MsC's Moving African Violet Collection...

The past few months I've been absent from the forum was partly due to our recent cross country move. I had a lot of packing to do as I had lived in the same place for close to 50 years....:)
( read as: I had a lot of stuff)

The two most important things I had to find a way to move were my beloved animals we call The ZOOCREW & my African Violet collection...sooooooooooo

I thought I'd share a few pics of how I managed to move my entire collection of AV's & Terrariums 1500 miles from the Texas Gulf Coast to the High Mountain Desert of Arizona.

I'll post the pics with a little info & if they don't make sense just let me know & I will clarify.

It was an amazingly simple task after I decided HOW I was going to do it & got over the shock of HAVING NO choice...lol

Please try to read with a your sense of humor intact.:)

Enjoy,MsC

The trip would take 3 really long days in a dark moving truck & it was the end of winter for us in Texas but still very cold where we were going . I had to find a way to move all of the Av's, keep them warm, moist & intact so they would arrive in their new home as pretty as they had left Texas.

I thought & thought about it & finally decided I needed really large terrariums..lol They can stay at a constant temp forever & would provide the right environment, minus the light of course.

So how to find the right "terrarium" for these beauties. Aquariums would work but they were heavey & expensive & I had lots of plants to move, so I was shopping & happen to see those large clear plastic containers at Wal Mart used for storage under beds... Ah ha!!! The price was right & I prayed really hard they were deep enough. I bought 2 and went home. I layed several smaller plantlets & rooted leaves in them & they worked perfectly!

See the pic below.

So that went well! But... what about those beautiful self watering pots I had planted all those really huge AV's in??? What the heck was I going to do with them???? I don't have time to repot all of them back into 4 in pots & I don't even want to have to wrap each of those pots seperately & box them either... MMmmmmm....

So, I tried the same thing with the self watering pots in them & uh oh...NO... they weren't deep enough. Drats! Now what???

Well I thought I'd just bubble wrap them & sleeve them with paper, them box them 2 per box....yeah right I'd need another truck.Nope hubby said that would not do.Mmmmmm well, we happened to be shopping for MORE bubble wrap at SAMS & I spotted some larger clear plastic tubs of the same type but they were deeper & sturdier, too.
Yippee.. I got it. I bought 2 packs of 3.

Got home plopped a few in Yep...that did it.:)
MsC was a happy lil camper....AV's are done...

What??? No not yet...every one decided to start blooming !!! Oh no... your lil blooms are going to be smushed! Off with those blooms I said.:(

See the next pic.



This message was edited Jun 16, 2006 12:11 AM

Here's one more pic were you can see I decided that ceramic pots jiggeling next to each other for 1500 miles wasn't going to be a pleasant sound or maybe even sight so , I wrapped each pot with bubble wrap to keep them from bumping each other the whole way...

Excuse the messy parts of this pic but everyone knows moving is messy business.:)
The bottom stack of those containers has my NOID collection of AV's in them.
They sat for 2 extra days because of time limitations, I needed to be getting the animals ready to go.
It gives you and idea that they stacked easily enough & they could still get a bit of light too.

Ok, now here's how they went on the truck for their trip.
All loaded up & ready to roll.Lights, stand & plants neatly packed.
What a chore...

This message was edited Jun 16, 2006 12:12 AM

Here's a pic of the truck that took my Av's & outdoor garden plants etc to their new home....

I actually never made it out of Texas with my ZooCrew & AV collection on the truck. I got deathly sick on the 2nd day of our trip just as we approached the Texas /New Mexico border. ( I told my hubby , I'm a Texas girl I ain't leavin Texas...lol)
I got food posioning & had to stay behind & catch a flight about a week later.

Hope you can get a basic idea fro the pics & maybe it will help you move someday too.???

Just for good measure, I wanted to add few pics of some of the terrariums that made the trip, too.
They were responsible for saving the day after all...:)

And another... with blooms.:)

WOW!!! I was watching you add pictures!! That was quite an undertaking! And it was all worth it, I'm sure. ; )

I'm going to make my husband look at this- we were talking about moving a while back. Maybe once he sees how much work it is just to move the plants, he'll forget about it! lol

Cheryl

Edited to say...Oops...sorry, I thought you were done with the truck.

This message was edited Jun 16, 2006 2:24 AM

Now, I realize this thread maybe a bit long...so we can start a different thread if needed for chit chat if anyone wants to .

Enjoy,
MsC

Hiya Cheryl
No problem...lol
I thought I was done, too. There is so much work & so many pictures I wanted to share I got a bit out of sink...

Yes tell hubby it is way more work thatn you ever imagined. I moved a small zoo & 1/3 or less of my garden too. I'm exhausted & don't even want to unpack.:)
All work & no play at DG's makes MsC a very sad lil gardener.

MsC

Aw...chin up...um...I'm sure SOMETHING good will happen...lol

Maybe you should offer some kind of incentive to get your husband (or kids???) to unpack all those plants for you while you take a nap. lol I'm sure you're going to need it!

Cheryl

Thanks Cheryl!
Now that the move is all done my chin is up & my spirits are good.
All the plants & critters are unpacked but all the knick- knacks, etc are still in boxes.
Then again, who needs 'em when ya got blooming Av's?

MsC

Exactly!! Sounds like the most important part is done- what's keeping you up so late? Are you a night owl like I am?

Yep, I'm a die hard night owl...I sleep very lil.

All my chores are usually done & late night I can relax & post without interuption from the Zoo here.:)

MsC/Lottie

I am so glad that we did not move to CA. I have hundreds of plants and was not looking forward to moving them all. Thank goodness we did not move.

I love those under the bed plastic bins. That is what I put my cups of leaves in. They are very sturdy and are make it easy to water all of my little babies.

Jesse

I'm a night owl also. When I am manic I don't sleep for days.

Jesse

Doug came home! He was REALLY tired, so I gave him a condensed version of your move, but he still had to see all the pictures!! He shook his head. We will never move. lol You helped me prove a point!!!

I'd better go, though, This is our little bit of quality time before going to bed. Thanks so much for posting your pictures!

Good night!
Cheryl

Jesse,
What are you doing up this late??? lol I thought I was the only night owl besides VioletTreasures...

Glad to have a bit of company.

Yes, be very thankful if you can stay planted where you are.
I cried & cried for weeks when I found out we were moving, but you gotta do what you have to. God works in mysterious ways,ya know.:)

MsC

Oh I'm always up this late. I never go to bed. LOL

It is nice not to be the only one up so I don't get lonely.

Jesse

Way to pack, MsC. Looks like it took lots of hard word. So happy everything travels so well. You really thought things through before taking actions. I think that is half the battle. Your plants look so healthy even in all their stress.

Excellent packing !
I use the low boxes different sizes for leaves. Starting using 6 quarts couple years ago learned the trick at local Av group. But then I went to larger ones. I use the top for trays. Works great for me! Whe we moved year and half ago just down the street my plants were all packed in the plastic boxes like you did taped this way hubby could move them easy !
I am sure glad I only had to move down the stret but this method is great for anyone moving and now we al see 1500 miles ! Great picture show ! This should go in the sticky .

Oh, I so want to go to Arizona. Why didn't you come and get me.

Do you think someone with little money would be able to move and find a place to live there?

MS C
I had been wondering what you were up to! and now I know. What an amazing experience and I know that you are glad that all of it, or at least the biggest part is behind you. I have moved many, many times as a child and as an adult- it was always more fun as a child, but there are alwasy so many new things to discover and learn after a move that I believe in the long run it's good for us to be uprooted and step outside our comfort zone! You are brave!!

I am glad that all arrived safely and I look forward to reading more of your posts- I really missed you.
April

How amazing! Your ingenous ideas are great. They will be very helpful for all that have to move. Thanks so much for sharing. I'm new so I'm going to ask, what's the list of the zoo crew?

Thanks for humoring me guys. :)
It was interesting to go back & look at the pics. I'm sure glad it's done!

You know I lost very little in the move. The problems I had came after we got here. I was so busy I couldn't keep up with everything & lost a few to lack of care. We won't talk about the box that was left outside in 30* weather.:( The terrariums were left outside too until I arrived here a week later. Idid not loose anything in any of them! Isn't that amazing???


Hiya achoogardner, Welcome to the forum.
My ZooCrew is a band of misfits.:) A Herd of Chihuahua's, an Aussie Blue Heeler, Scarlet Macaw,African Grey, 100's of Finches, Canaries, Pigeons,Doves...and Bobtail Cat.. almost sounds like that Twelve days of Chrsitmas song..lol

They're My family.

MsC

Oh Hiya Makshi.. .Yes !you can come on over...I have a spare room & can use the help unpacking & a the company,too... It's still nice weather kinda..so better come before August.

MsC

Sorry if you already answered this question, but what was the decission to move to AZ. Doyou have family there? Work for hubby? Or retirement? Why does one more to AZ from Texas?

critter, I was exhausted from seeing your pics. that was a lot of work. glad this part is done.

"Why does one more to AZ from Texas?"

Nanna,
That's an excellent question.lol
One I keep asking myself over & over...the short answer is Hubby was offered a nice job here.
The truth of the matter is we had been talking about moving for a while. The house was very old & the neighborhodd was really going down hill.Our plan was to move somewhere in Texas, you know close to the grown kids & that new grandbaby.:)

Well, we started looking in earnest & found several jobs of interest.
None really offered the very nice package deal we got here. You know it seems like it always comes down to $$$$.

Hey,It's not as bad as I first thought .It will never be home sweet home. Did you know there are NO HURRICANES in AZ...lol
or mosquitos or killer humidity!

The area here is very nice and we stay a lot cooler because we are up in the Mountains. Texas heat can be really bad too, because you pile on top of the same 90-110 temps that 90% humidity and that can be really miserable, too.

So, I guess if you look really hard you can find the beauty anywhere you are.

MsC

Vossner,
Yes, it was more work than I ever want to do again! I'm too old to do this.
The hardest part wasn't the physical labor~ it was the emotional labor of saying goodbye to my home, garden & some of my ZooCrew, I had been there for close to 50 years.

MsC

Good to hear from you, I was on the verge of mailing to find out where you had gone.

Thanks for the thorough information, itmay help someone who wll move a large collection of AVs in the future.
Kenton

PS. Who is this? And do I see 'EverHarmony' in there?

I'm not sure what it is but it is really beautiful. All of them are. You take great care of them, I can tell. Thanks for sharing.

Jesse

A little late on your coast, eh, Jesse? It's After 1 here, and I'm hoping to go to bed ans see what the morning looks like!

I'm always up late. I do my best work at night.

Jesse

Ditto!

You made me smile. Thanks. :) I thought no one stayed up as late as I do. Sometimes I never even go to bed. I can do that for several days but after a few days boy do I get irritable. But I'm in a good mood right now.

Jesse

Jesse doesn't your medication help w/ that?

Yes, it does to a certain extent. But sometimes it does get out of balance and I stay manic for a few days and don't sleep any at all. Just like last night. I never went to bed. I still haven't. Maybe I will tonight.

Jesse