Critter, I'm slow, but I finally figured it out, LOL. Is S.lyrata hardy for you?
Cottage Garden Seed Swap & Chat #26
It seems to vary... sometimes I get the same plant of PKO back the next spring, other times I just get a scattering of seedlings. Fortunately, I don't care if things grow in straight lines around here, LOL.
Star, I'm working on it! I got all my labels printed out yesterday, just need to cut them so they fit into the seed baggies. I even used red lettering for "Hot Pepper" and green for "Sweet Pepper." :-) I'm going to try to pack the bonus seeds this weekend and try out my new "system." LOL I'll tell you what it is if it works!
Critter - just don't forget to wear gloves! For some reason, although I know you're quite experienced with this, I fret over you getting capsaicin in your eyes....
Kelly - Angelonia does set seed. Thankfully I have a few left from '07 as all my fresh seeds were lost in the great dog escapade. I'd even purchased some new plants on sale at the end of the season last year just for the seeds. Alas they are no more. Argh.
Neal - Calundula wintersows beautifully.
Hello all!
I have a question that some of you more experienced indoor plant people might know. My mother has a Kalanchoe that she is trying to keep alive (my Dad bought it for her). It has already flowered for her in Dec. She cut off the spent blooms. She has watered it sparingly because the soil seemed moist. Right now some of the leaves look like they are soft and yellow like they are dying and 2 leaves have a white substance on them. She wasn't sure if it could be a mildew or scale insect or something. She is getting some new growth on top where she cut the flowers off. If you could give me some insight, It would be greatly appreciated.:-) Thanks, Andrea
Andrea I've had kalanchoe but can't claim to know all that much about them. If no one here can help you I'd take your question to the succulent forum. Those folks really know their stuff.
I wasn't sure what forum that plant would belong on. Good to know!:-) Thanks. Andrea
Dryad, no worries, I've learned to wear gloves with hot peppers, and I know the seeds are the hottest part! I also always check to be sure I have a bottle of saline solution by the sink, just in case.
I wonder if the "white stuff" on the kalanchoe could be mealy bugs... if so, I'd suggest tossing it if they're bad, especially if your mom has other plants. You can get rid of mealy bugs with sprays or even with alcohol (especially on something with a thick "skin" like a succulent -- just wipe down the leaf with rubbing alcohol on a paper towel). Yellow/soft leaves probably won't come back, so just prune them off.
I've never had a kalanchoe rebloom, but I keep them anyway sometimes...
whew Critter - one less thing for me to fret about :-) I knew that you knew what you're doing, but a gal's just gotta worry sometimes, ya know?
Andrea, you may want to consider repotting the Kalanchoe. As Critter said it's a succulent, and they really don't care for moist environments. It could be the soil is the kind that retains water too much...if you do repot it consider mixing some sand into the soil so that it drains more quickly so that the roots don't sit in too much water for too long. If I'm not mistaken you can also root a Kalanchoe leaf pretty easily, if it's a plant that your Mom really wants to keep. If you could get a pic of the "white stuff" for us I'm sure we'd all be happy to give you our opinions on that too :-)
I've never had any luck getting Kalanchoes to bloom again. I used to bring them home from the flower shop when they were past their prime, and could stick them in the garden and they'd be happy. But after that nothing. Then I had a friend who took one home (who knew very little about plant care) and it bloomed several times a year. Don't that kinda tick ya off, LOL.
La, I'm so glad to hear that! For some reason I've never grown Calendula. Guess I had it in my mind they wouldn't like our hot summers. Even if they only provide early summer color and then reseed, I'd be happy with that.
I'm on a roll y'all! Sowed Impatiens and Vinca inside, and got 15 more containers wintersown. I thought I had scads of milk jugs, and I'm already out. Time to start getting creative- visions of a night raid on the recycling center come to mind. I know I'm truly insane.
Oh, and I see little bits of green from germinating Broccoli! They're from organic seed I bought in bulk at least 5 years ago (I think it may have been longer) for sprouting. They've stayed in the freezer the whole time. At least a couple of times a year I sprout some to eat, and the germination has remained good on them. I wanted some Broccoli seed and realized I already had some! ..duh... Good grief, if I'd thought about it I would have offered them for the swap. I've still got a bag full!
I've grown Calendula here a while back, before I even had watering down to a system, and they were out in the middle of my oven of a back yard... did very well as I recall!
Yup, the calendula should go all summer long for you Neal. Just remember they get quite large so a word of advice is to leave plenty of space when planting out.
I'm curious about your broccoli. "At least a couple of times a year I sprout some to eat." I know nothing about growing broccoli. You can grow it indoors like a house plant?
I've spent the last couple of hours watering and doing the The Basement Shuffle. I just freed up some mat space so another tray of coleus is about to begin life. I need to replant some rudbeckia too. I collected some seed from my neighbors but didn't offer them in the swap as I had no clue whether or not they'd be viable (or if I was even saving the right thing for that matter.) LOL I got one seedling to sprout in 16 days. I only planted 1/2 my 'seed' so I guess I'll give it another go.
Thank you all for your suggestions and experiences. I'll pass that along to her. She doesn't have much of a green thumb when it comes to indoor plants. ;-) It's more of the fact that my Dad gave it to her, so it's sentimental now, and she doesn't want to kill it like the rest of them LOL! I had no clue how to take care of it. Thanks! I'll give her a call right now so she doesn't lose sleep over it. Andrea
edit some of my bad spelling
This message was edited Jan 22, 2009 8:41 PM
If I plant Calendula it wilts all summer if I pitch seeds out it does fine all the way till frost, try'em Neal you'll love them! I bought some orange Calendula I hope to have some seeds from for the next swap :)
Should I be planting my Broccoli now Neal? I haven't even cleaned my plant stands yet lol I'm getting there though does that count lol
Andrea, does the white stuff look like cotton if it does it's probably mealy bugs, try a cotton swab with alcohol, if it's mealy bugs they will turn brown when you touch them with the swab.
I did a bit of WSing today, too. 18 jugs of piggy swap seeds! I have another 23 labeled and ready to put dirt and seeds in and 20+ more that I need to prep the containers for. Fun, fun, fun. Also, have some more sprouts in my WS containers: gulf streams alyssum, scabiosa, and geranium 'bill wallis'. Off I go to type in my spreadsheet updates!
Neal, did I understand you to mean that you eat the brocolli as sprouts, like one would eat bean sprouts?
Talking about eating sprouts, in case you haven't tried them, my favorites are lentil sprouts. Soak overnight - or at least half a day, then rinse once a day. You can start eating them in about 2 days.
Yes, I think you can use broccoli seeds for sprouting and eating, like beans, lentils, etc. I had a mix once that included radish seeds -- very nice. I've tried basil, LOL, forgot about the jelly coat the seeds get... wasn't successful.
The stork brought my first babies of the year this Thursday morning! :)
I'm surprised how fast these Pelargonium/Bedding Geranium germinated. They were soaked this Monday, planted Tuesday, and sprouted Thursday morning. The seeds are at least 3 years old too.
Pamsue, your Summer Showers Mix Geranium is a close second. I found one poking it's head up tonight. Thanks again!
I was telling my Mom about my new plant babies and she said she guessed she was going to have to take pictures to put in her wallet to show people her "Grand-seedlings" since she still didn't have any grandchildren! :)
Well, here you go Mom...
Great to hear on the Calendula! Since they're so hardy, I think I'll WS a few more- sounds like I'm gonna be kicking myself for not having grown them.
La&Tonya, Broccoli for sprouts to eat, like alfalfa sprouts- they're really good! High in antioxidants, fiber, protein- all kinds of good stuff. I like other sprouts too, like Mung beans.
Lea, I'm getting an early start on my cole crops, I've always started too late and it aint happening this year! I want to have them ready to plant in March. Still need to pick up some Cabbage and Brussels sprout seeds. I grew purple cabbage one year and have been wanting to grow some in the flower beds since. They were gorgeous, like giant purple roses!
perenniallyme, Lentil sprouts sound good! I'll keep my eye out for some sprouting lentils.
critter, I wouldn't have thought about the Basil seed slime issue,...I have so many of those "oh, I didn't think of that" moments, LOL.
Danita, Congrats on the grand seedlings, LOL. This summer you can give your mom a nice garden pic to carry in her wallet!
I have a kalanchoe that is in my bay window-I just pinch it everytime it blooms and it is about 3X the size as when I first got it and blooms every couple mos..
I never anticipated having an issue with Calendula - Suzy told me last year they sprout like weeds so I figured I'd just start them under lights and not worry :-) Of course, I didn't start any last year - so many seeds, so little room!!
nbgard - you reminded me that I've got to get into my DG Journal to enter the dates of all the things I've got under lights. I tried to track the dates in my spreadsheet but I've got too much other stuff in the master spreadsheet to bog it down with seed starting info, and I prefer to keep my seed starting spreadsheet clean with just info about the seeds and how to start them.
I tried radish sprouts once - they were nice and crunchy and had a bit of zing to them. Don't know why I don't start sprouts anymore for munching, they're so good on sandwiches.
Gemini.. How do you eat brocolli sprouts? Do you plant the seed and eat the leaves at a certain stage? Is that what yoru doing? I love brocolli, but never heard of eatign sprouts before. Doe sit take a certain type of brocolli seed?
Danita. ROFLOL Gran-seedlign pics. Can just see ya runnig roudn showing everybody in the stores, hey ya wanna see my kids and oulling out pics of baby sprouts all proper labeled with names and date of birth on the back. LOL That a good one. hehehehhehehe
Star, you eat the whole thing when the seed leaves are just unfurling. Good on sandwiches, salads, or sometimes I just grab a handful as I walk by them and stuff em in my mouth, lol. The seed needs to be for sprouting (or organic seed) if you buy them, otherwise they're probably treated with something you don't want to eat, or of course seed you've saved. I use baskets to sprout them, with no growing medium. You know those little bowl shaped baskets that fruit baskets come in? They work really well because they're tightly woven. First I soak the seeds over night. Then the next day either boil the basket or run it through the dishwasher (this disinfects so molds or damping off aren't a problem). Dump the seeds in the basket, and run the faucet over it a couple of times a day till they're up. I keep the basket over a bowl to drip, and I think the humidity from the excess water underneath helps keep them from over drying. Then just pull clumps of them to eat, roots and all.
Sprouts have all the protein and fiber of seeds, but the fats are converted to green herbage. So you get the healthy benefits of the seeds as well as the vegetable matter and antioxidants without the fat.
:) Pamsue's Summer Showers are some of my first ones from a couple days ago too!
I've been meaning to tell you all, I've found another use for Watersorb Crystals :) My daughter has a 'science' kit that has 'crystals' in it. She mixes all sorts of colors and soaks a few of these crystals in each one and it's Amazing! how they grow. Lol, they've got to be the same thing as the watersorb. So last night we soaked us up a bunch of Amazing! crystals :) I bet I can still use them in pots when she's done too! The kit came with color tablets, but we used food coloring last night and it worked just fine!
Gemini... Well now ain't that just something. : ) neat. neat neat. Trip me out!!!!! I have some of them small shallow fruit type baskets around. Will have to get me some organic seed. Now I anxious to try this. Do ya let me them sit like on the counter while they germinating in the light or does the bowl have to be up in the air. Is there any other veggies ya do liek this too, much when they sporuts, besides like bean sprouts?
>>Great to hear on the Calendula! Since they're so hardy,
Mine were still blooming when i pulled them out of the ground the week of Thanksgiving. and we had had a coupla frosts already. They are truly hardy.
You all have my mouth watering for some sprouts! I've always wanted to try growing them myself and just haven't done it yet - love them on my sandwiches!
Anyone have a good source for sprout seeds?
I just did some googling, and there are lots of methods out there for sprouting various things. One included a design for a plastic soda bottle attached to the inside of a toilet tank! Only a couple of days ago I read about securing Japanese Iris seeds in pantie hose in the toilet tank to help germination, and had to laugh at that. I don't think I could deal with having food anywhere near the toilet, LOL.
For bigger seeds, like beans, I use a sprouting bag. Its just a little burlap bag with a drawstring. Put the soaked seeds in the bag and run water through it a time or two a day (legumes just take a couple of days). There are many methods to start them though, like in soda bottles with a hinged opening cut in them or jars.
The smaller seeds I sprout in baskets sit on the counter near a window. If I haven't used them all and don't want them to develop further, I put them in the fridg with plastic wrap loosely over them. They keep pretty good for a few days that way, as long as you keep them moist.
Here's a site that sells sprouting seeds and supplies. It mentions cucerbits for sprouting, that's new to me! Several other veggies too.
http://www.sproutpeople.com/
Here's some info on the health benefits of sprouts:
http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/sprouts.htm
Sunflower sprouts are new to me, that sounds really good! If I could get some of the yum of sunflower seeds without the fat, that would be great.
This site instructs using a canning jar:
http://greenhome.huddler.com/wiki/how-to-sprout-seeds-for-inexpensive-and-tasty-nutrition
This site had a little something I didn't know. It said the water from soaking the seeds is full of nutrients, and to save it for use in soups or to water your plants with it!
http://blog.pennlive.com/positiveparenting/2008/07/grow_your_own_sprouts.html
I just use a mason type jar for sprouting and have a plastic screened lid that fits over it for draining. I just leave the sprouts on the counter near the sink until I don't want them to grow any more (eating them along the way), then put them in the fridge.
Thanks for all the cool sprouting information. I knew abotu the sunflowers, but you have to make sure you have the sunflower seeds that is specifically for sprouting and from a reptuable dealer. They expensive to buy. Had looked into them a few years back.
Maybe about 7 or 8 years ago I leanred about doing Iris in the toliet. When it first came up, I thought they was all playign with me. I laughed so hard. Of all the place sto germinate something, the toliet. It does work, The cold water of the constant flushign remove sthe seed coating and breaks dormancy. The big thing is to remember not to have any little blue tiddy bowl men or other things floatign aroudn in there. Oh and also, the stockings forget what they called. The ones that hep with liek vericous veins, them thicker ones. They hold up better in the toliet water.
I tried regular cheap hose the one time and with the ball and handle thing going up and down and themovement of the water the pantyhose bag of seeds got caught and ripped open. Had to fish the seeds all out from thebottom of the tank top.
Oh Star - you gave me a good laugh picturing me fishing seeds out of the toilet top and dh walking in - he already thinks I'm nuts! If I start sprouting seeds in the toilet he might get concerned. LOL! I agree on the food seeds in the toilet.....ugh!
Wow, lot's of great info on sprouts. I think I'd like to start doing some real soon. Thanks for all the info!
OK Star, you've got me convinced. I'm going to give the toilet tank a try with some of my iris seeds. Won't that look interesting in the DG Journal - LOL!
Oh Star, you cracked me up! I already get "the look" a lot, but I don't think anyone around here would be surprised to see seeds starting in the toilet tank- they're pretty used to the lengths I go to for plants, LOL.
I always crave sprouts around this time of year. I think my body is craving fresh, raw veggies. And it's kinda like eating spring, just makes me feel better all around :-)
Oooohh, I've got more babies this morning! African Foxgloves, and the first few Pansies and Snapdragons! What a wonderful sight when its cold out.
Robin, I wanna hear all about Nora's reaction to the toilet starting, LOL.
Huff... puff...well, it took me 3 days, but I've got about 70 one gallon jugs done for wintersowing and I still have about 80 different kinds of seeds yet to plant! Mercy me! I'm outta the one gallon jugs, but I've got a huge lawn & leaf bag full of quart-sized ones to do up. Also need to buy more potting soil tomorrow. I set up my germinating light rack yesterday and I have some veggie seeds from the piggy swap to start with, but my main veggie seed order from Henry Fields is on its way! I've got seed mix and peat pots to start those with.
I need to get my hoop house built, but the Planning & Zoning commission is still working on changing the rules about building stuff like that. They want to change it so that people don't have to pay any fees for small greenhouses, chicken coops, etc.. Right now we have pay, but I forget the exact amount...something like $50.00. If it's major construction, it's $250.00 and has to be approved by the county planning office.
I found the coolest thing today!! I got some rose boxes (the clear plastic ones) at a craft store nearby for WS!! They had 4 different sizes for corsages and such too!! I thought how perfect!!
starlight1153, dryad57, meredith79 and many, many more......glad to hear ya! Thanks for the offer, if I think of anything, I know how to beggg! Planned to put down a few containers this weekend. So, back to the trough, and have fun!
Ya got a pic Fairy. Woudl liek to see what ya scored today. LOL
Joyce. Ok. ya don't have to beg, just oink. ; )