in the garden so I have food for the displacer horn worms.
It's funny I didn't plant that? I have tiny pink polka dot plants coming up all over the GH. This thing must be a prolific seed producer and must be easily dispersed.
This message was edited Mar 27, 2014 10:57 AM
Yesterday I tuned in the TV to a program that was talking the worm predator on the wild Nicotiana. It seems that the plant had the ability to change its bloom time, scent and bloom shape so that the pollinators were hummingbirds instead of the destructive worms. Isn't that amazing???
RRR, are you talking about the Nature program called "What Plants Talk About"? I LOVED that show. Favorite Nature episode ever! :)
You can watch it online anytime here:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/what-plants-talk-about/video-full-episode/8243/
Thanks for reminding me, I ought to go watch it again.
I'm not sure the of the exact show. I caught it near the end and couldn't stay with it because on was scheduled for an online "Webinar" thru "Go to Meeting" (ATTRA has lots of good information) about sustainable farming. Some of us in the community are trying to get the farmers grant money and information about sustainable farming to prevent the use of Class B Sludge which we are sure is not good.....don't care what good stuff is being said about it. We also have a "Community Bill of Rights" and an "Appeal" against the sludge haulers going on. Very expensive and time consuming, but I think it's worth it. Some years from now, when sludge is declared toxic, it will be too late for some people and some farmlands.
Oh my. I'm getting a headache just reading about what you are going through. So sorry that you have to deal with that. :( Good luck, I hope you are able to protect your community and the environment.
My back neighbor is having the big shade tree in his back yard cut down. It canopies what I've been calling my 'shade garden' area. Well, goodbye to my shade garden...
Roses, I am of the same mind as you. I have heard the other side of the debate but I wouldn't want it in my area either and was very glad when they stopped using a farm in our area. I wouldn't want the extra truck traffic either. I don't know if your group will prevail but I wish you luck and think it is a good use of your time, effort and possibly a few $$.
CatMint, depending on how big your shade garden is and how tall the plants are, you might be able to provide enough shade by strategic planting of fast-growing taller plants, shrubs or trees.
donner, I have moonflower seeds also already at home, will get them started, soaked at least.
catmint, I have a similar problem with taking a big maple down last year...just when I had arranged all my shade plants. Hostas will have to move I think!! I sense a chain reaction of moving whole acres of plants just to get the hosts in a new place (even tho I only garden on a half acre lot)
Thanks, Muddy. Either that or shift to part-sun/dappled-sun plants. It's not that big of an area, and the hostas I put there last summer didn't do well, so I need to rethink it anyway. I think it got too much morning and late-day sun for truly shade-loving plants, so this may be a good thing. Lightens it up a little more.
Sally--yes, exactly, the hostas!! I may be bringing some to the spring plant swap this year...
But anyway, back to seed starting. that Gardener's Gold seems pretty nice though it seems to have held a lot of water in the pots of seeds I sowed the other night. I'd suggest caution about overwatering seedlings in it.
Sally, I think you're right about gardener's gold. I used it more or less as a topsoil in my new bed, and the bulbs have been loving it. But maybe not quite light enough for starting seeds?
our first seeds indoors to germinate under lights: 4 days: Clary Sage 'Marble Arch Rose'
PlantFiles info link: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/96619/
Catmint, I think Gardener's Gold makes both compost and potting soil. I assumed the Ace container experiment was with their potting soil, and yours is the compost?
My favorite so far is Black Gold seedling mix from Ace.
Good point, SSG. The Gardener's Gold was from last fall when I was trying to finish my new soil beds to plant all the tulip bulbs--enormously large bags that I could barely drag from the car to the back yard. It was probably compost.
Last weekend, I got some light, fluffy Espoma Seed Starting Soil from Ace, and used this to start my caladium bulbs. It's expensive though--I wouldn't use it for anything I needed very large quantities of.
thanks for the recommendation of Black Gold seeding mix. I have another ACE coupon- 5 dollars off a ten dollar purchase. Hard to resist.
Sally, WHERE are these coupons coming from and how do I get on the list?!
Or are you getting them out of the library magazines? MUAHAHAHAHA
Holly, the people in the next town have farms all around them that are getting sludged with Class B. They come to our meetings and complain about the incredible number of flies now present, the constant smell all summer and burning eyes and throats. Glad that it has stopped near you.
Wind, that sage is a beautiful color. I will try to remember it for next year.
I use a very fine type of Fafard for seed starting and it works really well. I do use it as mentioned above....with a fine layer on top of the garden where I want to sprinkle all my extra seeds.
Roses, I second the recommendation for the Fafard. I mixed some of this into the Espoma seed starting soil--very nice combo.
Karen--
I get those coupons too---they come in all the junk mail one gets.
If i remember--Ace has its own insert with the coupons on it.
You live in the City--maybe not all areas get the same junk mail.
I have an Ace at the end of my street--it has NO nursery and sells NO plants.
I suppose it may be considered 'small'...I find it VERY expensive
compared to what i am used to paying for any certain products.
They DO have a nice Clearance cubby-hole. Bought all kinds of garden
fertilizers there at 90% off last fall. Good stuff! Name brands.
Working at HD--I usually pick up what I need there...and--NO!!!--we do not get
an employee discount!!!! Never have----never will----everyone thinks we do.
G.
It's funny how the same store chain can differ so much, depending on where you live. We don't have an Ace that's convenient to us, and our HD is not a good place for gardening the way Gita's sounds! I'm sure there is a good place to buy gardening stuff (soil, tools, birdseed, etc) near me, but I haven't found it yet!
WHAT? No discount, Gita!? That's just a stupid policy.
And not to nitpick, but I still technically live in the county. :) The city line is about a mile south. The only Ace I know of is the one that's near you, and I've never been so enticed by the stock of plants outside (or lack thereof) as to get out of the car and look at them.
I get $5 cards from Ace all the time, but I have a rewards card.
I'm trying the Pro Mix PGX for seed starting this year. I'll see how it does.
Teri, you said the next town has complaints. Are they spreading or injecting? All our local farms that are using sludge inject it. I am unsure whether they are using class A or B. I agree the local population has the right to control waste uses in their community. I also believe there are agricultural areas further from communities that could use the solids safely and without offending the neighbors.
The injection machines are tres' expensive, and cumbersome to move, so you can bet your last dollar that the companies are only considering the bottom line. The cost of the logistics of moving machines and hauling the waste further away is something they don't want to deal with. Here I'm pretty sure the municipality owns the injector, they're to costly for a farm to own,for the local govt. it would be a good investment scaling the cost of the machine against the cost of years of landfilling
the sludge.
We have land here that is classified "non tillable", so the sludge would just get dumped on the top. Don't think there's much interest in spending money to do it a better way. The terrain here is hilly and our wells are notably connected. There's a danger of run off and lots of other stuff. The company that does the hauling and dumping is Synagro and have lots of terrible reports about them (read online). We have one one of the larger farmers over by getting him on board with all the info about government help with sustainable green farming, where all sorts of experts would help him get it done.
Typ.... I also have theAce rewards card like Ric. They send eztra coupons i think. Takes forever to actually earn a reward. But this weeks xoupon was in a flier
haha typing on cell phone
This message was edited Mar 28, 2014 6:19 PM
So sorry to hear that Teri. I think the reason our's is so well done, is because local government was willing to invest in a renewable use system instead of turning to big business and then turning a deaf ear to complaints.
The only related problem we have experienced was a few years ago a corporate chicken farm dumped all there waste on a local hay farm. It was near fall, but the flies covered everything to the point some people moved to motels. It was that way for a couple of weeks till we had a hard frost. On some light colored houses, warm south side they looked like a shadow. It was disgusting to say the least.
Today I started 'Black Prince' Snapdragon. My second year growing snaps and I'm not really sure I've got them figured out yet. I guess they like cooler weather? Last year the seeds I grew flowered in spring, sulked all summer and then bloomed again in fall. Looks like one or two of the plants may have actually survived most of the winter? Left me scratching my head.
You know, Holly, although the smell is not pleasant, the worst part of the Class B sludge is the fact that the heavy metals, pathogens and etc. are not really controlled and the people here with small children and lowered immune systems (illnesses and medications) are really worried about it.
I sowed some spinach, lettuce, and alyssum outside yesterday. I didn't water them in, knowing we were getting a ton of rain today. I hope that's okay. I sowed them pretty thickly, not knowing how well they were going to germinate. This is a new raised garden bed so I'm not confident about the soil.
SSG, I had been wanting to sow some alyssum seeds today--you were wise to get it done yesterday before the rain!
Hmmmm---I am wondering if Alyssum seeds cannot be just scattered outside
where you want hem to grow? After all--they come back on their own--right?
I planted seeds of some too--inside--they will be hard to separate...will do little clumps.
I was going to sit down and finish my seed planting yesterday--still have most of
my Zinnias to go. Also some other seeds...It will be so late this year!
Then--I went outside and started working there--and that was it for the day.
It is rainy outside. Will finish the seeding today--I better!!!!
Sit down at my DR table--put on some nice music--and do it until it is done.
G.
Yes, the alyssum, lettuce and spinach were all sown outside. I've direct-sown alyssum before with zero germination, but this time they were sown in a prepared bed, so I'm hoping I get some flowers this year.