2014 Seed Starting, Part 3

We are suppose to get temperatures around 40 at the end of this week , I am hoping most of my plants are hardened enough to take that ,
It may be raining at those temperatures , all the better ,
Vegetables do not like 40 degrees , most of them way to tender .

Kathy ; you make me feel like I have found Mipii's tropical Midwest ,,lol


13Turtles The Greeks : Don't look back ,? lol

I was plugging in Celosia the better part of the day with false nettle ,
Planted a Dahlia and some yellow Dutch iris also .
Kind of like this is part where it gets repeating ,after last nights rainstorms all night , I have two more Giant Pumkins sprouted and about 25 cucumber seedlings that were pre-sprouted
More lettuce , more Garlic , more onions ,
Tomorrow or when it happens more of the same .

I can't believe how much you grow juhur! Seems everyday you're putting more and more in. I know 'tis the season and all that, but even for some buff young thing, golly. Unless they grew up farming, I suppose. And here I am all exited about my ~11 varieties of tomato, all new to me, and branching out (hardy har har) to bigger than grape tom size. But, I've finally gotten spinach to come up, not even big enough to thin, but still I'm counting it as a victory.

Some of my seedlings left the nest tonight; I mean going home with other people. I'm such a beginner in some -most?- aspects of gardening, but it felt so good to provide others with goodness. And I can offer currant, cherry, grape, mid-size and big'uns! So far no takers on the green zebra though, lol, and this is an adventurous group of folk I'm talking about. They'll be back when the peppers are ready. I actually started the peppers for them, as nobody here is able to eat peppers.

I sowed 40 sponges of tomatoes, and was able to separate the multiples, 3 seeds each spongelet, and I didn't lose a seedling! I finally lost one tonight because I dumped it on its head and broke its spine. One of my heartiest Peacevine cherries :~( I wish I'd started another cherry type. Ah well.

Sounds to me like you do more than I , 13Turtles , Lots of goods you do ! ^_^
We all love the goodies , lol Confession time ?
Thundershowers now so I am sitting hear planning , if there is such a thing ? Planted some green bean sprouts a few minutes ago then Pow lightning , thunder , and buckets of rain .
Thursday and Friday , 57 and 40 for the high and low are not good though.
My tomato seedlings are still in cups so back in they come , the self sowing in the garden , most will live . it does take down some of them though .
Made my legs a little sore tired yesterday , effect today , from all the planting of the little cubes,
But lots of flowers should be the result .
About thirty or so of my cucumber sprouts are growing today , only the cold coming still worries me ,, 40 degrees is awful cold ,, the rain will help during that if it happens ,,
Dahlia and Yellow iris bulbs should planted as the rain started , some things for later summer colors ..
Daylilly are huge and green , but no bloom stalks , so far ,,

We're gonna have 90F today, in two days back to 60F as highs, still in 40sF for lows. What are any of us supposed to do with that ey? My 52 maters and 11 cukes and various are almost all still inside, but DC would like to see the kitchen and dining room and living room tables again.

I have serious basement envy. I'd accept a greenhouse instead, lol.

I'm pretty sure cukes don't like to be transplanted, but it can take 'til mid July to get out of the 60sF. Not this year, I'm betting, but I didn't know that when I started.

Oh how I would love some lightning and thunder!

Friday night it is going to be in the 30's here , after nearly being 90 the past few days , it is low 50's for and rain today ,
I gave up growing annuals years ago , because of this , the the past few warmer winters convinced me to grow them again ,
All this is the possibility I could lose all I have planted out on Friday ,, pew ,, I hate this , If it happens I will replant the Zinnia , but everything else will be gone ,, Grrrrrr .
The cucumbers , melons most I will do again also , not all though ,
Like I tried to not say about Kathy's trouble , Lot of work shot to H , but that often happens to effort as fun.
Oh well , in come the house , & tomato seedlings .

Don't grieve that which you have not lost Ju, the weather is full of surprises, as is the durability of seedlings. Wishing you luck all goes well in the next week.

I'm chomping at the bit to kick my seedlings out of the house, but all your troubles are scaring me!

Last weekend I planted the tomatoes, in 2 raised beds. One I covered with frost blanket over hoops, one I didn't. I also planted a bunch of Asclepias tuberosa and a dozen Linum. They should be fine, even if there were to be a light frost. But predictions this week say mid 40's should be the lowest, so I'm not worried. I figure hardy perennials, anything that would be up in the garden by now, should be able to take what ever happens next.

I'll wait another couple of weeks for the tender annuals- petunias, for example.

Good luck, everyone!

Mipii it's coming at you to ! zone close . I could wish the same to you but, and , I bet you have been smart enough and cool enough , not to plant outside , that many anyway ..
Depending on how the plants adjust . most have been outside for some time , the four or five day thing for some of them is going to make it close .
I have seen tiny Sunflowers take a freeze , not just a frost , Burt the melon type plants except the pumpkins are toast or boiled salad for sure ..
I have seen small Zinnia and tiny Marigold frozen also , and lived and bloomed with no problem , has to do with root , type , humidity , length of temperature difficulty all that . I know you know ,, lol
After a few years of this when younger though it was only a thing that annuals are a difficult often times .. you know ,I get moody ..

Pfg , probably your right , anything that is up on it's own is likely tough enough .. so many factors with annuals though , Sometimes it is not safe until June to plant them out here ,, tough enough applies except to melons and cucumbers . sneeze and their boiled salad !

This message was edited May 14, 2014 1:17 PM

Turtles ~ What kind of sponges?? Do they disintegrate?

Ju, Kathy, Blomma ~ Sorry...California has been hogging the sunshine...and you have been hogging the rain and snow....too bad we could not share, huh? We are dry and in danger of fire season already and it isn't even summer yet! Now it is like summer here...

Forgot to say, the Lupines I planted out last week are fine. The biggest outer leaves are yellowing and will probably drop (they probably grew in the warmth indoors), but there is strong new growth from the core. Yay!

Ju, Kathy, Blomma , it's going to be 100 at the beaches in SoCal today! I can't plant any flowers or seeds because they'll only fry. My glad leaves are turning brown. Not because I haven't watered but because it's too hot for them.

I've got weeds that started growing in February and now look like they're on steroids. It's too hot to pull them. The prediction is that temperatures will be down to the 80's next week. If this is spring I don't know what to expect this summer.

Wow, Shorty! I got a start on the weeds in cooler weather. It will be hot here as well, but hotter in the valleys. But I never actually get done with weeds as the areas that I have weeded are starting again, and I have not yet finished all the areas.

I have been trying to get up earlier these days, as it feels as though summer came early this year. I can usually get a few things done in the morning while it is a bit cooler.

No ocean breezes??

Some Zone envy , but , always that right ? I am not going to be envious or jealous of 100 degrees , lol .
I could do without the huge to humongous temperature swings . If I wanted to play with swings , I would go back to elementary days and the playground . lol Like that could happen either .. as a weather control comparison ..

How about Yesterday ? lol
They look burned today , from the rain a fast temperature drop .

Evelyn we've got ocean breezes but the air is so hot it doesn't help much.

I remember when we didn't need air conditioning near the ocean. Now it's almost mandatory. I dread seeing my electric bill.

I'm never done with weeding either. Normally they don't get as big.

My work day starts at 4 AM most weekdays so early morning weeding is difficult. I guess I'll have to start getting up early on weekends to get the weeding done.

Ju, yes we get pretty much the same weather...I'm tired of emptying trays of standing water. Cooler temps just force me into doing other projects that need to be done. I have planted the bulk of my seedlings out in the garden but cannot worry too much about the outcome, I have to live with the consequences of my decisions.

Sure would share with Californians if I could.

We all just do the best we can, sometimes we get lucky, sometimes not so lucky. I really do think the extremes are getting more and more extreme, makes it much harder to figure out what to do.

I kind of miss my outdoor stand, but really hated looking at it. Much more is still indoors because of that. I thought I would have a real cold frame to take its place this spring, but the weather was so awful I never got outside until a couple of weeks ago. We went from March to May, just skipped April completely. This week, anything that has half a chance of making it goes out, unless the predictions go crazy again. I'm getting really claustrophobic, lol.

Pam, I built this for my seedlings, don't think I'll get tired of looking at it (I sure hope not).

This is what happens when I get up and do not go back to sleep ,
German Chamomille and White Swan Echinacea seedlings ,,


See cubes are round ..!
Could this mean , rounds are cubes ? ^_^ Sound like Grandpappy , funnin with the youngin's . don't it ?

This message was edited May 15, 2014 3:29 AM

LOL, sounds like I'm not the only one with weather extremes! Am glad I don't have the heat that's in Calif at the moment but not sure I want the freezing either...lol.... Zone envy? Not sure, the jury is still out on that one. When I heard that Calif was having 100* temps on the weather report, I shuddered to think that the extremes were already happening soo early in the season.. You all can quit hogging the warm weather and share with the rest of us now, please! Lol, got down to the low 20* overnight for the 3rd or 4th day now...last night was a bit warmer but not by much. Today should be the last of it and this weekend they are saying it should return to more normal temps....overnite temps should be in the upper 40*s. with daytime highs of low 70*... One good thing I can say about the weather was we got, lots of moisture which I'ld be glad to share with those to the west if they remember to return it to my direction also.....

Have been busy seeding annuals...OMG, I need to find something else to do when the weather is lousy!!!! I will have more than 2000 annual seedlings.... Geeze!!! Some are waiting to sprout, many are already up and I went and bought more seed a few days ago and seeded them in already..... Slap my hands!!!! LOL. I must admit many are Zinnias and Cosmos (new varieties).
But I figure with all the loses from last fall (darn!), and after I weed I'll plant the annuals. Should make a good show and then I'll reconsider the perens to go in... Am thinking I may didvde a bunch from the front garden after my tour in June... OK, off to the great outdoors right aftrer lunch....layers and all, including my stocking cap...lol. Sure hope someone out there is having decent weather! LOL. Kathy

My Zinnia and Salvia have been outside for over month , we will see , tonight's 37 degrees and tomorrow night the same might ruin it all ..
Couple of my tree cuttings are rooted . A mulberry, a pear , Everything else needs to grow a while , perennials are looking small , spindly as though their suffering from something . The ones that have been here a while that is.
Kathy , The iris like it here though , Even two I had left after the flood a few years ago are growing like herd .. yours might , with all that cold before their ready to bloom . You could hve a real show there (as though you usually do not have )lol
Had to dig an re-pot a couple of peppers , their back in again ,
Another that likes this is the Lupine their sending up bloom stalks , Chicory are huge , a wet cold season plant is the last thing one thinks of chicory as , but their loving this rainy . cold , with bursts of cooking hot weather ,
Lupine , at the ready ,

I got it !!! I got it!!! it's a living stone !!! lol ^_^
Looking for weeds is ridiculous !!! I found my Senecio Obvata seeds though .. Hoping I can keep My Nothern Metalmarks Happy !!^_^
Ain't I silly .. he , he ,
Strange thing I can never get watermelons to grow right here , okay , So last night ,37 degrees , not only are the watermelon seedlings still there , two more sprouted up ,, Go Figure !!!
Now we will see if they live through tonight , 37 degrees approx once again . and if they do not wither away like boiled lettuce in the next few days as warmer weather returns ,
Zinnia grew a few inches last night , if it keeps raining that is good (great really)as it means no frost . bad part is water everywhere , as in flood warning .
This season is being a Major Who Can Tell !!! lol
If I can get Karner Blue Butterflies to come to my Lupine I will Have two rare Butterflies ..
Saw one Ten Years ago . almost
Northern Metalmark Had seen two, Summer before last, one last year . A little fun , sort of ...
Refugee's from the cold

Two extremes of seed germination ,,
Dandelions
Cat "poop" on Celosia lol???

Sorry bout that!

ROFL !!!^_^ HA,HA, HA , HA , HA, HA,HA, HA , HA , HA, HA,HA, HA , HA , HA, HA,HA, HA , HA , HA, HA,HA, HA , HA , HA, HA,HA, HA , HA , HA, HA,HA, HA , HA , HA, ROFL !!! ROFL!!!
^_^^_^^_^

LOL! I don't know what was more funny, Badcat's apology or Juhur's reaction...good stuff.

Mipii, that is a great stand. My problem is that I don't have an easily accessible spot that isn't highly visible. I had my stand on a south facing wall that got a lot of shade from established trees, which was actually fine for the plants. But it's the old front entrance area, not used any more, but still should be more decorative than utilitarian. Second choice is an east facing wall, in a much more discrete place, but not as convenient to get to carrying trays of plants and water, etc, especially in early spring when outdoor conditions are raw.

Ju, are your budded Lupines first year plants? Were they started inside or out? I've always had to wait a year to see them bloom

Nice day today, got lots done. Nicotianas, snapdragons, annual salvias, hollyhocks are all outside now, and I made a good start on planting them. Nights are in the 40's, a little cool but no threat of frost. During the day, the sun heats things up fast, even though most days don't get past the mid 60's. The tomatoes I planted out last week are all doing fine, even grew a few inches, so I'm going ahead with all but the most tender babies.

Time to start squash and cukes, but they don't go out for a couple more weeks. Meanwhile, their bed is being used to heel in perennial babies until I can get them planted.

For once, although there is still tons to do, I don't feel like I'm light-years behind!

.

Forgot to post pics... The city window is down to 3 flats from 6. The petunias, Torenia, some annual Lobelia (for the patio pots), Datura and Alocasia are all that's left. Oh, and one lone Asclepias incarnata Rosa, too big to take this time. All the plants that I moved to the house have now been hardened off outside, and some are planted. Yay!

I'm impressed. I have virtually everything still indoors, about 300 seedlings. I seem to be stuck in the intersection of time and temp. And I haven't even gotten to start thinking about purely ornamentals. Yikes. I need to get some soil for my 20 gallon tomato pots. 13-15 of them.

Turtles...Pam has a way of making the rest of us feel a bit inadequate, lol! She's a machine, just like Kathy. They're also inspirational and powerful motivators.

Congrats Pam on a very productive season, avoiding the feelings of being light years behind is a major accomplishment...you should celebrate!

That feeling !! IT sure is an accomplishment .

Pfg those Lupine are 5 or 6 years old , I have some small ones that have grown a few years that have not bloomed , last year they wilted in the hot weather and did not bloom ,
After I get some more seeds though I will burn a few branches where I plant them and start more ,,
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/72868/

OMG you guys, you're scaring me! This thread is meant to educate us all, especially me, lol!!! I was thrilled that Kathy was interested in this kind of of free-for-all sharing of experiences, since she is light-years beyond me in experience and scope... In addition everyone's involvement, so many tips about specific plants in specific situations, has made this a very rich resource indeed!

I came on DG only 3 years ago, with some gardening experience but lots of gaps... I have learned an incredible amount here. It turns out I get really p'd off at failures, which makes me a sucker for trying new methods. I lean toward fool-proof, really want results for my efforts, so don't like taking the risks Ju does. I prefer calculated risks, like playing it safe and watching the weather predictions, trying to learn from previous years what works, what doesn't...

And this year has been the best yet. Some failures... Grrrrr.... I'm not attentive enough to the ones that need varied temps to germinate. My conditions don't allow for true winter sowing, which I suspect is the better method in those cases. But over all, my babies are the healthiest yet. And my garden has 3-year-old seedlings which are amazing! And that's the point, isn't it?!

I feel for those whose conditions have been unusually harsh. Our winter was tough, but spring is springing for real now, and lots I thought would be goners are beginning to come to life. There is no threat of unseasonal frost... Usually April has more periods of mild temps here between frosts so it's easy to get fooled. This year, there was no mistaking when it was too cold, it went on forever it seemed, then it changed and all became possible. I know that was not the case in many other parts of the country.

Sooooo..... Happy gardening, everyone... Always full of surprises!

Pfg , I take risks , yes indeed , but not so many really , My cucumbers , Sunflowers , Watermelons , the Zinnia , the Salvia , many tender to Frost sensitives are all doing well,
Sprouted and given a week to Harden off or the ones like this years watermelons (which usually I can hardly grow at all ) which I planted the seeds the first week of March , and they come up when the want to ,
Lots tougher this time than I ever would of thought .. I had a 30 inch bloom Sunflower that I started that way one year ,, (what say ) a really big pay -off ) lol

The info , on sets for plants information shared here , is as you said tremendous and wonderfully useful ..
Kathy's insight is awesome , Super -Women !^_^
Well back to the sprouts ...

Well Pam, you certainly had me fooled. The scenario could probably be explained better by saying; Kathy is a phenomenal teacher...and you, you're just a really good student. A really good student that has transitioned into a good teacher in her own right (you're so humble).

BTW, everybody needs a Ju, where would we be if someones not willing to take the risks. Thanks for the help all!

I don't see myself that way ,, As risk taker ,, truly me , No Way !!!^_^ ..

I see myself as being mostly cheap .. Towel roll cheap , The only "clean" way to say it I know of ,, lol
Here is bake bread , or sprout Zinnia ,, last tray this season .. 1&2 , lot of seeds ...
of course my organic vole guard works awesome but , it would be better if it did not get so excited that it "goes" on some of the flowers , still better than voles eating all the sprouts ,,lol
That, and it tends to "hog" the covers..

Recipe for Bread Pan Zinnia Sprouts
Warning Disclaimer ) ; These are for growing , not for eating )
One Small shopping bag of Zinnia seeds .
Two 8 ounce cups of preferred seed starting mix (your choice) .
oops forgot ,, moisten moderately
Hmmmm . lol ? oh well , I tried ,, ^_^


This message was edited May 18, 2014 9:22 PM

This message was edited May 18, 2014 9:24 PM

Ju, would you say 'experimenter'? How many kitties do I need for the Bread Pan Zinnia Sprouts?

LOL Mipii ) You mean for A Vole Guard? The size of this one is enough . Kittie is twice the size of the pan ,lol .
You mean your making Kittie Bread??? ,, ewwwwww ^_^ ???

Kittie Blooming Zinnia ( interesting ...

Really only picking a little Robin , strange I am too ..lol

The interesting thing is with the weather doing what it does , cold , then warm to kind of hot , then back to cold I found that I have learned something , or re-learned something ,
Sprouts are nearly 20 degrees more cold hardy than 4 to 5 inch plants , Given about five to seven nights of mid to low 40's and day temperatures just barely over 50 . The sprouts took temperatures into the low 30's rarely have I seen that except with annuals like Sunflowers and such ,
The zinnia , Salvia . Marigold , all took those low temperatures with no damage at all .. excepting one salvia that was never growing correctly to begin with ,,
As said reading here and watching some of you has taught me a few things ...

This message was edited May 18, 2014 10:42 PM

LOL, thought my ears were tingling...ya'll are talking about me... lol. Gosh, thanks for the compliments...Most of my seed starting has been trial and error...mostly successes thank goodness...help to encourage me to keep doing more every year. It's very rewarding to see the plants begin blooming and like Pam said year 3 is great, along with 4,5,6...lol.... What's fun is learning from others too....even me . I get info from all of you.. Sorry, I haven't been around as much this season, got a bit discouraged after I over fert. soo many of my babies....then froze all my maters and a buch of the early annuals...Darn... LOL, but my late batch of annuals is still doing great...(so far). I've spent 4 days already weeding so I can begin planting. But I still have many days just to finish the backyard weeding before any can begin. Then I have to get to the front garden before it gets out of hand, then there's the side of the house, then gotta finish the main Iris patch..then dig some Iris that have ended up in a weed patch...then I have a new bed outside the main garden---it needs grasses and weeds sprayed but to breezy--then rototil and plant all the potted iris on the driveway...LOL, it never ends!!!! The list goes on and on. I'm thinking I already need a vacation just thinking about all the things I need and want to acomplish this season ( or before 3 weeks when the garden tour happens.) I was beginning to fret a bit and changed my attitude to what ever gets done gets done!! Oh ya, gotta work on fencing this year too!!!! Yikes!!

I'm thinking it's finally safe now to get plants outside and uncovered, so frost blankets came off today for those babies on the porch. Plastic came off the greenhouse (horse stall) and a frost blanket went up, more for sun protection than anything else.... But I'm finally thinking it's safe to begin planting things. The annuals are still under lights but may take a few trays out tomorrow for hardening off.

I'm like Pam...I will have to start many of the things that need specific treatment...ie, cold, warm, cold ...you know those things that want extra attention, maybe this fall. But then maybe I should try winter sowing in jugs.... Guess I should start drinking more milk again.

LOL, and the lawn needs mowing....maybe before the tour I'll get around to it. LOL Oh ya and I need to pot up babies from the garden and divisions so the gals have plants to BUY (?).... never ends.. And I'm tired, think I'll go to bed early tonight so I can get an early start tomorrow... ( I know I did it to myself). But thanks again for the compiments...it eggs me on............ (Ya all are naughty, or knew I needed a push to get things done....) Later all!!! Kathy

Looking forward to these blooming again this spring and am hoping for babies (Dictamnous purpurea (gas plant)..couple of weeks yet...