Plant Propagation - the Basics, March 2017

Evelyn Every time I go through some lengthy process , lots of time ,,
it teaches me afterward , something easier , and quicker , and every bit at lasting ,
I am laughing at my own embarrassment , and frustration , lol

Obviously , I am not a real serious type people ,,lol
1 mum
2 yarrow
3 nettle (false

That's a lot of seeds Evelyn. I have about 4 varieties of tomatoes started in the greenhouse, one big wide pot of snapdragon, whatever the package said for variety. One big wide pot of echinacea from seed I took from mine, and they are sprouting. most of what you have listed I couldn't get to live through May I suspect. I've tried lupines and digitalis and failed, except for the occasional bluebonnet (Texas state flower). I toss wild larkspur seed out, a fair amount has germinated. Of all the A. tuberosa I put out I don't think any has germinated, but my poppies did. I have holly hock seed but can't find a place to provide right conditions for the whole plant. Hoping to get a few more things going before work gets even busier.

I did manage to pull my Mexican flame vine (forgot name), some flame acanthus and one pitiful little Brazillian buttonflower through in the greenhouse. That early December freeze wiped out half the stuff I had in pots and had battened down on the porch, most of my mums and asters are gone, and my luck at seeding them hasn't been good but I may put a few seeds in a pot in the greenhouse tomorrow. I am off, barring emergencies.
After Monday's job, tuesday's bees, and Wednesday's jobs, then taking grandkids to six flags today, I am due for a nap.

and then we have the mystery seedlings. they have filled this pot, half of a couple more, and are even coming up in my onion bed. Not sure what they are but I assume I had a plant that successfully reseeded

-26C here this AM and feels like -36C with the wind chill factor. The plan was to start up the greenhouse tomorrow as I have the grandkids next week for spring break and some of my plants recently had to be moved into the living room. Going to have to adjust that plan slightly. There would be a lot of trips to the greenhouse at night to add wood to the fire at that temperature. There is a pretty substantial temperature change forecasted starting Wednesday so will have to police the kids around the plants until then. Luckily the 2 from out of town are not coming til Wednesday night.

wow, you got my winter added on top of your winter. It was 80 here yesterday. cold front today, dropping to 62. Need to pull some bee larva for an observation hive before the front gets here.

Yeah, I hit Mn/Wi and Ia was even laying out the deicer. 13mph winds with 13*F makes windchill @-1*F. Brrrr. They are calling for 600" or less of snow after midnite, chuckl, I hope they are being optimistic.

600 inches or less. Hope they are being funny? Stay safe

This has been our second worse winter since we moved over here 25 years ago. I just know the summer is going to be so short. Kind of discouraging right off the bat. Not sure what to grow in such a short season. I should have seeds etc. growing in the house, but if I do, I know they will be ready way before the weather is ready. Guess I will have to wait and see what comes up from last year before.

My perennial bed is still full of snow. One of the cars is frozen to the ground. If we tried to use a jack to get it up it would probably blow the tires. Just awful. Well you all, so nice to hear from you, and love the pictures. Jen

I sympathize with the car. Another short summer, probably. Lots more ice than snow, but its the time of year when the storms do their best to fool the weathercasters. Makes you remember that gardens werent great every year, and you never knew which plant was gonna shine.

sorry the weather is crap for you Jen. Hi Amanda, and Evelyn. well, shoot hi everyone.
It is cold here, no moisture. I think this has been the shortest weirdest winter I have ever seen.I have really been impressed with all the beautys and mechanical prowress here tonight.
Too cold to work outside, but daffs, nanking cherry, sweet almond , forsythia, periwinkle are all blooming as well as the spirea. I am just not kn on braving the wind, and the cold to go out and play. *sigh* I'm happy playing downstairs.Found this tuber just laying on top of one of my pots, I thought it was a log, HA! I had a facebook contest and gave it away.. it is now in a recycled cup for sending ...it is a four o clock tuber. Desert rose really likes her "spot" this year down there... and this poodle hibiscus has been blooming for the past two months. I have made a ton of cups of cuttings and pots of seeds and got the bulb tub out.. mostly re-arranged and trimmed and stuff today. Nice to play in a garden while it is 35 outside.

ice there drought here, it's always something. I cleared off the aquaponics tray on my big pond, about 50 gallons of peppermint vines. I have grown tomatoes and swiss chard on it before, during the drought, drought is coming back, going part aquaponics and part irrigation line.

yes it is.. I am getting a new rain barrel to catch as much rain as I can, if it ever rains again. *sigh*

Gypsi, I would like to see a picture of what you Texans refer to as a large pond.

My largest is 13 feet in diameter interior dimension and about 24 inches deep, holds about 1100 gallons of water. The largest I take care of is 35 feet long and holds about 15,000 gallons of water? Photos later, I have to hit the ground running, be back around Wednesday. I am on the wrong computer and I have to dig a 2011 pic out of the XP to check something for a customer. relevant pics are in the laptop.

I have rain barrels and buckets all around my house Debra, I need to get an organized system on 3 sides I think

ME TOO!

All this sound fun and interesting , enjoying the flower and tuber pics
I am not brave in winds this season either ,
Water barrels are difficult for me to set here , Nobody walks around a place for years , as soon as something is setting there ,? it's in the way ,? all of the sudden ,??? (Three Stooges "Curly) sound goes here ,

well, Ju, I do not have a POD. Just rain barrels. ANd now the freeze for the budding trees and plants. UGH

It will be about 15 degrees tomorrow night here Debra ,, I am not thrilled at all .
I am gizmo playing , keeping a few indoor plants watered . Maybe some will be okay
I am mulling , but smiling , I will have 3 or 4 gizmo's done built by me , By the time warm weather returns ,
I need the garage to be warm for a couple finishing processes ,
Then I get to chop , shred , till and hoe , and mulch , until the cows come home ,lol
I need to add and reset plants to that ,

Large is relative to how many you are including at the time...not everyone has 5 acres for a small pond but if you have a good sized ditch to use, it can be deeper than wide... pools to me mean clean water in contained areas, ponds are more natural. Stella is here tonite, but I saw no hi winds, just drizzle and snow- but the concrete is still wet

my ponds all have rubber liner. have to go find my pics.

all out of order by date. I rarely photograph flower power I guess,, that is the name of my 13 ft diameter above ground pond the plant tray in summer was the last photo I posted, the fall ones are full of big fat tomatoes. Fertilizer: fish waste, I was running tilapia that year I think. and the ice fountain effect on it I was able to find a couple of shots of

Well Gypsi I must say that's the first time I've seen tomatoes in a pond and also the ice fountain

I did not know , that they did Ice Sculptures ,, In Texas either ,,!!! and lived there a while ago , goodness I missed something ???

Oh well ,
Wooden Oatmeal for Green Horses it is

Your Wooden Oatmeal Maker is looking good Ju, are all the finishing touches done?

Ha, ice sculptures in TX...who knew?

Robin I let the drill run it for a few minutes today , all smooth , no noise , no breakdowns or interruption ,, I still have to test it for a couple of hours doing work ,
About a little less than 12 inches long , light , easy to use , 11/2 inch feed in is the largest I have so for now that is as large as it will cut ,
I have the Auger bladed sitting behind me ,
the Bucket fed in the garage ,
and the mighty mac kitchen can above all done and ready ,

I put this mill together today , it needs a snap ring and to finish sealing then I will test it ,
This one and the one above will likely do light duty as solar robotical powered also , I will find out in a while ,
too cold to do much out ,,

1 pearl yarrow
2cinnarifolium
3 False nettle
all slow to happen ,
4the labels are sealed on with clear for protection , a nostalgic effort . lol
5 a fiber carbon pattern sitting on an iron plate , an angle iron tractor plate three iron gears will be fit to , then blade fitting for a large chipper for up to 8 or so inch limbs and trunks Has to be warmer outside so I can set up the cutting wheels

1 oops the carbon fiber on iron

3 and 4 a visit from ET this morning Crop circles on the hood odor was like electroplating ,, invisible drone maybe ,,

wowzers.....you got it going on. all of you!

Hi Debra , Excellent photo, !!! Amazing to see the beginning that way ,(smiley)
Looks like cucumber to me ,,

And now it went up to 70° for 3 days. I had to go to town today, but previous to that, I worked hard in the garden for 3 days. From seed-starting in the winter to actually working outside. I found a few more prettys in bloom.

Well Debra if you mean the most used meaning of POD in blog talk As long as it is not me I am good with it ,
But an empty corner corner and then in the way gets to be a much too much thing
Obviously OCD some anyway I am ,

Evelyn Beautiful !!! Flowers ,, it is 16 degrees here and we are waiting and will be a while ,,

Great job Ju, is that a hole saw bit? Can you imagine someone finding your mulching gizmo in 40 years, with perfectly preserved labels? Lol, they'll understand the genius of the world's first portable mulcher.

That really is an exceptional photo Debra.

Hi Evelyn, Jen and Amanda, it's been quite a while since I've heard from you, I hope all is well. Beautiful blooms Evelyn!

Robin ,, It is a "Spade Bit " for a drill ,
Two cans ( used from the Kitchen , not counting the end cap
A ball bearing ,
two shaft locks ,
A spade bit
3 screws
it is about 10 to 15 $ with glue sealer and the options you choose ,
I had to pay shipping for the bearings and the shaft their not a local item here
Spade bits two from the unused pile I had . one inch or larger
28 degrees here , too cold for most

Ju is our very own Mr Gizmo. Always a comforting thot. Another short night and short day or three coming, I will be back....and problems I am not sure are real or just shorts...

Those kinds of warnings always freak me out Kitt. I text my son in law the mechanic.

Greenhouse officially fired up today. Humidome removed from first batch of seeding. Kira helped me all day. She prepped all 108 new coleus cuttings for me. They will be under lights in the basement for next 2 weeks. Any of the coleus root stock that I didn't throw out and all the succulents are now in greenhouse.

Holy Cow, Kitt, that looks ominous. Hope it doesn't man your drive is decreased. ( huh?) Ju, what is a POD, and u know I love your ocd or what ever it is you call it with your mechanical wizardry. Thanks for the compliment on the pic, Robin and all. Evelyn, you have some beauties , a lift for my spirits. Supposed to warm up to 70 tomorrow, but I am still working, so not really into anything. I ed to transplant the babies. here is some coleus, mgs, and who knows what else. things are popping up everywhere not tagged cuz I swear I didn't plant them. Hi Keith!

Love to see the plant and seedling pics Debra I presume you meant pond above Debra , However I was talking about things in the way and POD means passed out drunk in blog lingo .. lol it worked anyway ..

Thank you all , and for being patient with my gizmo fetish , as a stray and such
it all goes together ,, I am waiting on a couple more bearings to finish a couple more ,
Needs to warm up still so I can start a few seeds . ,

oops Katt those warning lights and such ,. New vehicles , when they all come on , the car just sits , and nothing works until remove and re-insert the key , I half freak ,.. it's weird ..


This message was edited Mar 16, 2017 12:15 AM

You all are so busy. I hope to be able to put my planting shelves, lights, etc together this week. Might. But, the week is about over. Got an email from my daughter in Seattle today, she is going to try to get time off middle of next month to come over for several days That will be nice. She doesn't get over often because of a lot of things. Namely her work, also she has 5 or 6 aquariums, etc. I know my grandson could take care of them, but even tho she trusts him implicitly, you know how you always think of stuff like that.

Debra are those hardy Hibiscus? I just ordered a couple of Hardy's from Halisons. Hope they do ok here. But, I was hoping to put at least one in a container, however when I mentioned that to the nursery in an email, they said they do much better in the ground. Have to think about that. OH, Debra, BTW, my ROS is getting new leaves after the cats ate all of them. I can't remember what you said to put in the water besides Eosom Salts. I put fertilizer in it. I am going to spray it and the Oleander with Peppermint and see if that doesn't keep them away from the plants.

Hear Bob in there scooping ice cream for Candy. She is like a time clock when it comes time for it. We had another pup picked out to get a couple of weeks ago but the owner called and said when she took them to the vet for shots etc. that the one we wanted had a heart murmur. We talked to the vet and decided not to get her. She was the only female left. So, we didn't get any. Too bad. I was hoping Candy would have a playmate.

BTW Gypsi, that is a cool way to be able to water the tomatoes. Very handy. Big pond. Lots a work there. And JU, your chipper is working great if you can run it that long. What if you give it a break every 10 minutes or so? Think maybe it over heats? Try it, maybe it would work.

Back to propagation, I am failing at asclepius tuberosa? Totally, in watered outdoor beds. Can I germinate indoors? How?