Thanks Liz. How are your seedlings doing Donna?
What's blooming today
I can see why you put boiling water through your soil before you use it. Somebody gave me a couple of branches from their fig tree a month or so ago. I found some information that said to put the cuttings in wet sand and put a pop bottle with the bottom cut out over top. First I had mold growing on the cuttings. I sprayed it with a rubbing alcohol solution but it came back. I was going to throw them out but decided to recut the tops instead. I could hardly believe it when a few days later I found a bud forming on one of them. However, now everytime I look at them there are little flies flying around inside the pop bottle. What a drag. I have to let them out then try to kill them all.
Has anyone else grown a fig? I'm not sure what the next step is so I guess I'll have to go back to the GW fig forum. I don't see a fig forum here on DG. I'm quite excited to see it growing. Here's a picture. Well, now that I look at it I guess it doesn't look like much but, oh well. There's not much happening so it's better than nothing.
Just uproot it then boil the soil and replant. This is just a better way of cooking the soil.
Trust me,,,lol, it works.
Well, after reading the above, I have gone out and dug very gently around in my seedling packs. The good news is that of the 30 odd brug seeds I had planted, 3 of them are still visible, and 2 of those are rooting. The others, are mush. My dat. seeds are mush. My rose of sharon seeds, haven't done anything, yet. I have boiled the soil, and will put the rest of my brug seeds, to soak, then will plant in a day or 2. I'm so glad that I didn't plant all at once.
Linda in wet, soggy windy Victoria
It's way past wet here Linda. I live on a cliff and have new rivers gushing down the sides of the house. This morning I had the Streets people here because the storm drains weren't doing their job and the street was flooding. They then called the Water people because they thought that the street pipes must have burst somewhere. And the rain is still pouring down.
For those of you from not around here, this is not just west coast rain, this is Biblical Rain.
Saw the weather channel and it sure doesn't look good for you B.C.'ers and peeps in Ontario!! :(
There's been many basements flooded, and a HWy was blocked outside of town by a landslide today as well. My neighbour was out digging up his drain tiles. Fortunately for me, all i've been d oing is trying to keep the buckets in the wettest spots on the deck/GH and dump them when they fill. Most are 5 gal. buckets. As Liz said, this is a BIG rain. I heard on the news that N. Vancouver got 70 mm today while the west coast of Vanc. island got over 125. I'm just glad it's mild and not freezing.
Take care Liz. I hope your place is safe, Jeanne too on her cliff.
You too Linda with your bucket brigade.
Gosh, I am sorry to see you guys on the coast having such a miserable time. The interior, I am happy to say, is not too bad. We woke up to snow this morning and it persisited until about 11:00 am, before turning to showers. The temperatures have been hovering around +2-+4 all day. We have showers tonght and he snow has nearly all disappeared. Tomorrow, the forecast is again forcast for snow turning to showers as the temperatures reach their balmy high of +4 again.
Sandy, can't tell anything from any of my seedlings as yet.. They didn't have any sunshine today, which would be very helpful in their germination, and tomorrow doesn't look good for sunshine either. I'll keep my fungers crossed for them until Saturday, which is when we are supposed to see the sun again.
The Smoke tree cuttings I got from Ingrid are showing signs of tiny roots, so I am at least encouraged with that. I also have a brug cutting (Betty Marshall) that has been struggling as well. It was the only one that I tried to root in soil, instead of water like the other two. I ended up digging it up and it's in water and starting to get more nodules to join with the sparse root growth it developed over the past 6 weeks. The other two, a Knightii and a CG are flourishing and get bigger with more and more foliage each day.
So that's my progress report for now. I have a Chrsitmas Cactus that is starting to bloom with lovely pale pink blossoms. I will take photos of it in a couple weeks, when it should be in it's prime.
Ta for now. I am off to bed. G' night all.
that's what happens, Liz, when you are hanging on the side of a cliff..E
I must have missed that part of the news tonight. I didn't realize the rain was that bad in Vancouver and Victoria today. It's been raining here all day but not really hard.
Donna, I have a CG that seems to be struggling a bit. I think I was a bit too quick to put some of mine in soil at first. I put them in when they only had the white bumps and no roots and I lost a couple. Jeanne advised me to wait until they have good roots. The CG is still in water but the roots don't seem to be growing very fast and the foliage that's coming is very spindly. I only got it in the mail on Nov. 4th though, so maybe I'm expecting too much. The others seem to be doing alright. Some I've only had in water a week so it's really too soon to make any judgements yet.
My 2 Christmas cactuses are just about finished. I have a pink one and a white one with a bit of pink. I do have a nice orchid that's been blooming for several days though. Unfortunately the stem on the bloom got twisted a bit so it had to be tied up. Here's a picture then I'm off to bed too. It's called Blc Gold of Old 'Dubloon' x Lc Prince of Pearl.
beautiful orchid.
with the little fungus gnats use the yellow stickies inside the pop bottle; once they are out they seem to hide then multiply then hide again and you forever have small unwanted house guests.
Lovely orchid, Sandy. Are they difficult to grow? They are the stuff that dreams are made of, in my opinion. The only ones I have ever encountered have been in a Florist's shop!
That's a good idea jagonjune. I'd forgotten about those sticky yellow things. I used them a few years ago around the orchids but haven't needed them lately. I bought some and have put one inside the bottle so hopefully it will do the trick. Unfortunately, I'm starting to see gnats around my brug cuttings so I think I'm going to be using a number of them. I'll definitely use boiling water on my soil before using it in the future but was reluctant to dig the fig up at this point in case I set it back too much. I doubt that it has very many roots yet.
Some orchids are pretty easy to grow Donna. However, I've found that it's very difficult to get most, and especially cattleyas like this one, to bloom unless you have a greenhouse or solarium. Most need a great deal of light, although you have to use shade cloth in the summer, otherwise the leaves get burnt. They are pretty finicky.
All the power to ya, Sandy. I think I'll just leave the growing of those little beauties to you, and I 'll just admire yours. (and the Florist's).
I was at Costco today. Racks on racks of phaleonopsis (sp) orchids. Large and blooming $19.99.
No, I didn't buy one. I am death to house plants.
But the rest of you west coasters might give it a check.
From here to Victoria is only one and half hour drive,but
your photo shows it must be much warmer in Victoria.
Wonderful photo!
I have a question for everyone who has green house.
Where did you buy your green house?
Remax. It came with our home when we bought it in July. Ok, bad joke, I'm sorry :(
I don't have a GH per se, just enclosed the deck and put in a heater and a light.
Remax..... that's good one!
Groan.... :-D Don't tell that one to your germinating brug seeds....they might change their minds...lol
Yumiko, my stepfather in Manitoba built his own greenhouse from recycled windows & an old screen door & it served him well for many years. There may be some good info in the Greenhouse Forum http://davesgarden.com/forums/f/greenhouse/
Shannon
Bad Shannon, Bad! LOL
I built mine in Victoria with posts from the beach and plastic brought from PG where Christmas trees have to be protected.
One here in Manitoba, built with tree posts from the bush. Had to buy 2x6 for the eve and 2x4s for the roof. Plastic is the heaviest Home Hardware has.
Black tub is what I use to make alfalfa/manure tea for watering.
Ginny
OK then, what is Alfalfa/Manure tea? Tell us about it. BTW, fine looking greenhouse. Sure looks cold!! What am I saying, I've lived in Manitoba!
I make compost tea from old, stale teabags around the house...wonder if it's the same thing?
Ginny, that picture has great atmosphere. I can almost feel the crisp air, and snow squeaking under the boots. Only 29 more days & I'll be in sunny Manitoba for Christmas :-) Where has this fall gone?
Where do you go in Manitoba, Shannon? I once lived in Portage La Prairie. Pretty little city just a bit west of Winnipeg. Do you know it? Only lived there for eight months, from August to April. Found it to be so hot and Humid in August and September, but after all the anticpation and scary stories from others about Manitoba winters, I found it to be very much like Edmonton. Not that bad at all. I left Portage and my first husband there. Unfortunate, but it happens. :)
Hi Donna,
Sorry to hear that Portage held some upheaval for you. :-(
I know where it is, but have hardly spent any time there. I'd heard it's a nice place. I'll be passing through Portage on the bus on XMas eve, on the way from Wpg airport to Brandon, so I'll take a good look for you :-).
My mom and her husband live in Wawanesa, about 35 min. SE of Brandon. I went to high school there as well. It's a pretty little village, nestled in a loop of the Souris River. The village is building a geo-thermal subdivision, which is pretty cool - or warm, I should say! The houses will all be heated and cooled by water from underground.
Yeah, I found Wawanesa's and Edmonton's winters to be very alike too. Both had lots of sun :-) And snow that you could sweep off the sidewalk if there wasn't too much, unlike here where it's always heavy & wet. Southern MB also gets the odd storm from the states.
It's always so nice to get out where there's no constant traffic din, and no all-night glow from streetlights....I can hardly wait!
Thanks everyone.
I used to have 6X8 little green house.
This time, I would like to have bigger size.
I havve checked some Cnadian company but they are
sooo expensive.
Making by myself is the most cheapest way,maybe.
I will keep checking grrenhouse forum too!
thanks!
Yumiko
Yumiko check when they recover greenhouses in your area. We picked up the U.V. greenhouse plastic really cheap in Saskatoon one year...the owner had to buy it by the roll and what was left he couldn't use.
This one is only a bit bigger than your existing one, Yumiko. I don't know how much bigger you wanted. Do you have a Canadian Tire store in Naniamo? You must have, huh.
Free shipping on orders of $49 or more. Until Dec. 8th only
Deluxe Greenhouse
Special Offer
Product# 60-0208-4
Price $749.99
Deluxe greenhouse with transparent polycarbonate panels
UV-stabilized
Pre-framed panels for easy assembly
Lightweight aluminum frame
Measures 7½ x 6 x 8' (2 x 1.8 x 2.5 m)
edited "'cause I still can't spell!!
This message was edited Nov 27, 2004 4:02 PM
They do have a Cdn Tire store in Naniamo, and also a Costco.
I saw that same GH in Costco this spring, for ~$699. I almost got it, but didn't. Turns out it's probably too small for me by now! ;(
Oh Liz...I have sprouts!! WhooHoo! and it's only been 5 days since I dug them up and pressed them into the top of the soil as you suggested!! Great huh? I am very excited. My first birth(s)! LOL
way to go - isn't motherhood grand!! especially when they don't require night feedings or a college fund
Been there, done that! You're right Lynn. LOL
Thanks everyone .
I saw this greenhouse at costco in summer.
They were very nice.
If it is bigger like at least 10X12, I will buy right away....
thank again for taking time to look for it for me.
Has any ever used or know anyone who has the dream house from flowerhouses.com
It looks so simple and so reasonably priced that i'm a little skeptical; but something that stows for the months (several in this zone) that you don't use it is very appealing. Also the unlimited (as long as you can take over your neighbours yards) growth is very appealing.