I had to bring in all of my seedlings tonight. Didn't want them to get drowned out there.
I'm surprised at how well the begonias are doing, but the echinaceas are s-l-o-w. I guess they like it a bit warmer?
My spinach seedlings are barely growing. Too cold? Not enough nutrients?
Seed starting MAF April !st 2014 Part 2
Cannot be too cold for Spinach. I had spinach live all winter. The preferred germ temp for spinach is about 50.
Maybe I'm not feeding them enough. I put down some Gardentone when I was prepping the raised bed, but I heard spinach was a heavy feeder. It's been a month and they barely have their first true leaves.
Sally, how's your spinach doing?
Fall ones are getting ready to bolt so I'm picking. Spring ones have a few small leaves.
I got a bunch more stuff seeded yesterday have it all under domes and on the heat mat, Mother's Day is usually reliable as our frost free date, but this year has me wondering. I have a bunch of stuff to direct sow, maybe after things dry out a bit.
So many of my seedlings are now getting wayyyy too tall to be under lights.
They are still in their cell packs. My Cardinal Climber is twining around the
shelf supports and crawling into the light fixture.
Zinnias are now shooting up tp about 5" as are several other seedlings...
Need to get them outside! No sense to transplanting them in bigger pots now...
Hmmmm...maybe I should carry the trays outside to harden them off...
Gonna be a warm day--plenty of humidity to keep them happy...
Gonna do it....put them on my picnic table or by my front door in the shade....
I'm off the next 3 days--so I can keep an eye on things...you know--squirrels "playing" in them.
G.
I found a 12 pack of pink Dragon Wing begonia for $10 at Lowe's. I'm actually not 100% certain they're DW, but they look exactly like the seedlings I'm growing.
I'm just going to buy a new pack of DW each spring. I don't think paying for seeds, heat pads, and lights saves me any money at all. And I'm still terrible at getting cuttings to survive.
Wow: That was a steal. To think how I've coddled along my two cuttings of your begonia since last year -- so far without them either dying or growing!
SS--
Dragon Wing Begonias is one of the things Holly got a flat of and she is sharing.
Just ask her... If you plant them in a sunny bed--their colors will get SOOO intense!
.I LOVE DW Begonias!
OK! Everything is now outside! All seedlings (except one kind--too tiny yet)
all cuttings of all my Coleus and Brug starts too. Many are out back on my picnic table.
Did not get to digging up and fixing up my bed i will plant Tomatoes and Cukes in.
Tomorrow is another day...been hauling today....getting tired......:o/
G.
Gita, I wanted several DW's for my front yard but couldn't ask Holly for 6 of hers! :) So I'm actually going to take back my previous request of just one and plant the ones I have.
Happy, I doubt I could use all 12. Do you want some??
DW's are a fav for us too. Always have a few arrangements on the porch with 3 or more plants per pot. Our neighbor introduced me to them and I've been getting them annually ever since.
ssg: You know I am salivating at your offer!
Time to decide- do I start my cukes or just direct seed later/ Ditto gourds and squash
I want to see which DW's do best: store-bought, seed-grown, or cuttings (if they survived). Happy, you're welcome to the extra store bought ones! The other two aren't good enough to be shared. :D
Sally, I'm trying out cukes for the first time this year. I assumed it was now warm enough to plant them in the ground. Should I wait?
I think I'm going to try some cukes too -- I'll have them vine down my awful front hill. They should be able to fill in between the ornamental grasses that still aren't very large.
Cukes- with the recent cold temps I will wait two weeks.- unless you have a nice sunny spot. Mine is not the best sun.
I haven't planted cucumbers in many years. Harry is not a cucumber fan, but mom and I love them. I have seeds so maybe I'll find a spot too. I haven't direct sown anything yet. The garden still needs more cleaning up; hope to get back there later. We have a few lonely asparagus coming up. The bergomot, garlic chives, horseradish and strawberries are all coming up nicely. Gooseberry is blooming
got in the extra pots and have been transplanting tomato seedlings (Goldman's, Large Yellow heirloom, and Compost Cherry). Even though it's nice out, I was getting chilled out there! had to come in for a cup of tea. I'll bring out a camera next trip out.
...spotted a hummingbird again today. I was blocking his way to a feeder! the little guy nearly crashed right into me ^_^
Happy, you're very welcome, (for the offer to be your personal shopper). Any time! :) And I love your idea of planting your cukes to trail down the "awful hill", that sounds really cool. Are you sure it'll be safe for you to go harvest them when they're ready? ;)
Wind, LOL! Be careful getting in the way of a hummingbird and it's feeder! ;) We had one of those little guys get inside the greenhouse at work today... it was stuck in there for about an hour or so, then it flew into the breezeway and was stuck in there for about 1/2 an hour.. then it made its way into the store where it simply could NOT find its way to the door. It finally get freaked out enough (or tired?) to where it was just flitting about behind the cash-register counter. I "encouraged" him upward again where "the tall guy" at work could secure him on the edge of a fishing net and carried him outside. SAVED, WHEEE!! =) ... just occurred to me, I wish I'd gotten pics when he was close-up, he was so cute!!
No hummers here yet, unfortunately, but I am seeing more bees and beneficial insects! They really are enjoying the red bud and azaleas, plus now the Nellie Stevens holly is beginning to bloom--and the pollinators totally love that!
Speedie -- the cucumbers and I will probably roll down the hill together!!!
nice work Speedie! saving the hummingbird that is lol
just transplanted Turkish eggplant seedlings
all our seedlings with the exception of basil and a few tropicals are hardening off now
I will go out and plug away some more today---rain predicted (40%) later this
afternoon and tomorrow too.
I am a bit leery re the weather coming up....
Tues. and Wed. nights will be 45*. Not sure just what I will plant out...
Would like to get my 3 or 4 Tomatoes and 4 pots of Dill in--but the side of the
bed where they are to go (E. side of my shed) is a, sort of, gulley--and is still
quite muddy. Will give it a gung-ho today...
Everything has been sitting outside for close to a week now....
I put them out--live or die!!! They always live....
Gita, I have dill sprouting up in 3 places now (Fernleaf, Dukat, Tetra)-- I *sure* I got some of these seeds from Critter :-) and they've been doing fine with the cool night temps.
Cat--I bought 4 pots of fern-Leaf Dill from Bonnies... (5/$10)
They have now been sitting around in their peat pots way too long.
Gotta get them in the ground....just not 100% sure exactly in which spot--
as I am going to plant my cukes there also. Probably to the front of the bed....
Don't think I will have any volunteers--as the Caterpillars ate all my Dill last summer.
I allowed it...same as all my parsley. Planting plenty this year.
This is the E. side of my Shed bed.. It faces East--and gets full sun until 3PM.
In here will go 4 tomato plants--3 hills of Cukes--and the Dill--sitting there waiting...
Tight quarters--but that's the way it is in my garden....
G.
I think the dill will be very happy there with the cukes and tomatoes, Gita! :-) Looks like a nice spot.
The seed I started Wednesday is coming up like the weeds outside. Holly forgot to Preen a couple of the beds she cleaned. Now a couple of them look like they have moss in them from weeds germinating that thickly.
wow, what is it that germinated so quickly, Ric?
Finished with planting my Shed bed by around 3:30.
Lots of digging--and digging again. The soil does compact over the winter...
From left---
Yellow Pear cherry tomato
Sun Gold Cherry Tomato
Cherokee Purple--2 tomatoes
Three starts of Cukes...
All along the front--Dill--and all the way to the right--several parsley plants.
Then put the stupid plastic fencing all around. Seen one BIG rabbit cruising my yard...
Glad this got done....lots more to plant...Arrgghhh....G.
Gita, sounds like you will have lots of yummy tomatoes and cukes this season.
I have seen lots of signs of wildlife-nibbling on my young hostas in the back behind my shed (they seem to especially love the Guacamole--I think that was from Typ?--the Big Daddy, and the Sum and Substance). I'd love to plant some marigold back there to discourage them, but I think it is too shady for marigolds.
All kinds of basal, thyme, cukes, okra, and Hyacinth beans that Holly had soaked.
wow, Ric--that is such quick germination. Does the soaking ahead of time help with this?
It sure did! Many things need or do better that way. For instance Morning Glories (MG) do best if soaked over night in a 50% solution of peroxide. It sometimes is used rather than scarfing some seeds. Castor beans, beans, and peas do well with a little soak but it make handling a mess.
Thanks-- good for me to know about! I'll give that a try next time. Do you soak for a couple hours or overnight?
Most hard to start seeds are okay overnight. Holly had the Hyacinth beans rolled in a wet paper towel till the showed some activity, Even a few hours would help many hard coat seeds.
That's good to know. I'll definitely keep that in mind.
wow, guess I Could plant okra here now. I accidentally presoaked spinach seeds last year and got fabulous germination. (left huge packet in the rain LOL)
I split and up potted tomato seedlings and have them outside now.
I planted and up-potted my tomato seedlings yesterday too. I had about 10-15 each of 7 different heirlooms - 'Cherokee Purple', 'Arkansas Traveler', 'Garden Peach', 'Limbaugh's Legacy', Polish Linguisa', 'Rose', and 'Mortgage Lifter'. All were seeds from the seed swap. I planted 30 in the garden and up-potted the rest. What a chore... They look pretty pathetic right now. I think they were too long under the artificial light, but if they perk up I should have plenty to share.
I like the sound of 'mortgage lifter' Aspen-- great name! :-)
Catmint, Mortgage Lifter is a name with a cute story, google it. It's an heirloom which I've grown for a few years and it is really as great as everyone says!
Here's one of the fruit from last year. I pick early so the birds can't get to them first, and let them finish ripening inside.
