Seed Snatchin' PartVIII - Still Divin'!

cabin fever Kathy...just funnin' you.

I've never collected petunia seeds but know they can reseed. I had a couple of volunteers recently

Watch when your target flower is in bloom. Then the flowers will fade and if they were pollinated well, they should develop some kind of seedpod.
You have to be on your toes for some flowers because when they are ripe, the pod will open with enough force, they fling them far and wide. Larkspur and cleome both get these long slender seedpods that when ripe, split and start curling back releasing the seeds. So some times its better to get them as soon as you see the pod is starting to crack. Then you can put them in a little paper sack (or myriad other methods) and let them finish ripening and fall out into the sack.

Since you're new to seed collecting, here's something thats kind of fun. Go out and see if you can find any pine cones that haven't opened yet. You may be far enough south, they've already start popping. Put them in a paper sack and take them inside near a heat register where you spend a lot of time. They warm up, swell, and will start popping open and you'll be able to hear them. On the tree they do this in response to the increase of sun intensity and when they pop, they fling their seeds out. I was on my way back to FL from IL one Jan and had snatched some pinecones in big trees by a gas station. Chucked them into my McD's bag and they were laying on the floorboard. Somewhere down in MO I thought I had a problem with my truck, I had started hearing these random pops. I stopped and was loooooooking, listening.... eventually I found the noise was coming from the bag and gingerly looked inside not knowing what to expect. Cone layers were spread wide (they were hard and closed tight when I picked them) and seeds were loose in the bottom of the bag. Laying on the floor, it had been blasted by the heater and spring magic ensued!

Cabin fever is right, 8ftbed. I can't wait for the sounds of baseball on the tv, the hum of the attic fan on and the waft of bbq smoke coming through the house.

I've baked pine cones before, just to open them up for decoration purposes. I don't remember them popping.

Neat story, and I would of opened that bag gingerly myself!

Well, I think I saw turtle parts on the side of the road on the way home today. Only saw one part so maybe it was a rabbit or something. Maybe the turtle was sucidal! The good news is I FINALLY got my motorcycle! I rode it tonight and it is going to take some getting used to. It's very responsive and has all kinds of fancy features . My other bike barely had a speedometer! Anyway here is a picture of her in my garage. Is it stupid to name a motorcycle? I hope not - I keep calling her Lucy for some reason. Maybe it's a bonding thing-hee hee. I won't drive her to work tomorrow - need to get used to it. I hope I don't wear out the starter choking it down! I will get it though - I did that a lot on my last bike before I got used to it. Here's the pic!

Another Ruff Rider is born!!!!!!

NC, you can make some fast getaways with that baby! Kathy, petunia seeds don't really develop until the petunia is long gone. A green pointy seed pod will form... sort of like a tiny acorn. You don't harvest the seed until the pod turns brown.

Hee hee ! Well I rode it to work anyway!

No it's not stupid to name it. But how do you know it's female? :) I call my truck Larry (since it's a Lariat) hehe Looks like fun....enjoy!

Here's Larry...

Larry can park in my driveway anytime, lol.
Did a real 40 pot dash this morning when I woke to "golf ball Hail and tornado warnings".
Glad I wasn't out of town.

Larry looks like he can hold a lot of compost!!

NC, any road rash? Sugarweed, sorry to hear your weather isn't cooperating. Maybe you need to move up to balmy Southeastern Alaska, eh? 8ft, my old 77 Chevy PU is called Bruno. I don't know why... we bought him from some friends who were moving to Australia. As they boarded the train to Anchorage, Pete turned and shouted... "By the way, his name is 'Bruno'." That's been about 5 years ago, and Bruno has been a faithful set of wheels. He always gets a pat on the fender when he gets from point A to point B.

My Mom has always named her vehicles. Her current van she calls 'Libby' and her Ford Courier before that was called 'Pete'. Since I just got my new truck and Mom drove it when I in CO a couple of weeks ago, I thought I should name it.

But tell me why women give masculine names to their rides but I'm thinking in female terms? In the Navy, our ships were always referred to as She, Her, etc..

Hee hee! Don't know why 8ft! I have never named a vehicle before and didn't plan on it but it just kind of stuck in my head!

Weez - I actually dropped it manuevering it between the car and all my son's toys last night! Luckily the toys held it up for the most part and I was able to right it. Figures! Never dropped my old used bike! lol! If I could just get my feet flat on the ground it would be easier. Didn't do any damage though except broke the light off my son's 4-wheeler (battery powered.)

Oopss!

Libby is pretty femine to me.
I named mine "Annie". That was my grandmother's name and she was the most dependable person in my life. Her spirit is always with me in the garden.
It makes sense that ships and boats be "hers". Men are more likely to take better care of a her. If they were "he"s men would think "Oh, He's sturdy, so he doesn't need my pampering"
Sidney

Maybe women name vehicles in the male gender because they can take a little verbal abuse! LOL! Wow, NC, that was a close call! With new vehicles, I think a fella ought to just go out and run a scratch down the side of em an get it over with. It would save all that dread one goes through until the inevitable dent or scrape. (Bet you won't do it!)

Yep - get a new truck and first thing you do is go throw a shovel of gravel in the back.

Or run up into the mountains and chunk a load of rocks in there. Did it and Linex stood up to the task.

Hee hee! My current car has 2 dings on the hood from throwing dog toys! Ooopsie!! Na, I probably won't be scratchin' the bike. I can tell you this though, I am probably going to eventually drop this bike... I still can't get my feet all the way flat and the thing is HEAVY!! I need to get the seat fixed quick! The lower down I can get the better plus I need to get better on the throttle! Promise I won't keep talking motorcycles. ... Here's me safe back from work!

Nicole

Nicole, I ride an old beat-up Shadow, not a fan of rear controls (I like the crussier type, rather than the "crotch rockets"). Happy & SAFE rideing too you. Please remember. no matter how good you are on the bike It is the other drivers you need to be aware of (sometimes they don't see very well) -Take Care - Dyson

:) Thanks Dyson!! Promise!!!

Cool pic, NC. You look good on your new friend.

Nice bike ncgarden, if I weren't such a chicken, I'd buy one myself.

I named my truck after my grandmother, my Ford Ranger is Bessie. Bessie is slow and old, but she's dependable, just like grandma was. I've taken many a ride in ice and snow to work and back, and Bessie got me home safely. (sometimes manipulating the stick, and also manipulating the rear end that wanted to be the front end). Of all the vehicles I've had, me and Bessie has been through the worse. When you have confidence in a vehicle, thats very comforting out on the road.. well, as comforting as it can be when your driving on ice at 2am, all by yourself and don't have a clue who'd you would wake up to come help. (because they would be put in the same danger). LOL

AAA

Kathy, I once heard a song by an Alaskan artist that referred to the rigs some of us Alaskan women drive here. The first line was, "I've got no brakes and a bible on the dashboard..." LOL! Some of these old vehicles keep running for years with little more than some oil, gas, and a prayer.

My second husband and I had an old boat of a car. I've forgotten the make... just that it was a V.I.P. He always called it the Vip. Anyway, poor Vip had no brakes.... I mean, NO brakes. It was in the midst of winter, so he said the best way to stop at corners was to aim the right bumper into the snow bank at corners. When I complained that it was not safe, he explained that our car was safer than most because we knew we couldn't stop on icy corners and others thought they could! LOL!

Seeing as how it's Saturday, NC, are you & Lucy going to be terrorizing the neighborhood today?

Oh weeze, you have me soaking the keyboard! You do get a rather expertise at driving vehicles that no one has the guts to steal, so you never take out the keys. Fast Frank was famous for cars that looked like they couldn't run. He also got that handle from his driving, now he's grounded from driving and therefore just half-fast.
It's wet up and dowm the eastcoast, so she'll just have to play with little nc today, Brandon!

Yea, no driving today! Plus my mom is here and she will absolutely KILL me when she finds out. I don't have the guts to tell her! She's funny though - she doesn't notice cars, bikes, etc. She's walked RIGHT by it in the garage and not seen it!

Hey Weez, you are correct on the Alaskan women driving! 'Nanny' as she is called drove me around a bit. She's lived in Anchorage for many a year and she scared the he88 out of me! :)

Well folks... The cat is out of the bag.... My mom actually left after I showed her the bike. I just didn't want one of the other family members to throw it in her face tomorrow at Brandon's birthday party!

She is really mad. :(

Oh, well. Moms get over it. It's one of their most endearing qualities. ;)

Just tell her that w/fuel over 2.00 a gallon it's the only sinceable choice for transportation.

yeah, what Dyson said!!
I'd have a bike again if it was only Mom I had to deal with but she's a thousand miles away. :)
However... I like my groceries and the DW gets the panties in a tight bunch if I even think about it. I think she's still p.o.'d when I got her on the back of 400 Yamaha when she was 7 or 8 months preggo over in the Philippines. I had to go cash in on a surf-n-turf dinner I got as part of a big award and I told her it was on the base. I just didn't tell her it was San Miguel about 40 min away through the mountains. Yep, been in deep kimchee for over 20 years over that. But the food was good.

Did we fall off the bus again??? Who's going to take me dumpster diving when I'm in Florida...huh???
:) Donna

Well, Donna, I live in Jacksonville, and you can come here for a few days.
My place is a mess, but we can go diving, take the tour at the Budwieser Brewery, and eat good.
Sidney

HI guys! Had to drop in and put in a few words about "The Goat", a '91 Chevy Blazer. I use him to off road and snatch seed above the timberline on our Fall hunting, fishing, berry-picking, plant stealing, seed collecting trips. Those 2 weeks in September sure put new creaks and groans in his frame! Especially fording creeks with water coming over the hood and windshield. Putting him in 4 wheel drive is my cue to be careful to avoid situations hindering my return to camp.
The "Other" Seward Carol

Hey, Carol, take me along on one of your fordings, and no matter how deep the water, I can guarantee you the 'goat' won't float! You getting any seeds started down your way? You gotta come by & see my stuff!

Carol - Need pics..... need pics now. God loves old trucks and so do I!!

Been starting tree seeds, Maple, Larch... don't know if the seed is still viable... crap shoot every year though, isn't it? What fun, need more acres to plant. LOL Just made up, wrote up, about 50 plant labels for rock garden stuff like saxifrages, sedums and the like for planting in 6 paks today. Will plant peas and radish today or tomorrow...

Good grief, your seed tillable already? You sure get a jumpstart on me! Accuweather forcasts some nights in the teens this coming week. I sure hope they are wrong. I had to take the straw mulch off my south bed because all the tulips were getting smashed, and I've got plants out in the greenhouse. Top shelves should be OK, but the lower shelves may freeze up if it drops that low. Man, it goes to show it's always sumthin'!

I've got my sedums started in the basement. I started the houseleeks back in February, so they are cute little rosettes now. Deana's seeds were really good, and I planted waaaay too thick! Oh, heck, I always overplant!

Divided my house leeks last fall, have a flat of them. Some Lewesii self-seeded, should get half a flat of 4 inch pots out of them.

My larkspur and forget-me-nots are screaming to come out of their crowded home. Can't wait to get things outside. I'm officially ready for spring, my pink flamingoes got a fresh coat of paint. ha! I love these things, they are so corny, I can't help but laugh when I see them in my yard. (i keep them in the back, only viewable by me).

Weez,
Also, the packets recommend using salt petre and water, soak over nite to break down the inhibiters on the seed coat. Have any salt petre?

Salt petre is sold by the Morton Salt folks as "Tender Quick" I use it in a homemade summersausage. Got mine at the grocery store.

Hee hee Kathy! Love the flamingos! A friend of mine's Parrothead Club uses those for fundraisers! You wake up one morning and there are about 500 of 'em in your yard. To get rid of them you have to pay the club to come 'catch' them all!

I wish one of you seed starnin' extrdanieressseess would come over to my place an doffer your assistance! My innattention this year has proven an unparralleled failure rate!! My coleus even hates me! OH well, there's always lettuce! LOL!!!